The number of people dying from malaria has fallen dramatically since 2000 and malaria cases are also steadily declining, according to the “World malaria report 2014.” Between 2000 and 2013, the malaria mortality rate decreased by 47% worldwide and by 54% in the WHO African Region - where about 90% of malaria deaths occur.
This article focuses on the background of the problem, what it means for nearly half the people of the developing world who lack adequate sanitation and hygiene. Today, an estimated 2.4 to 2.6 billion individuals lack access to any type of improved sanitation facility according to the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) half of the developing world, more than 35 % of the world’s population lack access to adequate sanitation. And, poor sanitation and hygiene are inextricably linked to water quality.
At the request of two drug companies, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will withdraw approvals for three of four arsenic-based drugs currently approved for use in food animal production. A fourth arsenic-based drug used to make turkeys and chickens grow faster, among other purposes, will remain on the market.
WHO and Health Care Without Harm have joined forces to launch a new initiative to get mercury removed from all medical measuring devices by 2020 by ending the manufacture, import and export of these devices and by supporting the deployment of accurate, affordable, and safer non-mercury alternatives.
“The emergence of AMR [antimicrobial resistance] is a complex problem driven by many interconnected factors; single, isolated interventions have little impact. A global and national multi-sectoral response is urgently needed to combat the growing threat of AMR.” (WHO)
In London on October 5, 2011, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter addressed an audience of international journalists and partners to announce that the Carter Center-led global campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease has entered its final stage to end this gruesome waterborne parasitic infection. “The poorest, most isolated, most neglected, quite often, the most hopeless people, on earth…now have new hope that their future will be free of this dreaded disease,” said President Carter.
A new method of treating malaria offers hope for fighting this notoriously difficult parasite. Figuring out how best to implement the programme presents many challenges.
One of the greatest challenges in achieving the Millennium Development Goals to cut infant and maternal mortality and reduce the disease burden lies in ensuring that available health interventions reach the people who most need them.
TDR in conjunction with the Ugandan Ministry of Health organized a meeting in Kampala 28-30 June on the use of implementation research (IR) to increase access to improved tools against infectious diseases and map existing and new strategies.
The severe earthquake that struck Haiti and the Dominican Republic has inflicted large-scale damage, including on hospitals and health facilities, and large numbers of casualties are feared.