Insecurity, poverty fuelled infectious diseases in 2023— WHO

The World Health Organisation on Tuesday said insecurity, poverty and lack of access to clean water and hygiene fanned the spread of infectious diseases in many countries in 2023.

The Director-General of WHO, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus who said this in his end-of 2023 message tagged “Keeping the hope for health alive,” noted that gaps remain in world’s readiness to prevent the next pandemic.

Ghebreyesus said 2023 was a year of milestones and challenges in global public health. He said the declaration of an end to COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern marked a turning point for the world following three years of crisis, pain, and loss for people everywhere. He also noted that the announcement of the mpox outbreak not being a global health emergency was also a major milestone.

“And we approved new vaccines for malaria, dengue, and meningitis, diseases that threaten millions around the world, mainly the most vulnerable.

“Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Belize were declared malaria-free, and a range of neglected tropical diseases were eliminated in multiple countries, including sleeping sickness in Ghana, trachoma in Benin, Mali, and Iraq, and lymphatic filariasis in Bangladesh and Lao.

“The path to eradicating another vaccine-preventable disease – polio – has reached its last mile. Thirty more countries introduced the HPV vaccine as the world advances toward eliminating cervical cancer,” he said.

The WHO boss, however, said 2023 has also been a year of immense and avoidable suffering and threats to health.