WHO NEWS

Recent news from WHO

· The Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis met in Fiji from 29 to 31 March to review progress in controlling the disfiguring disease, commonly known as elephantiasis.

· WHO launched a new strategy on 17 March to fight tuberculosis (TB), one of the world's leading killers, following two years of consultations with international health partners. The new Stop TB Strategy addresses challenges countries face, including the spread of TB/HIV, especially in Africa, and multidrug-resistant TB, particularly in eastern Europe.

· WHO presented Tough choices: Investing in health for development on 15 March. The report described the experiences of the countries that responded to the findings of the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health by taking steps to improve health investment. The Commission, which published its report in 2001, found that by investing more in health, countries are likely to boost their economies in the long run.

· WHO representatives met experts from other UN agencies, international organizations, and NGOs on 15 March to finalize guidelines for pandemic influenza preparedness among refugee and displaced populations.

· WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on 10 March that an ambitious global immunization drive had cut measles deaths by nearly half between 1999 and 2004. Thanks to national immunization campaigns and better access to routine childhood immunization, global deaths due to measles fell by 48%, from an estimated 871 000 in 1999 to 454 000 in 2004, according to the latest available data.

· Three antiretroviral medicines and two antimalarials were added to WHO's list of prequalified medicines, WHO said on 9 March. The products will increase considerably the choice of therapy in resource-poor countries.

· Representatives from 53 Member States of the African Union (AU) agreed on a 6-page Brazzaville Commitment to universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care on 8 March, to be presented at a UN summit in New York on AIDS in June.

For more about these and other WHO news items please see: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/2006/en/index.html