Marking the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, the United Nations is calling for strengthened partnerships to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people and their families. “Stigma, discrimination and social and physical violence against sexual and gender minorities prevents them from accessing health services,” Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of the […]
New research indicates that people who are genetically prone to being overweight have a higher risk of taking up smoking – and they are likely to smoke more than average — UN scientists said on Wednesday. According to Dr. Paul Brennan from IARC, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, around 70 genes have been identified […]
Babies in wealthy countries are five times more likely to miss out on breastfeeding than those in the under-developed, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday, explaining that this gap could be addressed by better support for working mothers, and regulating sales of infant formula. Some 7.6 million babies across the world are not […]
Mental health remains one of the most neglected global health issues, even though it is critical to the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders, top United Nations officials have said at an event in London. “One in four people experience a mental health episode in their lifetime, but the […]
Air pollution claims seven million lives a year, UN health experts said on Wednesday, amid new data showing that the problem affects nine out of ten people worldwide. In a call for Member States to take action urgently, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, warned that air pollution “threatens us all, but the poorest and most […]
More than 140 million children are at greater risk of illness, hearing loss, blindness and even death globally if urgent action is not taken to provide them with life-saving vitamin A supplements, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned. In a new report “Coverage at a Crossroads,” released on Monday, UNICEF stressed that just […]