• Middle East leaders grapple with post-war Gaza challenges at Doha

    At the annual Doha Forum that ended Monday, Qatar reiterated that no Arab country would send in forces to stabilize the situation after the guns of Israel and Hamas fall silent.
  • WHO says Palestinian patient died due to lengthy Israeli checks

    The chief of WHO said the convoy was stopped twice at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint on the way to northern Gaza and on the way back, adding that some Palestinian Red Crescent staff were detained both times and questioned for several hours.
  • Israel continues Gaza bombing as US blocks UN truce bid

    Israel bombarded targets in Gaza after the United States blocked an extraordinary UN bid for a ceasefire in the war with Hamas that has triggered alerts of an "apocalyptic" humanitarian situation. Aid workers say Gaza's humanitarian system is on the verge of collapse, as disease and starvation threaten.
  • Bahrain and Germany look to boost cooperation in health sector

    Manama, Bahrain-- Bahrain and Germany have held discussions to boost ties in the health field as the two countries seek to deepen overall ties. In this connection, Lieutenant-General Dr. Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Health (SCH), met, in the presence of Dr. Jaleela...
  • Sidra Medicine, GlobeMed Qatar sign pact on medical services

    DOHA, QATAR – Sidra Medicine and GlobeMed Qatar have signed an agreement to offer eligible insured members of payers contracted with GlobeMed Qatar access to Sidra Medicine’s women’s and pediatric medical services. Sidra Medicine is a Qatar Foundation entity and GlobeMed Qatar is a leading healthcare benefits management company in...
  • BAT takes shock $32bn hit

    The impairment charge sent BAT shares sinking 7.6 percent.
  • Global Fund to allot 70% of its funding to countries hit by climate change

    Dubai, UAE--The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) announced at COP28 that more than 70% of its funding, equivalent to more than $9 billion, will be spent over the next three years in favour of the countries most affected by climate change, with the aim of...
  • 8-year-old, teenager shot dead in West Bank, says Palestine

    Ramallah, Palestinian Territories - An eight-year-old boy and a teenager were killed by the Israeli army on Wednesday in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The ministry said in a statement that "Adam al-Ghul, eight years old, and Bassem Abu el-Wafa, 15 years old,...
  • Climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity, says WHO

    PARIS, FRANCE -  Growing calls for the world to come to grips with the many ways that global warming affects human health have prompted the first day dedicated to the issue at crunch UN climate talks starting next week. Extreme heat, air pollution and the increasing spread of deadly infectious diseases...
  • 250,000 people died in Europe due to air pollution, says agency

    Stockholm, Sweden - Fine particle pollution caused the deaths of over 250,000 people in the European Union in 2021, according to a report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) published on Friday. Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, is a term for fine particulates that are typically the by-product of car exhausts...
  • WHO says misuse of antibiotics undermining efficacy

    Copenhagen, Denmark - Misuse of antibiotics is denting their efficacy and spawning resistant bacteria which could be responsible for 10 million deaths worldwide by 2050, the World Health Organization warned on Thursday. WHO's European chapter conducted a study which showed that antibiotics were prescribed for things like common cold (24 percent...
  • WHO calls Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital death zone

    The UN health agency said that it led an assessment mission to the hospital and determined it was a "death zone", calling for a full evacuation. It said that the agency is developing plans for the immediate evacuation of the remaining patients, staff and their families, adding that 291 patients...
  • UN chiefs reject unilateral proposals to create ‘safe zones’ in Gaza

    Geneva, Switzerland - The heads of numerous United Nations agencies and other humanitarian organizations said on Thursday they would not take part in Gaza "safe zones" declared by only one side in the conflict. "As humanitarian leaders, our position is clear: We will not participate in the establishment of any 'safe...
  • Israeli forces kill 10 Palestinians in West Bank

    Ramallah, Palestinian Territories - Ten Palestinians were killed on Thursday during an Israeli raid on Jenin in the north of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, updating an earlier toll. A statement from the ministry said the current death toll in Jenin stood at 10, up from five...
  • 18 hospitals forced to close their doors in Gaza: report

    Dubai, UAE - Eighteen hospitals in the Gaza Strip were forced to end their work in the Gaza Strip amid heavy Israeli shelling and air raids, the healthcare authority of the Palestinian exclave has told Al Jazeera. "A total of 18 hospitals, including eight state-run facilities, had to stop their...
  • Israeli strike on UN school in Gaza kill 15 Palestinians, says Hamas

    The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 15 people were killed when a UN school sheltering thousands of displaced Palestinians was hit by an Israeli strike. "The massacre at the Al-Fakhura school committed by the occupation (Israel) left 15 martyrs and 70 wounded," ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told...
  • Hamas seeks to let go Russian-Israeli hostages, says Russian media

    Hamas is trying to locate eight Russian-Israeli dual citizens among nearly 230 taken hostage during its members' attack on Israel after Moscow's request to free them, Russian news agencies reported. Russia has good relations with Hamas and has launched a diplomatic effort to try to free hostages held in Gaza.
  • UN finds Hamas’ list of death toll in Gaza shelling ‘credible’

    "In the past, the five, six cycles of conflict in the Gaza Strip, these figures were considered as credible and no one challenged these figures," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said in Jerusalem. Lazzarini's comments came days after US President Joe Biden said he had "no confidence" in the figures provided...
  • Positive trial for Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-flu jab

    Berlin, Germany - Germany's BioNTech and US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer on Thursday announced "positive" results from initial trials of their combined mRNA vaccine against Covid-19 and influenza. Phase one and two trials of the vaccine had produced "robust immune responses" against both illnesses and showed a "safety profile consistent with the...
  • ‘They treated us gently’: freed Israeli hostage recounts Gaza captivity

    Tel Aviv, Israel - Yocheved Lifshitz "went through hell" when abducted by Hamas, the 85-year-old Israeli said Tuesday, recounting her experience before being released from Gaza and criticizing her government for failing to prevent the October 7 attack. The softly-spoken but determined Lifshitz sat in a wheelchair at a Tel Aviv...
  • EU to debate Gaza truce call as top diplomat urges more aid

    Describing the entry of a few dozens trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza from Egypt as "not enough", EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that it was important to send in the basic things that make water and electricity supply being restored. He made the comments ahead of a...
  • EHS and Burjeel Hospital for Advanced Surgery sign MoU

    Dubai, UAE--Emirates Health Services (EHS) and Burjeel Hospital for Advanced Surgery have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to bolster the delivery of health services within government schools. These efforts align with sustainable development goals in public health and encompass strategic cooperation in several key areas, such as developing the...
  • Nine Palestinians killed in West Bank, says health ministry

    RAMALLAH, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - Israeli troops killed nine Palestinians in multiple clashes across the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said, as the death toll mounts in the territory while war rages in Gaza. At least 75 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers in the West...
  • WHO transports Gaza aid to Egypt, waits for humanitarian access

    Geneva, Switzerland - The World Health Organization said on Saturday enough basic health supplies to serve 300,000 people in the Gaza Strip have been flown to an Egyptian airport near the Palestinian enclave. The supplies were ready to go in once humanitarian access could be established through the Rafah crossing from...
  • Israeli shelling forces exodus of more than 338,000 in Gaza: UN

    By late Wednesday, the number of displaced people in Gaza had risen by an additional 75,000 people from the figure given 24 hours earlier, reaching 338,934, it said. The announcement came as Israel pounded Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip -- a densely populated enclave of 2.3 million people --...
  • ‘Left to die’: report exposes horrors at Syria army hospital

    Sick prisoners sent from detention facilities to the capital's Tishreen Military Hospital for treatment rarely received any medical attention, according to a report released Tuesday by the Association of Detainees and the Missing in Sednaya Prison (ADMSP), a Turkey-based watchdog. Instead, security forces at the hospital jail and even medical...
  • 1bn tons of food wasted every year while 783m people face hunger: FAO

    Rome, Italy - The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN Environment Program (UNEP) said one billion tons of food are wasted every year, while up to 783 million people around the world are facing hunger. Ahead of the International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste...
  • Evergrande pauses trading on Hong Kong exchange

    The Chinese company had only just resumed trading a month ago, after it was suspended for 17 months for not publishing its financial results. On Sunday, the firm said it was unable to issue new debt as its subsidiary, Hengda Real Estate Group, was being investigated.
  • MODON inks $133 m pact

    The pact will help manufacture vaccines in Saudi Arabia.
  • EU wants to renew herbicide glyphosate for next 10 years

    BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - The European Commission is proposing to renew the use of the controversial and widely used herbicide glyphosate in the EU for 10 years in a text published on Wednesday, after a report saw no reason to block it. The European Union's 27 member states will discuss the proposal...
  • EIH buys stake in Al Ain Pharmacy

    Move aligns with EIH's aim to diversify sources of investment.
  • Immunologist wins ‘Breakthrough Prize’ for cancer treatment

    The Breakthrough Prize awards "the world's most brilliant minds" in fields including life sciences, fundamental physics and mathematics
  • Bahrain prison inmates suspend strike after 36 days

    According to some activists at least 800 inmates joined the strike, the biggest in Bahrain's history. But Bahraini authorities said only 121 inmates took part. The mass hunger strike was suspended after 36 days in the wake of assurances from the authorities to improve conditions. Activists said some prisoner's health...
  • Red Cross seeks over $100m aid for quake-hit Morocco

    GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The Red Cross appealed on Tuesday for more than $100 million to provide desperately needed assistance in Morocco, days after a powerful earthquake killed nearly 2,900 people. "We are seeking 100 million Swiss francs (US$112 million) to be able to deliver on the most pressing needs at this...
  • IsDB to finance projects worth US$800m in member states

    JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA - The Board of Executive Directors (BED) of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) approved to finance projects worth US$800 million for improving the living conditions of the people in member countries and attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). IsDB President Dr. Mohammed Al-Jasser said that the projects were...
  • Climate change worsening heatwaves, air quality: UN

    The wildfire smoke recently suffocating cities from Athens to New York may be the most visible sign of air pollution brought on by heat waves. But extreme heat can also induce a whole host of other chemical processes that are hazardous for human health, the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization...
  • EU okays updated Pfizer and BioNTech’s anti-Covid vaccine

    Adults and children over five require a single shot "irrespective of their Covid-19 vaccination history" while younger children may get "one or three doses depending on whether they have completed a primary vaccination course or have had Covid-19" the Amsterdam-based EMA said.
  • Kuwait looks to boost cooperation with WHO in ‘all health services’

    Kuwait City, Kuwait-- Kuwait is looking to strengthen cooperation with the World Health Organization in all health services, according to the oil-rich country's Health Minister Dr. Ahmed Al-Awadhi. According to Kuwait News Agency, the minister met with Dr. Hanan Balkhy, assistant director for antimicrobial resistance at the WHO, to discuss...
  • WHO launches global initiative on digital health supported by G20 Presidency

    GANDHINAGAR, INDIA - The World Health Organization (WHO) and the G20 India presidency announced a new Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH) on Saturday at the Health Minister’s Meeting of the G20 Summit hosted by the Government of India. The new GIDH initiative will operate as a WHO-managed network and...
  • WHO’s maiden traditional medicine summit opens in India

    "WHO is working to build the evidence and data to inform policies, standards and regulations for the safe, cost-effective and equitable use of traditional medicine", WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said as he opened the summit.
  • WHO’s first global summit on traditional medicine begins Aug 17

    Geneva, Switzerland -- The World Health Organization (WHO) is convening the Traditional Medicine Global Summit on 17-18 Aug 2023​ in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. Co-hosted by the Government of India, the Summit will explore the role of traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine in addressing pressing health challenges and driving progress in...
  • Covid cases up 80 percent globally as new subvariant rises

    The number of new COVID-19 cases reported worldwide rose by 80 percent in the last month, the World Health Organization said, days after designating a new "variant of interest". The WHO declared in May that Covid is no longer a global health emergency, but warned the virus will continue to...
  • Clean cooking to save millions, boost gender equality

    He was referring to a new IEA report which suggests that universal clean cooking access could be reached worldwide by 2030 with annual investment of US$8 billion. "This is just a tiny fraction of what the worlds spends on energy each year. Tackling this injustice is affordable and achievable," he...
  • Severe heat a cause of worry for healthcare system, says WHO

    GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The extreme heat in the northern hemisphere is putting an increasing strain on healthcare systems, hitting those least able to cope the hardest, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. The WHO said the heat often worsens pre-existing conditions, saying it was particularly concerned about those with cardiovascular...
  • Almost the entire world is experiencing record heatwaves

    Record heat is forecast around the world from the United States, where tens of millions are battling dangerously high temperatures, to Europe and Japan, in the latest example of the threat from global warming. The heatwaves come after EU's climate monitoring service said the world saw its hottest June on...
  • Abu Dhabi to provide UAE nationals with 5,000 jobs in health sector

    Abu Dhabi, UAE-- Some 5,000 new jobs have been opened up in the healthcare facilities by the Department of Health, Abu Dhabi under its "Tawteen" program for UAE nationals. All healthcare facilities in Abu Dhabi will provide the jobs for UAE nationals by the end of 2025. DoH called on...
  • UAE opens field hospital in Chad to help Sudanese refugees

    ABU DHABI, UAE -  UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Chad Rashid Saeed Al Shamsi on Sunday opened a field hospital in Amdjarass city. The UAE built the hospital in Chad to support Sudanese refugees. The initiative is the result of joint cooperation between three humanitarian entities in the UAE...
  • Iran emerging as a hub for health tourism in West Asia: Raisi

    Tehran, Iran--Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has claimed that health tourism in the country has attracted patients from neighboring countries and even Central Asian states who prefer to get medical care in Iran rather than in Europe. Raisi made the remarks on Friday as he inaugurated Ghadir Major Hospital in the...
  • Covid and Ukraine have badly hit UN sustainable goals progress

    Geneva, Switzerland - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said the COVID-19 pandemic, Ukraine crisis and the climate crises are having a devastating effect on progress towards the SDGs. The UNCTAD released the fifth edition of its annual SDG Pulse, a global reference for tracking progress towards achieving...
  • Covid-19 has not gone away, kills 1,000 a week in Europe: WHO

    Copenhagen, Denmark - The World Health Organization's European office on Tuesday warned the risk of Covid-19 has not gone away, saying it was still responsible for nearly 1,000 deaths a week in the region. The global health body on May 5 announced that the Covid-19 pandemic was no longer deemed a...