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The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis for Gaza confirms that no areas of the Strip are currently classified in famine following the October ceasefire and improved humanitarian and commercial access.

The 2025/26 influenza season has begun earlier than the previous two seasons, driven by the recently-emerged influenza virus A(H3N2) subclade K.

As sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to surge across the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA), a new report published today by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reveals a complex landscape of national responses.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Brazil for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) of HIV, making it the most populous country in the Americas to achieve this historic milestone. This accomplishment reflects Brazil’s long-standing commitment to universal and free access to health services through its Unified Health System (SUS), anchored in a strong primary health-care system and respect for human rights.

“Eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV is a major public health achievement for any country, especially for a country as large and complex as Brazil,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Brazil has shown that with sustained political commitment and equitable access to quality health services, every country can ensure that every child is born free of HIV and every mother receives the care she deserves.”

The milestone was marked during a ceremony in Brasília, attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s Minister of Health Alexandre Padilha, and the Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Dr Jarbas Barbosa, along with representatives from UNAIDS.

Meeting validation criteria

Brazil met all the criteria for EMTCT validation, including reducing vertical transmission of HIV to below 2% and achieving over 95% coverage for prenatal care, routine HIV testing, and timely treatment for pregnant women living with HIV. In addition to meeting the targets of the validation, Brazil demonstrated the delivery of quality services for mothers and their infants, robust data and laboratory systems, and a strong commitment to human rights, gender equality and community engagement.

The country implemented a progressive, subnational approach by first certifying states and municipalities with over 100 000 inhabitants, adapting the PAHO/WHO validation methodology to its national context while maintaining coherence across the country.

The evaluation, supported by PAHO, was conducted by independent experts who reviewed data, documentation, and health facility operations. Findings were then assessed by WHO’s Global Validation Advisory Committee, which formally recommended Brazil’s validation for elimination.

“This achievement shows that eliminating vertical transmission of HIV is possible when pregnant women know their HIV status, receive timely treatment, and have access to maternal health services and safe delivery,” said Dr Jarbas Barbosa, Director of PAHO. “It is also the result of the tireless dedication of thousands of health professionals, community health workers, and civil society organizations. Every day, they sustain the continuity of care, identify obstacles, and work to overcome them, ensuring that even the most vulnerable populations can access essential health services."

Part of a broader initiative

Over the past decade (2015-2024), more than 50 000 pediatric HIV infections have been averted in the Region of the Americas as a result of the implementation of the initiative to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Brazil’s success is part of the broader EMTCT Plus Initiative, which seeks to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B, and congenital Chagas, in collaboration with UNICEF and UNAIDS. It is embedded within PAHO’s Elimination Initiative, a regional effort to eliminate more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions in the Americas by 2030.

"I am delighted that Brazil has just been certified by WHO/PAHO for eliminating vertical transmission – the first country of more than 100 million people to do so,” said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director. “And they did it by doing what we know works –prioritizing universal health care, tackling the social determinants that drive the epidemic, protecting human rights, and even – when necessary – breaking monopolies to secure access to medicines."

Global context

Brazil is one of 19 countries and territories worldwide that have been validated by WHO for EMTCT. Twelve of these are in the Region of the Americas. In 2015, Cuba became the first country in the world to be validated for EMTCT of HIV and the elimination of congenital syphilis. Other countries in the Region include Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and Saint Kitts and Nevis in 2017; Dominica in 2020; Belize in 2023; and Jamaica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 2024.

Outside the Americas, countries validated for EMTCT of HIV include Armenia, Belarus, Malaysia, Maldives, Oman, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

 

The European Commission has adopted an Implementing Regulation establishing a new EU reference laboratory (EURL) for public health for respiratory viruses. This marks a significant step in reinforcing the European Union’s capacity to respond to serious cross-border threats.

A study published today shows how public health laboratories can become more resilient against future respiratory infectious diseases. The findings call for sustained capacity, better coordination and EU-level support.

The World Health Organization (WHO)’s Second Global Summit on Traditional Medicine, jointly organized with the Government of India, opens today, bringing together government ministers, scientists, Indigenous leaders, and practitioners from more than 100 countries. The Summit is expected to announce major scientific initiatives and new commitments aimed at advancing the implementation of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034, centred on stronger evidence, better regulation, systems integration, collaboration and community engagement. 

Traditional medicine (TM) encompasses codified and non-codified systems that predate biomedicine and have continued to evolve for contemporary use. For many, TM remains the main source of health care—locally accessible, affordable and bio-culturally aligned—and for many more, it is a preferred, personalized and more natural health option. Nearly 90% of WHO Member States (170 out of 194) report that 40–90% of their populations use TM.

“WHO is committed to uniting the wisdom of millennia with the power of modern science and technology to realise the vision of health for all,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “By engaging responsibly, ethically, and equitably, and by harnessing innovation from AI to genomics, we can unlock the potential of traditional medicine to deliver safer, smarter, and more sustainable health solutions for every community and for our planet.”

Strengthening evidence, regulation and integration of TM into health systems

In a world facing increasing challenges to health systems, nearly half of the global population – 4.6 billion – lack access to essential health services, while a quarter – over 2 billion people –  experience financial hardship to access health care. Integrating TM into health systems is critical to expanding access and choice to affordable, people-centred health care and advancing UHC, ensuring everyone can receive health care they need without financial strain.

Emerging evidence indicates that integrating TM into health systems can deliver cost efficiencies and improve health outcomes. Such integration emphasizes prevention and health promotion, contributing to broader health benefits such as more appropriate use of antibiotics.

Achieving effective integration requires robust science, global standards for quality and safety, and strong regulatory mechanisms. “We need to apply the same scientific rigour to the assessment and validation of biomedicine and traditional medicines, while respecting biodiversity, cultural specificities and ethical principles,” said Dr Sylvie Briand, WHO Chief Scientist. “Stronger collaborations and frontier technologies – such as AI, genomics, systems biology, neurosciences and advanced data analytics – can transform how we study and apply traditional medicine.”

Advancing innovation, investment and sustainable benefits

TM underpins fast-growing global industries, such as herbal medicines. All TM formulations, and more than half of biomedical pharmaceuticals, originate from natural resources, which remain a vital source for new drug discovery. Indigenous Peoples safeguard around 40% of the world’s biodiversity while representing just 6% of the global population. Advancing TM requires addressing Indigenous rights, fair trade, and benefit-sharing considerations.

Despite TM’s widespread use and vital role in stewarding natural resources for health and well-being, less than 1% of global health research funding is dedicated to TM. To help close the knowledge and research gaps, WHO is launching the Traditional Medicine Global Library, the first of its kind, featuring more than 1.6 million scientific records spanning research, policies, regulations and thematic collections on diverse TM applications. 

Developed in response to calls by Heads of State during G20 and BRICS meetings in 2023, the Library also provides equitable online access to peer-reviewed content for institutions in lower-income countries through the Research4Life initiative. It also supports countries in documenting TM with intellectual property protections and in building scientific capacity to drive innovation. 

“Advancing traditional medicine is an evidence-based, ethical and environmental imperative,” said Dr Shyama Kuruvilla, Director a.i. of WHO’s Global Traditional Medicine Centre. “The Global Summit fosters the conditions and collaborations required for TM to contribute at scale to the flourishing of all people and the planet.”

The Summit (17–19 December 2025, New Delhi) will also announce new commitments from governments and other stakeholders, alongside a call for a global consortium to address systemic gaps and accelerate implementation of the Global TM Strategy at scale.

 

A new modelling study from RespiCompass, the European respiratory disease modelling hub coordinated by ECDC, indicates that influenza and COVID-19 vaccination programmes markedly reduced hospitalisations among older adults across Europe in the 2024/25 season.

Leaders from across the world at the Eightieth United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) have adopted the political declaration to combat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health challenges through a fully integrated approach. This is the outcome of the intergovernmental negotiations in advance of and considered by the fourth high-level meeting of the UNGA on the prevention and control of NCDs and the promotion of mental health and well-being, held on 25 September 2025.

New analysis from a WHO global expert committee on vaccine safety has found that, based on available evidence, no causal link exists between vaccines and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The conclusion reaffirms WHO’s position that childhood vaccines do not cause autism.

2025 marks the final year of the EU Initiative on Health Security, during which ECDC and partner countries continued to strengthen regional cooperation and workforce capacities to tackle communicable diseases across EU enlargement and EU Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) partner countries.

ECDC is announcing its plan to strategically and scientifically lead the consolidation and integration of wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) as a complementary infectious disease surveillance tool at the EU/EEA level.

Changing diets and an ageing population may be contributing to a rise in serious Listeria infections across Europe, according to the new EU One Health Zoonoses Report from EFSA and ECDC.

Between 2 and 4 December, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) hosted the EU Health Task Force (EUHTF) Partner Forum Meeting together with the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN ) Global Meeting of Partners Regional Session bringing together representatives from EU/EEA Member States, EU institutions, and the GOARN EURO network and international partners to strengthen coordination and preparedness for public health emergencies.

WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean concluded a four-day regional workshop on the operationalisation of the All-Hazard Information Management Toolkit and artificial intelligence (AI) literacy in emergency management.

Since 2000, most countries – across all income levels and regions – have made concurrent progress in expanding health service coverage and reducing the financial hardship associated with health costs, according to a new joint report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank Group. These two indicators are the foundation of universal health coverage (UHC) – the global commitment that everyone, everywhere can access the care they need without financial hardship by 2030.

The UHC Global Monitoring Report 2025 shows that health service coverage, measured by the Service Coverage Index (SCI), rose from 54 to 71 points between 2000 and 2023. Meanwhile, the share of people experiencing financial hardship due to large and impoverishing out-of-pocket (OOP) health payments declined from 34% to 26% between 2000 and 2022.

However, the report cautions that the poorest populations continue to bear the greatest burden of unaffordable health costs, with 1.6 billion people further pushed into poverty. Overall, an estimated 4.6 billion people worldwide still lack access to essential health services and 2.1 billion people experience financial hardship to access health care, including the 1.6 billion people living in poverty or pushed deeper into it due to health expenses.

"Universal health coverage is the ultimate expression of the right to health, but this report shows that for billions of people who cannot access or afford the health services they need, that right remains out of reach,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “In the context of severe cuts to international aid, now is the time for countries to invest in their health systems, to protect the health of their people and economies. WHO is supporting them to do that.”

Financial hardship in health is defined as household spending more than 40% of its discretionary budget on OOP health expenses. Cost of medicines is a major driver of financial hardship: in three-quarters of countries with available data, medicines account for at least 55% of people’s OOP health expenses. The burden is even greater among people living in poverty who allocate a median of 60% of their OOP health expenses on medicines diverting their scarce resources from other essential needs.

While the burden of OOP health costs falls mostly on poorer people, it also affects better-off segments of the population that allocate a large share of their budgets to health expenses, particularly in middle-income countries where this group of people is growing.

Without faster progress, full-service coverage without financial hardship will remain out of reach for many: the global SCI is projected to reach only 74 out of 100 by 2030, with nearly 1 in 4 people worldwide still facing financial hardship at the end of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) era.

Encouraging progress in low-income countries with largest gaps

Despite positive direction, the global progress rate has slowed since 2015 with only one-third of countries improving in both increasing health coverage and reducing financial hardship. All WHO regions have improved service coverage, but only half – Africa, South-East Asia, the Western Pacific – also reduced financial hardship. Low-income countries achieved the fastest gains in both areas but are still facing the largest gaps.

The global increase in health service coverage has been driven largely by advances in infectious disease programmes. Coverage for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) has shown steady improvement, while gains in reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health have been modest.

The report notes that improved sanitation has supported service coverage gains. At the same time, inclusive economic growth, rising incomes, and stronger social protection mechanisms have driven poverty reduction, especially in low-income countries, contributing to declines in financial hardship. However, health costs have increasingly become a source of financial hardship among the poor.

Inequalities are getting starker

Despite progress, persistent gaps and inequalities are on the rise. In 2022, 3 out of 4 people among the poorest segment of the populations faced financial hardship from health costs, compared with fewer than 1 in 25 among the richest.

Women, people living in poverty, or in rural areas, or with less education, reported greater difficulty accessing essential health services. The gap between women in the richest and poorest quintiles narrowed slightly, from about 38 to 33 percentage points over the past decade. Even in high-performing regions such as Europe, vulnerable groups – including the poorest and people with disabilities – continue to report higher unmet health needs.

These findings likely underestimate the true extent of health inequalities, as the most vulnerable groups – such as displaced populations and people living in informal settlements – are often missing in data sources used to monitor progress toward UHC.

Actions leading to 2030

Achieving the UHC goal by 2030 is central to realizing the human right to health. With five years remaining on the SDG agenda, urgent action is now needed to drive progress. The report underscores the critical role of political commitment in every country and community, and calls for action in six core areas:

• ensure essential health care is free at the point of care for people living in poverty and vulnerable situations;
• expand public investments in health systems;
• address high out-of-pocket spending on medicines;
• accelerate access to essential NCD services, especially as the disease burden rises;
• strengthen primary health care to promote equity and efficiency; and
• adopt multisectoral approaches, recognizing that determinants of health and UHC drivers extend beyond the health sector.

 

Editor’s note

This edition of the UHC Global Monitoring Report 2025 reflects the first round of UHC tracking to incorporate revised SDG indicators for health service coverage (SDG 3.8.1) and financial hardship (SDG 3.8.2), introduced in 2025. Using the revised indicators, and reproduction of the full time series, the report has presented global and regional trends in service coverage from 2000 to 2023, based on time series data for 195 countries or territories, and global and regional trends in financial hardship from 2000 to 2022, based on primary country time series for 168 countries. More about monitoring universal health coverage.

The Report is presented at the UHC High-Level Forum, jointly hosted by the Government of Japan, the World Bank Group, and WHO, in Tokyo, Japan. The Forum will also mark the official launch of the UHC Knowledge Hub in Tokyo, established by WHO and the World Bank Group with the support of the Government of Japan. The Hub offers capacity strengthening programmes for Ministries of Health and Finance to support health financing reforms. More about the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) High-level Forum 2025.

WHO, the World Bank Group, UHC2030 and the Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage will organize a technical webinar “Tracking Universal Health Coverage: 2025 Global Monitoring Report” on 8 December 2025, at 8:00–9:30am EST | 14:00–15:30 CET. You can join the webinar through this link. (Passcode: .W1MJT=@r3)

 

WHO Member States today ended their latest round of intensive negotiations on the world’s first Pathogen Access andBenefit Sharing (PABS) system. Countries decided to resume deliberations in January in a reflection of the shared commitment and urgency needed to help make the world safer from future pandemics.

Countries convened for the fourth meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) on the WHO Pandemic Agreement in Geneva from 1–5 December 2025. They requested to extend the current fourth round of negotiations, agreeing to resume from 20–22 January 2026.

The World Health Assembly established the IGWG to undertake several tasks, including, as a priority, to draft and negotiate the PABS annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement. Member States requested the establishment of a PABS platform to operate as a global system to share pathogens and their genetic information, along with the benefits that arise from their use, in a timely, fair and transparent way. This would pave the way for a more effective and equitable response to the next pandemic.

“As we cross the halfway mark in negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) system, I am encouraged by the progress we’ve made towards enabling a faster and more equitable global response to future pandemics," said IGWG Bureau co-chair Mr Matthew Harpur of the United Kingdom. "Member States have demonstrated real commitment to finding common ground and bridging differences, as we work to deliver a strong PABS system by the next World Health Assembly.”

IGWG Bureau co-Chair Ambassador Tovar da Silva Nunes, of Brazil, said: “WHO Member States have shown their dedication to finishing this important task. The progress achieved on access, benefit-sharing and core governance areas provides the foundation to move the process forward. We are confident we can build a strong and balanced PABS system that will benefit all people.” 

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added: “This is both a generational opportunity and a generational responsibility. I thank Member States and the IGWG Bureau for rising to the occasion. As we get ready to close out this year, we are in a strong position to forge consensus, finalize the draft, and prepare for adoption at next year’s World Health Assembly. Together, we are moving toward a world that is better prepared for future pandemics."  

Before this fourth session, the IGWG Bureau organized informal dialogues with stakeholders, including representatives from the private sector, academia, laboratories and sequence information databases. Similar focused dialogues will continue over the following weeks, in preparation for the resumed session in January. The fifth IGWG meeting will take place on 9–14 February 2026.

 

On 3 December 2025, the French Ministry of Health reported two imported human Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) cases with travel history to the Arabian Peninsula. The two affected individuals participated in the same group trip. No secondary cases have been identified so far. French authorities are implementing response measures and monitoring the situation.

This year’s report provides a critical and up-to-date snapshot of efforts to control and eliminate malaria across 80 countries. The report also presents the threat posed by antimalarial resistance and its impact.

Unprecedented outbreaks in birds highlight the need for early detection and preparedness.