WHO works with Member States and partners to prevent micronutrient deficiencies though a number of programmes and following the WHO 2016–2025 nutrition strategy. These programmes include iron and folic acid supplementation, high dose vitamin A supplementation, the promotion of breastfeeding, fortification of foods with micronutrients, and healthy, diverse diets containing foods naturally rich in vitamin and minerals.

Monkeypox presents with fever, an extensive characteristic rash and usually swollen lymph nodes. It is important to distinguish monkeypox from other illnesses such as chickenpox, measles, bacterial skin infections, scabies, syphilis and medication-associated allergies.  

In 2014, 194 Member States of the Sixty-seventh World Health Assembly endorsed the action plan (Resolution WHA 67.10). Led by UNICEF and the World Health Organization, Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) was guided by the advice of experts and partners and by multistakeholder consultations and a web-based consultation with over 300 comments from stakeholders. The WHO Director-General has been requested to monitor progress towards the achievement of the global goal and targets, reporting periodically to the World Health Assembly until 2030.

Nipah virus infection is a zoonotic illness that is transmitted to people from animals, and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly from person-to-person. In infected people, it causes a range of illnesses from asymptomatic (subclinical) infection to acute respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis. The virus can also cause severe disease in animals such as pigs, resulting in significant economic losses for farmers.

There are currently no drugs or vaccines that specifically target Nipah virus infection. WHO has identified Nipah as a priority disease for the WHO Research and Development Blueprint.

Intensive supportive care is recommended to treat severe respiratory and neurologic complications

Nursing encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well and in all settings. It includes the promotion of health, the prevention of illness, and the care of ill, disabled and dying people. Nurses play a critical role in health care and are often the unsung heroes in health care facilities and emergency response.

WHO recognizes the vital role that nurses play in primary health care delivery worldwide – including research, disease prevention, treating the injured, palliative care and more – which is represented through several World Health Assembly resolutions. These documents demonstrate the importance WHO Member States attach to nursing and midwifery services as a means of achieving better health for all communities.

Nutrition is a critical part of health and development. Better nutrition is related to improved infant, child and maternal health, stronger immune systems, safer pregnancy and childbirth, lower risk of non-communicable diseases (such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease), and longevity.

Healthy children learn better. People with adequate nutrition are more productive and can create opportunities to gradually break the cycles of poverty and hunger.

Access to good quality, affordable, and appropriate health products is indispensable to advance universal health coverage, address health emergencies, and promote healthier populations.

Micronutrient deficiencies can cause several serious health issues. A lack of iron, folate and vitamins B12 and A can lead to anaemia.  Anaemia is a condition in which there is a reduced number of red blood cells or haemoglobin concentration, causing fatigue, weakness, shortage of breath and dizziness.  This can further lead to difficulties in functioning in work, education and community engagement. An estimated 42% of children under 5 years of age and 40% of pregnant women worldwide are anaemic. 

WHO’s work in Health System Governance aims at empowering actors and increasing accountability, transparency and responsiveness of health systems through actions focused on:  

Health impact

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs)

Taxing SSBs can lower consumption and encourage reformulation. It can reduce obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay, especially for lower-income, less-educated and younger populations. Evidence shows that a tax on SSBs that increases the prices by 20% can reduce consumption by around 20%

Alcohol

Studies show that increasing the price of alcohol through higher taxes can reduce alcohol consumption and its related harms, and prevent drinking initiation.

Health systems can only function with health workers; improving health service coverage and realizing the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is dependent on their availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality.

WHO estimates a projected shortfall of 18 million health workers by 2030, mostly in low- and lower-middle income countries. However, countries at all levels of socioeconomic development face, to varying degrees, difficulties in the education, employment, deployment, retention, and performance of their workforce. 

What constitutes a healthy diet may differ depending on the needs of the individual, locally available foods, dietary customs, cultural norms and other considerations. However, the basic principles of healthy eating remain the same for everyone. The nature of access to food requires broader solutions at the societal level to promote healthy and safe food options.

Heatwaves, or heat and hot weather that can last for several days, can have a significant impact on society, including a rise in heat-related deaths. Heatwaves are among the most dangerous of natural hazards, but rarely receive adequate attention because their death tolls and destruction are not always immediately obvious. From 1998-2017, more than 166 000 people died due to heatwaves, including more than 70 000 who died during the 2003 heatwave in Europe.