AFP Health

Two UN agencies on Monday presented a new tool to map health risks linked to climate change and extreme weather conditions, enabling authorities to give advance warnings and act to prevent "climate-sensitive" diseases from spreading.The World Metrological Organization and the World Health Organization presented their first joint "Atlas of Health and Climate," which pinpoints health problems like diarrhoea, malaria, dengue and meningitis that follow in the wake of sudden, but often foreseeable...Read Full Story

Pakistan on Tuesday launched a drive to vaccinate 5.5 million children against pneumococcal disease to fight pneumonia, which kills tens of thousands of youngsters in the country every year.Pakistan is the first country in South Asia to launch a campaign against the disease, according to UN children's agency UNICEF, which is working with the government on the project.More than 325,000 under-fives die in Pakistan every year, UNICEF said, and the lung condition is among the main culprits...Read Full Story

Up to eight percent of malaria drugs approved by the World Health Organization or other regulators do not contain the right dose and may fuel resistance, researchers said Tuesday.Two studies in published in Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine suggested manufacturing problems, rather than counterfeiting, may be to blame for these substandard drugs in low and middle income countries around the world.Poorly made or fake medications are a major problem worldwide, particularly as signs...Read Full Story

"Fighting cancer is a daily battle," says Camelia Dima, whose daughter suffers from a malignant tumour. But in Romania, long waiting lists and a shortage of drugs make the fight even harder."Europe is characterised by worrying inequalities in cancer control and care", the European Commission recently warned.With a 2013 budget accounting for barely 4.5 percent of gross domestic product - less than half the European Union average - Romania's health system is in a critical condition.Thousands of...Read Full Story

Nearly two thirds of people in the Asia-Pacific region have no clean, piped water at home despite the region's strong economic growth, according to a major report released on Wednesday. Water security is a major concern for most countries in the region, but the problem is poor management and a lack of investment in infrastructure rather than short supplies, said the report released by the Asian Development Bank."What is lacking in Asia is good water governance," Ranesh Vaidya, a water...Read Full Story