U.N. reclassifies cannabis as a less dangerous drug
Cannabis is no longer classified as a Schedule IV drug as per WHO’s recommendation. The declassification opens up the door for more research into its medicinal and therapeutic uses.
World Health Organization
Elephantiasis cases cut by 150 million worldwide since 2000
Over the last 20 years, however, the number of people infected has dropped by 74%, from 199 million to 51.4 million, and last year three countries—Malawi, Kiribati, and Yemen—eliminated it altogether.
WHO rolls out plan to rid world of cervical cancer, saving millions of lives
The strategy involves vaccinating 90% of girls by the age of 15, screening 70% of women by the age of 35 and again by the age of 45, and treating 90% of women identified with cervical disease.
Childhood Hepatitis B cases drop 80% worldwide in last three decades
Due to a highly effective global vaccine program, the proportion of children under five who are chronically infected with Hepatitis B has plummeted significantly—to just under 1%. This is down from around 5% in the pre-vaccine era (the period between the 1980s and the early 2000s), according to new estimates from the World Health Organization.
Tuberculosis deaths have fallen by 14% in five years, saving 60 million in the last two decades
In the World Health Organization’s annual global tuberculosis report, the UN agency responsible for international public health forecasts hundreds of thousands of people recovering from, or avoiding the disease of TB altogether. Since 2000, TB treatment has averted the deaths of 60 million people, the disease itself being treatable with the right medicine.
Myanmar eradicates trachoma
The World Health Organization has validated that the disease has been eliminated from the country: This is extra impressive, because in 2005, trachoma was responsible for 4% of all cases of blindness there. The nation joins Nepal in the WHO South-East Asia Region and 12 countries globally to achieve this feat.
World Health Organization reports 60% drop in cholera in 2018
“The decrease we are seeing in several major cholera-endemic countries demonstrates the increased engagement of countries in global efforts to slow and prevent cholera outbreaks and shows the vital role of mass cholera vaccination campaigns,” said the WHO Director-General.
Sri Lanka is measles-free, World Health Organization says
Sri Lanka has defied the global trend in the battle against measles, with the country declared free of the highly infectious disease by the World Health Organization.
World Health Organization removes transgender from list of mental disorders
The World Health Organization (WHO) has made history and removed transgender from its list of ‘mental disorders.’
World Health Organization recommends removing cannabis from Schedule IV, the most restrictive category of a 1961 international drug convention
Global health experts at the United Nations are recommending that marijuana and its key components be formally rescheduled under international drug treaties. WHO is also moving to make clear that CBD-focused preparations containing no more than 0.2 percent THC are “not under international control” at all.