91 countries now offer COVID-19 vaccinations to refugees
To date, refugees and asylum-seekers have begun receiving vaccinations in 91 of the 162 countries that UN High Commissioner for Refugees has been monitoring.
Public health & disease
Gambia eradicates trachoma
Gambia has eliminated trachoma, one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide, the government has announced, after almost four decades of work to counter the disease.
Cuba is the first country in the world to eliminate mother-to-child HIV and syphilis transmission
The country’s efforts include prenatal care, HIV and syphilis testing for pregnant women and their partners, treatment for women who test positive and their babies, cesarean deliveries and breastfeeding substitution.
More than 150 women doctors worldwide offer virtual care to Palestinians
The initiative is a joint collaboration between the Palestinian startup Young Explorer, an online platform that offers consultations and information to parents of children with difficulties, and the Pakistani-Saudi technology group Educast.
Drones deliver blood to prevent maternal death in Botswana
In 2019, the country recorded a maternal mortality rate of 166 deaths per 100,000 births, more than double the average for upper-middle-income countries.
New blood test detects tuberculosis bacteria in infants a year before disease
Each year, nearly a million children develop TB and 205,000 die of TB-related causes. More than 80% of childhood TB deaths occur in those under the age of 5.
Landmark asthma vaccine looks to human trials
In a recently study published in Nature Communications, researchers from France’s Institut Pasteur describe several successful preclinical tests of this asthma vaccine in mice.
Massive blood sampling study identifies predictors of Alzheimer’s risk
The new study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University analyzed historical blood samples of more than 4,800 middle-aged and elderly subjects collected around a decade ago.
Uganda, Ghana, and Rwanda begin using drones to deliver medical supplies to millions
The three nations are using medical supply drones to reach far off communities, and together the technology promises a faster and more reliable way to deliver life-saving drugs and supplies to more than 22 million Africans.
Scientists have developed a “highly effective” malaria vaccine
Scientists from the University of Oxford have developed a vaccine that they say gives “unprecedented” protection against malaria, a deadly mosquito-borne disease that killed more than 400,000 people worldwide last year.