In the majority of its work, the World Health Organization focuses on physical health care: chronic disease, childhood disability, communicable illness and so on. However, in the past few years, WHO has put more and more focus upon mental health issues. In 2008, WHO created the Mental Health Global Action Programme, and just this August,…

From August 1st to August 7th every year, the World Health Organization spearheads celebrations of World Breastfeeding Week. During this year's World Breastfeeding Week, going on now, WHO has chosen to put special emphasis one health issue in particular: the marketing of infant formula and other breast milk substitutes.

WHO is…

The Syrian uprisings are an excellent example of how the political can become personal. What started as a series of protests about displeasure with the government quickly devolved into civil war, with families forced to give up their jobs and homes in order to find safety.…

A new, low-cost means of screening for cervical cancer could save tens of thousands of lives in parts of the world where women simply cannot afford expensive cancer screenings treatments. A large clinical trial out of India, which was released at the American Society of Clinical Oncology this week, found cervical swabs using vinegar to be an effective means of screening for cervical cancer where pap…

On the 31st of May, 2013, countries around the globe will celebrate World No Tobacco Day. On this day, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners call attention to the health risks of tobacco. This year, World No Tobacco Day will put a special focus on tobacco advertising; although WHO's Framework Convention for Tobacco Control bans the advertising…

In 2003, China and Hong Kong experienced a SARS pandemic; the first one in recorded history. This pneumonia-like disease began infecting people in China, Hong Kong and Vietnam; eventually spreading to 37 countries around the world. Especially scary was the virus' quick rate of infection - in less than nine months, SARS managed to infect an estimated 8,000 people, leading to the deaths…

The political struggles of Pakistan are well publicized: party offices under attack, pre-election bombings, and entire cities being shut down due to domestic terrorism. Unfortunately, it is politically unstable places like Pakistan that struggle the most in terms of health care, especially when it comes to children. This month, news network Al Jazeera has been running a story on the problems…