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World Health Organization

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a United Nations agency. Established in 1948 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, it coordinates international health work with agencies and governments.

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All Content on this topic

Old water tap

1 in 4 health centers worldwide lack clean water

A report by the United Nations finds an alarming number of health centers around the world lack access to clean water.
HealthApril 3, 2019
Hot tea steaming in a tea glass

Drinking hot beverages could increase cancer risk

People who regularly drink scalding hot tea are more likely to get esophageal cancer.
ScienceMarch 25, 2019
A person receive a vaccination

Italy cracks down on unvaccinated schoolchildren

Italian parents are falsifying vaccine documents to prevent their children from being blocked from attending school.
HealthMarch 13, 2019
COP24

Focusing on health to fight climate change

Doctors want to spur global climate action by highlighting the link between the planet's health and human health.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 10, 2018
Traffic accident

Traffic accidents kill more than 1 million people

Figures show that Germany is home to some of the safest roads around the world.
Cars and TransportationDecember 7, 2018
Measles

Global measles cases spike 30 percent: WHO

A jump in measles cases is worrying health experts as outbreaks ravage countries that had eliminated the disease.
HealthNovember 29, 2018
A campaign backed by the government calling on people to stop relieving themselves in public

When nature calls, there's problem in parts of Ghana

Ghana's journalists and sanitation experts experts team up to press the government to improve sanitation.
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 28, 2018
A health care worker from the World Health Organization, left, gives an Ebola vaccination

Congo rolls out trial Ebola treatment

The Health Ministry has said two people to receive an experimental Ebola treatment have recovered.
HealthAugust 26, 2018
Deutschland Impfung Kind

Measles infections surge in Europe

The WHO says the "dramatic increase" in measles cases is the result of flagging immunization efforts in the region.
HealthAugust 20, 2018
Vaccination being administered

Ebola vaccinations begin in DR Congo

The volatile security situation could complicate the efforts of health workers to stop the virus from spreading further.
HealthAugust 8, 2018
A health worker sprays a visitor with chlorine at a hospital preparing to receive suspected Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo

WHO says more ready for Ebola now than in 2014

The comments from the UN body came as the Democratic Republic of Congo kicked off an Ebola vaccination campaign.
HealthMay 21, 2018
A man in a white t-shirt with the slogan 'Ebola out of Congo!' at a meat market

DR Congo's neighbours

DR Congo experiences its ninth Ebola outbreak in four decades
HealthMay 18, 2018
Ebola outbreak in Congo

Ebola: WHO raises Congo risk to 'very high'

The number of confirmed cases risen from three to 14, according to the Democratic Republic of Congo's Health Ministry.
HealthMay 18, 2018
Präsident Burundi Pierre Nkurunziza

AfricaLink on Air - 17 May 2018

Burundi votes in controversial referendum on presidential term limits +++ Ebola virus spreads to urban city in DRC
PoliticsMay 17, 201829:59 min
Indien Neu Delhi Smog und Luftverschmutzung

WHO: 7 million people dying yearly from polluted air

Over 90 percent of people on Earth are breathing high levels of pollutants, according to a new WHO study.
HealthMay 2, 2018
Child looks through a bed net

Malaria keeps Africa donor-reliant

Africa has seen more strides than setbacks in the fight against malaria, but it is still heavily dependent on aid.
HealthApril 25, 2018
A person drinks from a bottle of soda

Sugar tax leaves a bitter taste

South Africa imposes a sugar tax to curb high diabetes and obesity rates
HealthApril 10, 2018
Listening to the Earth with a stethoscope

WHO marks World Health Day with #HealthForAll plea

On World Health Day, DW takes a look at how the World Health Organization is aiming to achieve universal health care.
HealthApril 7, 2018
Measles virus

Measles cases soaring in Europe, WHO warns

Measles infections have skyrocketed in Europe with 15 European states reporting large outbreaks in 2017, the WHO said.
HealthFebruary 19, 2018
A woman holds a blunt knife used for female genital mutilation

Where does the Arab world stand on FGM?

Female genital mutilation is a widespread phenomenon in the developing world. How does it affect the Arab countries?
SocietyFebruary 6, 2018
A child drinking water from a hose in Yemen

Cholera epidemic in Yemen now affects 1 million people

The war-torn country is experiencing the worst cholera epidemic the world has seen in the past decade.
PoliticsDecember 21, 2017
China Beijing Smog

UNICEF: Pollution threatens millions of babies

Excessive air pollution could put brain development at risk.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 6, 2017
A mosquito sucking blood from a human

WHO: Malaria treatment progress stalls

For years, the war on malaria has been one of our greatest health victories. Now that trajectory is starting to shift.
HealthNovember 29, 2017
Aid plane on the tarmac in Sanaa

Aid flights return to Sanaa

Planes carrying aid have landed in the Yemeni capital for the first time following a three-week Saudi-led blockade.
PoliticsNovember 25, 2017
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

WHO: Universal healthcare needs political will

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says achieving universal health coverage is his ultimate priority
HealthAugust 31, 2017
Doctors at the Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya

WHO blames African leaders for health inequality

WHO is urging African leaders to take action to provide access to quality health care for citizens.
HealthAugust 30, 2017
Jemen Cholera-Ausbruch

Cholera infections exceed 500,000 in Yemen

Nearly 2,000 people have died from the outbreak, the World Health Organization reports.
HealthAugust 14, 2017
Philippinen HIV und Aids

Rising HIV infections

The total number of HIV infections in the Philippines could reach 142,400 by 2022. Ana P. Santos reports from Manila.
HealthAugust 2, 2017
A child lying on a hospital bed

Yemen's cholera epidemic to 'increase' with rains

Oxfam says the number of people with the disease is already the "largest ever recorded in any country in a single year."
HealthJuly 21, 2017
A hand holding a cigarette

WHO: Anti-smoking measures reach 4.7 billion people

A new report says strategies to curb tobacco-related deaths now reach more than 60 percent of the world's population.
HealthJuly 20, 2017
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Außenminister Äthiopien

Ethiopia's Tedros picked as new WHO chief

Tedros hopes to expand healthcare access for the world's poor
HealthMay 24, 2017
A Ghanaian mother with her baby

Ghanaian mothers demand longer maternity leave

Local health organizations are beginning to highlight the benefits of more time off, despite protests from employers.
HealthMay 22, 2017
Anstoßen mit 0,3 l Flaschenbier

Germans among world's top drinkers, says survey

Germany is one of the world's top 25 countries when it comes to alcohol consumption. But who's at the top of the list?
HealthMay 17, 2017
Genf WHO erklärt globalen Zika-Notstand für beendet

Brazil marks end of Zika health emergency

As reported cases of the Zika virus fall in Brazil, the government has lifted its health emergency.
HealthMay 12, 2017
Streptococcus pneumoniae Bakterien

Death toll in Nigerian meningitis outbreak up dramatically

Some 8,057 suspected meningitis cases, most of them children, have been reported since the disease surfaced in December.
CatastropheApril 19, 2017
Ebola Gefahr Berlin 11.08.2014

WHO: more than just drugs needed to fight tropical diseases

"Record-breaking progress" in the fight against tropical diseases could be stagnated by broader poverty issues.
HealthApril 19, 2017
Indonesien Dengue Fieber Patient im Krankenhaus

WHO: major progress in fighting tropical diseases

The World Health Organization published a new report extolling efforts made to combat tropical diseases.
HealthApril 19, 2017
Vietnam Krankenhaus

WHO cites pollution as factor in 1.7 million child deaths

Polluted environments can lead to fatal cases of diarrhea, malaria and pneumonia and kill 1.7 million children a year.
HealthMarch 6, 2017
Klebsiella pneumoniae

WHO publishes list of 12 "priority pathogens"

The list highlights the threat of gram-negative bacteria that remain resistance to most antibiotics.
ScienceFebruary 28, 2017
10th International Stop Cervical, Breast & Prostate Cancer in Africa

Cancer: Africa's new health burden

Cancer awareness, screening and diagnosis are still a major problem in many African countries. Kenya is no exception.
HealthFebruary 4, 2017
Simbabwe Typhus Cholera

Zimbabwe: street food banned over typhoid, cholera fears

Zimbabwe bans street food vendors after a typhoid outbreak. Vendors say their livelihood is threatened.
PoliticsJanuary 12, 2017
Südafrika Präsident Jacob Zuma

AfricaLink on Air - 29 November 2016

Zuma survives ANC 'no confidence' vote +++ WHO urges HIV self-tests +++ 'Vote buying' in Ghana ahead of December poll
PoliticsNovember 29, 201629:40 min
Haiti Welthunger-Index 2016

Cholera epidemic sweeps across Haiti

A humanitarian crisis has enveloped Haiti that requires a 'massive response' to aid North America's poorest country.
CatastropheOctober 11, 2016
Rescuers carry children in Aleppo

US boosts Syria aid commitment

The US hikes its aid to Syria by $400 million (356 million euros) amid calls for the wounded to be removed from Aleppo.
ConflictsSeptember 27, 2016

AfricaLink on Air - 07 September 2016: 0705 UTC

French PM Manuel Valls reiterates call for a vote recount in Gabon +++ WHO confirms third polio case in Nigeria +++
September 7, 201624:54 min

AfricaLink on Air - 07 September 2016: 0405 UTC

French PM Mauel Valls reiterates call for vote recount in Gabon +++ WHO confirms polio case in Nigeria +++
September 7, 201624:59 min
USA: Puerto Rico, San Jose - Zika Virus

WHO warns that Zika remains global emergency

The World Health Organization's Zika task force reports that the virus is continuing to infect new regions.
September 2, 2016
Messung der Größe Messlatte

Dutch men are the world' tallest

New research shows that those from southern countries are shorter on average than their northern counterparts.
July 26, 2016
Coffee

WHO: Coffee isn't carcinogenic

The UN health body says the drink is safe if enjoyed at "normal" temperatures and may even help prevent some cancers.
June 15, 2016
Spraying to kill mosquitos carrying the Zika virus

Low risk of Zika during Olympics

The World Health Organization says there's only a "very low risk" of the Zika virus spreading due to the Olympics.
June 14, 2016