"EPIDEMICS"

The fourth WHO global tobacco trends report released today, shows that there are 1.30 billion tobacco users globally compared to 1.32 billion in 2015. This number is expected to drop to 1.27 billion by 2025. WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced the proposed members of the WHO Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens, or SAGO. The group will advise WHO on the development of a global framework to define and guide studies into the origins of emerging and re-emerging pathogens with epidemic and pandemic potential, including SARS-CoV-2. WHO

Speaking on the Independent Commission's report about allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse during an Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, WHO’s chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that what happened to the victims and survivors “should never happen to anyone. It’s inexcusable. It is my top priority to ensure that the perpetrators are not excused, but are held to account." WHO

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), inaugurated a new WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, based in Berlin. WHO

Briefing by Florencia Soto Niño, Associate Spokeswoman for the Secretary-General.

WHO’s Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the global number of COVID-19 cases and deaths was “stable” last week, “but it is stable at a very high level – more than 4.5 million cases and 68,000 deaths.” WHO

On Sunday (08 Aug), 108,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID19 vaccine arrived in Somalia. The vaccines were donated by the Government of France through the COVAX Facility, a partnership between the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), in continued efforts to protect Somalia’s population from COVID-19. UNSOM

Viet Nam received over two million doses of the Moderna vaccine donated to the COVAX Facility by the United States Government on Saturday. UNICEF

More than 1.4 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine arrived today in Afghanistan. Donated by the United States to COVAX, the 1,484,900 doses were delivered through the COVAX Facility’s dose-sharing scheme to the Government of Afghanistan. UNICEF

Speakers detail national efforts to address HIV/AIDS epidemic, as General Assembly concludes high-level meeting.