In a landmark public health achievement, Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been validated by the World Health Organization (WHO) for eliminating trachoma as a public health problem. Trachoma, a neglected tropical disease (NTD) and the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness, no longer poses a public health threat in the country.
“I congratulate the government and people of Papua New Guinea on this incredible achievement, said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,” WHO Director-General. “This success demonstrates what can be achieved when science and sustained partnerships come together to serve the health and dignity of communities.”
Official recognition was made during the 78th World Health Assembly held in Geneva, Switzerland, following a comprehensive review of PNG’s elimination dossier.
Trachoma is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis and spreads through personal contact, flies that have been in contact with eye or nose discharge and contact with infected surfaces. Repeated infections can lead to scarring, in-turning of the eyelids, and ultimately irreversible blindness. Globally, the disease remains endemic in many vulnerable communities where access to clean water and sanitation is limited.
Papua New Guinea’s success story
“Papua New Guinea’s achievement is an example of medical science in action,” said Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific. “It reflects a deep understanding of local epidemiology and a commitment to using the right interventions for the right reasons. We commend the National Department of Health, health workers, researchers, and partners for their persistent efforts.”
In PNG, population-based surveys conducted in 2015 found signs of active trachoma in children but very low levels of Chlamydia trachomatis, as well as negligible levels of trachomatous trichiasis – the advanced stage of the disease that causes blindness. A follow-up ancillary survey in 2020 further confirmed that affected children were not progressing to more severe disease. This epidemiological pattern, shared with other Melanesian countries, provided the foundation for PNG’s successful claim to have eliminated trachoma as a public health problem.
Unlike many other countries where trachoma elimination has required surgery campaigns, antibiotic mass drug administration and targeted improvements in access to water, sanitation and hygiene, PNG’s success was driven by robust disease surveillance. The country’s National Department of Health, with the support from partners, oversaw a series of rapid assessments, prevalence surveys, and community-level investigations. These efforts confirmed that community-wide interventions for trachoma were not warranted.
PNG’s trachoma elimination programme received technical and financial support from WHO, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Fred Hollows Foundation, the Brien Holden Vision Institute, Sightsavers, PNG Eye Care, and several other organizations. The programme also benefited from scientific collaborations with the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, the Global Trachoma Mapping Project, Collaborative Vision, Tropical Data and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, among many others.
Since 2016, 13 countries in the Western Pacific Region have been validated by WHO for eliminating at least one NTD. Trachoma elimination is part of broader progress on NTDs in PNG and the Western Pacific Region.
Trachoma is the first neglected tropical disease eliminated in PNG. Following this successful validation, globally, 56 countries have eliminated at least one NTD, including 22 others that have eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. PNG joining these groups enhances our collective momentum toward the targets of the NTD road map 2021–2030.
WHO continues to support countries in their efforts to eliminate trachoma and other NTDs, ensuring healthier lives for all, particularly the most disadvantaged.
he Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) hosted back-to-back wildfire coordination events at the State Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) on Tuesday, May 13, bringing together state agencies and Emergency Support Function (ESF) partners for a full day of reflection, planning and collaboration.
The morning began with the 2024 Wildfire Season Review, where participants assessed what went well during last year’s wildfire response and identified key areas for improvement. This annual review is a critical step in advancing Oregon’s emergency preparedness and refining operations at the State ECC.
Attendees included representatives from ESFs 1 (Transportation), 2 (Communications), 4 (Firefighting), 5 (Emergency Management), 6 (Mass Care), 7 (Logistics), 8 (Health and Medical), 9 (Search and Rescue), 13 (Military Support), and 15 (Public Information).
Discussions focused on:
ECC coordination and activation protocols
Damage and impact assessment tools and processes
Situational awareness and alert and warning systems
Financial tracking and federal funding impacts for 2025
Strengthening regional coordination and response integration
“As we transition through the season—from floods to wildfires—it’s essential that we take time to evaluate our processes and procedures as a team,” said Patence Winningham, OEM Deputy Director. “The staff at the State Emergency Coordination Center regularly review our operations to ensure we are constantly improving. Strengthening relationships through interagency coordination and communication is key. The insights shared today are critical for adapting to evolving challenges and safeguarding Oregon communities during the wildfire seasons to come. ”The 2025 Pre-Season Fire Briefing followed in the afternoon, shifting the focus to this year’s operational readiness. The session included updates on fire season outlooks, agency capabilities and interagency coordination strategies. It also served as a reminder of the importance of pre-season alignment among state and local responders.
“These events are about more than reviewing past actions—they’re about building the relationships and systems we rely on when it matters most,” said Curtis Peetz, Interim Response Section Manager. “We’re grateful to all the agencies that joined us to help ensure a stronger, more unified approach this wildfire season.”
The Oregon Department of Emergency Management will continue to collaborate closely with partners across all levels of government to support wildfire preparedness, response, and recovery efforts.
For more information and updates, visit Oregon.gov/OEM or follow us on social media @OregonOEM.
Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
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Highlights:
Secretary-General / Iraq
Gaza
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Ukraine
Libya
78th World Health Assembly
World Fair Play Day
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SECRETARY-GENERAL /IRAQ
The Secretary-General landed back in New York a few hours ago. He will be in Headquarters at about 3 o’clock for the resumed session with the General Assembly on the UN80 initiative and that will be webcast.
In Iraq, where he attended and addressed the Summit of the League of Arab States. In the remarks that he delivered, the Secretary-General reiterated our constant calls for an urgently needed permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the unconditional release of all hostages and the need for free flow of humanitarian aid. “Only a two-State solution can deliver sustainable peace,” he said.
He also spoke about the situation in other parts of the region, including Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Sudan and Somalia. And underscored the vital partnership between the United Nations and the League of Arab States.
On the margins of the Summit, he held a trilateral meeting with the Chairman of the African Union, Mahamoud Youssouf, and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Mr. Abu Al-Ghait.
Their meeting focused on Sudan, and how to better cooperate and maintain a regular contact to better coordinate all initiatives in relation to peace in Sudan.
He also met with the Prime Minister of Jordan, Jafar Hassan, where they discussed developments in the region, and obviously what is going on in Gaza. Separately, he discussed the situation in Lebanon with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam of Lebanon.
On Sunday, he spoke with the Prime Minister of Iraq [Mohammed] Shia’ Al Sudani. The Secretary-General during those talks reaffirmed that we remain fully committed to continuing to support the Government and people of Iraq following the planned departure of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq [UNAMI]. As you know, the mission’s mandate will not be extended beyond 31 December of this year.
The Secretary-General also addressed the UN staff in Baghdad to express his thanks to them. He laid a wreath at a memorial in the UN Compound in honour of 22 of our colleagues, who as you know, were brutally killed during the terrorist attack at the Canal Hotel on August 19 2003. Mr. Guterres said that “this memorial is as a clear reminder of the vital work that the United Nations does around the world — and the dangers our people face in carrying out that work.”
GAZA
The Secretary-General is alarmed by the intensification of Israeli air strikes and ground operations in the Gaza Strip, which have resulted in the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in recent days, including many women and children, and, of course, large-scale evacuation orders.
The Secretary-General calls for the rapid, safe, and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to civilians, in order to avert famine, alleviate widespread suffering, and prevent further loss of life.
The Secretary-General continues to call for a permanent ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and welcomes the ongoing efforts by the mediators to reach a deal in Gaza. He has repeatedly warned that the continued violence and the destruction will only compound civilian suffering and heighten the risk of a broader regional conflict.
The Secretary-General reiterates that civilians must be respected and they must be protected at all times, and that all parties must strictly adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law.
The Secretary-General firmly rejects any forced displacement of the Palestinian population.
Full Highlights:
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=19%20May%202025
Question for written answer E-001881/2025 to the Commission Rule 144 Stefano Cavedagna (ECR), Ruggero Razza (ECR), Carlo Ciccioli (ECR), Michele Picaro (ECR)
On 30 August 2024, the European Commission removed the marketing authorisation for the drug Ocaliva (obeticholic acid), used to treat primary biliary cholangitis, a rare, chronic and progressive liver disease.
As a result of this decision, Advanz Pharma Specialty Medicine Italia voluntarily withdrew the drug from sale in Italy and it was taken off the list maintained under Law No 648/96 of drugs paid for by the national health service.
Ocaliva was the only approved second-line treatment for patients who do not respond to or cannot tolerate ursodeoxycholic acid treatment, and its withdrawal has left many patients without any viable treatment options.
Although the European Medicines Agency has suggested compassionate use or programmes for designated patients, access to such measures remains fragmented at European level, giving rise to inequalities in access to treatment.
Can the Commission therefore say:
1.Whether, in view of the provisions of EU law, it believes measures such as the purchase of Ocaliva from abroad should be taken to enable Italian patients to continue their treatment?
2.How it intends to ensure continuity of treatment for patients without any valid therapeutic alternatives, even given the emergence of new drugs?
Question for written answer E-001875/2025 to the Commission Rule 144 Cristina Guarda (Verts/ALE), Benedetta Scuderi (Verts/ALE), Leoluca Orlando (Verts/ALE), Ignazio Roberto Marino (Verts/ALE)
In May 2023, Acciaierie d’Italia requested a review of the integrated environmental permit (IEP) for the (former ILVA) plant in Taranto.
Enshrined in the European regulatory framework for the sake of public transparency and participation, the right to access environmental information enables public oversight and plays a role in the sound management of environmental resources.
The Aarhus Convention gives members of the public the right to access information about and to participate in decisions made about environmental matters, as well as to seek redress if these rights are not respected. In the interest of transparency in environmental matters, Directive 2003/4/EC enshrines the right to access environmental information held by public authorities, while Article 24 of Directive 2010/75/EU regulates the disclosure of IEP-related documents, ensuring that information is made available to the public for the sake of transparency and participation.
Despite this, many documents have not been uploaded to the website of the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security[1], including the minutes of the inter-service conference, the opinions of local bodies and the National Institute of Health, the final preparatory opinion, and the monitoring and control plan.
In light of the above:
1.Given the significance of the site and its severe environmental impact, does the Commission believe the principles of transparency and disclosure should be observed?
2.What action will the Commission take against the Italian State?
Six projects that will benefit charities, families and local sports clubs are to receive £82,880 Inverness Common Good Funding which has been awarded by Members of The Highland Council’s City of Inverness Area Committee today.
Leader of Inverness and Area Cllr Ian Brown said: “Inverness Common Good Fund continues to support a variety of local groups and charities making a significant difference to the lives of people. I am pleased to see the range of awards benefitting the health and wellbeing particularly for those more vulnerable in our communities.
The following grants have been awarded:
Highlands & Islands Blood Bikes (£10,500) towards the costs of a motorcycle for urgent medical response (e.g. blood samples, patient medications, human donor milk) for NHS Highland, with significant support to Raigmore Hospital and NHS patients.
Inverness Rowing Club (£7,000) towards an all abilities pontoon project on the Caledonian Canal.
Apex Scotland: (£7,000) towards the Challenge Team to support the implementation of a woodworking project aimed at participants who have experience with the justice system to offer an opportunity for skill development, personal growth, and community reintegration leading to meaningful employment.
Shopmobility Highland (£21,000) towards shopmobility based in Eastgate Centre, Inverness providing support to anyone who requires a mobility aid to have the use of a manual wheelchair, powerchair or mobility scooter.
Calman Trust (£18,380) towards Beyond Club Artysans to support the employment of a youth worker.
Inverness Angling Club (£19,000) towards financial support for the continued arrangements in respect of the Inverness Common Good Fund River Fishings.
Members also noted that the Inverness Common Good Fund Sub Committee has agreed that as part of ongoing liaison arrangements officers undertake discussions with office bearers of the Inverness Angling Club to review the current action plan with the outcome reported to a future meeting of the Sub-Committee.
At today’s meeting of the Inverness and Area City Committee members were given an update on the air quality work undertaken by the Council’s Environmental Health Team, including project work carried out in Primary Schools to monitor air quality and raise awareness.
Under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995, the Council has a duty to review and assess air quality throughout Highland. The Act also requires that if an assessment of air quality indicates that an air quality objective is unlikely to be achieved, the Council must designate these areas as an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) by order.
A detailed assessment report of air quality in the City Centre in 2014 determined a small area where the air quality objective for nitrogen dioxide was not being achieved. The Inverness City Centre AQMA was designated by order on the 9 September 2014.
Since then, the Council has formulated an action plan for the AQMA, working with partners and stakeholders to progress actions that would improve air quality in the AQMA. The Council also expanded the air quality monitoring network in the city to track pollutant levels and quantify improvement.
In the report presented to members, it was noted that because of improved levels of nitrogen dioxide, and following advice from the Scottish Government, the council is in the process of revoking the Inverness AQMA.
Leader of Inverness and Area Councillor Ian Brown said: “It is a very positive reflection of the work that has been going on that the process to revoke the Inverness AGMA is due to be completed shortly so I’d like to thank everyone involved.
“I’m particularly pleased that our Environmental Health team have been very proactive in working to carry out air quality monitoring and awareness raising projects at 15 primary schools within our area.
“Going forward, it is important that the Inverness can continue to have clean air for the health of residents, and its reputation as a tourism destination so I’m pleased the Service will look to develop a strategy with other Council services and stakeholders and will keep our committee updated.”
The Environmental Health Team will continue to deliver the primary school air quality education project and intend to deliver an anti-idling publicity campaign in the city centre as part of “Clean Air Day” on the 19 June 2025.
Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3
Summary
Company Announcement Date: May 18, 2025 FDA Publish Date: May 19, 2025 Product Type: Food & Beverages Reason for Announcement:
Recall Reason Description Undeclared milk
Company Name: R&M Trading LLC Brand Name:
Brand Name(s) RM Refresher
Product Description:
Product Description Instant Milk Tea Powder
Company Announcement R&M Trading LLC of Lakewood, WA is recalling approximately 408 packages (1lb. pack per package) and 1624 packages (3/1lb. packs per package) of Instant Milk Tea powder products because they may contain undeclared milk . People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product. The R&M Refresher brand Instant Milk Tea products are recalled because the ingredients statement declares Whey and Caseinate in Non-Dairy Creamer ingredients, but it does not specify milk. The following Instant Milk Tea products are sold in 1lb. plastic pouch on Amazon website between 11/18/2024 and 05/07/2025. No illnesses have been reported to date.
Amazon ASIN Number Product Expiration Date
B0D725TXQW Brown Sugar Flavor Instant Milk Tea by RM Refresher (1-Pack/llb.) 12/15/2025
B0D72FQVDR Brown Sugar Flavor Instant Milk Tea by RM Refresher (3-Pack/3I b.) 12/15/2025
B0D72D6589 Taro Flavor Instant Milk Tea by RM Refresher (3-Pack/3I b.) 12/15/2025
The recall was initiated after it was discovered during an inspection conducted by the U.S. FDA Office of Global Policy and Strategy in China that products containing milk were distributed in packaging that did not reveal the presence of milk. Consumers who have purchased affected products are urged not to consume the product and to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at imars.yang@qq.com . This recall is being made with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Josie Osborne, Minister of Health, has issued the following statement in recognition of Family Doctor Day:
“Today is Family Doctor Day, which gives us an opportunity to acknowledge the incredible work of family doctors who deliver personalized, comprehensive and continuous care to patients and communities in B.C.
“Family doctors are the cornerstone of our health-care system, managing many of the health concerns people experience throughout their lives. They provide holistic care rooted in strong patient relationships and are experts in treating the whole person at every stage of life.
“We know that family doctors want to spend as much time as possible with their patients and we have heard that unnecessary paperwork robs them of valuable time to do that. To address this, we are eliminating sick notes for short-term absences to cut administrative burden, make our system more efficient and free up family doctors to focus on what they do best – providing care to people in British Columbia.
“Along with eliminating unnecessary sick notes, outdated fax and paper-based processes will be replaced by digital systems, making referrals more efficient, consolidating and standardizing forms, and enhancing information-sharing among providers.
“Our government is working hard to strengthen care by hiring and training more family doctors so people can get better and faster care, close to home. With the uncertainty and chaos happening south of our border, we have an opportunity to attract the skilled health-care workers our province needs to strengthen public health care. We are ramping up our recruitment efforts in the U.S. and streamlining regulatory processes.
“Since March 2025, when we announced that we are fast-tracking credential recognition for health professionals from other countries and provinces, 573 doctors from the United States have expressed interest to come work in B.C. Building on that, we are working with health authorities, regulatory colleges and other partners to co-ordinate a marketing campaign in the states of Washington, Oregon and California.
“I would like to extend my sincere thanks to family doctors for their steadfast dedication, compassion and expertise in caring for individuals and families in our communities. Your efforts to support health, prevent illness and build trusted, meaningful relationships have a profound impact on countless lives each day.”
Learn More:
For information about the restriction of short-term sick notes, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2025LBR0016-000336
For information about the recruitment plan to attract health-care professionals from the U.S., visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2025HLTH0013-000194
Headline: Microsoft Build 2025: The age of AI agents and building the open agentic web
TL;DR? Hear the news as an AI-generated audio overview made using Microsoft 365 Copilot. You can read the transcript here.
We’ve entered the era of AI agents. Thanks to groundbreaking advancements in reasoning and memory, AI models are now more capable and efficient, and we’re seeing how AI systems can help us all solve problems in new ways.
For example, 15 million developers are already using GitHub Copilot, and features like agent mode and code review are streamlining the way they code, check, deploy and troubleshoot.
Hundreds of thousands of customers are using Microsoft 365 Copilot to help research, brainstorm and develop solutions, and more than 230,000 organizations — including 90% of the Fortune 500 — have already used Copilot Studio to build AI agents and automations.
Companies like Fujitsu and NTT DATA are using Azure AI Foundry to build and manage AI apps and agents that help prioritize sales leads, speed proposal creation and surface client insights. Stanford Health Care is using Microsoft’s healthcare agent orchestrator to build and test AI agents that can help alleviate the administrative burden and speed up the workflow for tumor board preparation.
Developers are at the center of it all. For 50 years Microsoft has been empowering developers with tools and platforms to turn their ideas into reality, accelerating innovation at every stage. From AI-driven automation to seamless cloud integration and more, it’s exciting to see how developers are fueling the next generation of digital transformation.
So, what’s next?
We envision a world in which agents operate across individual, organizational, team and end-to-end business contexts. This emerging vision of the internet is an open agentic web, where AI agents make decisions and perform tasks on behalf of users or organizations.
At Microsoft Build we’re showing the steps we’re taking to make this vision a reality through our platforms, products and infrastructure. We’re putting new models and coding agents in the hands of developers, introducing enterprise-grade agents, making our platforms like Azure AI Foundry, GitHub and Windows the best places to build, embracing open protocols and accelerating scientific discovery with AI, all so that developers and organizations can go invent the next big thing.
Here’s a glimpse at just a few of the announcements today:
Reimagining the software development lifecycle with AI
AI is fundamentally shifting how code is written, deployed and maintained. Developers are using AI to stay in the flow of their environment longer and to shift their focus to more strategic tasks. And as the software development lifecycle is being transformed, we’re providing new features across platforms including GitHub, Azure AI Foundry and Windows that enable developers to work faster, think bigger and build at scale.
GitHub Copilot coding agent and new updates to GitHub Models: GitHub Copilot is evolving from an in-editor assistant to an agentic AI partner with a first-of-its-kind asynchronous coding agent integrated into the GitHub platform. We’re adding prompt management, lightweight evaluations and enterprise controls to GitHub Models so teams can experiment with best-in-class models, without leaving GitHub. Microsoft is also open-sourcing GitHub Copilot Chat in VS Code. The AI-powered capabilities from GitHub Copilot extensions will now be part of the same open-source repository that drives the world’s most popular development tool. As the home of over 150 million developers, this reinforces our commitment to open, collaborative, AI-powered software development. Learn more about GitHub Copilot updates.
Introducing Windows AI Foundry: For developers, Windows remains one of the most open and widely used platforms available, with scale, flexibility and growing opportunity. Windows AI Foundry offers a unified and reliable platform supporting the AI developer lifecycle across training and inference. With simple model APIs for vision and language tasks, developers can manage and run open source LLMs via Foundry Local or bring a proprietary model to convert, fine-tune and deploy across client and cloud. Windows AI Foundry is available to get started today. To learn more visit our Windows Developer Blog.
Azure AI Foundry Models and new tools for model evaluation: Azure AI Foundry is a unified platform for developers to design, customize and manage AI applications and agents. With Azure AI Foundry Models, we’re bringing Grok 3 and Grok 3 mini models from xAI to our ecosystem, hosted and billed directly by Microsoft. Developers can now choose from more than 1,900 partner-hosted and Microsoft-hosted AI models, while managing secure data integration, model customization and enterprise-grade governance. We’re also introducing new tools like the Model Leaderboard, which ranks the top-performing AI models across different categories and tasks, and the Model Router, designed to select an optimal model for a specific query or task in real-time. Read more about Azure AI Foundry Models.
Making AI agents more capable and secure
AI agents are not only changing how developers build, but how individuals, teams and companies get work done. At Build, we’re unveiling new pre-built agents, custom agent building blocks, multi-agent capabilities and new models to help developers and organizations build and deploy agents securely to help increase productivity in meaningful ways.
With the general availability of Azure AI Foundry Agent Service, Microsoft is bringing new capabilities to empower professional developers to orchestrate multiple specialized agents to handle complex tasks, including bringing Semantic Kernel and AutoGen into a single, developer-focused SDK and Agent-to-Agent (A2A) and Model Context Protocol (MCP) support. To help developers build trust and confidence in their AI agents, we’re announcing new features in Azure AI Foundry Observability for built-in observability into metrics for performance, quality, cost and safety, all incorporated alongside detailed tracing in a streamlined dashboard. Learn more about how to deploy enterprise-grade AI agents in Azure AI Foundry Service.
Introducing Microsoft 365 Copilot Tuning and multi-agent orchestration: With Copilot Tuning, customers can use their own company data, workflows and processes to train models and create agents in a simple, low-code way. These agents perform highly accurate, domain-specific tasks securely from within the Microsoft 365 service boundary. For example, a law firm can create an agent that generates documents aligned with its organization’s expertise and style. Additionally, new multi-agent orchestration in Copilot Studio connects multiple agents, allowing them to combine skills and tackle broader, more complex tasks. Check out the Microsoft 365 blog to learn how to access these new tools as well as the Microsoft 365 Copilot Wave 2 spring release, which has moved to general availability and begins rolling out today.
Supporting the open agentic web
To realize the future of AI agents, we’re advancing open standards and shared infrastructure to provide unique capabilities for customers.
Supporting Model Context Protocol (MCP): Microsoft is delivering broad first-party support for Model Context Protocol (MCP) across its agent platform and frameworks, spanning GitHub, Copilot Studio, Dynamics 365, Azure AI Foundry, Semantic Kernel and Windows 11. In addition, Microsoft and GitHub have joined the MCP Steering Committee to help advance secure, at-scale adoption of the open protocol and announced two new contributions to the MCP ecosystem, an updated authorization specification, which enables people to use their existing trusted sign-in methods to give agents and LLM-powered apps access to data and services such as personal storage drives or subscription services, and the design of an MCP server registry service, which allows anyone to implement public or private, up-to-date, centralized repositories for MCP server entries. Check out the GitHub repository. As we expand our MCP capabilities, our top priority is to ensure we’re building upon a secure foundation. To learn more about this approach see: Securing the Model Context Protocol: Building a Safe Agentic Future on Windows.
A new open project called NLWeb: Microsoft is introducing NLWeb, which we believe can play a similar role to HTML for the agentic web. NLWeb makes it easy for websites to provide a conversational interface for their users with the model of their choice and their own data, allowing users to interact directly with web content in a rich, semantic manner. Every NLWeb endpoint is also an MCP server, so websites can make their content easily discoverable and accessible to AI agents if they choose. Learn more here.
Accelerating scientific discovery with AI
Science may be one of the most important applications of AI, helping to tackle humanity’s most pressing challenges, from drug discovery to sustainability. At Build we’re introducing Microsoft Discovery, an extensible platform built to empower researchers to transform the entire discovery process with agentic AI, helping research and development departments across various industries accelerate the time to market for new products and accelerate and expand the end-to-end discovery process for all scientists. Learn more here.
This is only a small selection of the many exciting features and updates we will be announcing at Build. We’re looking forward to connecting with those who have registered to join us virtually and in-person, for keynote sessions, live code deep dives, hack sessions and more — much of which will be available on demand.
Plus, you can get more on all these announcements by exploring the Book of News, the official compendium of all today’s news.
Tags: AI, Azure AI, Azure AI Foundry, Book of News, GitHub, GitHub Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft Purview
Grip strength refers to the power generated by the muscles of the hand and forearm to perform actions such as grabbing, squeezing an object or even shaking hands. This action involves a complex interplay between the various muscle groups located in the forearm, as well as the muscles within the hand itself.
Grip strength is a very cheap, easy and non-invasive measure of muscle strength. This test has been used since the mid-1950s as a measure of overall health. Since then, the simple test has been firmly established as a reliable marker of various aspects of health – with some researchers even suggesting grip strength can be used to determine a person’s risk of everything from type 2 diabetes to depression.
The standard method for measuring grip strength involves using a handheld dynanometer – an instrument which can measure a person’s power. This test is usually done while a person is sitting down. With their forearm bent at a 90-degree angle and wrist held in a neutral position, the person then squeezes the dynamometer as hard as they can – usually three separate times for one minute each.
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The average of the highest readings from each hand, or sometimes just the dominant hand, is then recorded as the person’s grip strength. This can be measured in both kilograms or pounds. A grip strength value of under 29kg for men and 18kg for women is typically considered low. You can pick up a handgrip dynamometer for under £5 should you wish to test at home.
Moreover, the stronger a person’s grip is, the more independent they will be in their daily life as they get older. This means they’ll be able to perform normal daily activities without assistance, such as rising from a chair and moving around the house.
A substantial body of evidence also shows low grip strength is not only linked with greater susceptibility of a wide range of chronic diseases – including cancer and cardiovascular disease – but greater risk of early death due to these chronic disease, as well.
Researchers have also observed links between low grip strength and greater risk of depression, anxiety and diabetes, to name a few.
There’s also a significant association between grip strength and a person’s lifespan. In this study, people who died before the age of 79 were 2.5 times less likely than those who lived to be 100 to be in the top 33% for grip strength when they were middle aged.
Grip strength is actually a proxy measure of overall muscle strength. Microgen/ Shutterstock
However, in a 12-year prospective study published in 2022, the authors reported that baseline hand grip strength was the same in participants that died between the beginning and end of the study as in those who survived. But walking speed, speed of standing up from a chair and leg press strength were all worse in the people that died than in t that survived. This tells us is that there are better predictors of longevity than grip strength – such as total body muscle mass and leg strength.
So why is it that such a simple measure can tell us about the risk of so many diseases, and ultimately death? The answer is that grip strength is a proxy measure of total muscle strength and size. This means that grip strength alone is not a cause of early mortality or disease, but is correlated with a cause of early mortality or disease (such as low muscle mass or muscle strength of the legs).
Muscle also releases chemicals called myokines, which act upon other tissues and organs in the body – such as fat, our bones, the gut, liver and even our skin and brain. These myokines generally appear to have a protective effect on all of these tissues. This suggests muscle provides more than just the power we need to move our bodies.
Improving your grip strength
Unless you’re a rock climber or otherwise need a strong grip, there’s not much point working specifically on improving your grip strength. Although grip strength is linked with longevity and disease, this is because grip strength is an estimate of total body strength.
As such, if you want to improve your health and strength, you should focus on training your leg strength. Leg strength is particularly important for health and fitness as it permits movement and helps you continue doing tasks independently in your daily life. Research also shows a correlation between leg strength and a person’s risk of chronic disease and their longevity.
You can also add in other movements such as deadlifts, press-ups and pull-ups to build strength in your core, back and arms.
Grip strength values serve as a very cheap and easy measure of a person’s overall health. It’s a cost-effective tool for measuring health but there are better ways to improve health with exercise.
Lawrence Hayes has received funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Chief Scientist Office (CSO), the RS Macdonald Charitable Trust, and the Physiological Society.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nimesh Dhungana, Lecturer in Disasters and Global Health, Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, University of Manchester
An earthquake that struck south-east Asia in late March is thought to have killed more than 3,000 people in Myanmar, a country ruled by a military junta that has blocked humanitarian aid and continued waging war on quake-ravaged rebel territory.
I am interested in how authoritarian regimes handle disasters and whether they disrupt or reinforce the ruling elite’s agenda. My research has led me to Tibet, which has endured Chinese occupation since 1951 and suffered a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in early January 2025.
Beijing controls the access of independent media and international observers in Tibet. What we know about the disaster’s impact is largely based on initial reporting by the Chinese media, which has claimed the loss of 126 lives and damage to roads and communication networks.
Tibetan sources have, however, contended that there has been much greater destruction, including to a number of monasteries and nunneries across the region.
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Following the earthquake, the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, ordered “all-out search and rescue efforts” and pledged a rapid recovery. The constrained political environment has meant that Chinese relief agencies and the Chinese state-run media have controlled the narrative, praising Beijing’s capacity for “speed and compassion” in mobilising rescue efforts while using the disaster to highlight China’s record of “good governance and putting people and their lives first”.
These accounts not only fail to report on the civic responses to disaster, such as mutual aid networks organised by Tibetans both locally and internationally, but they tend to overlook the immediate concerns of the affected communities.
Survivors and activists using social media to challenge Chinese media narratives of purported success in rescue and relief efforts have faced censorship and outright hostility from the Chinese authorities. A previous study, looking at the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, found that communities that were considered a challenge to Chinese authority had their demands for relief suppressed.
The earthquake has sparked further concerns among Tibetans that Chinese authorities will use the disaster to tighten their grip on the region.
The situation is reminiscent of the April 2010 earthquake that struck Tibet’s Yushu region, claiming more than 2,600 lives and causing significant disruption to local life. The earthquake enabled China to push its vision of modernity and development in Tibet amid allegations of corruption in relief distribution and forced relocations.
The aftermath revealed a divergence between the Chinese interpretation of recovery and what many Tibetans saw as essential for preserving and promoting their unique cultural identity.
In their study of the Zimbabwean state’s response to tropical cyclone Idai in 2019, anthropologist Denboy Kudejira described this phenomenon as “disaster authoritarianism”: when an authoritarian regime exploits a disaster to reassert its power. Akin to China’s model, the Zimbabwean government restricted the involvement of non-state groups in longer-term recovery efforts.
The relative lack of attention journalists and politicians abroad pay to Tibet makes this problem more acute. For instance, the wildfires in Los Angeles erupted at the same time as the earthquake, but garnered greater and more sustained media attention that mounted scrutiny on responsible agencies. By contrast, the Tibet earthquake quickly faded from the news.
‘Confrontational politics emerging’
For Tibetans, challenging disaster authoritarianism is part of a delicate political struggle. Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, called the disaster “a natural phenomenon and not the result of human activities”, while urging Tibetans not to be “angry with the Chinese”. This appears to reflect his long-held wisdom that antagonising Chinese authorities will invite further hardship for communities enduring political marginalisation.
Others are more sceptical. Some people inside Tibet have questioned the official number of casualties reported by Beijing and pushed Chinese authorities to clarify the scale of the tragedy.
There are signs of more confrontational politics emerging. The International Campaign for Tibet, which lobbies for self-determination for Tibetans, has labelled the disaster “the silent earthquake” and accused Chinese authorities of censoring the true nature of suffering.
Another rights group, the Tibetan Rights Collective, has highlighted China’s interventions in Tibet that have made the region more geologically unstable, including the building of hydropower dams and roads. Recent research shows that China’s push to build infrastructure in the region has increased the risk of disasters, such as floods and landslides, for downstream communities in south Asia.
Research a colleague and I conducted during the pandemic showed that community groups can compensate for gaps in state-led disaster responses, and alert where help is needed. But this depends on public participation and grassroots organising that, in authoritarian contexts such as Tibet and Myanmar, is heavily restricted.
The climate crisis is increasing the risk of disasters at the same time as there is widespread fear of increasing authoritarianism globally. We should all worry about how these two trends might interact.
Nimesh Dhungana does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile has on Monday arrived in Paris, France, for a working visit aimed at reinforcing South Africa’s historic and warm bilateral relations with that country.
During the working visit, the two countries will be expanding on existing cooperation projects as well as identify new areas of cooperation with specific focus on trade and investment.
The Deputy President’s visit follows a recent visit by Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, last week to co-chair the 9th Session of the Forum for Political Dialogue (FPD) where the status of bilateral political relations between the two countries was discussed, including matters of mutual interest relating to international developments.
“Deputy President Mashatile will participate in the SA-France Investment Conference, where South Africa will intensify cooperation in the fields of infrastructure development; science, technology and innovation; education and skills development as well as improve the already strong people-to-people links between the two countries and increase the flow of tourism to South Africa from France,” said the Presidency in a statement.
It said France is the 14th largest investor in South Africa, with about 400 French companies investing in sectors such as Financial Services, Renewable Energy, Rail, Chemicals, Oil and Gas, to mention but a few.
“French companies have played a pivotal role in the Presidential Investment Conference.
“Since the first Presidential Investment Conference hosted in 2018, French companies have committed more than R70 billion with the majority of projects either completed or being implemented. “
As part of his programme, Deputy President Mashatile will pay a courtesy call on Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, meet with captains of different industries and conduct site visits to the Suez Global Waste Management Company and Dassault Systèmes.
The Deputy President is accompanied by Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi; Minister of Small Business Development Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams; Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy; Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie; Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille; Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Alvin Botes; Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Buti Manamela; Deputy Minister Trade, Industry and Competition Zuko Godlimpi and Deputy Minister of Electricity and Energy Samantha Graham-Maré. – SAnews.gov.za
Headline: Meet four developers leading the way with AI agents
Agents can get past the fragmentation of data that come from clinician notes, notes from the staff that deals with insurance, notes from nurses, images such as CT scans that are very different from pathology slides, and more, Keyes says.
“It’s really hard to get a chat model to do this,” he says. But agents can focus on a specialized task, with the healthcare agent orchestrator directing requests to the appropriate agent. Getting started is really easy. Stanford Health Care set up the initial agents from Azure AI Foundry Agent Catalog and deployed into Microsoft Teams for testing in about 10 minutes, Keyes says.
The data organizer brings in clinical notes, labs, medications and genomic data, all of which come in different formats, and structures the information into a succinct abstract, with citations so the clinician can quickly verify it or go to see the relevant section in depth.
Keyes recalls being with other medical trainees and his attending physician asking for a radiology report in the electronic health record. “And it’s like, click, click, click, click, click, click – 100 different clicks versus ‘oh, it’s right here in front of me.’’’ When he checked the agent’s citations against the actual notes, they were correct.
The radiology agent reads radiology images using the leading specialized AI models on Azure AI Foundry, and the pathology agent analyzes the whole-slide images and provides relevant pathology findings. Another agent identifies which clinical trials the patient is eligible for.
The medical research agent uses reasoning models to search over scientific papers on cancer, again giving links for quick retrieval of the full documents.
At the end of the process, a report creation agent summarizes the key components of the patient’s case to be discussed at the tumor board, turning it into a Word document or PowerPoint.
Preparing a single patient’s case for a tumor board could take Keyes several hours; in testing, AI agents might make the work 10 times faster, he says. Stanford Health Care has more than a dozen tumor boards serving about 4,000 patients, so the time savings would multiply quickly.
“The agents will enable the work to be done easier, faster and more efficiently, which really matters when you’re talking about meetings with 10 clinicians in them, where time is really precious,” Keyes says. Time is precious, too, for the patients.
“I think in a lot of industries when they think agentic, they get very excited about, ‘it’s going to work very autonomously. It’s going to be making decisions, and I can just look at what it’s doing every once in a while.’ That is not really what we’re envisioning. We do want the clinicians in charge of a patient’s care. We always want them to be able to check.”
“I would be excited at the idea of AI helping my doctors to be the best version of themselves and to liberate them from some of the time-consuming components of documentation so they can spend more time with me the patient,” he says.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized four countries – the Republic of Austria, the Kingdom of Norway, the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of Singapore – for their exemplary efforts in eliminating industrially produced trans fats from their food supplies. These countries have implemented best-practice policies alongside effective monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to promote public health.
The WHO validation certificates were officially presented by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly. “Eliminating industrially produced trans fats is one of the most cost-effective strategies to reduce the global burden of cardiovascular diseases. Trans fats are a major contributor to preventable deaths each year, particularly due to their impact on heart health,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “These countries are not only protecting the health of their populations, but also setting an exemplary standard for other countries to follow.”
This recognition marks another significant milestone in the global effort to eliminate trans fats, reflecting not only policy commitments but also the concrete actions being taken to remove trans fat from the food supply.
Trans fat clogs arteries, increasing the risk of heart attacks and coronary heart disease – responsible for over 278 000 deaths each year globally. Trans fat, or trans-fatty acids (TFA), are unsaturated fatty acids that come from either artificial (industrial) or natural sources. Industrially produced trans fats are often found in many baked goods such as biscuits, pies and fried foods, as well as margarine, vegetable shortening, Vanaspati ghee, among many others. Both industrially produced and naturally occurring trans fats are equally harmful.
“Recognizing the incredible harm caused by industrially produced trans fats, we became the second country to introduce measures to eliminate it. An EU-wide regulation is now in place, and Austria acknowledges its pioneering role in this important development. Bold, evidence-based policies can deliver real public health impact, and we are proud to be among the countries leading this global effort,” said Korinna Schumann, Minister of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection, Austria.
Seven years ago, WHO called for the global elimination of industrially produced trans fats. At that time, only 11 countries covering 6% of the global population had best-practice trans-fat elimination policies in effect. Today, nearly 60 countries have best-practice policies in effect, covering 46% of the global population.
“Eliminating industrially produced trans fats marks a significant milestone in our commitment to protecting our population’s health. We are proud to be among the 60 countries implementing this lifesaving policy, and especially honored to be recognized as one of the nine countries leading the way in eliminating this harmful ingredient,” said Dr Hilal bin Ali bin Hilal Alsabti, Minister of Health, Oman.
WHO recommends that governments implement best-practice trans fat elimination policies either by setting a mandatory limit of 2 grams of trans fat per 100 grams of total fat in all foods and/or by banning the production and use of partially hydrogenated oils (PHO) as an ingredient in food products. The WHO validation programme for trans fat elimination recognizes countries that have gone beyond introducing best practice policies by ensuring that rigorous monitoring and enforcement systems in place. Monitoring and enforcing compliance with policies is critical to maximizing and sustaining health benefits.
“Our efforts to implement robust, best-practice trans fat elimination policies are showing clear, measurable results. The latest monitoring data confirms that it is not only possible to reduce trans fat intake but to virtually eliminate it,” said Jan Christian Vestre, Minister of Health and Care Services, Norway.
Replacing trans fats with healthier oils and fats is a low-cost intervention that yields high economic returns by improving population health, saving lives and reducing healthcare costs. Governments can eliminate the cause of 7% of cardiovascular disease globally with a low-cost investment aimed at reducing or eliminating trans fats from the food supply.
“Our journey towards eliminating industrially produced trans fats began over a decade ago. Today, we have made significant progress. This is a powerful testament to what can be achieved through applying a consistent public health policy, across countries and regions, and working collaboratively with the industries. We are proud to stand alongside other countries in building a healthier and safer food environment for all,” said Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Health, Singapore.
WHO remains committed to supporting countries in their efforts and to recognizing their achievements. By working with national nutrition and food safety authorities, WHO can better support governments not only in developing and adopting trans fat elimination policies, but also in monitoring and enforcing them to ensure lasting impact.
The next application cycle for the TFA elimination validation programme is now open and countries are welcome to apply by 31 August 2025 to be considered for the third cycle.
Note to editors
The World Health Organization has partnered with Resolve to Save Lives, a not-for-profit organization, to support the development and implementation of the REPLACE action package. Launched in 2018, the WHO’s REPLACE action package provides a strategic approach to eliminating industrially produced trans fat from national food supplies.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
GENEVA, May 19 (Xinhua) — The World Health Assembly (WHA), the highest decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), on Monday decided to reject a proposal by some countries to include in the assembly’s agenda the issue of “inviting Taiwan to participate in the WHA as an observer.”
Commenting on the decision of the 78th session of the WHA on the so-called proposal of some countries to “invite Taiwan to participate in the work of the WHA as an observer,” Chen Xu, Permanent Representative of the PRC to the UN Office at Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, stated in his speech at the assembly that the issue of representation of all of China, including Taiwan, had long been exhaustively and finally resolved by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1.
He also noted that for many years the WHA has rejected similar proposals related to Taiwan, thereby protecting the authority of the UN and the international order that emerged after the end of World War II.
Facts prove that the vicious path of “Taiwan independence” leads to a dead end, the Chinese diplomat stressed. –0–
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Derrick Van Orden (Wisconsin 3rd)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Derrick Van Orden (WI-03) introduced legislation to address the nationwide shortage of Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) by expanding the number of qualified supervisors for CNA training programs. The Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Workforce Improvement Actwill allow Registered Nurses (RN) with a minimum of two years of nursing experience to supervise CNA training, regardless of whether their experience comes from working in a long-term care facility or another healthcare facility.
CNA staff shortages are a growing concern across the country, especially in rural communities with limited access to healthcare facilities and providers. By eliminating the long-term care requirement, more nurses will be available to supervise the training of CNAs, ultimately accelerating workforce recruitment and helping alleviate the CNA shortage.
“I have heard from countless healthcare providers who are in desperate need of more CNAs,” said Rep. Van Orden.“In rural Wisconsin, folks depend on these critical workers to receive timely and quality care, and when facilities are short-staffed, entire communities feel the impact. This bill removes the bureaucratic red tape and gets more boots on the ground to ensure patients are receiving the care they need.”
“Opening pathways to crucial health care careers takes creative solutions. This legislation is a step toward building the CNA workforce to aid better patient care and to train future health care professionals. We’re grateful Rep. Van Orden is prioritizing this issue, and we look forward to advocating with him for its passage,” said Heather Schimmers, MBA, RN, Gundersen Region President, Emplify Health.
Headline: Governor Stein Announces Second Hurricane Helene Budget Proposal
Governor Stein Announces Second Hurricane Helene Budget Proposal lsaito
Raleigh, NC
Today Governor Josh Stein visited Carolina Domes in Union Mills to propose additional funding for the Hurricane Helene recovery effort. Governor Stein recommends an additional $891 million to help western North Carolina rebuild.
“Western North Carolina is coming back strong, but there is much more work to do,” said Governor Josh Stein. “I urge the General Assembly to pass a second round of funding so that the rebuilding and recovery efforts can continue as quickly and effectively as possible.”
Governor Stein’s budget proposal includes:
$260 million to spur economic recovery by supporting businesses and local governments and promoting western North Carolina’s tourism industry.
$239 million to strengthen critical infrastructure by repairing damaged schools, expanding debris clean-up, and investing in projects to safeguard against future disasters.
$113 million to advance housing recovery and provide assistance to families who have struggled with rent, mortgage, and utility bills.
$105 million to rehabilitate waterways and land used by farmers as well as fund wildfire prevention and response.
$23 million to address food insecurity in western North Carolina and the needs of affected community colleges.
$152 million for required state matching of federal disaster programs, investments in communication and disaster system improvements, and existing requirements that are not funded by state or federal dollars.
The Stein administration continues to be laser-focused on rebuilding western North Carolina. During Small Business Week, Governor Stein and North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Lee Lilley highlighted small businesses in Marshall that were impacted by Helene. He also announced that the Dogwood Health Trust, the Duke Endowment, and the State of North Carolina have distributed $55 million to more than 2,000 businesses in western North Carolina.
The State of North Carolina also launched an additional $55 million state infrastructure program allowing local governments to apply for up to $1 million to rebuild public infrastructure that small business rely on, such as sidewalks and sewers. The Governor also joined the commencement ceremonies of Appalachian State University, Western Carolina University, and Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College to honor the graduates’ resiliency in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
Read Governor Stein’s full Helene recovery budget proposal here. (Please note figures above are rounded to the nearest whole number.)
The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Mauritania as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, making it the seventh country in WHO’s African Region to achieve this significant milestone. The validation certificate was received by Honorable Abdallahi Sidi Mohamed Wedih, Minister of Health and Aïcha Vall Vergès, Ambassador of Mauritania to Switzerland at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly.
“I congratulate the government and the people of Mauritania for this achievement,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “This is another example of the incredible progress we have made against neglected tropical diseases and gives hope to many other nations still fighting against trachoma that they too can eliminate this disease.”
Mauritania has a long history of a fight against trachoma that dates back to the 1960s. However, it was not until early 2000 that the country conducted population-based epidemiological surveys to map trachoma with the support of the Organization for the Prevention of Blindness (OPC), the Institute of Tropical Ophthalmology of Africa (IOTA) and WHO. Trachoma control activities were integrated into the National Programme for the Fight against Blindness at the Ministry of Health.
Mauritania implemented the WHO-recommended SAFE strategy to eliminate trachoma with the support of partners. These activities included provision of surgery to treat the late blinding stage of the disease, conducting mass administration of antibiotic treatment with azithromycin donated by Pfizer through the International Trachoma Initiative, carrying out public awareness campaigns to promote facial cleanliness and personal hygiene as well as improvement in access to water supply and sanitation.
“Eliminating trachoma is a landmark victory for public health in Mauritania,” said Dr Charlotte Faty Ndiaye, WHO Representative in Mauritania. “This success reflects the strong leadership and commitment of the Government, supported by the dedication of health workers, communities, and partners, with the guidance and support of WHO. We will remain vigilant and support the country to preserve this success and protect those most at risk from trachoma.”
Trachoma is the second neglected tropical disease to be eliminated in Mauritania. In 2009, the country had already been certified free of dracunculiasis (Guinea-worm disease) transmission. Globally, Mauritania joins 21 other countries that have been validated by WHO for having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. These are Benin, Cambodia, China, Ghana, India, Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Gambia, Togo, Vanuatu and Viet Nam. These countries are part of a wider group of 55 countries that have eliminated one or more neglected tropical diseases.
WHO is supporting Mauritania’s health authorities to closely monitor communities where trachoma was previously endemic to ensure there is no resurgence of the disease.
Disease prevalence
As of April 2024, trachoma remains a public health problem in 37 countries with an estimated 103 million people living in areas requiring interventions against the disease. Trachoma is found mainly in the poorest and most rural areas of Africa, Central and South America, Asia, the Western Pacific and the Middle East. The African Region is disproportionately affected by trachoma with 93 million people living in at-risk areas in April 2024, representing 90% of the global trachoma burden.
Significant progress has been made in the fight against trachoma over the past few years and the number of people requiring antibiotic treatment for trachoma in the African Region fell by 96 million from 189 million in 2014 to 93 million as of April 2024, representing a 51% reduction.
Following Mauritania’s success, there are now 20 countries in WHO’s African Region that are targeting trachoma elimination.
Note to editors
Trachoma is a neglected tropical disease. It is caused by infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, which spreads from person to person through contaminated fingers, fomites and flies that have come into contact with discharge from the eyes or nose of an infected person. Environmental risk factors for trachoma transmission include poor hygiene, overcrowded households, and inadequate access to water and sanitation.
Elimination of trachoma as a public health problem is defined as: (i) a prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis “unknown to the health system” of <0.2% in adults aged ≥15 years (approximately 1 case per 1000 total population), and (ii) a prevalence of trachomatous inflammation – follicular in children aged 1–9 years of <5%, sustained for at least two years in the absence of ongoing antibiotic mass treatment, in each formerly endemic district; plus (iii) the existence of a system able to identify and manage incident trachomatous trichiasis cases, using defined strategies, with evidence of appropriate financial resources to implement those strategies.
To eliminate trachoma as a public health problem, WHO recommends the SAFE strategy: a comprehensive approach to reduce transmission of the causative organism, clear existing infections and deal with their effects.
The road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030 targets the prevention, control, elimination or eradication of 20 diseases and disease groups. Progress against trachoma and other neglected tropical diseases alleviates the human and economic burden that they impose on the world’s most disadvantaged communities.
Philanthropic support plays a vital role in enabling countries to build stronger health systems and advance towards health equity. From vaccine equity and pandemic preparedness to primary health care, the contributions of philanthropic partners help drive progress across WHO’s key priorities.
The importance of philanthropic support was underscored by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, in his recent remarks to the Philanthropy Asia Summit, held in Singapore on 5–7 May 2025. In his remarks, he expressed his appreciation to the Temasek Foundation and the Philanthropy Asia Alliance for organizing the Summit while highlighting the importance of philanthropy in strengthening global health, supporting country self-reliance, and partnering with WHO to address health challenges in an increasingly turbulent world.
At the Summit, Dr Tedros thanked His Excellency President Tharman and Singapore, for its leadership in global health and its support to WHO. Dr Tedros stated that Singapore and the Temasek Foundation were amongst the first to pledge support to WHO’s Investment Round.“We look forward to your continued leadership and partnership as we work together to realize WHO’s founding vision: the highest attainable standard of health – not as a luxury for some, but a right for all”, said Dr Tedros.
During the Investment Round, WHO has sought to expand its donor base, including by engaging strategically with philanthropic organizations. As Dr Tedros noted, partnerships with philanthropies help countries to strengthen essential health services and make sustainable progress towards universal health coverage.
Philanthropic actors play a vital role in improving global health outcomes, providing significant resources and expertise needed to build stronger and more accessible health-care systems. Investments made by philanthropic partners often complement and amplify the work of governments, international organizations and other stakeholders in the global health community.
Philanthropy can be particularly effective in supporting innovative or high-risk research that may not be funded though more traditional funding sources. Philanthropic actors are effective partners when it comes to raising awareness and advocating for policies to improve global health outcomes, address health disparities and promote health equity.
Looking ahead, philanthropic collaboration will remain central to achieving the goals outlined in WHO’s Fourteenth General Programme of Work. Developing strong partnerships with philanthropic actors allows WHO to leverage the strengths of a range of global health players to bring better health to people and maximize impact.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jack Bergman (MI-1)
Today, in recognition of National Police Week 2025, Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) reintroduced the School Resource Officer (SRO) Funding Protection Act—legislation designed to shield school safety programs from sudden state budget cuts and ensure continued support for law enforcement officers serving in schools.
The bill was originally prompted by Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s FY 2025 budget, which slashed nearly $302 million—or 92 percent—of funding for statewide school safety and mental health programs. While $125 million was later restored following strong pushback from lawmakers, law enforcement, and school officials, the incident revealed just how vulnerable SRO programs are to sudden, politically driven budget swings.
The SRO Funding Protection Act would require states to maintain SRO program funding at either the previous year’s funding level or their five-year average—whichever is greater—in order to receive full federal education funding. This safeguard would help ensure stable support for school safety programs even during volatile state budget cycles.
“The necessity of school safety demands more than just meaningless political rhetoric—it demands real action,”said Rep. Jack Bergman.“We cannot leave our children vulnerable. This bill ensures that states uphold their commitment to funding SRO programs. Every child deserves to learn in an environment where they are safe and protected, and this legislation will help guarantee the unnecessary state cuts to the SRO program that were proposed last year don’t happen again.”
Bergman emphasized that, particularly during National Police Week, it’s important to honor the role of law enforcement in keeping communities safe—especially within schools. “School resource officers are more than just a line of defense—they’re trusted mentors, community leaders, and first responders. Protecting their presence in our schools is not optional—it’s essential,”he added.
“The Harbor Springs Police Department strongly supports the School Resource Officer Funding Protection Act. By ensuring that funding for our School Resource Officer is maintained, this legislation provides a vital safeguard for the safety and well-being of our students, educators, and school staff. Our School Resource Officer plays an essential role in fostering safe learning environments, building relationships between youth and law enforcement, and responding to threats at our schools. In addition to this, our School Resource Officer poses as a deterrent to future acts of violence,”said Chief Kyle Knight of the Harbor Springs Police Department, and Immediate Past President of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police.
Knight continued,“This bill reinforces the importance of those efforts by helping states prioritize and sustain School Resource Officer programs without imposing new financial burdens. I commend Representative Bergman for his leadership in advancing policies that protect our schools and support public safety.”
Speaking on the bill, Kenneth Grabowski, Legislative Director of the Police Officers Association of Michigan, said,“Everyone wants to talk about school safety, but far too often politicians fail to put their money where their mouth is. Last year, the state changed budget priorities and cut millions of dollars in dedicated school safety funding, putting our students and teachers at risk. We commend Rep. Bergman for stepping up and introducing the School Resource Officer Funding Protection Act to ensure our kids are safe at school and our SRO’s are properly funded.”
“The Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police strongly supports the School Resource Officer Funding Protection Act. By ensuring that funding for school resource officer programs is maintained, this legislation provides a vital safeguard for the safety and well-being of our students, educators, and school staff. School resource officers play an essential role in fostering safe learning environments, building trust between youth and law enforcement, and responding to threats on campus. This bill reinforces the importance of those efforts by helping states prioritize and sustain SRO programs without imposing new financial burdens. We commend Representative Bergman for his leadership in advancing policies that protect our schools and support public safety,”said Chief Ron Wiles, Executive Director of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police.
State Rep. Cam Cavitt stated,“Representative Bergman’s School Resource Officer Funding Protection Act is exactly the kind of leadership our students, teachers, and communities need. Ensuring stable, dedicated funding for SROs means safer schools, stronger relationships between law enforcement and youth, and peace of mind for parents. I’m proud to stand with Rep. Bergman in this important effort to prioritize real school safety over political gamesmanship.”
State Rep. Parker Fairbairn who has complementary legislation moving through the State House of Representatives expressed his full support for Congressman Bergman’s efforts,“Congressman Bergman’s focus on the safety and well-being of students is exactly on point, and I truly believe that his push to ensure funding of school resource officers, and my state level legislation to have each ISD designate an Emergency and Safety Manager and a Mental Health Coordinator, will combine to make our schools better, safer places for our students to grow and learn.”
State Senator John Damoose noted,“Anyone with kids in school knows how important the School Resource Officer program is to keep our children safe from obvious threats. Just as critical, the officers build meaningful relationships with our children in a way that allows them to notice subtle changes that could signal bigger issues in the future. This is the ultimate preventative measure that helps build character and trust amongst our students and stops tragedies before they occur. I am so proud to see Congressman Jack Bergman again taking the lead on this critical matter.”
“Resource officers are on the frontline keeping our schools and students safe,”said State Rep. Ken Borton.“Many kids don’t interact with law enforcement until meeting their local resource officer. These interactions help students grow up with a positive relationship with police officers. Ensuring the long-term viability of SRO funding ensures these foundational relationships continue to positively impact our kids.”
“The decision to go after this funding in the first place was a clear example of how Democrats’ priorities are doing real harm to our northern Michigan communities,”said Senator Michelle Hoitenga.“I fully support Rep. Bergman’s bill because parents deserve to know their kids are safe at school, and that starts with keeping trained officers in the building.”
“Funding for School Resource Officers and mental health are a critical part of keeping our children safe. Cuts in these areas make it difficult for police departments and school districts to keep this lifesaving service available in our state. In rural communities, where police response if often delayed due to a limited amount of law enforcement, these cuts make it next to impossible to provide adequate security for our students and faculty,” Gaylord City Police Chief Frank Claeys stated.
“As Sheriff, one of the most important jobs I have is protecting our children at our schools. I’m grateful that Representative Bergman introduced this legislation to protect our School Resource Officers following massive cuts at the State level,”said Otsego County Sheriff Matthew Nowicki.
“Our students represent the future of our communities and our country. Ensuring their safety is not just a priority—it is one of our most fundamental responsibilities. At a time when threats to schools are more frequent and complex than ever, restoring full funding for our School Resource Officers is both urgent and necessary. I applaud Representative Bergman for introducing this much-needed legislation to help protect our children, educators, and school staff,”said Emmet County Sheriff Matt Leirstein.
Source: The Conversation – France – By Florian Bonnet, Démographe et économiste, spécialiste des inégalités territoriales, Ined (Institut national d’études démographiques)
The political decisions made during 2020 and 2021 to combat the Covid-19 pandemic profoundly altered daily life. Professionally, societies faced partial unemployment and widespread adoption of remote work; personally, individuals endured lockdowns and social distancing measures. These interventions aimed to reduce infection rates and ease pressure on healthcare systems, with the primary public health goal of minimizing deaths.
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More than five years after the pandemic began, what do we know about its impact on human longevity? Here’s a closer look.
A decline in global life expectancy
Initial assessments of the pandemic’s toll have been refined over time. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report published in May 2024, global life expectancy declined by 1.8 years between 2019 and 2021, erasing a decade of progress. These estimates rely on “excess mortality”, a metric that measures the difference between observed mortality during the pandemic and expected mortality in its absence.
Excess mortality can be quantified using different indicators, such as the number of excess deaths. However, comparing this indicator between countries of different sizes and age structures can be challenging. Another informative metric is the loss of life expectancy at birth, calculated globally by organisations such as the WHO.
The regular calculation, publication and dissemination of excess mortality indicators are vital for comparing the pandemic’s impact across countries at the national level. However, it is important to recognise that the pandemic did not affect all areas within countries equally. Variability in the severity of the pandemic’s impact often stemmed from differing confinement strategies implemented to contain the virus.
This uneven distribution highlights the need to quantify these indicators at a more granular geographical level. Such localised analysis can reveal the regions most severely affected, providing valuable insights into the pandemic’s effects and enabling the development of targeted response strategies.
In 2020, significant declines in life expectancy were observed in northern Italy and Spain
Figure 1 illustrates the spatial distribution of estimated losses of life expectancy in 2020. These losses were highest in northern Italy and central Spain. In the Italian regions of Bergamo and Cremona, life expectancy dropped by nearly four years, while Piacenza experienced a decline of three and a half years. In Spain, the regions of Segovia, Ciudad Real, Cuenca and Madrid saw losses of approximately three years.
The losses were even more pronounced among men (data not presented here), who were disproportionately affected by the pandemic. In Cremona, the decline in life expectancy among men reached nearly five years, while in Bergamo, it was close to four and a half years.
Figure 1: Estimated loss of observed life expectancy at birth (e0) in 2020 across 569 regions in 25 European countries. Estimates are for both sexes combined. Fourni par l’auteur
Eastern Europe, particularly Poland, along with eastern Sweden and northern and eastern France, also experienced significant, though less severe, declines. In France, the Paris region and areas near the German border recorded the highest losses, ranging from 1.5 to 2 years.
In contrast, other regions saw much smaller impacts. This is particularly true for southern Italy, much of Scandinavia and Germany, southern parts of the United Kingdom, and western France. In these regions, observed life expectancy is close to what would have been expected in the absence of the pandemic. In France, the implementation of lockdown measures in March and November likely prevented the pandemic from spreading across the entire country from the initial clusters in the north and east.
In 2021, a shift in the pandemic toward Eastern Europe
Figure 2 shows the estimated losses of life expectancy in 2021. At a glance, the regions most affected by excess mortality during the Covid-19 pandemic differed significantly from those in 2020. The most substantial losses were concentrated in Eastern Europe.
Figure 2: Estimated loss of observed life expectancy at birth (e0) in 2021 across 569 regions in 25 European countries. Estimates are for both sexes combined. Fourni par l’auteur
Among regions where life expectancy declined by more than two years, 61 of Poland’s 73 regions, 12 of the Czech Republic’s 14 regions, all eight Hungarian regions, and seven of Slovakia’s eight regions were affected. In contrast, only one Italian region and one Spanish region experienced losses exceeding two years, despite these countries being heavily impacted in 2020.
Germany saw much greater losses in 2021 than in 2020, particularly in its eastern regions, where declines often exceeded 1.5 years. In southern Saxony, Halle and Lusatia, losses approached two years. Conversely, Spain and Scandinavia recorded the lowest declines in life expectancy.
In France, the losses were more uniform than in 2020, generally ranging from 0 to 1.5 years. The highest loss occurred in the Parisian suburbs, particularly Seine-Saint-Denis, where life expectancy fell by 1.5 years – or two years for men.
What is the overall assessment for these two years?
To determine the overall impact of 2020 and 2021 in terms of life expectancy loss, we used an indicator that sums up the years of life lost due to the pandemic over this two-year period. This method allows us to rank the 569 European regions.
The regions most affected were Pulawy, Bytom and Przemyski in southeastern Poland, along with Kosice and Presov in eastern Slovakia. Among the top 50 regions, Eastern Europe dominated, with 36 Polish regions, six Slovakian regions, two Czech regions, one Hungarian region, and both Lithuanian regions included. Italian regions such as Cremona, Bergamo and Piacenza also ranked high, falling between the 15th and 30th positions. In France, Seine-Saint-Denis ranked 81st, while all other French regions were outside the top 100.
It is crucial to analyse the impact of a crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic at a fine geographical scale, as within-country disparities can be significant. This was particularly evident in Italy in 2020, where the north was far more affected than the south, and in Germany in 2021, with stark differences between the west and the east.
Our study highlighted the severe impact of the pandemic in specific European regions, where life expectancy losses exceeded three years. The most affected regions shifted over time, moving from areas with traditionally high life expectancy (such as northern Italy, central Spain and the greater Paris region) in 2020 to regions with traditionally lower life expectancy (Eastern Europe) in 2021. France was relatively spared compared to the rest of Europe, with the notable exception of Seine-Saint-Denis.
The coming years will be critical in determining whether life expectancy levels can return to their long-term trajectories or if the pandemic has caused lasting structural changes in certain regions.
Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.
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Access to non-VA care no longer requires secondary approval
WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced changes that will make it easier for VA-enrolled Veterans to access health care from non-VA providers at the department’s expense.
Since 2019, the MISSION Act has enabled VA-enrolled Veterans to access health care from non-VA providers at the department’s expense when it is in their best medical interest. These decisions have been made jointly by Veterans and their referring clinicians but were not considered final until they were reviewed by a second VA doctor.
Effective immediately, VA will implement language in the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act that removes this extra review step. The change will give eligible Veterans faster access to community care.
“Under President Trump, VA is providing Veterans with more health care choices than ever before,” aid VA Secretary Doug Collins. “Now, we’re making it even easier for Veterans to get their health care when and where its most convenient for them. We are putting Veterans first at the department, and that means placing a premium on customer service and convenience. This important change will help us do just that.”
Background
Since 2019, the MISSION Act has given eligible Veterans the option of seeking community care outside VA when they meet any one of six conditions:
When it is in the best medical interest of the Veteran.
The care required is not available at a VA medical facility.
The Veteran lives in a state or territory that does not have a full-service VA facility
VA cannot meet wait time or distance standards:
VA cannot offer an appointment within 20 days for primary care, mental health or non-institutional extended care, or within 28 days for specialty care.
It takes more than a 30-minute drive to reach primary or mental health care, or a 60-minute drive for specialty care.
VA service does not meet certain quality standards.
The Veteran meets the grandfathered distance and location provisions of the former Veterans Choice Program.
The new, streamlined process for determining best medical interest will be backed by training for Veterans Health Administration employees to ensure compliance with the Elizabeth Dole Act.
Reporters and media outlets with questions or comments should contact the Office of Media Relations at vapublicaffairs@va.gov
Veterans with questions about their health care and benefits (including GI Bill). Questions, updates and documents can be submitted online.
Contact us online through Ask VA
Veterans can also use our chatbot to get information about VA benefits and services. The chatbot won’t connect you with a person, but it can show you where to go on VA.gov to find answers to some common questions.
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As mental health needs rise globally, Cambodia is taking a significant step forward by preparing to join the WHO Special Initiative for Mental Health (SIMH). With plans underway to hold the SIMH Design Workshop in mid-2025, Cambodia is poised to strengthen its mental health system through a comprehensive, whole-of-government approach led by the Ministry of Health and supported by WHO.
The design workshop will lay the foundation for tailored mental health actions under the WHO SIMH, with technical collaboration between Cambodia’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse (DMHSA), the Department of International Cooperation (DIC), and WHO.
Strengthening the foundations
While the groundwork for the Initiative moves forward, Cambodia has also made notable progress in recent years, enhancing community mental health support through key technical working groups. Two priority areas show promising momentum:
1. Guidelines for Online Crisis Counseling
In response to growing demand for accessible and timely mental health support, Cambodia developed national Guidelines for Online Crisis Counseling. These guidelines, spearheaded by the Technical Working Group under the leadership of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, establish clear protocols and ethical standards for delivering crisis support through digital platforms.
The guidelines were finalized through a collaborative process. Once adopted, they are expected to be a vital tool for expanding access to safe and responsive mental health care — particularly for people in remote and underserved areas.
2. Psychological First Aid (PFA) Training for Schools
Recognizing the urgent need for youth-centered mental health support, the School Health Department (SHD) of the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport has led the development of a new Psychological First Aid (PFA) training curriculum for schools. The curriculum equips school personnel with essential skills to provide early psychosocial support to students affected by stress, trauma, or crisis.
After technical review and refinement, the final curriculum is ready for pilot testing. The pilot will inform further national scale-up, with the aim of embedding mental health support into Cambodia’s broader school health system.
Looking ahead
The WHO Special Initiative for Mental Health aims to support 100 million more people world-wide to access quality, affordable mental health care by advancing mental health policies, services, and human rights. With strong national leadership and technical momentum already underway, Cambodia is well-positioned to adapt and localize the Initiative to its context — building a more resilient and inclusive system of care for all.
As preparations continue for the program design workshop, and beyond, the country’s collaborative work in schools, digital innovation, and systems planning reflects a shared commitment to making mental health a national priority.
During the plenary session on Monday, 19 May, the Director-General will award Botswana for achieving gold tier status on the path to elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV as a public health problem.
Botswana was already the first country in the world to meet the criteria for silver tier status on the path to elimination of HIV, in 2021. Now, Botswana is the first country to achieve gold tier status, by reaching stringent targets for HIV prevalence among new mothers, HIV incidence among newborns, and service coverage for antenatal care, HIV testing and antiretroviral therapy.
Official side events
Several official side events on HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs will take place during the WHA78. These events require access to the Palais de Nations and only accredited delegated can access. You can find more details in WHO’s page dedicated to WHA78 official side events.
Date and time
Event title and details
Description
Monday, 19 May
19:30–20:50
Getting the world back on track: Ending AIDS by 2030 still possible!
Location: Palais des Nations – Room/Salle VIII
Organizers: International AIDS Society (IAS), PATH, GNP+
The side-event will focus on the significant challenges facing the global HIV response, particularly in the light of recent funding cuts. It will explore how countries are addressing funding gaps and forging regional and national partnerships to sustain HIV programmes, while identifying innovative financing models.
The discussion will focus on the consequences of the funding cuts, strategies for ensuring the continuity of HIV services and the importance of domestic resource mobilization to achieve the goal of ending AIDS by 2030.
Wednesday, 21 May
18:00–19:20
Uniting in Global Solidarity for Hepatitis Elimination: Acting to Prevent Liver Cancer in Support of the NCD Agenda.
Location: Palais des Nations – Room/Salle VII
Organizers: Pakistan, Tanzania, Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination, African Union, World Hepatitis Alliance, Medicines Patent Pool
The integration of hepatitis vaccination, diagnostics and treatment within existing frameworks for UHC and PHC will advance progress toward the global goals of hepatitis elimination and cancer prevention.
The WHA offers a critical opportunity to raise awareness and drive commitment to achieve the elimination of hepatitis and reduction of liver cancer globally. This platform can also provide a basis to launch a Coalition of Member States dedicated to raising the visibility of hepatitis and accelerating global efforts to eliminate it.
Friday, 23 May
18:00–19:20
The contribution of selfcare to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Location: Palais des Nations Room/Salle VIII
Organizers: Belgium, Uruguay, Luxembourg, Global Network of People Living with HIV
This side event will explore how self-care interventions are transforming the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) landscape, supporting primary health care (PHC) and advancing universal health coverage (UHC). Evidence-based self-care interventions for SRHR are recommended by WHO for all economic contexts. Self-care interventions offer practical, empowering solutions to overcome persistent barriers to advance quality SRHR for all.
This side event will highlight the multidimensional benefits of self-care interventions through concrete examples, including impact at national level, and innovation.
Non-official side events
A large number of non-official side events will take place during WHA78 in different venues across Geneva. These events are convened by a diverse range of partner organizations with the technical support from WHO Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis and STIs (HHS).
Date and time
Event title and details
Description
Wednesday, 21 May
18:30–20:30
A new era of HIV prevention: Accelerating access to long-acting technologies through sustainable prevention systems and financing.
Location: UNAIDS / WHO D building – Kofi Annan Room
Organizers: UNAIDS (in collaboration with UNFPA, WHO and UNDP), the Federal Republic of Brazil and the Netherlands
This high-level dialogue organized by the Global HIV Prevention Coalition (GPC) aims to galvanize political leadership, financing, and coordinated action to drive a transformational HIV prevention push.
The meeting will serve as a platform for Ministers of Health, global health partners, pharmaceutical companies, and civil society to explore opportunities to expand access to new long-acting prevention technologies as a powerful addition to existing effective options.
Communities at the heart of global health and health security: why sustained funding for community-led health systems matters now more than ever
Location: UNAIDS / WHO D building – Kofi Annan Room
Organizers: Coalition PLUS, Frontline AIDS, UNAIDS and WHO
This high-level discussion will focus on the critical role that communities play in shaping global health and health security policies. In light of ongoing global health challenges, including pandemics, rising health inequities, funding cuts, and the increasing burden on health systems, it is now more important than ever to prioritize community-led health systems.
Furthermore, throughout WHA78 week, the HHS Department will engage informally with Member States to provide an overview of the process for revising the Global Health Sector Strategies on HIV, viral hepatitis, and STIs (2022–2030), and to discuss preparations for the mid-term review, which is scheduled to be presented at the World Health Assembly in 2026.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Mauritania as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, making it the seventh country in WHO’s African Region to achieve this significant milestone. The certification was received by Honorable Abdallahi Sidi Mohamed Wedih, Minister of Health and Aïcha Vall Vergès, Ambassador of Mauritania to Switzerland at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly.
“I congratulate the government and the people of Mauritania for this achievement,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “This is another example of the incredible progress we have made against neglected tropical diseases and gives hope to many other nations still fighting against trachoma that they too can eliminate this disease.”
Mauritania has a long history of a fight against trachoma that dates back to the 1960s. However, it was not until early 2000 that the country conducted population-based epidemiological surveys to map trachoma with the support of the Organization for the Prevention of Blindness (OPC), the Institute of Tropical Ophthalmology of Africa (IOTA) and WHO. Trachoma control activities were integrated into the National Programme for the Fight against Blindness at the Ministry of Health.
Mauritania implemented the WHO-recommended SAFE strategy to eliminate trachoma with the support of partners. These activities included provision of surgery to treat the late blinding stage of the disease, conducting mass administration of antibiotic treatment with azithromycin donated by Pfizer through the International Trachoma Initiative, carrying out public awareness campaigns to promote facial cleanliness and personal hygiene as well as improvement in access to water supply and sanitation.
“Eliminating trachoma is a landmark victory for public health in Mauritania,” said Dr Charlotte Faty Ndiaye, WHO Representative in Mauritania. “This success reflects the strong leadership and commitment of the Government, supported by the dedication of health workers, communities, and partners, with the guidance and support of WHO. We will remain vigilant and support the country to preserve this success and protect those most at risk from trachoma.”
Trachoma is the second neglected tropical disease to be eliminated in Mauritania. In 2009, the country had already been certified free of dracunculiasis (Guinea-worm disease) transmission. Globally, Mauritania joins 21 other countries that have been validated by WHO for having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. These are Benin, Cambodia, China, Ghana, India, Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Gambia, Togo, Vanuatu and Viet Nam. These countries are part of a wider group of 55 countries that have eliminated one or more neglected tropical diseases.
WHO is supporting Mauritania’s health authorities to closely monitor communities where trachoma was previously endemic to ensure there is no resurgence of the disease.
Disease prevalence
As of April 2024, trachoma remains a public health problem in 37 countries with an estimated 103 million people living in areas requiring interventions against the disease. Trachoma is found mainly in the poorest and most rural areas of Africa, Central and South America, Asia, the Western Pacific and the Middle East. The African Region is disproportionately affected by trachoma with 93 million people living in at-risk areas in April 2024, representing 90% of the global trachoma burden.
Significant progress has been made in the fight against trachoma over the past few years and the number of people requiring antibiotic treatment for trachoma in the African Region fell by 96 million from 189 million in 2014 to 93 million as of April 2024, representing a 51% reduction.
Following Mauritania’s success, there are now 20 countries in WHO’s African Region that are targeting trachoma elimination.
Note to editors
Trachoma is a neglected tropical disease. It is caused by infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, which spreads from person to person through contaminated fingers, fomites and flies that have come into contact with discharge from the eyes or nose of an infected person. Environmental risk factors for trachoma transmission include poor hygiene, overcrowded households, and inadequate access to water and sanitation.
Elimination of trachoma as a public health problem is defined as: (i) a prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis “unknown to the health system” of <0.2% in adults aged ≥15 years (approximately 1 case per 1000 total population), and (ii) a prevalence of trachomatous inflammation – follicular in children aged 1–9 years of <5%, sustained for at least two years in the absence of ongoing antibiotic mass treatment, in each formerly endemic district; plus (iii) the existence of a system able to identify and manage incident trachomatous trichiasis cases, using defined strategies, with evidence of appropriate financial resources to implement those strategies.
To eliminate trachoma as a public health problem, WHO recommends the SAFE strategy: a comprehensive approach to reduce transmission of the causative organism, clear existing infections and deal with their effects.
The road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030 targets the prevention, control, elimination or eradication of 20 diseases and disease groups. Progress against trachoma and other neglected tropical diseases alleviates the human and economic burden that they impose on the world’s most disadvantaged communities.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (12th District of Michigan)
Representatives Debbie Dingell (MI-06) and Don Beyer (VA-08), co-chairs of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Caucus, along with Vern Buchanan (FL-16), introduced a resolution recognizing Friday, May 16 as Endangered Species Day. The resolution highlights the strong role that the ESA has played in safeguarding America’s imperiled species and the need to prioritize conservation efforts to address the biodiversity crisis impacting plants and wildlife worldwide.
The critical protections in the Endangered Species Act are currently at risk due to a Trump Administration proposal to rescind the definition of “harm” under the law. The proposed rule change would prohibit only actions that directly hurt or kill actual animals, but not the habitats they rely on. We know that habitat loss and destruction are the leading causes of species decline and extinction. If finalized, this change would be devastating to already fragile species and put currently healthy ones at risk.
“For more than five decades, the Endangered Species Act has been our most effective tool to protect America’s imperiled wildlife, preventing the extinction of some of our most beloved animals like the bald eagle, grizzly bear, and Florida manatee,” said Dingell. “Healthier wildlife populations mean healthier ecosystems, which results in stronger shorelines, less intense wildfires, better water quality, and fewer pests, among many other positive impacts. As the United States continues to face an unprecedented and worsening biodiversity crisis, and the critical protections of the ESA are under attack, we must fight harder than ever to defend them.”
“When the Trump-Musk-Vance Administration wrongly and carelessly fired probationary federal workers, the ESA programs based here in the Northern Virginia office lost species expert biologists with important state and community relationships critical to recovery goals. They lost people who were working to make the endangered species consultation process more efficient so infrastructure projects could move forward in ways that helped protect vulnerable wildlife.” said Beyer. “The ESA is currently working to protect and recover more than 2,000 species of plants and animals, all crucial to maintaining our country’s rich biodiversity and natural heritage. Cutting the core, dependable investment of the federal government’s staff time, expertise, and dollars could have devastating impacts, including breaking up longstanding public-private partnerships. It’s on all of us who support the ESA to support those that work, often silently, to keep the Endangered Species Act alive and properly functioning! I thank my colleagues, Reps. Dingell and Buchanan for helping champion this fight with me.”
In the United States and around the world, more than 2,300 species are recognized as at risk of extinction now or in the foreseeable future, and many more are experiencing declines in populations and future viability. Many scientists categorize our planet’s current biodiversity crisis as the sixth mass extinction event, with plant and wildlife species across the globe facing heightened risk of extinction that is largely driven by human activity.
Dingell has long worked to protect endangered species across America, fighting to prevent the rollback of the critical safeguards in the Endangered Species Act under the previous Trump Administration.
View the full text of the resolution here. Learn more about the ESA Caucus here.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (12th District of Michigan)
Representatives Debbie Dingell (MI-06), David Joyce (OH-14), and Michael McCaul (TX-10), introduced a resolution honoring May 17 as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) Awareness Day to support expanded research for treatments and care for DIPG. DIPG is the leading cause of childhood death due to brain tumors, and less than one percent of its victims live more than five years after diagnosis.
“It’s impossible to express the pain and devastation a family faces when their child is diagnosed with cancer. A battle with cancer at any age is hard, but especially for a child who should have a lifetime full of opportunities ahead of them,” said Dingell. “DIPG is responsible for the most pediatric brain tumor deaths each year and consistently has one of the lowest survival rates. We must redouble our efforts to confront childhood cancer with the urgency it requires by supporting efforts that will spread awareness and spur new research endeavors that inspire new treatments and cures. Together, we can show these young children and their families that they are not alone in their fight.”
“I am proud to introduce this bipartisan resolution to raise awareness for the more than 300 children in America suffering from this heartbreaking disease,” said Joyce. “DIPG is one of the deadliest forms of pediatric cancer, devastating children, parents, and families. We must work together to find a cure to ensure no child has to face this illness ever again.”
“With a heartbreaking survival rate of less than one percent, DIPG is considered the most lethal form of childhood cancer,” said McCaul. “We must do everything in our power to change that and give these children the futures they deserve. As founder of the Childhood Cancer Caucus, I’m proud to join Rep. Dingell and others in raising awareness of DIPG as we work toward a cure. For the precious young lives diagnosed with this disease, there’s no time to waste.”
“I am so very grateful to Congresswoman Dingell for not giving up on our kids by continuing to champion this resolution! They truly have no other voice or national visibility and I’m indebted to her for her unwavering commitment to them and to representing the interests of the American People. The most devastating part of the DIPG diagnosis experience for my 3-year old son Jack and our family was to hear that there were no solutions for him because the lives of children with brain cancer don’t represent a good enough “investment incentive” to the powers that be. If no one knows, no one cares and nothing changes. Congresswoman Dingell won’t let that happen!” said Janet Demeter, Founder of DIPG Advocacy Group.
This resolution aims to raise awareness and support efforts by the Carr family, who launched the Chad Tough Foundation in 2015 in honor of five-year-old Chad Carr of Ann Arbor, who lost his battle with DIPG in 2015; Jack’s Angels Foundation that was launched in honor of three-year-old Jack Demeter who lost his battle with DIPG in 2012; and every family impacted by DIPG.
FARGO, North Dakota – Adm. Stuart B. Munsch, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa and commander of NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command Naples, concluded a successful visit to Fargo, May 17, where he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from North Dakota State University (NDSU) and delivered remarks at both the university’s commencement and two U.S. military ROTC commissioning ceremonies.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
World news story
UK Trade Envoy Visits Ghana to Deepen Bilateral Economic Relations
This Bell Ribeiro-Addy’s first official visit to Ghana since her appointment as Trade Envoy in January 2025 to strengthen UK-Ghana economic partnerships.
The British High Commission Accra is pleased to announce that Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the UK’s Trade Envoy to Ghana, will undertake her first official visit to Ghana from 19 –22 May 2025. The four-day mission will include engagements in Accra and Kumasi, underscoring the UK’s commitment to deepening bilateral trade relations and fostering economic growth.
Appointed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in January 2025, Ms. Ribeiro-Addy is part of the UK government’s global network of Trade Envoys, working to promote British trade interests in over 70 countries. Her visit to Ghana marks a significant milestone in her role and reflects the UK’s strategic focus on strengthening partnerships across Africa.
During her visit, Ms. Ribeiro-Addy will meet with a range of high-level stakeholders, including:
Hon. Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, Minister of Finance
Hon. Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry
Hon. Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, Deputy Minister of Education
Senior government officials, traditional leaders, and academic representatives
UK businesses operating in Ghana and the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC)
These discussions will focus on expanding trade and investment opportunities, enhancing economic cooperation, and identifying areas for mutual growth.
In Kumasi, Ms. Ribeiro-Addy will tour two major UK Export Finance (UKEF)-backed projects: the Kumasi Airport and the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital maternity block. These initiatives highlight the UK’s ongoing support for infrastructure development in Ghana’s Ashanti Region.
She will also host a roundtable with the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus, aimed at fostering collaboration on gender-inclusive economic development and leadership.
Ms. Ribeiro-Addy said:
I am honoured to represent the UK in Ghana and look forward to engaging with our Ghanaian partners. This visit is an important step in strengthening our trade relations and exploring new avenues for collaboration. I am confident that our discussions will pave the way for a brighter economic future for both our countries.
British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson, added:
We are thrilled to welcome Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP to Ghana. Her visit reflects our shared commitment to building stronger international partnerships, promoting global trade, and realising a vision of inclusive prosperity.
