WHO sounds alarm: Tobacco stunts child growth
WHO has released a new document that highlights the harmful role of tobacco use in child stunting, a condition that affects nearly 150 million children worldwide, mostly in Africa and Asia.
Stunting increases the risk of disease, delayed development, and can even cause death. It impairs growth and development and occurs when a child’s height-for-age is more than two standard deviations below the WHO Child Growth Standards.
How tobacco adversely impacts child growth
Children whose parents smoke face a higher risk of stunted growth, with risks increasing the more they are exposed.
Maternal smoking during pregnancy is strongly linked to preterm birth, low birth weight and restricted fetal growth – all predictors of stunting by age two.
Heavy smoking during pregnancy harms the baby, with stronger effects the more the mother smokes. The harm can persist well beyond infancy.
Evidence shows that quitting smoking during pregnancy improves child growth outcomes.
Keep smoke away. Children deserve a choice.
WHO updates list of essential medicines to include key cancer, diabetes treatments
WHO has published updated editions of its Model Lists of Essential Medicines (EML) and Essential Medicines for Children (EMLc), adding new treatments for various types of cancer and for diabetes with associated comorbidities such as obesity. Other additions include medicines for cystic fibrosis, psoriasis, haemophilia, and blood disorders.
WHO EML and EMLc include medicines for priority health needs of populations and are adopted in more than 150 countries. They serve as a basis for public sector procurement, supply of medicines and health insurance, reimbursement schemes.
The revisions mark the 24th edition of WHO EML and 10th edition of EMLc.
Cholera’s deadly surge: More lives lost for second year despite available prevention and treatment.
WHO’s latest global cholera statistics are grim. They show an increase in both the number of people who fell sick and died from this preventable and treatable disease.
Reported cholera cases rose by 5% and deaths by 50% compared to 2023, with more than 6000 people dying from the disease. While these numbers are themselves alarming, they are underestimates of the true burden of cholera.
What’s fueling this surge?
Conflict, climate change, population displacement, and long-term deficiencies in water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure continue to fuel the rise of cholera, a disease caused by the bacterium, Vibrio cholerae, which spreads rapidly through faeces-contaminated water.
In 2024, 60 countries reported cases, up from 45 in 2023. The heaviest burden remains in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, which accounted for 98% of reported cases.
