WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the UN health body, expressed hope that the United States could clear its arrears before completing its exit, a requirement set by Washington itself.
While answering relevant questions at a press briefing hosted by the Association of Correspondents Accredited to the UN, Tedros outlined the two conditions for withdrawal: a one-year notice period and full payment of outstanding dues.
On his first day back in office in January 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump submitted a one-year notice of withdrawal from the WHO.
The United States has historically been the organization’s largest contributor. However, Tedros said there have been “no signals” that Washington intends to settle its dues.
He stressed that the issue extends beyond finances. “To be honest, it’s not about the money,” he said. “The issue is health security needs universality, and the United States, by withdrawing, makes itself unsafe and makes the rest of the world unsafe. So it’s lose-lose.”
“So our focus is not on the money. The focus is on helping the United States to understand and reconsider,” he added.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been the WHO’s director-general since 2017
The report confirmed that hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) — together responsible for 95 percent of viral hepatitis deaths globally — claimed 1.34 million lives in 2024. Of these fatalities, 1.1 million were attributed to HBV and 240,000 to HCV, mostly resulting from liver cirrhosis and cancer.
Although preventable and treatable, transmission persists at an alarming rate, the report emphasized. In 2024, around 1.8 million new HBV and HCV infections occurred globally, with HBV and HCV each accounting for 900,000 new infections. As of 2024, approximately 287 million people, representing 3 percent of the world’s population, were living with chronic HBV or HCV.
The report documented measurable achievements since 2015, driven by sustained, coordinated global and national action.
Between 2015 and 2024, the annual number of new hepatitis B infections has dropped by 32 percent, showing progress with immunization and prevention programmes. HCV-related deaths decreased by 12 percent, mainly due to effective antiviral therapies.
The global prevalence of chronic HBV infection among children aged under five years fell from 0.8 percent in 2015 to 0.6 percent in 2024.
Meanwhile, the number of people living with HCV infection declined by 20 percent between 2015 and 2024, largely thanks to the scaling-up of curative treatments.
“Around the world, countries are showing that eliminating hepatitis is not a pipedream, it’s possible with sustained political commitment, backed by reliable domestic financing,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
However, significant shortfalls persist, and current rates of progress are insufficient to meet all 2030 elimination targets, the report warned. Between 2015 and 2024, new HCV infections decreased by only 8 percent, far below the global target of an 80 percent reduction by 2030. HBV-related deaths actually rose by 17 percent since 2015, due to limited diagnosis and treatment.
Under current trends, the global target of a 65 percent reduction in hepatitis-related deaths by 2030, compared with 2015, will not be achieved without rapid scale-up of testing and treatment, the WHO emphasized.
Major bottlenecks lie in testing and treatment access, the report said, noting that vaccine coverage also remains critically insufficient in high-risk regions.
To get the global response back on track, the report outlined priority actions, including scaling up treatment for people with chronic HBV and HCV infection, improving hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination coverage and the coverage of antiviral prophylaxis to prevent mother-to-child HBV transmission.
The number of people living with HCV infection declined by 20 percent between 2015 and 2024, largely thanks to the scaling-up of curative treatments.
The research shows that internalised stress, particularly feelings of hopelessness and the habit of suppressing emotional struggles, may have a stronger effect on memory decline than many people realise.
Researchers discovered that when older adults tend to hold stress deep inside themselves, instead of sharing it or finding ways to cope, it may quietly weaken their memory over time. In other words, it is not just ageing itself that affects memory; the way people respond to stress also matters.
“Stress and hopelessness may go unnoticed in ageing populations, yet they play a critical role in how the brain ages,” said Chen, who is also an assistant professor of neurology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
“Because these feelings are modifiable, our goal is for this research to inform culturally sensitive stress-reduction interventions to mitigate these feelings in older adults.”
The study looked at more than 1,500 Chinese American adults over the age of 60 living in the Chicago area. This group was considered significant because older Asian Americans have been studied less in relation to brain ageing, despite their growing population.
Researchers found that people with high levels of internal stress, especially those experiencing hopelessness and a tendency to keep problems to themselves rather than discussing them, showed faster declines in memory over time.
This pattern appeared stronger than the influence of other social factors, such as feeling connected to a community or having support from neighbours.
The scientists believe that cultural pressures may also contribute to this issue. For example, stereotypes around always appearing strong, successful, and resilient can make some people feel they should not show weakness or ask for help.
Such expectations may cause emotional struggles to go unnoticed or be ignored, even when they have a serious impact on mental and cognitive health.
One of the most hopeful findings from the study is that internal stress is something that can be addressed. Since it is closely linked to feelings such as hopelessness, which can be treated, researchers say there is an opportunity to improve emotional well-being and protect brain health.
They recommend developing support programmes and care strategies that are sensitive to the cultural backgrounds and lived experiences of older adults.
This approach, they say, could help preserve memory, improve emotional resilience, and support healthier ageing.
Stress is not only something people feel emotionally; it can also shape how the brain functions over time. By understanding its impact better and helping older adults manage it in healthier ways, researchers believe memory problems could be reduced and ageing made easier for many people.
A new study by researchers at Rutgers University has found that older adults who keep stress bottled up instead of talking about it may face faster memory decline, highlighting how emotional health can quietly shape brain ageing.
The newly approved medicine, artemether-lumefantrine, is tailored for babies weighing between two and five kilograms. Previously, infants diagnosed with malaria were typically treated with drugs formulated for older children, creating challenges in achieving accurate dosing and increasing the risk of side effects.
WHO’s approval, announced on April 24, confirms that the treatment meets international standards for safety and effectiveness. The decision also clears the way for governments and health agencies to procure and distribute the drug more widely, potentially improving access to life-saving care.
Health experts say the move could help close a long-standing treatment gap, particularly in Africa, where an estimated 30 million babies are born each year in malaria-endemic regions.
Speaking on the development, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said recent advances are helping to shift the trajectory of the global malaria fight. He highlighted progress in vaccines, diagnostics, mosquito control tools and medicines, including those adapted for the youngest patients.
“For centuries, malaria has stolen children from their parents, and health, wealth and hope from communities,” he said. “But today, the story is changing. New vaccines, diagnostic tests, next-generation mosquito nets and effective medicines are helping to turn the tide.”
In addition to the new treatment, WHO has approved three rapid diagnostic tests aimed at improving malaria detection. Many existing tests identify a protein known as HRP2, but some malaria parasites have evolved to stop producing it, making infections harder to detect.
This challenge has been reported in parts of eastern Africa, including Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti, where gaps in diagnosis have led to missed cases. The newly approved tests target a different protein, pf-LDH, which is less prone to change.
Public health experts believe this will significantly improve diagnostic accuracy in regions where current testing methods are failing. WHO recommends that countries switch to the new tests if more than five percent of malaria cases go undetected.
In Rwanda, the arrival of infant-specific treatments coincides with a period of intensified surveillance. According to recent data from the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), malaria incidence in the country rose to 76 cases per 1,000 people in the 2024/25 fiscal year, up from 45 the previous year. Total malaria cases reached 1,131,314 during that peak, though early 2026 reports show a promising dip toward 928,000 cases.
Despite these advances, malaria remains a major global health challenge. According to WHO’s latest World Malaria Report, there were approximately 282 million cases and 610,000 deaths in 2024, an increase of about 9 million cases compared to the previous year.
While some countries have made notable progress in reducing or eliminating the disease, efforts have slowed in many regions due to factors such as drug and insecticide resistance, weak diagnostic systems and declining funding.
The approval of a newborn-specific treatment is seen as a critical step in addressing these challenges and strengthening the global response to malaria, particularly among those most at risk.
The newly approved medicine, artemether-lumefantrine, is tailored for babies weighing between two and five kilograms. Previously, infants diagnosed with malaria were typically treated with drugs formulated for older children, creating challenges in achieving accurate dosing and increasing the risk of side effects.
This breakthrough comes from researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, who have found a small but powerful region of the brain called the caudal granular insular cortex (CGIC).
It turns out that this part of the brain might play a key role in deciding whether pain sticks around or fades away after an injury.
In their research, scientists found that when this part of the brain is activated, pain signals continue to be sent long after the injury has healed and that’s when pain can become chronic.
But if they could switch off this brain circuit, they found that pain would either stop or never even become chronic in the first place.
The cool part? They used advanced neuroscience techniques to pinpoint exactly how this area of the brain is linked to the rest of the nervous system. By turning off the CGIC’s neurons in animal models, they were able to stop chronic pain in its tracks. This could be a game‑changer in how we think about treating pain.
So, why does this matter? Well, many pain treatments, like opioids, try to block pain signals throughout the body, but they come with some pretty serious side effects, including addiction.
If doctors could target this specific part of the brain, it might allow them to treat chronic pain without those dangerous risks.
Instead of masking the pain, we could be looking at a way to actually stop the brain from sending the pain signals in the first place.
Though the research is still in its early stages (and has only been tested in animals so far), it’s a huge step forward in understanding why chronic pain sticks around.
This discovery suggests that chronic pain might not just be a physical issue, but something that the brain decides to keep sending.
If scientists can figure out how to turn that “switch” off, it could lead to new treatments that finally offer relief for those who suffer from long‑lasting pain.
Researchers have identified a hidden brain circuit that can turn short-term pain into chronic suffering.
Researchers from McGill University and the Douglas Institute found that two types of brain cells behave differently in people with depression. The condition affects more than 264 million people worldwide and is a leading cause of disability.
“This is the first time we’ve been able to identify what specific brain cell types are affected in depression by mapping gene activity together with mechanisms that regulate the DNA code,” said Gustavo Turecki, a professor at McGill and senior author of the study. “It gives us a much clearer picture of where disruptions are happening, and which cells are involved.”
The researchers used rare post-mortem brain samples from the Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank, which includes donated tissue from people who had psychiatric conditions. They studied samples from 59 people with depression and 41 without, using advanced techniques to examine individual brain cells.
The study found changes in two key cell types: excitatory neurons, which help control mood and stress, and microglia, which act as immune cells in the brain. In both, gene activity was altered, suggesting they may not function normally in people with depression.
“This research reinforces what neuroscience has been telling us for years,” Turecki said. “Depression isn’t just emotional, it reflects real, measurable changes in the brain.”
By identifying the exact cells involved, the findings provide strong evidence that depression is a biological condition. Researchers now hope this discovery will lead to treatments that directly target these cells, improving care for millions of people worldwide.
A new study reveals that depression is linked to changes in specific brain cells tied to mood and immune function.
The research, involving over 72,000 adults, found that increasing your daily step count, even by just a few thousand steps, can lead to substantial health benefits.
Those who walked 9,000 to 10,000 steps a day saw a 39% lower risk of death and a 21% lower risk of developing heart disease compared to people who walked fewer steps.
But here’s the good news you don’t have to aim for the perfect 10,000 steps to experience these benefits.
Dr. Matthew Ahmadi, the lead author of the study, points out that even walking 4,000 to 4,500 steps a day could significantly reduce your health risks.
“Half of the total reduction in risk was already achieved by those walking just 4,000 steps a day,” he explained. This shows that small, manageable increases in physical activity can still have a big impact on your health.
The study used wrist-worn step trackers to monitor participants over seven years and found that even people who spent a lot of their day sitting could lower their risk of early death or heart disease simply by adding more walking into their routine.
Dr. Ahmadi stresses that sitting for long periods is still something to avoid. But he also says, “All movement matters,” and encourages people to make small changes to their daily activity. “Even a slight increase in steps can make a big difference for your health,” he added.
Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, a senior researcher in the study, also highlighted how easy it is for people to track their progress.
“Step count is a simple and accessible way for everyone from the public to health professionals to monitor physical activity,” he said.
With this study, researchers hope to create better guidelines for daily movement, making it easier for people to stay active.
So, the takeaway is clear: no matter how busy or sedentary your day is, adding a few extra steps could lead to longer, healthier years. And remember, you don’t need to run a marathon, just a few thousand steps could be the boost your heart needs.
Regardless of how much you sit, increasing your walking can reduce your risk of death and disease.
The study, conducted by scientists at the University of Oklahoma, revealed that FGF21 operates through a region of the brain known as the hindbrain, a surprising finding since most researchers expected signals to come from another area called the hypothalamus.
The hindbrain is the same part of the brain targeted by some existing weight‑loss medications like GLP‑1 drugs, but FGF21 works in a completely different way.
Instead of suppressing hunger, FGF21 triggers parts of the hindbrain called the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) and the area postrema (AP). These regions then communicate with another brain structure known as the parabrachial nucleus.
This pathway appears to increase metabolic activity meaning the body burns more energy which leads to weight loss.
According to lead researcher Matthew Potthoff, Ph.D., understanding this brain circuit is important because it might help scientists design new weight‑loss therapies that are more effective and have fewer side effects than current options.
While some experimental FGF21‑based drugs are already being tested for a serious liver condition called MASH (metabolic dysfunction‑associated steatohepatitis), this research focuses specifically on how the hormone affects weight and metabolism.
One of the reasons this discovery is so promising is that FGF21 and existing medications target similar brain areas but produce different outcomes. GLP‑1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy reduce appetite, which helps people eat less.
FGF21, on the other hand, appears to increase the body’s natural ability to burn fat and use energy more efficiently, which could lead to powerful new ways to treat obesity.
Although these results are still early and have been observed in mice, the findings offer scientists a valuable new perspective on how the brain controls metabolism and body weight.
If future research confirms similar effects in humans, FGF21‑based therapies could eventually become a part of treatments for obesity and related conditions such as fatty liver disease.
Scientists uncover hormone FGF21 that triggers weight loss in mice, paving the way for new obesity treatments.
Researchers from Mass General Brigham analysed large health databases and previous clinical trials to compare how different blood pressure goals impact long-term health outcomes. Using data from sources such as the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), they created models that simulated how many heart attacks, strokes, and cases of heart failure might be prevented by treating people more intensively.
The study found that targeting blood pressure below 120 mm Hg prevented more cardiovascular events than higher goals like 130 mm Hg, even after considering common measurement inaccuracies that occur in everyday clinical settings. This suggests that pursuing a stricter treatment target could lead to fewer serious heart-related illnesses over time.
However, lowering blood pressure more intensively isn’t without drawbacks. Patients treated to reach the stricter goal had a greater chance of experiencing side effects related to medications, including falls, kidney injury, very low blood pressure (hypotension), and slow heart rate (bradycardia). Additionally, stronger treatment required more doctor visits and medications, which increased overall healthcare costs.
Despite these challenges, the researchers concluded that the lower blood pressure target remained cost-effective when compared with higher targets. They estimated the cost to be about $42,000 per quality-adjusted life-year gained, a standard measurement used in healthcare to evaluate the value of medical interventions.
Lead author Dr. Karen Smith said the findings should give patients at high cardiovascular risk and their doctors more confidence in pursuing intensive blood pressure control.
“Our findings suggest the intensive less than 120 mm/Hg target prevents more cardiovascular events and provides good value, and this holds true even when measurements aren’t perfect,” said Dr. Smith.
She emphasised, however, that treatment decisions should be personalised, as not all individuals will benefit equally from very aggressive blood pressure lowering.
While there is some risk associated with lowering blood pressure more aggressively, this strategy may prevent more heart attacks, strokes, and heart failures and still be worth the investment for many patients, especially those at higher risk for cardiovascular disease.
Lowering blood pressure to under 120 mm hg could prevent more heart problems.
Ivorian First Lady Dominique Ouattara discussed the project with Alexandre Roquette, director general of the European Cancer Institute in Abidjan.
Roquette said the planned European Center for Nuclear Medicine will be equipped with a cyclotron and PET scan technology, making it the first facility of its kind in the region.
He said the center will improve cancer diagnosis and treatment in Cote d’Ivoire and reduce the need for patients to travel abroad for care.
Ouattara applauded the initiative and efforts to strengthen medical infrastructure and expand access to advanced healthcare services.
The project is expected to enhance early disease detection and improve treatment capacity, positioning Cote d’Ivoire as a regional hub for nuclear medicine.
A file photo of a medical cyclotron. The Côte d’Ivoire project is expected to enhance early disease detection and improve treatment capacity.
