The year in review: Insights into the good, the bad and the ugly
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
This year ends in uncertain times, for the world’s political order, the fate of a damaged planet, the seemingly boundless human suffering experienced by civilians and health care staff in war zones, and the continuing failure of antibiotics that once gave medicine its “miracle” cures.
For example, in 2016, we alerted the world to some alarming trends: the shortage of vaccines in Africa, the harm done to young people’s health by gender and social inequalities, increasing deaths in Europe linked to alcohol consumption, the scale of childhood hearing loss and the massive health consequences of polluted air.
Such alerts stimulate research and encourage action. Working with multiple partners through multiple channels, WHO helped secure dramatic price reductions for the new hepatitis C treatments.
The Ebola outbreak was declared over, and Zika was designated as a public health emergency of international concern, and the world learned that the disease is here to stay.
The successful control of Africa’s explosive outbreaks of urban yellow fever tested – and confirmed – WHO’s expanded operational capacities under the new programme for health emergencies.
Source: Daily Nation (link opens in a new window)
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