Four things to know as Taiwan goes to the polls

Four things to know as Taiwan goes to the polls

Taiwan votes for a new president, and parliament, on Saturday in an election that will be closely watched around the world. The winner will lead the democracy of 23 million people as it manages bellicose threats from China, which claims the island as its own. Here are some key facts about self-ruled Taiwan, which has its own currency, flag, military and government but is not recognised as an independent state […]

January 12, 2024 6

Africa

Cape Verde becomes third African country to eliminate malaria

Cape Verde has become the third African nation to be declared malaria free, even as the disease continues to kill hundreds of thousands of people on the continent, the World Health Organization said Friday. The Atlantic archipelago of about 500,000 inhabitants follows Mauritius in 1973 and Algeria in 2019. Worldwide some 43 countries have been certified as malaria-free by the WHO, which requires showing that the domestic chain of transmission […]

January 12, 2024 23

Health / Medical

Global COVID-19 cases increase

The World Health Organisation has revealed that the number of new Coronavirus cases increased by 52 percent during the past four weeks globally with over 850 000 new cases reported. Most infections have been caused by a new strain called JN. 1 which is now under close scrutiny by the UN health agency as a variant of interest. JN. 1 was reportedly first detected in the United States before spreading […]

January 8, 2024 63

World

WHO says patient dies amid lengthy Israeli checks on Gaza convoy

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that a patient had died in an emergency convoy en route to a Gaza City hospital, during repeated and lengthy Israeli checks. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the weekend that the UN health agency and its partners had managed to deliver essential trauma and surgical supplies to the Al-Ahli hospital and to transfer 19 critical patients. But on Tuesday, he provided […]

December 12, 2023 10

Health / Medical

WHO says China health info shows no new or unusual germs

The World Health Organization says there are no signs of unusual or new germs in China suggested in information supplied by Beijing. The W-H-O requested data after reports emerged of clusters of pneumonia in children, and a general rise in respiratory illnesses in China. Here's Andrew Wood in Hong Kong.

November 24, 2023 8

Africa

WHO says the arrival of malaria vaccines in Africa are a ‘breakthrough moment’

More than 330,000 doses of the World Health Organisation-recommended RTS,S malaria vaccine have arrived in Cameroon – a historic step towards broader vaccination against one of the deadliest diseases for African children. Dominika Mortimer reports on the development.

November 23, 2023 11

Health / Medical

WHO asks China for info on rise in respiratory illnesses

The World Health Organization is asking China for more information on a rise in respiratory illnesses, including reports of clusters of pneumonia in children. Here's Andrew Wood in Hong Kong.

November 23, 2023 15