Gautam Dongre’s two children in India and Pascazia Mazeze’s son in Tanzania live with an inherited blood disorder that turns blood cells into instruments of pain. Now that new gene therapies promise a cure for their sickle cell disease, Dongre said he’s “praying the treatment should come to us.” But experts say the one-time treatment … Read more
U.S. pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Merck say a clinical trial for an experimental Moderna mRNA vaccine used in combination with the Merck cancer therapy drug Keytruda reduced the chance of recurrence or death from melanoma by nearly 50%. In a release from Moderna on Thursday, the company said the trial included 157 patients with high-risk … Read more
President Joe Biden on Wednesday praised the deal signed at COP28, the U.N. climate summit in Dubai, as an important step toward reaching climate goals. In a statement, Biden applauded the deal for “committing, for the first time, to transition away from the fossil fuels that jeopardize our planet and our people, agreeing to triple … Read more
London/Dubai — Nearly 200 countries signed a deal Wednesday at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai to transition away from fossil fuels. Proponents say it heralds the end of the age of oil — but not all nations are satisfied with the text of the deal. The deal calls for “transitioning away from fossil fuels … Read more
Yaounde — Sanitation and health workers in Cameroon are disinfecting homes to kill bedbugs that have infested the central African state’s capital, Yaounde, and several towns and villages. Government officials say the bloodsucking bugs are imported by travelers from Europe, where some countries are also experiencing infestation. Cameroon residents say they are expecting teams from … Read more
Since the Taliban’s seizure of power in Afghanistan in 2021, the nation’s public health sector has been on life support, with foreign aid agencies stepping in to pay health workers and sustain hospitals and local health centers. The country’s donor-dependent economy has teetered on the brink of collapse as foreign donors cut off development assistance … Read more
World Health Organization officials say Gaza’s health system remains under siege and is barely functioning, as Israel ramps up its offensive against Hamas militants in the southern part of the Palestinian enclave while maintaining an iron grip in the north. “WHO and partners remain firmly committed to staying in Gaza and assisting the population,” said … Read more
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Undeterred by wars at home, delegations from Ukraine and the Palestinian territories are active at COP28, determined to call attention not only to the environmental threats facing their homelands but also to emphasize their places in the global community. Ukraine, attending its second COP international conference, is using its pavilion … Read more
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Five countries in East and southern Africa are in the middle of outbreaks of the anthrax disease, with more than 1,100 suspected cases and 20 deaths this year, the World Health Organization said Monday. A total of 1,166 suspected cases had been reported in Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. … Read more
The U.N.’s climate body has published a draft of what is set to be its final agreement from the COP28 climate summit, which ends Tuesday. Activists have condemned the draft as moving away from previously expected language, and not containing measures that would tackle the global warming that scientists blame for sea rise, increasing droughts … Read more
