WHO news

Immunization efforts are under growing threat as misinformation, population growth, humanitarian crises and funding cuts jeopardize progress and leave millions of children, adolescents and adults at risk, warn WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi during World Immunization Week, 24–30 April.

Outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, meningitis and yellow fever are rising globally, and diseases like diphtheria, that have long been held at bay or virtually disappeared in many countries, are at risk of re-emerging. In response, the agencies are calling for urgent and sustained political attention and investment to strengthen immunization programmes and protect significant progress achieved in reducing child mortality over the past 50 years.

“Vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives over the past five decades,” said WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Funding cuts to global health have put these hard-won gains in jeopardy. Outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases are increasing around the world, putting lives at risk and exposing countries to increased costs in treating diseases and responding to outbreaks. Countries with limited resources must invest in the highest-impact interventions – and that includes vaccines.”

Measles is making an especially dangerous comeback. The number of cases has been increasing year on year since 2021, tracking the reductions in immunization coverage that occurred during and since the COVID-19 pandemic in many communities. Measles cases reached an estimated 10.3 million in 2023, a 20% increase compared to 2022.

The agencies warn that this upward trend likely continued into 2024 and 2025, as outbreaks have intensified around the world. In the past 12 months, 138 countries have reported measles cases, with 61 experiencing large or disruptive outbreaks – the highest number observed in any 12-month period since 2019.

Meningitis cases in Africa also rose sharply in 2024, and the upward trend has continued into 2025. In the first three months of this year alone, more than 5500 suspected cases and nearly 300 deaths were reported in 22 countries. This follows approximately 26 000 cases and almost 1400 deaths across 24 countries last year.

Yellow fever cases in the African region are also climbing, with 124 confirmed cases reported in 12 countries in 2024. This comes after dramatic declines in the disease over the past decade, thanks to global vaccine stockpiles and use of yellow fever vaccine in routine immunization programmes. In the WHO Region of the Americas, yellow fever outbreaks have been confirmed since the beginning of this year, with a total of 131 cases in 4 countries.

These outbreaks come amidst global funding cuts. A recent WHO rapid stock take with 108 country offices of WHO – mostly in low- and lower-middle-income countries – shows that nearly half of those countries are facing moderate to severe disruptions to vaccination campaigns, routine immunization and access to supplies due to reduced donor funding. Disease surveillance, including for vaccine-preventable diseases, is also impacted in more than half of the countries surveyed.

At the same time, the number of children missing routine vaccinations has been increasing in recent years, even as countries make efforts to catch up children missed during the pandemic. In 2023, an estimated 14.5 million children missed all of their routine vaccine doses – up from 13.9 million in 2022 and 12.9 million in 2019. Over half of these children live in countries facing conflict, fragility, or instability, where access to basic health services is often disrupted.

“The global funding crisis is severely limiting our ability to vaccinate over 15 million vulnerable children in fragile and conflict-affected countries against measles,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Immunization services, disease surveillance, and the outbreak response in nearly 50 countries are already being disrupted – with setbacks at a similar level to what we saw during COVID-19. We cannot afford to lose ground in the fight against preventable diseases.”

Continued investment in the ‘Big Catch-Up initiative’, launched in 2023 to reach children who missed vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, and other routine immunization programmes will be critical.

Joint efforts by WHO, UNICEF, Gavi and partners have helped countries expand access to vaccines and strengthen immunization systems through primary health care, even in the face of mounting challenges. Every year, vaccines save nearly 4.2 million lives against 14 diseases – with nearly half of these lives saved in the African Region.

Vaccination campaigns have led to the elimination of meningitis A in Africa’s meningitis belt, while a new vaccine that protects against five strains of meningitis holds promise for broader protection, with efforts underway to expand its use for outbreak response and prevention.

Progress has also been made in reducing yellow fever cases and deaths through increasing routine immunization coverage and emergency vaccine stockpiles, but recent outbreaks in Africa and in the Region of the Americas highlight the risks in areas with no reported cases in the past, low routine vaccination coverage and gaps in preventive campaigns.

In addition, the past two years have seen substantial progress in other areas of immunization. In the African Region, which has the highest cervical cancer burden in the world, HPV vaccine coverage nearly doubled between 2020 and 2023 from 21% to 40%, reflecting a concerted global effort towards eliminating cervical cancer. The progress in immunization also includes increases in global coverage of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, particularly in the South-East Asia Region, alongside introductions in Chad and Somalia, countries with high disease burden.

Another milestone is the sub-national introduction of malaria vaccines in nearly 20 African countries, laying the foundation to save half a million additional lives by 2035 as more countries adopt the vaccines and scale-up accelerates as part of the tools to fight malaria.

UNICEF, WHO, and Gavi urgently call for parents, the public, and politicians to strengthen support for immunization. The agencies emphasize the need for sustained investment in vaccines and immunization programmes and urge countries to honour their commitments to the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030).

As part of integrated primary health-care systems, vaccination can protect against diseases and connect families to other essential care, such as antenatal care, nutrition or malaria screening. Immunization is a ‘best buy’ in health with a return on investment of $54 for every dollar invested and provides a foundation for future prosperity and health security.

“Increasing outbreaks of highly infectious diseases are a concern for the whole world. The good news is we can fight back, and Gavi’s next strategic period has a clear plan to bolster our defences by expanding investments in global vaccine stockpiles and rolling out targeted preventive vaccination in countries most impacted by meningitis, yellow fever and measles,” said Dr Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “These vital activities, however, will be at risk if Gavi is not fully funded for the next five years and we call on our donors to support our mission in the interests of keeping everyone, everywhere, safer from preventable diseases.”

Gavi’s upcoming high-level pledging summit taking place on 25 June 2025 seeks to raise at least US$ 9 billion from our donors to fund our ambitious strategy to protect 500 million children, saving at least 8 million lives from 2026–2030.

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Notes to editor:

Download multimedia content here: https://weshare.unicef.org/Package/2AM4086M4S1G

About WHO
Dedicated to the health and well-being of all people and guided by science, the World Health Organization leads and champions global efforts to give everyone, everywhere, an equal chance at a safe and healthy life. We are the UN agency for health. We connect nations, partners and people on the front lines in 150+ locations – leading the world’s response to health emergencies, preventing disease, addressing the root causes of health issues and expanding access to medicines and health care. Our mission is to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. www.who.int

About UNICEF
UNICEF works in some of the world's toughest places, to reach the world's most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information about UNICEF and its work, visit: www.unicef.org.

About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate more than half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunize a whole generation – over 1.1 billion children – and prevented more than 18.8 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 78 lower income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningococcal and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation, above all the zero-dose children who have not received even a single vaccine shot. The Vaccine Alliance employs innovative finance and the latest technology – from drones to biometrics – to save lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org.

In a bid to tackle the leading cause of death globally among 15–19-year-old girls, the World Health Organization (WHO) today released a new guideline aimed at preventing adolescent pregnancy and its significant related health complications.

Among other strategies, the guideline urges rapid action to end child marriage, extend girls’ schooling, and improve access to sexual and reproductive health services and information – all critical factors for reducing early pregnancies among teenagers around the world.

“Early pregnancies can have serious physical and psychological consequences for girls and young women, and often reflect fundamental inequalities that affect their ability to shape their relationships and their lives,” said Dr Pascale Allotey, Director of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research at WHO and the United Nations’ Special Programme in Human Reproduction (HRP). “Tackling this issue therefore means creating conditions where girls and young women can thrive – by ensuring they can stay in school, be protected from violence and coercion, access sexual and reproductive health services that uphold their rights, and have real choices about their futures.”

More than 21 million adolescent girls become pregnant each year in low and middle-income countries, around half of which are unintended. With impacts on girls’ education, social connection and future employment prospects, early pregnancy can create cycles of intergenerational poverty that become difficult to break. It also brings serious health risks, including relatively higher rates of infections and preterm births as well as complications from unsafe abortions – linked to particular challenges in accessing safe and respectful care.

Reasons for early pregnancy are varied and interrelated, including gender inequities, poverty, lack of opportunity and inability to access sexual and reproductive health services. There is a strong correlation with child marriage: in low- and middle-income countries, 9 in 10 adolescent births take place among girls who were married before the age of 18.

The guideline recommends holistic efforts to provide viable alternatives to early marriage by strengthening girls’ education, savings and employment prospects. If all girls finished their secondary schooling, it has been estimated that child marriages could be reduced by as much as two thirds. For girls at highest risk, the guideline recommends considering incentives to support secondary school completion, such as targeted financial stipends or scholarship programmes. The guideline also recommends laws to prohibit marriage below the age of 18, consistent with human rights standards, and community engagement to prevent the practice.

“Early marriage denies girls their childhood and has severe consequences for their health,” said Dr Sheri Bastien, Scientist for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health at WHO. “Education is critical to change the future for young girls, while empowering adolescents – both boys and girls – to understand consent, take charge of their health, and challenge the major gender inequalities that continue to drive high rates of child marriage and early pregnancy in many parts of the world.”

The recommendations highlight the need to ensure adolescents can access high quality, adolescent-responsive sexual and reproductive health services including contraceptive options. In some countries, consent from an adult is required to access services, which is a significant barrier to their use. Young girls who get pregnant also need to be able to access high quality and respectful healthcare during and after pregnancy and birth, free from stigma and discrimination, as well as safe abortion care.

Finally, comprehensive sexuality education is essential for both boys and girls to ensure they know where to access such services and how to use different types of contraception. It has been shown to reduce early pregnancies, delay the onset of sexual activity, and improve adolescents’ knowledge about their bodies and reproductive health. 

This guideline updates an earlier edition of the guideline on adolescent pregnancy prevention from 2011 and focuses particularly on preventing child marriage and improving adolescents’ access to and use of contraception. It complements WHO’s related guidance around health services for adolescents, comprehensive sexuality education and gender-based violence.

Globally, there has been progress in reducing adolescent pregnancies and births. In 2021, an estimated 1 in 25 girls gave birth before the age of 20, compared to 1 in 15 two decades prior. There remain significant disparities. In some countries, close to 1 in 10 adolescent girls (15–19 years) give birth each year.

Africa CDC and WHO have updated their joint Continental Response Plan for the mpox emergency as the disease continues to affect new areas. The revised strategy focuses on controlling outbreaks, while expanding vaccination coverage and transitioning toward a longer-term, sustainable response. 

Mpox is a viral illness that spreads between people, mainly through close contact. It causes painful skin and mucosal lesions, often accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes. The disease can be debilitating and disfiguring. 

Historically a zoonotic disease transmitted from infected animals, mpox has increasingly shown a tendency to spread between people. In 2022, a variant of the virus, clade IIb, began spreading globally through sexual contact. Since late 2023, yet another viral strain, clade Ib, began spreading through sexual networks and within households and through close contact. This prompted Africa CDC to declare a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security and the WHO Director-General to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in August 2024. 

By August 2024, the virus had begun spreading from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to 4 neighbouring countries. Since then, 28 countries around the world have reported cases of mpox due to clade Ib. Outside Africa, cases remain largely travel-related. However, within Africa, in addition to transmission in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, local transmission has now been documented in additional countries including the Republic of the Congo, South Africa, South Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia. 

Since the declaration of the emergency, both regional and global support has increased, particularly for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the epicentre of the outbreak. The Africa CDC and WHO Joint Continental Mpox Plan has guided these efforts, focusing on ten key pillars: coordination, risk communication and community engagement, disease surveillance, laboratory capacity, clinical management, infection prevention and control, vaccination, research, logistics, and maintaining essential health services. 

Vaccination efforts are underway, with more than 650 000 doses administered in 6 countries, 90% of which have been administered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Overall, over a million doses have been delivered to 10 countries, with efforts ongoing to secure additional vaccine supplies. 

Diagnostic testing capacity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has grown significantly, driven by the expansion of laboratory infrastructure - from 2 laboratories in late 2023 to 23 laboratories in 12 provinces today. With new, near-point-of-care tests currently being rolled out in the country, capacity is expected to increase even further. 

Despite this progress, major challenges remain. Ongoing conflict and insecurity in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the incidence of mpox remains high, as well as humanitarian aid cuts, continue to limit the public health response and restrict access to essential services. Across countries and partners, over US$ 220 million is needed to fill funding gaps for the mpox response.  

The updated Continental Response Plan calls for intensified efforts to bring outbreaks under control, while also taking concrete actions to integrate mpox into routine health services.  

Along with the Continental Response Plan for Africa, WHO has updated the global strategic plan to curb - and where feasible, to stop - human-to-human transmission of mpox. In the first two months of 2025, 60 countries reported mpox, with the majority of cases and deaths reported from the African continent.  The joint Continental Response Plan is aligned with the global strategy. 

Africa CDC and WHO continue to work closely with national governments, local communities, and partners to curb transmission, control the outbreak, and build longer-term resilience within public health systems. 

After more than three years of intensive negotiations, WHO Member States took a major step forward in efforts to make the world safer from pandemics, by forging a draft agreement for consideration at the upcoming World Health Assembly in May. The proposal aims to strengthen global collaboration on prevention, preparedness and response to future pandemic threats.

In December 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO Member States established the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) to draft and negotiate a convention, agreement or other international instrument, under the WHO Constitution, to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

Following 13 formal rounds of meetings, nine of which were extended, and many informal and intersessional negotiations on various aspects of the draft agreement, the INB today finalized a proposal for the WHO Pandemic Agreement. The outcome of the INB’s work will now be presented to the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly for its consideration.

"The nations of the world made history in Geneva today," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "In reaching consensus on the Pandemic Agreement, not only did they put in place a generational accord to make the world safer, they have also demonstrated that multilateralism is alive and well, and that in our divided world, nations can still work together to find common ground, and a shared response to shared threats. I thank WHO's Member States, and their negotiating teams, for their foresight, commitment and tireless work. We look forward to the World Health Assembly's consideration of the agreement and – we hope – its adoption."

Proposals within the text developed by the INB include establishing a pathogen access and benefit sharing system; taking concrete measures on pandemic prevention, including through a One Health approach; building geographically diverse research and development capacities; facilitating the transfer of technology and related knowledge, skills and expertise for the production of pandemic-related health products; mobilizing  a skilled, trained and multidisciplinary national and global health emergency workforce; setting up a coordinating financial mechanism; taking concrete measures to strengthen preparedness, readiness and health system functions and resilience; and establishing a global supply chain and logistics network.

The proposal affirms the sovereignty of countries to address public health matters within their borders, and provides that nothing in the draft agreement shall be interpreted as providing WHO any authority to direct, order, alter or prescribe national laws or policies, or mandate States to take specific actions, such as ban or accept travellers, impose vaccination mandates or therapeutic or diagnostic measures or implement lockdowns.

Dr Tedros paid tribute to the members of the Bureau who guided the INB process: Co-Chairs Ms Precious Matsoso (South Africa) and Ambassador Anne-Claire Amprou (France), and Vice-Chairs Ambassador Tovar da Silva Nunes (Brazil), Ambassador Amr Ramadan (Egypt), Dr Viroj Tangcharoensathien (Thailand); and Ms Fleur Davies (Australia). Past members included former Co-Chair, Mr Roland Driece (the Netherlands), and former Vice-Chairs Ambassador Honsei Kozo (Japan), Mr Kazuho Taguchi (Japan), and Mr Ahmed Soliman (Egypt). The Director-General also acknowledged the constant support provided by WHO Secretariat colleagues.

INB Co-Chair Ms Matsoso said: “I am overjoyed by the coming together of countries, from all regions of the world, around a proposal to increase equity and, thereby, protect future generations from the suffering and losses we suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The negotiations, at times, have been difficult and protracted. But this monumental effort has been sustained by the shared understanding that viruses do not respect borders, that no one is safe from pandemics until everyone is safe, and that collective health security is an aspiration we deeply believe in and want to strengthen.”

Fellow INB Co-Chair, Ambassador Amprou, said the draft agreement is a major step in strengthening the global health security architecture so people of the world would be better protected from the next pandemic.

“In drafting this historic agreement, the countries of the world have demonstrated their shared commitment to preventing and protecting everyone, everywhere, from future pandemic threats,” Ambassador Amprou said. “While the commitment to prevention through the One Health approach is a major step forward in protecting populations, the response will be faster, more effective and more equitable. This is a historic agreement for health security, equity and international solidarity.”

The INB was established in December 2021, at a special session of the World Health Assembly, bringing together Member States and relevant stakeholders, including international organizations, private sector, and civil society. At the World Health Assembly in June 2024, governments made concrete commitments to complete negotiations on a global pandemic agreement within a year. The upcoming Assembly starting 19 May 2025 will consider the proposal developed by the INB and take the final decision on whether to adopt the instrument under Article 19 of the WHO Constitution.

The World Health Organization (WHO) issues warning on health service disruptions reported in 70% of its surveyed country offices as a result of sudden suspensions and reductions in official development assistance (ODA) for health.

The findings, based on rapid WHO assessment of the fast-evolving situation, raise concern for potentially deeper and prolonged effects on health systems and services across the world, especially in vulnerable and fragile settings. This requires urgent action and international response.

The new rapid stock take conducted in March–April 2025 with 108 WHO country offices, primarily in low- and lower-middle-income countries, shows that many countries are working to increase or reallocate funding from domestic and alternative external sources to address gaps. However, up to 24% of WHO Country Office responses suggest budget cuts are already translating into increased out-of-pocket payments. The poor and vulnerable likely risk bearing the additional brunt of these impacts.

“These results paint a worrying picture about the impact of the sudden and unplanned cuts to aid on the health of millions of people,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Although these cuts are a shock, they are also driving an accelerated transition away from aid dependency to a more sustainable self-reliance, based on domestic resources. Many countries are asking for WHO’s support, and WHO is working with them to identify and tailor the most effective measures.”

The stock take reports provide an early snapshot and insights from WHO country offices that work closely with ministries of health, providing regular support on health systems policies and planning. The stock take aimed at identifying the urgent support countries need to avoid catastrophic impacts on the health of the populations and to guide monitoring of the rapidly evolving situation. 

Key findings from the stock take show the following.

• The suspensions and reductions in ODA are disrupting all health system functions, with the most frequently reported impacts being on health emergency preparedness and response (70%), public health surveillance (66%), service provision (58%), humanitarian aid (56%), and the health and care workforce (54%).
• Health services are being disrupted across the board in at least one third of the responding countries, with high levels of disruptions reported in outbreak detection and response, malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections, family planning, and maternal and child health services.
• The nature and scale of service disruptions are comparable to those observed during the peak periods of the COVID-19 pandemic in some settings. 
• Critical shortages in the availability of medicines and health products are leaving one third of responding countries without commodities for major service areas.
• The pause in ODA has led to job losses for health and care workers in over half of responding countries, and significant disruptions to trainings.

• Information systems are particularly impacted as key health data collection is disrupted. Over 40% of countries experienced disruptions to key information systems, including collaborative surveillance and emergency systems, health management information systems, disease-specific reporting systems, lab information systems, and household/population surveys.
• Eighty-one of the 108 WHO country offices have expressed the need for support across a broad range of health areas, including innovative funding and resource mobilization, targeted technical assistance and support.

Given the rapidly evolving context, WHO will be monitoring the situation over time and will engage the global health community, including partners and donor agencies, to inform urgent response plans to mitigate deepening country impacts and enable greater sustainability.  

Note to editors:

These findings represent a snapshot of the health systems and health services situation in the context of a rapidly evolving situation. Senior WHO country office staff were surveyed over the period of 7 March to 2 April 2025 to provide inputs and observations on the impact of ODA suspensions and reductions through a structured survey. WHO country offices in low- and lower-middle-income countries across all six WHO regions were included in this survey. They do not reflect the official views of the governments in the countries, territories and areas. WHO has a global presence in 150+ locations putting central focus on countries and populations, working to protect and improve the health of everyone, everywhere. More information.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has today published its first-ever global guidelines for meningitis diagnosis, treatment and care, aiming to speed up detection, ensure timely treatment, and improve long-term care for those affected. By bringing together the latest evidence-based recommendations, the guidelines provide a critical tool for reducing deaths and disability caused by the disease.

Despite effective treatments and vaccines against some forms of meningitis, the disease remains a significant global health threat. Bacterial meningitis is the most dangerous form and can become fatal within 24 hours. Many pathogens can cause meningitis with an estimated 2.5 million cases reported globally in 2019. This includes 1.6 million cases of bacterial meningitis which resulted in approximately 240 000 deaths.

Around 20% of people who contract bacterial meningitis develop long-term complications, including disabilities that impact quality of life. The disease also carries heavy financial and social costs for individuals, families, and communities.

“Bacterial meningitis kills one in six of the people it strikes, and leaves many others with lasting health challenges," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "Implementing these new guidelines will help save lives, improve long-term care for those affected by meningitis, and strengthen health systems."

Meningitis can affect anyone anywhere, and at any age, however the disease burden remains particularly high in low- and middle-income countries and in settings experiencing large-scale epidemics.  The highest burden of disease is seen in a region of sub-Saharan Africa, often referred to as the ‘meningitis belt’, which is at high risk of recurrent epidemics of meningococcal meningitis.

Improving clinical management of meningitis is essential to reducing mortality and morbidity, minimizing long-term complications and disability, and improving quality of life for affected individuals and communities.

The new guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations for the clinical management of children over one month of age, adolescents, and adults with acute community-acquired meningitis.

They address all aspects of clinical care, including diagnosis, antibiotic therapy, adjunctive treatment, supportive care, and management of long-term effects.  Given the similarities in clinical presentation, diagnosis and management approaches across different forms of acute community-acquired meningitis, the guidelines address both bacterial and viral causes.

The guidelines provide recommendations for both non-epidemic and epidemic settings, the latter superseding previous 2014 WHO guidelines, which covered  meningitis outbreak response.

As resource-limited settings bear the highest burden of meningitis, these guidelines have been specifically developed to provide technical guidance suitable for implementation in low- and middle-income countries.

The guidelines are intended for use by health-care professionals in first- and second-level facilities, including emergency, inpatient, and outpatient services. Policymakers, health planners, academic institutions, and civil society organizations can also use them to inform capacity-building, education, and research efforts.

The guidelines contribute to the broader Defeating Meningitis by 2030 Global Roadmap, adopted by WHO Member States in 2020, which aims to: eliminate bacterial meningitis epidemics, reduce cases of vaccine-preventable bacterial meningitis by 50% and deaths by 70%, and reduce disability and improve quality of life after meningitis.

Achieving these goals requires coordinated action across five key areas:

1. Diagnosis and treatment: Faster detection and optimal clinical management.
2. Prevention and epidemic control: Developing new affordable vaccines, achieving high immunization and coverage, and improving outbreak preparedness and response.
3. Disease surveillance: Strengthening monitoring systems to guide prevention and control.
4. Care and support for those affected by meningitis: Ensuring early recognition and improved access to care and support for after-effects from meningitis. 
5. Advocacy and engagement: Increasing political commitment and inclusion in country plans, better public understanding of meningitis, and increased awareness of right to prevention, care and after-care services.

With these guidelines, WHO provides countries with a critical tool to close gaps in meningitis diagnosis, treatment and care, ensuring that more people receive timely treatment and long-term support.

Women today are more likely than ever to survive pregnancy and childbirth according to a major new report released today, but United Nations (UN) agencies highlight the threat of major backsliding as unprecedented aid cuts take effect around the world.

Released on World Health Day, the UN report, Trends in maternal mortality, shows a 40% global decline in maternal deaths between 2000 and 2023 – largely due to improved access to essential health services. Still, the report reveals that the pace of improvement has slowed significantly since 2016, and that an estimated 260 000 women died in 2023 as a result of complications from pregnancy or childbirth – roughly equivalent to one maternal death every two minutes.

The report comes as humanitarian funding cuts are having severe impacts on essential health care in many parts of the world, forcing countries to roll back vital services for maternal, newborn and child health. These cuts have led to facility closures and loss of health workers, while also disrupting supply chains for lifesaving supplies and medicines such as treatments for haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia and malaria – all leading causes of maternal deaths.

Without urgent action, the agencies warn that pregnant women in multiple countries will face severe repercussions – particularly those in humanitarian settings where maternal deaths are already alarmingly high.

“While this report shows glimmers of hope, the data also highlights how dangerous pregnancy still is in much of the world today despite the fact that solutions exist to prevent and treat the complications that cause the vast majority of maternal deaths,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). “In addition to ensuring access to quality maternity care, it will be critical to strengthen the underlying health and reproductive rights of women and girls – factors that underpin their prospects of healthy outcomes during pregnancy and beyond.”

The report also provides the first global account of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on maternal survival. In 2021, an estimated 40 000 more women died due to pregnancy or childbirth – increasing to 322 000 from 282 000 the previous year. This upsurge was linked not only to direct complications caused by COVID-19, but also widespread interruptions to maternity services. This highlights the importance of ensuring such care during pandemics and other emergencies, noting that pregnant women need reliable access to routine services and checks as well as round-the-clock urgent care.

“When a mother dies in pregnancy or childbirth, her baby’s life is also at risk. Too often, both are lost to causes we know how to prevent,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Global funding cuts to health services are putting more pregnant women at risk, especially in the most fragile settings, by limiting their access to essential care during pregnancy and the support they need when giving birth. The world must urgently invest in midwives, nurses, and community health workers to ensure every mother and baby has a chance to survive and thrive.”

The report highlights persistent inequalities between regions and countries, as well as uneven progress. With maternal mortality declining by around 40% between 2000 and 2023, sub-Saharan Africa achieved significant gains – and was one of just three UN regions alongside Australia and New Zealand, and Central and Southern Asia, to see significant drops after 2015. However, confronting high rates of poverty and multiple conflicts, the sub-Saharan Africa region still counted for approximately 70% of the global burden of maternal deaths in 2023.

Indicating slowing progress, maternal mortality stagnated in five regions after 2015: Northern Africa and Western Asia, Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), Europe and North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Access to quality maternal health services is a right, not a privilege, and we all share the urgent responsibility to build well-resourced health systems that safeguard the life of every pregnant woman and newborn,” said Dr Natalia Kanem, UNFPA’s Executive Director. “By boosting supply chains, the midwifery workforce, and the disaggregated data needed to pinpoint those most at risk, we can and must end the tragedy of preventable maternal deaths and their enormous toll on families and societies.”

Pregnant women living in humanitarian emergencies face some of the highest risks globally, according to the report.Nearly two-thirds of global maternal deaths now occur in countries affected by fragility or conflict. For women in these settings, the risks are staggering: a 15-year-old girl faces a 1 in 51 risk of dying from a maternal cause at some point over her lifetime compared to 1 in 593 in more stable countries. The highest risks are in Chad and the Central African Republic (1 in 24), followed by Nigeria (1 in 25), Somalia (1 in 30), and Afghanistan (1 in 40).

Beyond ensuring critical services during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period, the report notes the importance of efforts to enhance women’s overall health by improving access to family planning services, as well as preventing underlying health conditions like anaemias, malaria and noncommunicable diseases that increase risks. It will also be critical to ensure girls stay in school and that women and girls have the knowledge and resources to protect their health.

Urgent investment is needed to prevent maternal deaths. The world is currently off-track to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal target for maternal survival. Globally, the maternal mortality ratio would need to fall by around 15% each year to meet the 2030 target – significantly increasing from current annual rates of decline of around 1.5%.

About the United Nations Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group
The report was produced by WHO on behalf of the United Nations Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group comprising WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, the World Bank Group and the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. It uses national data to estimate levels and trends of maternal mortality from 2000–2023. The data in this new publication covers 195 countries and territories. It supersedes all previous estimates published by WHO and the United Nations Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group.

About the data
The SDG target for maternal deaths is for a global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of less than 70 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births by 2030. The global MMR in 2023 was estimated at 197 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births, down from 211 in 2020 and from 328 in 2000.

The report includes data disaggregated by the following regions, used for SDG reporting: Central Asia and Southern Asia; Sub-Saharan Africa; Northern America and Europe; Latin America & the Caribbean; Western Asia and Northern Africa; Australia and New Zealand; Eastern Asia and South-eastern Asia, and Oceania excluding Australia and New Zealand.

A maternal death is a death due to complications related to pregnancy or childbirth, occurring when a woman is pregnant, or within six weeks of the end of the pregnancy.

About World Health Day
World Health Day is marked around the world on 7 April. Each year, it draws attention to a specific health topic of concern to people all over the world. The World Health Day 2025 campaign focuses on improving maternal and newborn health and survival with the theme “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures”. The campaign urges governments and the health community to ramp up efforts to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths, and to prioritize women’s longer-term health and well-being.

Over the past two days, WHO convened more than 15 countries and over 20 regional health agencies, health emergency networks and other partners to test, for the first time, a new global coordination mechanism for health emergencies.

The two-day simulation, Exercise Polaris, tested WHO’s Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC), a framework designed to strengthen countries’ emergency workforce, coordinate the deployment of surge teams and experts, and enhance collaboration between countries.

The exercise simulated an outbreak of a fictional virus spreading across the world.

Participating countries included Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ethiopia, Germany, Iraq, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mozambique, Nepal, Pakistan, Qatar, Somalia Uganda and Ukraine, with additional countries as observers. Each country participated through its national health emergency coordination structure and worked under real-life conditions to share information, align policies and activate their response.

Regional and global health agencies and organizations, including Africa CDC, European CDC, IFRC, IOM, UNICEF and established emergency networks such as the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, the Emergency Medical Teams initiative, Stand-by partners and the International Association of National Public Health Institutes, worked together to support country-led responses. More than 350 health emergency experts connected globally through this exercise.

“This exercise proves that when countries lead and partners connect, the world is better prepared,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “No country can face the next pandemic alone. Exercise Polaris shows that global cooperation is not only possible – it is essential.”

Throughout the simulation, countries led their own response efforts while engaging with WHO for coordination, technical guidance and emergency support. The exercise provided a rare opportunity for governments to test preparedness in a realistic environment, one where trust and mutual accountability were as critical as speed and capacity.

“The exercise sought to put into practice the procedures for inter-agency response to international health threats. Efficient coordination and interoperability processes are key to guaranteeing timely interventions in health emergencies,” said Dr Mariela Marín, Vice Minister of Health of Costa Rica, thanking the Pan American Health Organization for their support and the members of the National Risk Management System for their engagement.

“Polaris demonstrated the critical importance of cultivating trust before a crisis occurs,” said Dr Soha Albayat from Qatar. “The foundation of our collaborative efforts is significantly stronger than in years past. We've moved beyond reactive measures, and are now proactively anticipating, aligning, and coordinating our cross-border emergency response plans.”

“The Global Health Emergency Corps has evolved into a powerful platform, building on practice, trust and connection,” said Dr Mike Ryan, Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme. “Exercise Polaris showed what is possible when countries operate with urgency and unity supported by well-connected partners. It is a strong signal that we are collectively more ready than we were.”

At a time when multilateralism is under pressure and preparedness is often framed through a national lens, Exercise Polaris reaffirmed that health is a global issue.

The World Health Organization (WHO) today launched new guidance to help all countries reform and strengthen mental health policies and systems. Mental health services worldwide remain underfunded, with major gaps in access and quality. In some countries, up to 90% of people with severe mental health conditions receive no care at all, while many existing services rely on outdated institutional models that fail to meet international human rights standards.

The guidance provides a clear framework to transform mental health services in line with the latest evidence and international human rights standards, ensuring quality care is accessible to all.

"Despite rising demand, quality mental health services remain out of reach for many people," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "This new guidance gives all governments the tools to promote and protect mental health and build systems that serve everyone.”

While effective prevention and treatment interventions exist, most people living with mental health conditions do not have access to these. The new WHO guidance sets out concrete actions to help countries close these gaps and ensure mental health is promoted and protected, with a focus on:

• protecting and upholding human rights, ensuring mental health policies and services are aligned with international human rights standards;
• promoting holistic care with an emphasis on lifestyle and physical health, psychological, social, and economic interventions;
• addressing social and economic factors that shape and affect mental health including employment, housing and education;
• implementing prevention strategies and promote population-wide mental health and well-being; and
• ensuring people with lived experience are empowered to participate in policy planning and design to ensure mental health policies and services are responsive to their needs.

The guidance identifies five key policy areas requiring urgent reform: leadership and governance, service organization, workforce development, person-centred interventions, and addressing social and structural determinants of mental health.

The WHO guidance serves as a critical tool for governments, policymakers, and stakeholders working to strengthen mental health systems and improve access to mental health care.

By offering a menu of policy directives, strategies and actions to guide reform efforts, the guidance supports policy makers to prioritize and tailor policies to their specific national context, in line with their available resources and operational structures.

"This new WHO guidance provides practical strategies for countries to build inclusive, responsive and resilient mental health systems. Designed to be flexible, it allows all countries – whether low- middle- or high-income - to adapt their approach to mental health care based on national context, needs, and priorities,” said Dr Michelle Funk, Unit Head, Policy, Law and Human Rights in the WHO Department for Mental Health and Substance Abuse.

The guidance was developed in consultation with global experts, policymakers and individuals with lived experience. The policy guidance also builds on the resources, guidance and tools developed under the WHO QualityRights initiative, aiming to promote a person-centred, recovery-oriented and rights-based approach to mental health. WHO will support countries in implementing the guidance through technical assistance and capacity-building initiatives.

The WHO Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC) continues to closely monitor the genetic and antigenic evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants, immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination, and the performance of COVID-19 vaccines against circulating variants. Based on these evaluations, WHO advises vaccine manufacturers and regulatory authorities on the implications for future updates to COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition. The next decision-making meeting of the TAG-CO-VAC is scheduled for May 2025, after which a statement on COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition and an accompanying data annex will be published on the WHO website. These meetings are timed to balance the availability of the latest epidemiological, immunological, and virological data, with the kinetics of vaccine-induced protection and the lead time manufacturers need to update the antigen composition of authorized COVID-19 vaccines.

The purpose of this statement is to guide the scientific community and vaccine manufacturers as to which data should be generated ahead of the May 2025 TAG-CO-VAC deliberations. It is an update to the previous statement on the types of data requested in October 2024.1

To inform decisions on COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition,2-6 the TAG-CO-VAC reviews data (see Table) on the genetic evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and the antigenic characteristics of previously and currently circulating variants. This includes the analysis of animal antisera following primary infection or vaccination in one-way and two-way neutralization tests, as well as immunogenicity data that assess the breadth and durability of immune responses, including neutralizing antibody responses, using sera from sequentially immunized or infected animals and pre-and post-vaccination human sera. The TAG-CO-VAC also considers vaccine effectiveness (VE) estimates of currently approved COVID-19 vaccines, particularly those that control for time since vaccination and that provide variant-specific estimates across different vaccine platforms for protection against any infection, symptomatic disease, and severe disease. Further examples of published data reviewed by TAG-CO-VAC and used to inform decisions on COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition can be found in the annexes accompanying each of the previous statements.2-6

In addition, the TAG-CO-VAC reviews available data from vaccine manufacturers, including animal and human studies demonstrating the breadth and durability of immune responses elicited by currently authorized vaccines, as well as any vaccine candidates in development. For vaccine candidates in development, the TAG-CO-VAC highlights the utility of clinical immunogenicity data for decision-making on COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition. The TAG-CO-VAC also notes that comparable immunogenicity data (i.e. to the same variants) from previous vaccine compositions are especially useful. Vaccine manufacturers are also asked to provide observational epidemiological data that demonstrate the efficacy or effectiveness of their authorized COVID-19 vaccines, as well as any vaccine candidates in development.

At this stage, the key antisera and antigens of interest for the May 2025 decision-making meeting for demonstrating breadth include antisera to: BA.2 (other historical reference viruses – e.g., index virus, Alpha, BA.1 – are also useful for determining antigenic relationships), XBB.1.5, JN.1, KP.2, XEC, LP.8.1, LF.7.2 and potentially emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. Antisera of interest are animal sera after single or sequential exposure and human sera after a boost with monovalent JN.1, KP.2 or XBB.1.5 vaccines. Both pre- and post-vaccination sera should be included and, for all antisera, neutralizing antibody titers should be analyzed against at least one variant that emerged after the vaccine antigen, where feasible. Analysis of these antisera against the same panel of virus antigens as well as other new emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants will provide insight into antigenic characteristics of previous and emerging variants. Emerging variants include the list of SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Interest (VOI) and Variants Under Monitoring (VUM) maintained on the WHO website. Relative VE estimates should be calculated during periods of circulation of XBB, JN.1, KP.3.1.1, XEC or other emerging variant(s) in human populations across age groups, with separate VE estimates for each of the following vaccine antigen compositions: monovalent JN.1, monovalent KP.2 or monovalent XBB.1.5. Where available, the underlying rates of disease outcomes used to derive the relative VE estimates should also be provided.

In preparation for the May 2025 meeting, the TAG-CO-VAC encourages the scientific community and vaccine manufacturers to prioritize generating and sharing the data outlined in the Table below to ensure evidence-informed deliberations on COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition; please contact the TAG-CO-VAC Secretariat: [tagcovac@who.int].

+ WHO website: https://www.who.int/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants   

* Key emerging variants that evolve and considered relevant for demonstrating breadth include the list of Variants of Interest (VOI) and Variants Under Monitoring (VUM). This list is maintained on the WHO website: https://www.who.int/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants   

References

1. World Health Organization. Types of data requested to inform December 2024 COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition deliberations. 7 October 2024. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/07-10-2024-types-of-data-requested-to-inform-december-2024-covid-19-vaccine-antigen-composition-deliberations
2. World Health Organization. Interim statement on the composition of current COVID-19 vaccines. 17 June 2022. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/17-06-2022-interim-statement-on--the-composition-of-current-COVID-19-vaccines.
3. World Health Organization. Statement on the antigen composition of COVID-19 vaccines. 18 May 2023. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/18-05-2023-statement-on-the-antigen-composition-of-covid-19-vaccines.
4. World Health Organization. Statement on the antigen composition of COVID-19 vaccines. 13 December 2023. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/13-12-2023-statement-on-the-antigen-composition-of-covid-19-vaccines.
5. World Health Organization. Statement on the antigen composition of COVID-19 vaccines. 26 April 2024. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/26-04-2024-statement-on-the-antigen-composition-of-covid-19-vaccines.
6. World Health Organization. Statement on the antigen composition of COVID-19 vaccines. 23 December 2024. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/23-12-2024-statement-on-the-antigen-composition-of-covid-19-vaccines

The number of children dying globally before their fifth birthday declined to 4.8 million in 2023, while stillbirths declined modestly, still remaining around 1.9 million, according to two new reports released today by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME).

Since 2000, child deaths have dropped by more than half and stillbirths by over a third, fuelled by sustained investments in child survival worldwide. In 2022, the world reached a historic milestone when child deaths dropped slightly below 5 million for the first time. However, progress has slowed and too many children are still being lost to preventable causes.

"Millions of children are alive today because of the global commitment to proven interventions, such as vaccines, nutrition, and access to safe water and basic sanitation,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Bringing preventable child deaths to a record low is a remarkable achievement. But without the right policy choices and adequate investment, we risk reversing these hard-earned gains, with millions more children dying from preventable causes. We cannot allow that to happen.”

Decades of progress in child survival are now at risk as major donors have announced or indicated significant funding cuts to aid ahead. Reduced global funding for life-saving child survival programmes is causing health-care worker shortages, clinic closures, vaccination programme disruptions, and a lack of essential supplies, such as malaria treatments. These cuts are severely impacting regions in humanitarian crises, debt-stricken countries, and areas with already high child mortality rates. Global funding cuts could also undermine monitoring and tracking efforts, making it harder to reach the most vulnerable children, the Inter-agency Group warned.

“From tackling malaria to preventing stillbirths and ensuring evidence-based care for the tiniest babies, we can make a difference for millions of families,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization. “In the face of global funding cuts, there is a need more than ever to step up collaboration to protect and improve children’s health.”

Even before the current funding crisis, the pace of progress on child survival had already slowed. Since 2015, the annual rate of reduction of under-five mortality has slowed by 42%, and stillbirth reduction has slowed by 53%, compared to 2000–2015.

Almost half of under-five deaths happen within the first month of life, mostly due to premature birth and complications during labour. Beyond the newborn period, infectious diseases, including acute respiratory infections such as pneumonia, malaria, and diarrhoea, are the leading causes of preventable child death. Meanwhile, 45% of late stillbirths occur during labour, often due to maternal infections, prolonged or obstructed labour, and lack of timely medical intervention.

Better access to quality maternal, newborn, and child health care at all levels of the health system will save many more lives, according to the reports. This includes promotive and preventive care in communities, timely visits to health facilities and health professionals at birth, high-quality antenatal and postnatal care, well-child preventive care such as routine vaccinations and comprehensive nutrition programmes, diagnosis and treatment for common childhood illnesses, and specialized care for small and sick newborns.

“Most preventable child deaths occur in low-income countries, where essential services, vaccines, and treatments are often inaccessible”, said Juan Pablo Uribe, World Bank Global Director for Health and Director of the Global Financing Facility. “Investing in children's health ensures their survival, education, and future contributions to the workforce. With strategic investments and strong political will, we can continue to reduce child mortality, unlocking economic growth and employment opportunities that benefit the entire world.”

The reports also show that where a child is born greatly influences their chances of survival. The risk of death before age five is 80 times higher in the highest-mortality country than the lowest-mortality country, for example, while a child born in sub-Saharan Africa is on average 18 times more likely to die before turning five than one born in Australia and New Zealand. Within countries, the poorest children, those living in rural areas, and those with less-educated mothers face the higher risks.

Stillbirth disparities are just as severe, with nearly 80% occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, where women are six to eight times more likely to experience a stillbirth than women in Europe or North America. Meanwhile, women in low-income countries are eight times more likely to experience a stillbirth than those in high-income countries.

“Disparities in child mortality across and within nations remain one of the greatest challenges of our time,” said the UN DESA Under-Secretary-General, Li Junhua. “Reducing such differences is not just a moral imperative but also a fundamental step towards sustainable development and global equity. Every child deserves a fair chance at life, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that no child is left behind.”

UN IGME members call on governments, donors, and partners across the private and public sectors to protect the hard-won gains in saving children’s lives and accelerate efforts. Increased investments, service integration, and innovations are urgently needed to scale up access to proven life-saving health, nutrition, and social protection services for children and pregnant mothers.    

Notes to editors

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The UN IGME child mortality report

The UN IGME stillbirth report

The two reports – Levels & Trends in Child Mortality and Counting Every Stillbirth – are the first of a series of important global data sets released in 2025. UN maternal mortality figures will be published in the coming weeks.

About UN IGME

The United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation or UN IGME was formed in 2004 to share data on child mortality, improve methods for child mortality estimation, report on progress towards child survival goals and enhance the capacity of countries to produce timely and properly evaluated estimates of child mortality. UN IGME is led by UNICEF and includes the World Health Organization, the World Bank Group and the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

 For more information: http://www.childmortality.org/

On the occasion on World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, marked on 24 March, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for an urgent investment of resources to protect and maintain tuberculosis (TB) care and support services for people in need across regions and countries. TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease, responsible for over 1 million deaths annually bringing devastating impacts on families and communities.

Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 79 million lives since 2000. However, the drastic and abrupt cuts in global health funding happening now are threatening to reverse these gains. Rising drug resistance especially across Europe and the ongoing conflicts across the Middle-East, Africa and Eastern Europe, are further exacerbating the situation for the most vulnerable.

 Under the theme Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver, World Tuberculosis Day 2025 campaign highlights a rallying cry for urgency, and accountability and hope. “The huge gains the world has made against TB over the past 20 years are now at risk as cuts to funding start to disrupt access to services for prevention, screening, and treatment for people with TB,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “But we cannot give up on the concrete commitments that world leaders made at the UN General Assembly just 18 months ago to accelerate work to end TB. WHO is committed to working with all donors, partners and affected countries to mitigate the impact of funding cuts and find innovative solutions.”

Early reports to WHO reveal that severe disruptions in the TB response are seen across several of the highest-burden countries following the funding cuts. Countries in the WHO African Region are experiencing the greatest impact, followed by countries in the WHO South-East Asian and Western Pacific Regions. Twenty seven countries are facing crippling breakdowns in their TB response, with devastating consequences, such as:

Nine countries report failing TB drug procurement and supply chains, jeopardizing treatment continuity and patient outcomes.

The 2025 funding cuts further exacerbate an already existing underfunding for global TB response. In 2023, only 26% of the US$ 22 billion annually needed for TB prevention and care was available, leaving a massive shortfall. TB research is in crisis, receiving just one-fifth of the US$ 5 billion annual target in 2022 – severely delaying advancements in diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines. WHO is leading efforts to accelerate TB vaccine development through the TB Vaccine Accelerator Council, but progress remains at risk without urgent financial commitments.

In response to the urgent challenges threatening TB services worldwide, WHO’s Director-General and Civil Society Task Force on Tuberculosis have issued a decisive statement. The joint statement released this week, demands immediate, coordinated efforts from governments, global health leaders, donors, and policymakers to prevent further disruptions. The statement outlines five critical priorities:

“This urgent call is timely and underscores the necessity of swift, decisive action to sustain global TB progress and prevent setbacks that could cost lives,” said Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO’s Global Programme on TB and Lung Health. “Investing in ending TB is not only a moral imperative but also an economic necessity – every dollar spent on prevention and treatment yields an estimated US$ 43 in economic returns.”

As one of the solutions to combating growing resource constraints, WHO is driving the integration of TB and lung health within primary healthcare as a sustainable solution. New technical guidance released by WHO outlines critical actions across the care continuum, focusing on prevention, early detection of TB and comorbidities, optimized management at first contact and improved patient follow-up. The guidance also promotes better use of existing health systems, addressing shared risk factors such as overcrowding, tobacco, undernutrition and environmental pollutants.

By tackling TB determinants alongside communicable and non-communicable diseases, lung conditions, and disabilities through a unified strategy, WHO aims to reinforce the global response and drive lasting improvements in health outcomes.

On World TB Day, WHO calls on everyone: individuals, communities, societies, donors and governments, to do their part to end TB. Without concerted action from all stakeholders, the TB response will be decimated, reversing decades of progress, putting millions of lives at risk and threatening health security.

On 24 March 2025, a correction was made to the second sentence in the first paragraph of this news release as noted below.

The sentence in the original news release read:

TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease, responsible for over 1 million people annually bringing devastating impacts on families and communities.

This was changed to:

TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease, responsible for over 1 million deaths annually bringing devastating impacts on families and communities.

Today, during the annual Partnership for Healthy Cities Summit in Paris, three cities were recognized for their achievements in preventing noncommunicable diseases and injuries: Córdoba, Argentina; Fortaleza, Brazil; and Greater Manchester, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Summit, co-hosted by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the World Health Organization (WHO), Vital Strategies, and the City of Paris, convened mayors and officials from 61 cities in the Partnership for Healthy Cities network to address pressing public health issues and share effective strategies for saving lives and building healthier communities at the local level.

“Noncommunicable diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, and injuries are responsible for more than 80% of all deaths globally, but the good news is, they are preventable,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies, WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries, and 108th mayor of New York City. “Cities are leading the way in implementing policies that are protecting public health and saving lives. This year’s winning cities are proving that progress is possible with strong leadership and political will, and we look forward to seeing the results of their efforts.”

The recipients of the 2025 Partnership for Healthy Cities Awards were chosen because they have made demonstrable progress in preventing noncommunicable diseases and injuries, setting an example that can be replicated in other jurisdictions.

All three winning cities are part of the Partnership’s Policy Accelerator, which provides training and support for drafting policies and establishing the political strategies needed to develop and enact them. These cities are working with the Partnership to improve public health in the following ways:

• Córdoba, Argentina, passed a new policy committing the city to promoting healthy school food environments by eliminating sugary and artificially sweetened beverages and ultra-processed products from all schools by 2026. The program has benefited 26 schools to date, reaching 15 000 of the city’s 138 000 primary school children.
  
• Fortaleza, Brazil, established the city's first legal framework for air quality surveillance. The 2023 decree guarantees the local monitoring of air pollutants to estimate their impact on residents’ health, along with the installation of low-cost sensors to improve data collection. Reliable data will help inform city policies that can significantly reduce air pollution.
  
• Greater Manchester, United Kingdom, expanded the number of outdoor smoke-free areas as part of efforts to reduce smoking, including opening its first smoke-free park, covering 6.5 acres of public space. Greater Manchester also conducted a series of community consultations and workshops with residents to help with decision-making; launched a smoke-free toolkit and communication guidance for National Health Service (NHS) hospitals and sites; and is scaling this initiative by developing a broader smoke-free spaces toolkit for other organizations and groups that want to create smoke-free spaces.

“Cities are at the forefront of the fight against noncommunicable diseases and injuries. The progress made in Córdoba, Fortaleza, and Greater Manchester is not only improving health today but also setting a model for others to follow," said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "WHO is committed to working with cities to build healthier, safer and more resilient communities for all.”

“Local leadership has emerged as a powerful force for addressing the complex challenges presented by noncommunicable diseases and injuries,” said Dr Mary-Ann Etiebet, President and CEO, Vital Strategies. “We applaud the work of city leaders around the globe in their efforts to create healthier, safer environments for their populations. Their efforts are having a significant impact on people’s lives and well-being, while also demonstrating to national governments that there is significant support for these policy solutions.”

Launched in 2017, the Partnership for Healthy Cities is a global network of 74 cities working to prevent noncommunicable diseases and injuries. Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, in partnership with the World Health Organization and Vital Strategies, this initiative empowers cities worldwide to implement high-impact policy or programmatic interventions to reduce noncommunicable diseases and injuries in their communities. Through this network, city leaders are enacting transformative measures to improve the health of 300 million people across the globe.

The mayors participating in the Partnership for Healthy Cities Summit include:

• Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán, Bogotá, Colombia
• Municipal Commissioner Palitha Nanayakkara, Colombo, Sri Lanka 
• Intendant Daniel Passerini, Córdoba, Argentina
• Honorable Administrator Mohammad Azaz, Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Municipal President Verónica Delgadillo, Guadalajara, Mexico
• Mayor Juhana Vartiainen, Helsinki, Finland
• Mayor Erias Lukwago, Kampala, Uganda
• Mayor Chilando Chitangala, Lusaka, Zambia
• Intendant Mauricio Zunino, Montevideo, Uruguay
• Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Paris, France
• Mayor Pabel Muñoz López, Quito, Ecuador
• Governor Claudio Benjamín Orrego Larraín, Santiago, Chile.

About Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the arts, education, environment, government innovation, and public health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world. In 2024, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed US$ 3.7 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org, sign up for ournewsletter, or follow us onInstagram,LinkedIn,YouTube,Threads,Facebook, and X.

About the World Health Organization
Dedicated to the well-being of all people and guided by science, the World Health Organization leads and champions global efforts to give everyone, everywhere an equal chance at a safe and healthy life. We are the UN agency for health that connects nations, partners and people on the front lines in 150+ locations – leading the world’s response to health emergencies, preventing disease, addressing the root causes of health issues and expanding access to medicines and health care. Our mission is to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. For more information, visit www.who.int and follow WHO on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube.

About Vital Strategies

Vital Strategies believes every person should be protected by an equitable and effective public health system. We partner with governments, communities and organizations around the world to reimagine public health so that health is supported in all the places we live, work and play. The result is millions of people living longer, healthier lives. To find out more, please visit www.vitalstrategies.org or follow us on LinkedIn.

Media Contacts

Veronica Lewin, Bloomberg Philanthropies, veronical@bloomberg.org

Erin Pallotta, Allison Worldwide, bloomberghealth@allisonworldwide.com

Jaimie Guerra, World Health Organization, guerraja@who.int

Christina Honeysett, Vital Strategies, choneysett@vitalstrategies.org

Following recommendations by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) has decided to place five new psychoactive substances and one medicine under international control.

The recommendations were developed by WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence--ECDD, which consists of global experts analyzing health risks and benefits of psychoactive substances circulating on global markets and alerting to include them under international control if evidence found that their use can cause harm for population health in countries.

“These substances have been brought to WHO’s attention for being clandestinely manufactured, posing serious risk to public health and society without any recognized therapeutic use,” said Dr Deus Mubangizi, WHO Director for Health Product Policy and Standards. “We are pleased that the Commission (on Narcotic Drugs) has accepted the full set of WHO recommendations and added these substances to relevant schedules in the 1961 or 1971 Conventions. We hope countries and communities will increase vigilance and take necessary actions to protect vulnerable groups particularly youth from these substances.”

Four substances placed in Schedule I of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961), as amended by the 1972 Protocol are:

Substance placed in Schedule II of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971):

Substance placed in Schedule IV of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971):

WHO has been convening the ECDD as a scientific advisory body for over 70 years with the mission to protect populations from harmful substances and to ensure that psychoactive substances are available where needed for medical and scientific purposes. The ECDD conducts scientific reviews at the request of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs and is the only treaty-mandated body to provide health recommendations to the Commission to inform decisions in drug policy.

With the ongoing emergence of more harmful substances, including clandestinely manufactured synthetic opioids with no medical use such as fentanyl and nitazenes, Member States expressed interest in more scientific reviews of these substances by WHO in the coming period. Above-mentioned decisions were announced at the 68th regular session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, taking place in Vienna, Austria, on 10-14 March 2025.