The leading causes of reduced eyesight are
👁️Refractive errors
👁️Cataract
👁️Age-related macular degeneration
👁️Glaucoma
👁️Diabetic retinopathy
👁️Corneal opacity
While most people with vision impairment are over the age of 50, vision loss can affect people of all ages.
Take care of your eyes. Get regular eye checks!
Too much time spent indoors & intensive near vision activity lead to more people suffering from nearsightedness or myopia. Taking regular breaks & spending more time outdoors can reduce this risk.
WHO ‘World Report on Vision’ provides
☑ evidence
☑ effective strategies
☑ recommendations
to help countries boost their efforts to reduce the burden of eye conditions & vision impairment.
Thank you, Henrietta Lacks!
Today @DrTedros honoured Henrietta Lacks posthumously with a WHO Director-General’s award, acknowledging her story - one of inequity - and recognizing her world-changing legacy to science and health bit.ly/ThankYouHenrie…
Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer, 70 years ago, on 4 October 1951.
Taken without her consent, her cells have allowed incalculable scientific breakthroughs such as HPV & polio vaccines and #COVID19 research bit.ly/ThankYouHenrie…
Henrietta Lacks' cells, also known as #HeLaCells, became the first “immortal” cell line, allowing numerous scientific breakthroughs.
Shockingly, the global scientific community once hid her race & true story from the world, a historic wrong that today’s recognition seeks to heal.
@DrTedros "The story of Henrietta Lacks and her @LacksFamily has been told in different ways by different people. Many sought to hide or alter things about her: her race; her name; her identity"-@DrTedros
"What happened to Henrietta was wrong, for at least three reasons.
1️⃣ she lived in a time when racial discrimination was legal in her society. Racial discrimination may no longer be legal most countries, but it is still widespread in many countries"-@DrTedros
@DrTedros "The number of weekly reported deaths from #COVID19 continues to decline, and is now at the lowest level in almost a year. But it’s still an unacceptably high level – almost 50,000 deaths a week, and the real number is certainly higher"-@DrTedros
@DrTedros "Deaths are declining in every region except @WHO_Europe, where several countries are facing fresh waves of cases and deaths. And of course, deaths are highest in the countries and populations with the least access to #COVID19 vaccines"-@DrTedros
🆕 WHO Announces Proposed Members of its Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) ➡️ bit.ly/3lC82QB
The 26 proposed SAGO members have expertise in a range of areas:
-epidemiology
-animal health
-ecology
-clinical medicine
-virology
-genomics
-molecular epidemiology
-molecular biology
-biology
-food safety
-biosafety
-biosecurity
-public health bit.ly/3iUL4CM
The composition of the SAGO reflects geographic and gender diversity. The final membership to the SAGO is subject to the public consultation period and relevant WHO practices and procedures. bit.ly/3iUL4CM
It's International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction
To better respond to emergencies countries must:
✅ invest in health care systems
✅ achieve gender equity
✅ protect marginalised groups
✅ ensure ready & equitable access to supplies
A strong & resilient health system is 🔑
#COVID19 has shown how health emergencies and disasters affect entire communities – especially those with weak health systems, and vulnerable populations like migrants, indigenous peoples, and those living in fragile humanitarian conditions.
It's International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction
#OpenWHO has launched a multi-tiered core curriculum to help equip you with the competencies needed to work within public health emergency response.