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The World Health Organization (WHO) today launched its 2026 global appeal to ensure millions of people living in humanitarian crises and conflicts can access health care.

Progress made during the six years, since the declaration of COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, in preparing for a future pandemic, and what remains to be done.

Through the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on One Health, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) reaffirm their shared commitment to advancing the implementation of the One Health approach.

ECDC, Africa CDC and the WHO Regional Office for Africa are conducting training in R programming and epidemic intelligence for surveillance experts from the National Public Health Agency of Sierra Leone.

Marking World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that millions of people living with NTDs continue to face profound and often unseen suffering due to discrimination, social stigma and untreated mental health conditions. Under the rallying theme "Unite. Act. Eliminate.", WHO and partners urge governments to integrate mental health care into NTD elimination efforts, ensuring that no one is left behind in pain or isolation.

Based on current information, the risk of infection for people from Europe travelling to or residing in the area is assessed as very low.

A Memorandum of understanding was signed in Stockholm on 29 January 2026 at the ECDC-WHO/Europe Annual Coordination Meeting.

Multi-country recalls of several infant nutrition products (different batches, products, and brands) are ongoing following the detection of cereulide, a toxin produced by the bacterium Bacillus cereus, which can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

With avian influenza A(H5N1) widely circulating in wild birds and poultry, and repeatedly detected in mammals, Dutch public health authorities report that antibodies indicating past exposure have been identified in milk from a dairy cow in the Netherlands.

Healthy food in schools can help children develop healthy dietary habits for life, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which released a new global guideline on evidence-based policies and interventions to create healthy school food environments.

After breast cancer, cervical cancer is the most common cancer among young women in Europe, and human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of cervical cancer. During Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, ECDC highlights the good news that in combination with routine cervical screening, HPV vaccination can prevent cervical cancer.

ECDC launches new Accession Support Action for EU candidate countries to strengthen communicable disease capacities to implement EU acquis in surveillance, public health emergency preparedness, and advance One Health responses against antimicrobial resistance, 2026–2029.

WHO regrets the United States’ notification of withdrawal from WHO – a decision that makes both the United States and the world less safe. The notification of withdrawal raises issues that will be considered by the WHO Executive Board at its regular meeting starting on 2 February and by the World Health Assembly at its annual meeting in May 2026.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Member States this week advanced their negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit‑Sharing (PABS) system in a resumed session of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) on the WHO Pandemic Agreement. The PABS system is a core element of the agreement adopted by the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May 2025.

During the session held on 20–22 January 2026, Member States continued text‑based negotiations on outstanding issues in the draft annex and exchanged views aimed at narrowing differences and identifying areas of convergence.

“I am encouraged by the progress we have made in several areas, with signs of emerging consensus for some parts of the Pathogen Access and Benefit‑Sharing system,” said IGWG Bureau co‑chair Ambassador Tovar da Silva Nunes, of Brazil. “As we look ahead to the fifth session, the focus will be on the outstanding, complex issues. The resumed session has helped us gain a clearer picture of where we stand.”

Established by the WHA, the IGWG is tasked, as a priority, with drafting and negotiating the PABS system, which is intended to enable safe, transparent and accountable sharing of pathogens with pandemic potential and their genetic sequence information, alongside the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their use, including vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.

The resumed session was held following a request by Member States to extend the fourth meeting of the IGWG, which convened in December 2025.

“Member States have engaged in constructive discussions this week," said IGWG Bureau co-chair Mr Matthew Harpur, of the United Kingdom. "As we make progress towards the May deadline, I am encouraged by their willingness to work together and bridge differences to deliver an effective Pathogen Access and Benefit‑Sharing system."

Further meetings of the IGWG are scheduled in the coming months as Member States continue their negotiations.

“A strong Pathogen Access and Benefit‑Sharing system will be a cornerstone of a safer and more equitable world,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “I thank countries for their commitment to multilateral solutions.”

The outcome of IGWG’s work will be submitted to the Seventy‑ninth World Health Assembly in May 2026 for its consideration.

 

As the EU initiative on Health Security reaches its conclusion, an online resource remains available for partners and stakeholders.

Access to treatment for leprosy is essential to global efforts to eliminate leprosy, says the World Health Organization (WHO) ahead of World Leprosy Day, to be observed on 25 January.

Leprosy is an infectious disease caused by a type of bacteria, Mycobacterium leprae, and is one of the oldest diseases known to humanity. The disease predominantly affects the skin and peripheral nerves. Left untreated, the disease may cause progressive and permanent disabilities and causes stigma and social isolation However, the disease can be cured with multidrug therapy (MDT).

Efforts to eliminate leprosy have been leading to reductions in the number of new cases in many areas; of the 188 countries, areas or territories that submitted data in 2024, 55 reported zero cases. But still 172 717 new cases were detected worldwide and reported to WHO in the same year.

Many partners, including pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis, have been strong supporters of efforts to eliminate leprosy. WHO has collaborated with Novartis since 2000 to provide MDT and clofazimine, free of cost, to all leprosy patients worldwide. This partnership remains one of the most sustained pharmaceutical donation programmes in global health.

Marking 25 years of partnership, WHO and Novartis have extended a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for an additional 5 years (2026−2030). The extension makes provision for continued supply of MDT and also includes funding for procurement and distribution of single dose rifampicin (SDR) for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).

“The unwavering commitment of partners like Novartis over the past quarter-century has been foundational to the progress made against leprosy,” said Dr Jeremy Farrar, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Care. “Their steadfast support in ensuring free access to treatment has helped transform millions of lives and moved us closer to a world free from this ancient disease. This enduring collaboration exemplifies the power of global solidarity in health – a reminder that, together, we can overcome even the oldest and most entrenched health challenges when science, equity, and partnership align.”

Availability of free MDT has made it possible to cure the disease, prevent disabilities, mitigate stigma, and has enabled affected individuals to continue working and leading normal lives. Additionally, clofazimine has ensured the treatment of lepra reactions, which are characterized by sudden, severe inflammatory episodes, leading to disabilities, if left untreated.

“Leprosy is one of the oldest infectious diseases known to humanity and combatting it has been part of our company’s history since discovering the first effective cure,” said Dr Lutz Hegemann, President of Global Health at Novartis. “Over the last 25 years, we have reached millions of patients together with WHO, and we are committed to going further to pursue our vision of a world free of leprosy.”

While significant progress has been made, sustaining and building on this momentum requires political commitment, community engagement and continued collaboration and partnership.

The theme for this year’s World Leprosy Day is “Leprosy is curable, the real challenge is stigma”.

This year also marks the 25th anniversary of Mr Yohei Sasakawa’s work as the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination. He said, “One of the most stubborn challenges that I encounter on my travels is the social stigma attached to leprosy, which can be more problematic than the disease itself, and which can persist beyond the end of treatment. This is particularly true for people who have been left with residual disabilities as a result of leprosy. They may face various forms of discrimination, including forced divorce, lost educational opportunities and unfair dismissal. Even after being cured, they endure the unending pain of social exclusion.”

As leprosy is one of the target diseases under the broader umbrella of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), this work also supports the unified global effort towards a world free of NTDs. Learn more about the collective action and join our campaign on World NTD Day 2026 on 30 January.

 Notes for editors

The NTD Roadmap 2021-2030 aims at elimination of leprosy (interruption of transmission). The Global Leprosy Strategy 2021–2030 underpinning the Roadmap, shifts the paradigm beyond the achievement of ‘elimination of leprosy as a public health problem’ toward interruption of transmission and elimination of leprosy disease. Contact screening along with scale-up of preventive chemotherapy and mitigation of stigma and discrimination constitute key pillars of this strategy. Beyond working to ensure that every person affected by leprosy is detected early and treated promptly, WHO leads efforts to combat the discrimination that persons affected by leprosy too often face.

 

 

Every month ECDC provides detailed epidemiological overview of the worldwide transmission of mpox in its weekly threat report.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has published public health considerations regarding the use of doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis, commonly known as doxy-PEP, for the prevention of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Three new European Union reference laboratories are now in place to improve Europe’s response to health threats linked to food- and waterborne diseases. They will help national public health laboratories to improve testing, data quality and preparedness across the EU for the next seven years.

In two new global reports released today, the World Health Organization is calling on governments to significantly strengthen taxes on sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages. The reports warn that weak tax systems are allowing harmful products to remain cheap while health systems face mounting financial pressure from preventable noncommunicable diseases and injuries.