wildfires

Wildfire smoke kills more than 24,000 Americans a year: study

BY ISSAM AHMED

  • "That's a big number," lead author Min Zhang, a postdoctoral researcher at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine in New York, told AFP. "We found no evidence of a safe threshold for the chronic exposure to wildfire smoke...that's a very concerning public health problem.
  • Wildfires are growing larger, lasting longer and happening more often as the climate warms -- but the toll from their toxic smoke, especially from long-term exposure, remains poorly understood. 
  • "That's a big number," lead author Min Zhang, a postdoctoral researcher at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine in New York, told AFP. "We found no evidence of a safe threshold for the chronic exposure to wildfire smoke...that's a very concerning public health problem.
Wildfires are growing larger, lasting longer and happening more often as the climate warms -- but the toll from their toxic smoke, especially from long-term exposure, remains poorly understood. 
A study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances estimates that wildfire smoke caused about 24,100 deaths a year across the contiguous United States between 2006 and 2020, a figure the authors say underscores the need for urgent policy shifts.
"That's a big number," lead author Min Zhang, a postdoctoral researcher at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine in New York, told AFP. "We found no evidence of a safe threshold for the chronic exposure to wildfire smoke...that's a very concerning public health problem.
The findings come as President Donald Trump's government has turned its back on global efforts to tackle human-caused warming -- boosting instead the fossil fuel industry that is its main driver.
"They know what to do to, you know, fight against climate change: you need to promote cleaner energy, electric cars, more funding to do research," senior author Yaguang Wei, an assistant professor at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine in New York, told AFP. 
But on a more granular level, he added, local governments need to develop early warning systems that anticipate the arrival of dangerous pollutants and deploy portable filters in homes, offices, schools and hospitals.
Canada's record-breaking 2023 wildfires exposed hundreds of millions of people downwind to toxic fumes, yet local authorities have still failed to develop advanced response plans.

Satellite data and death records

To conduct their analysis, the researchers had to devise a method to isolate the cumulative effects of fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke -- known to contain carcinogenic volatile organic compounds and heavy metals. 
While the acute impacts of smoke are easier to trace -- including inhalation injuries, hospitalizations and deaths -- attributing cause becomes far more challenging when toxins linger in the body and later trigger respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease or neurological damage.
The team analyzed annual mortality data from 3,068 counties across the mainland United States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii, and linked it with satellite imagery. 
Statistical techniques were used to rule out other factors that could explain changes in death rates. To boost confidence in their findings, the researchers examined "negative control" outcomes -- such as deaths from car accidents or falls, which should not be influenced by wildfire pollution -- and found no corresponding increase.

Brain most vulnerable

The result was a clear rise in all-cause mortality, with neurological diseases such as dementia and Parkinson's showing the strongest association, followed by circulatory system illness, endocrine diseases and cancers. 
"Usually people look at the cardiovascular respiratory disease from the wildfire smoke, however, we found that the neurological disorder is more affected," said Wei. "It seems like our brain is the most vulnerable part."
Effects were more pronounced in rural areas, which may be closer to wildfire sources. Younger people were more impacted, perhaps because they spend more time outdoors. Lower temperatures were also linked to increased deaths. People go outside more in cool summers, while cool winters prevent smoke dissipation, wrote the authors.
The figure of 24,100 deaths per year is more than double a previous estimate of 11,415 deaths published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2024. 
But according to Wei, the new number is still likely an underestimate simply because analysis at the level of counties doesn't offer the kind of precision that a zip code or block-by-block investigation would. 
He's now looking at more studies that tease out the health impacts of wildfires from different sources, because the chemical mixtures vary greatly from forest to forest.
ia/ksb

vaccines

Preventative cholera vaccination resumes as global supply swells: WHO

  • But the WHO, along with the UN children's agency UNICEF and the Gavi vaccine alliance, announced Wednesday that the global supply had now increased "to a level sufficient to allow the resumption of life-saving preventative campaigns".
  • The global cholera vaccine supply is finally high enough to allow regular vaccination campaigns to resume after a three-year halt, the World Health Organization and partners said Wednesday.
  • But the WHO, along with the UN children's agency UNICEF and the Gavi vaccine alliance, announced Wednesday that the global supply had now increased "to a level sufficient to allow the resumption of life-saving preventative campaigns".
The global cholera vaccine supply is finally high enough to allow regular vaccination campaigns to resume after a three-year halt, the World Health Organization and partners said Wednesday.
Dire vaccine shortages amid a surge in cholera cases forced a halt to preventative immunisation efforts in 2022, and a move to a one-dose strategy from the usual two in outbreak emergency responses.
But the WHO, along with the UN children's agency UNICEF and the Gavi vaccine alliance, announced Wednesday that the global supply had now increased "to a level sufficient to allow the resumption of life-saving preventative campaigns".
"Global vaccine shortages forced us into a cycle of reacting to cholera outbreaks instead of preventing them. We are now in a stronger position," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
They groups said Mozambique was the first country to restart, with the country facing an ongoing cholera outbreak and reeling from floods that affected more than 700,000 people.
The flooding damaged water systems, further increasing the cholera risk.
A first allocation of 20 million doses is being deployed for preventive campaigns in three countries, with some 3.6 million doses delivered to Mozambique, 6.1 million going to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the remaining 10.3 million doses intended for Bangladesh.
As the supply pipeline improves, one dose will remain the standard for outbreak responses, for now.
The doses are financed by Gavi, but procured and delivered to countries by UNICEF.

33 countries hit in 2025

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection that spreads through food and water contaminated with the bacterium vibrio cholerae, often from faeces.
It causes severe diarrhoea, vomiting and muscle cramps.
Cholera can kill within hours when not treated, though it can be treated with simple oral rehydration, and antibiotics for more severe cases.
UNICEF chief Catherine Russell said resuming preventive cholera vaccination would protect children, but "must go hand in hand with other efforts, including better access to safe water and basic sanitation". 
More than 600,000 cases of cholera or acute watery diarrhoea and nearly 7,600 deaths were reported to the WHO from 33 countries last year, though the true numbers will be higher.
Global cholera cases rose every year from 2021 onwards then declined in 2025. However, the number of cholera deaths continued to increase.
Since October 2022, requests from 27 countries have been approved for emergency campaigns, with doses reaching almost 139 million people.
Annual global supply of oral cholera vaccine doubled from 35 million doses in 2022 to nearly 70 million doses in 2025.
"I thank EUBiologics, currently the only manufacturer producing cholera vaccines at the scale needed for mass vaccination campaigns, for its efforts, and urge others to enter this vital space," said Tedros.
rjm-nl/gv

trial

Netflix film probes conviction of UK baby killer nurse

BY ALEXANDRA DEL PERAL

  • Her case shocked the nation during lengthy trials in 2023 and 2024, after which she was convicted and jailed for life for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more.
  • A Netflix documentary released Wednesday about a former UK nurse jailed for life for murdering seven babies is taking a fresh look at the puzzling case of the prolific child killer. 
  • Her case shocked the nation during lengthy trials in 2023 and 2024, after which she was convicted and jailed for life for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more.
A Netflix documentary released Wednesday about a former UK nurse jailed for life for murdering seven babies is taking a fresh look at the puzzling case of the prolific child killer. 
Lucy Letby, 36, from Hereford, western England, was charged in 2020 following a string of deaths at a hospital's neo-natal unit. 
But she has always maintained her innocence and a panel of international experts has since argued her conviction was wrong.
Her case shocked the nation during lengthy trials in 2023 and 2024, after which she was convicted and jailed for life for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more.
Her young victims were either sick or born prematurely, and she was accused of injecting them with air, overfeeding them milk and poisoning them with insulin.
Ahead of the release of "The Investigation Of Lucy Letby", the former nurse's parents called the film "a complete invasion of privacy" for its use of previously unseen police bodycam footage of their daughter being arrested at their family home, The Sunday Times reported.
In a statement after watching the film's trailer, John and Susan Letby said they did not plan to watch the documentary.
"It would likely kill us if we did," they said. 
"The previous programmes made about Lucy, including Panorama and the almost nightly news showing her being brought out handcuffed in a blue tracksuit are heartbreaking for us," they said. 
"However, this Netflix documentary is on another level. We had no idea they were using footage in our house."
The film opens with the scene they refer to, of Letby's arrest in June 2019. 
Police enter her bedroom and she is seen sitting up in bed, in pyjamas, appearing confused, as police say they are arresting her for murder. She is then taken away in her dressing gown.
The 90-minute film does not claim to be exhaustive, but aims to offer the public the perspectives of both sides of a case that continues to prompt questions and accusations of a miscarriage of justice.
It highlights unsettling elements, such as Letby responding "no comment" to police questions while in custody, and excerpts from her diary where dates coinciding with the babies' deaths are marked with an asterisk.

'Wrong person?'

Conversely, the film also includes testimony from Canadian physician Shoo Lee, who challenged the expert evidence presented at trial. It ends with that of John Gibbs, a former pediatrician at the hospital where Letby worked.
"I live with two guilts," he says. 
"Guilt that we let the babies down, and tiny, tiny, tiny guilt: did we get the wrong person? You know, just in case: a miscarriage of justice. I don't think there was a miscarriage of justice, but you worry that no one actually saw her do it."
Letby was twice denied permission to appeal against her convictions in 2024.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, is considering evidence presented on her behalf from an international panel of medics who claim poor medical care and natural causes were the reasons for the babies.
Inquests into the deaths of six babies who Letby was convicted of murdering have been opened and then adjourned to May 5.
The inquest into the seventh baby did not determine the cause of death.
The senior coroner at the inquests adjourned them until September pending the outcome of a public inquiry into the Letby case which is due to be published this year.
Health Minister Wes Streeting told LBC radio Wednesday her fate should be decided by the courts and not campaigners "unless and until there is a judicial process that says that the court has got it wrong".
adm/mp/jkb/gv

earnings

GSK boosted by specialty drugs, end to Zantac fallout

BY ALEXANDRA BACON

  • The company's 2025 earnings rose significantly from the previous year, when it agreed to pay $2.3 billion to end lawsuits alleging that Zantac caused cancer, though the group did not admit any liability.
  • British pharmaceutical group GSK reported Wednesday a sharp rise in annual net profit, boosted by strong sales of HIV, respiratory and cancer treatments as it recovered from costly US lawsuits over its Zantac heartburn treatment.
  • The company's 2025 earnings rose significantly from the previous year, when it agreed to pay $2.3 billion to end lawsuits alleging that Zantac caused cancer, though the group did not admit any liability.
British pharmaceutical group GSK reported Wednesday a sharp rise in annual net profit, boosted by strong sales of HIV, respiratory and cancer treatments as it recovered from costly US lawsuits over its Zantac heartburn treatment.
Profit after tax more than doubled to £5.7 billion ($7.8 billion) compared with £2.6 billion in 2024, GSK said, as revenue rose four percent to £32.7 billion. 
"GSK delivered another strong performance in 2025, driven mainly by specialty medicines," said chief executive Luke Miels, who took over from Emma Walmsley at the start of the year. 
"We expect this positive momentum to continue in 2026," added Miels, who was chief commercial officer before Walmsley stepped down after nearly nine years at the helm.
Addressing journalists in an online call later, Miels said the company was in "very good shape", adding that he would look to speed up simplification of the group.
"We're going to also have an increased focus on the practical use of AI and technology," he said.
Soon after taking over as CEO, Miels announced last month that GSK was buying the US biotech company RAPT Therapeutics, which is developing a food allergy drug, in a deal valued at $2.2 billion. 
GSK forecast a low double-digit increase in revenue for its specialty medicines this year, but it expects revenue from vaccines and general medicines to decline. 

'Exciting space'

Shares in GSK climbed near six percent around midday on the London Stock Exchange, where the top-tier FTSE 100 index was up one percent.
"There is little doubt that the sector is an exciting space, not only in terms of the leaps being made by technology but also by the major financial rewards which the larger players are chasing," said Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor. 
"The rapid evolution of AI, for example, is decreasing both discovery and development time to market and GSK is firmly in the mix with the shares having risen by 39 percent over the last year," he added.
The company's 2025 earnings rose significantly from the previous year, when it agreed to pay $2.3 billion to end lawsuits alleging that Zantac caused cancer, though the group did not admit any liability.

US focus

The pharmaceutical industry has faced turbulence from US President Donald Trump's tariff threats last year, aimed at encouraging investment in the United States and reducing drug prices. 
GSK, along with several other pharmaceutical giants, agreed in December to lower the cost of its prescription medicines for American patients, in exchange for tariff exemptions for three years. 
Ahead of the deal, GSK announced plans to invest $30 billion in the United States over five years.
The US accounted for more than half of GSK's total revenues last year, and  Miels said Wednesday that the group's 2026 guidance took into account the agreed price cuts to certain treatments.
While investment is crossing the Atlantic, Miels also emphasised GSK's commitment to the UK.
"We've got 10,000 employees in the UK and we spend around £1.5 billion per year in R&D," Miels said. 
"So we're heavily committed to the UK," where the company has five manufacturing sites, he said.
ajb-bcp/js

Britain

Doctors hope UK archive can solve under-50s bowel cancer mystery

BY HELEN ROWE

  • One ledger of yellowing pages vividly evokes the cases of patients from 1919, the year after the end of World War I. The neatly-typed medical notes are accompanied with hand-drawn specimen pictures by the doctors.
  • In a dusty hospital basement on the outskirts of London, over 100 years of medical history lines the shelves, neatly arranged in row after row of cardboard specimen boxes.
  • One ledger of yellowing pages vividly evokes the cases of patients from 1919, the year after the end of World War I. The neatly-typed medical notes are accompanied with hand-drawn specimen pictures by the doctors.
In a dusty hospital basement on the outskirts of London, over 100 years of medical history lines the shelves, neatly arranged in row after row of cardboard specimen boxes.
Largely forgotten until recently, it is hoped this unique archive will help unravel the mystery of the rising number of younger people getting bowel cancer.
The archive contains tens of thousands of tumour and tissue specimens, some dating back to the early 20th century.
Preserved in formaldehyde and paraffin wax, they come from patients treated at the UK's national bowel hospital, St Mark's, in northwest London.
In a study which began in January, researchers are using cutting-edge technology to compare archive tumours from the 1960s with ones from the present day.
Historically, patients treated at the hospital would have had a "very difficult time" with the disease, said Kevin Monahan, a consultant gastroenterologist, who is co-leading the groundbreaking project by St Mark's and the Institute of Cancer Research, London.
Their recovery -- even after surgery -- would have been "far from certain".
"We want to think about whether we can convert the suffering that they went through decades ago into a new hope for their grandchildren and their great grandchildren and others who might be at risk," he said.
The growing numbers of younger people being diagnosed with bowel cancer has left doctors worldwide perplexed.
According to Bowel Cancer UK, cases of the disease in people under 50 in Britain have increased by over 50 percent in the past 25 years.
Over 2,600 cases are diagnosed annually out of the nearly 44,000 cases across all age groups.
Research published by Bristol University and others in the British Journal of Surgery in 2020 showed an "exponential increase" over a similar period, with the conclusions supported by findings from both European and American studies.

Gut bacteria hunch

"We can't time travel back to the 1960s... to see what people were exposed to (but)... in a way we have a record of it... within these boxes," Monahan said.
The bowel cancer expert and co-study lead, Trevor Graham of the London institute, aims to map how the DNA differs in the 1960s specimens from the ones of the current day.
By sequencing the DNA and using other laboratory techniques that "weren't possible even five years ago", they hope to pinpoint what is driving modern-day cases.
The project comes around a decade after the entire archive at St Mark's was nearly consigned to the hospital incinerator.
But after medics persuaded managers to hold on to it for a little longer, it was saved.
One ledger of yellowing pages vividly evokes the cases of patients from 1919, the year after the end of World War I.
The neatly-typed medical notes are accompanied with hand-drawn specimen pictures by the doctors.
Changes to diet, lifestyle and environmental pollutants such as microplastics have all been suggested as potential causes of the rise in cases, but definitive proof has been elusive.
Monahan's own hunch centres on a subtype of the E. coli bacteria in the gut.
"This bacteria may be carcinogenic, and the mark of that carcinogen in DNA has been found in younger people with bowel cancer under 50, four times as commonly as it has been in people with all cancer after the age of 50," he said.

'Why me?'

If caught early, 90 percent of cases can be successfully treated, according to the National Health Service.
But Monahan said a bowel cancer diagnosis could be devastating for younger patients still juggling young families and trying to progress in their careers.
"Someone who's 35... very rarely do they think: 'Oh, I might have bowel cancer,'"  he said.
Bowel cancer was previously only rarely seen in patients in their 20s and 30s.
Many younger patients wrongly blame themselves, Monahan said.
Exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight are important for general health, he stressed, but there are other factors when it comes to bowel cancer.
"Where I see people who are newly diagnosed with bowel cancer at a young age, they say: 'Why? Why has this happened to me? Because I'm healthy. I eat healthy, I exercise regularly.'
"And I say to them: 'It's nothing to do with what you have done.'"
The research project is expected to report its findings in three years.
Thanks to the archive, the researchers had a "great legacy", Monahan added. "We have an opportunity here to use that legacy."
har/jkb/rlp/mjw

aid

WHO wants $1 bn for world's worst health crises in 2026

  • - 'Severe' consequences warning - The 2026 priority emergency responses also include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen, plus ongoing cholera and mpox outbreaks.
  • The World Health Organization on Tuesday appealed for $1 billion to tackle health crises this year across the world's 36 most severe emergencies, including in Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and Afghanistan.
  • - 'Severe' consequences warning - The 2026 priority emergency responses also include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen, plus ongoing cholera and mpox outbreaks.
The World Health Organization on Tuesday appealed for $1 billion to tackle health crises this year across the world's 36 most severe emergencies, including in Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and Afghanistan.
Hit by deep cuts in foreign aid from wealthy countries, the WHO made its emergency request significantly lower than in recent years, saying it had to be realistic about how much money would arrive.
"We are deeply worried about the vast needs and how we will meet them," WHO health emergencies chief Chikwe Ihekweazu told reporters in Geneva.
"We are making some of the hardest choices we have to make."
The WHO estimated 239 million people would need urgent humanitarian assistance this year, and said the money would keep essential health services afloat.
"A quarter of a billion people are living through humanitarian crises that strip away the most basic protections: safety, shelter and access to health care," Ihekweazu said.
"In these settings, health needs are surging, whether due to injuries, disease outbreaks, malnutrition or untreated chronic diseases," he warned.
Washington, traditionally the UN health agency's biggest donor, has slashed foreign aid spending under President Donald Trump, who on his first day back in office in January 2025 handed the WHO his country's one-year withdrawal notice.
Last year, the WHO appealed for $1.5 billion, but Ihekweazu said only $900 million came through -- below 2016 levels.
"We've calibrated our ask a little bit more towards what is available realistically, understanding the situation around the world, the constraints that many countries have," he said.
Ihekweazu said the WHO was "hyper-prioritising" high-impact services, focusing on "where we can save the most lives".
He said the WHO was shifting footing towards enabling 1,500 local partners to do more of the frontline work on the ground.

'Severe' consequences warning

The 2026 priority emergency responses also include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen, plus ongoing cholera and mpox outbreaks.
Ihekweazu said if the funding does not come through, it "absolutely" leaves the world more vulnerable to epidemics and pandemics.
"Imagining that these challenges will somehow disappear without global solidarity is wishful thinking," he said.
"The consequences might be not only severe for them but severe for the world."
Last year's top emergency donors were the European Union, Germany, Japan, Italy and Britain.
Ihekweazu said the immediate response to the appeal was "quite encouraging".
"There are many countries around the world we think can and should do more... countries that sometimes speak the loudest don't do the most," he said.
Last year, the WHO responded to 50 health emergencies in 82 countries, reaching more than 30 million people with essential services.
However, global funding cuts forced 6,700 health facilities across 22 humanitarian settings to either close or reduce services, "cutting 53 million people off from health care", Ihekweazu said.  
"We are appealing to the better sense of countries, and of people, and asking them to invest in a healthier, safer world."
nl-rjm/jhb

WHO

Four out of every 10 cancer cases are preventable: WHO

  • Tobacco was the leading offender, responsible for 15 percent of all new cancer cases, followed by cancer-causing infections with 10 percent and drinking alcohol with three percent, according to the study published in the journal Nature Medicine.
  • Nearly four out of every 10 cancer cases could be prevented if people avoided a range of risk factors including smoking, drinking, air pollution and certain infections, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. 
  • Tobacco was the leading offender, responsible for 15 percent of all new cancer cases, followed by cancer-causing infections with 10 percent and drinking alcohol with three percent, according to the study published in the journal Nature Medicine.
Nearly four out of every 10 cancer cases could be prevented if people avoided a range of risk factors including smoking, drinking, air pollution and certain infections, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. 
New research published on the eve of World Cancer Day estimated that 38 percent of all new cancer cases globally in 2022 -- 7.1 million -- were linked to preventable causes.
The large team of researchers, which included the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer, looked at 30 factors that increase the risk of getting cancer.
Tobacco was the leading offender, responsible for 15 percent of all new cancer cases, followed by cancer-causing infections with 10 percent and drinking alcohol with three percent, according to the study published in the journal Nature Medicine.
Other risk factors included being overweight, a lack of exercise, UV radiation and being exposed to threats such as asbestos while working.
"This is the first global analysis to show how much cancer risk comes from causes we can prevent," senior study author Andre Ilbawi, the WHO's team lead for cancer control, said in a statement. 
Almost half of all the preventable cases were lung, stomach or cervical cancer. 
Lung cancer was linked to smoking and air pollution, while stomach cancer was largely linked to a bacteria called Helicobacter pylori.
Cervical cancer cases were overwhelmingly caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), which vaccines are effective against.
Men were far more likely to get preventable cancer, with 45 percent of new cases compared to 30 percent for women.
And nearly a quarter of all preventable cancer cases among men were from smoking, compared to 11 percent for women.
To address the problem, the researchers called for countries to adopt strong tobacco control measures and  alcohol regulation, and to vaccinate against common infections such as HPV, improve air quality and ensure safer workplaces, healthy diets and exercise.
"If we want to reduce the cancer burden we also need to reduce the noncommunicable disease (NCD) burden -- it is indisputable that tobacco, alcohol, ultra-processed food and air quality are major drivers of multiple kinds of cancer," said Katie Dain, CEO of the NCD Alliance.
ic-dl/gv

Health

WHO chief says turmoil creates chance for reset

BY ROBIN MILLARD

  • "I mean non-dependence on a handful of donors; I mean non-dependence on inflexible, unpredictable funding; I mean a WHO that's no longer a contractor to the biggest donors.
  • The head of the World Health Organization said Monday that the dramatic cuts of 2025 as the United States headed for the exit created the chance to forge a leaner, re-focused WHO. Washington, traditionally the UN health agency's biggest donor, has slashed foreign aid spending under President Donald Trump, who on his first day back in office in January 2025 handed the WHO his country's one-year withdrawal notice.
  • "I mean non-dependence on a handful of donors; I mean non-dependence on inflexible, unpredictable funding; I mean a WHO that's no longer a contractor to the biggest donors.
The head of the World Health Organization said Monday that the dramatic cuts of 2025 as the United States headed for the exit created the chance to forge a leaner, re-focused WHO.
Washington, traditionally the UN health agency's biggest donor, has slashed foreign aid spending under President Donald Trump, who on his first day back in office in January 2025 handed the WHO his country's one-year withdrawal notice.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the agency's annual executive board meeting that 2025 was "undeniably one of the most difficult years in our organisation's history", with many donors tightening their belts.
"Significant cuts to our funding left us with no choice but to reduce the size of our workforce," he said.
Last week, he said 1,241 posts had gone, while 1,162 staff had left or would be leaving through retirement, voluntary early retirement or moving elsewhere.
Tedros said the WHO's remodelling was all but finalised.
"We have now largely completed the prioritisation and realignment. We have reached a position of stability and we are moving forward," he insisted.
"Although we have faced a significant crisis in the past year, we have also viewed it as an opportunity. It's an opportunity for a leaner WHO to become more focused on its core mission."
He urged member states to keep gradually increasing their membership fees, to reduce the WHO's reliance on voluntary contributions.
The aim is for membership fees to eventually cover half of the agency's budget, to secure its "long-term stability, sustainability and independence".
"I don't mean independence from member states. Of course, WHO belongs to you and always will," Tedros stressed.
"I mean non-dependence on a handful of donors; I mean non-dependence on inflexible, unpredictable funding; I mean a WHO that's no longer a contractor to the biggest donors.
"I mean an impartial, science-based organisation that's free to say what the evidence says, without fear or favour."

'Trashed and tarnished'

The executive board meeting, which opened Monday and runs until Saturday, will discuss the withdrawal notifications of the United States and Argentina.
The United States reserved the right to withdraw when it joined the WHO in 1948 -- on condition of one year's notice, and meeting its financial obligations in full for that fiscal year.
While the notice is now up, Washington has not paid its 2024 or 2025 dues, owing around $260 million.
As the notice countdown expired, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the WHO had "tarnished and trashed everything that America has done for it", with "the insults to America" continuing to the end.
"The reverse is true," the WHO said in reply.
The US flag outside the WHO headquarters has been taken down, with the US mission in Geneva last week saying the flag was "dedicated to the American lives lost" during the Covid-19 pandemic and was "on its way back" to the United States.
At the executive board, Israel said the WHO had become politicised and the US withdrawal should trigger a rethink about the WHO's future and purpose. 
Bulgaria, speaking for the European Union, said global health was at a "critical juncture", with "unprecedented pressure on health systems worldwide".
Crisis-riddled Haiti said reforming the global health architecture was "no longer an institutional luxury" but a "vital necessity". 
rjm-nl/sbk

infants

More baby milk recalls in France after new toxin rules

BY JULIE CHABANAS WITH DARIO THUBURN IN ROME

  • Vitagermine said its milk had complied with French rules until they changed last week, and it was removing the three batches on Monday to "better ensure the safety of infants".
  • Two infant formula manufacturers withdrew batches from the market on Monday after France imposed stricter limits on acceptable levels of a toxin that can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
  • Vitagermine said its milk had complied with French rules until they changed last week, and it was removing the three batches on Monday to "better ensure the safety of infants".
Two infant formula manufacturers withdrew batches from the market on Monday after France imposed stricter limits on acceptable levels of a toxin that can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
French maker Popote said it was recalling two lots, while Vitagermine removed three different batches of Babybio formula from the shelves in the latest such recalls to rock the infant formula industry in recent weeks.
Several manufacturers, including European giants like Nestle, Danone, and Lactalis, have issued recalls of infant formula that could be contaminated with cereulide in more than 60 countries since December.
French authorities are investigating the deaths in December and January of two babies who were thought to have drunk possibly contaminated powdered milk. No link has been established so far between the formula and their symptoms.
The agriculture ministry on Friday set the new threshold at 0.014 micrograms of cereulide per kilogram of body weight, instead of 0.03 micrograms.
Vitagermine said its milk had complied with French rules until they changed last week, and it was removing the three batches on Monday to "better ensure the safety of infants".
Popote said it was removing two batches of first-stage infant formula "without waiting for the new European framework".
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on Monday said its scientists had also suggested a maximum level for cereulide of 0.014 micrograms per kilogram of body weight.
This translated to 0.054 micrograms of cereulide per litre in infant formula, the Italy-based agency said.
"This advice is intended to help EU risk managers determine when products should be withdrawn from the market as a precautionary public health measure," it added.

Cereulide health risk

But European consumer association Foodwatch accused multinationals of focusing on thresholds as a "diversionary tactic".
"Cereulide should not be there at all in the first place," it said.
"It is illegal to market products that expose babies to health risks," it added, comparing cereulide to mouse droppings.
"There is no European standard on the presence of mouse droppings in infant formula. Nevertheless, it is prohibited," Foodwatch said.
The recall of potentially contaminated infant formula has heaped scrutiny on Chinese firm Cabio Biotech, the supplier of an ingredient used in infant formula which is suspected of being tainted.
Headquartered in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, Cabio Biotech is one of the world's largest producers of ARA, a fatty acid used primarily in baby formula and food products.
French company Nutribio told AFP it recalled some of its milk following an "alert" from Cabio Biotech.
French advocacy group Children's Health also named the company in a court filing, asking the government to order companies to pull all formula with ARA oil produced by Cabio Biotech.
Cabio Biotech has yet to publicly address allegations its ARA oil was contaminated, and has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
bur-jul/ah/ekf/rlp

drugs

'It wasn't working': Canada province ends drug decriminalization

BY NAV RAHI WITH BEN SIMON IN TORONTO

  • But thinking decriminalization could help steer waves of users into rehab was misguided, and misinforming the public about the possible outcomes of the policy risked a backlash, Mullins said.
  • Over 35 years as a drug user, Vancouver resident Garth Mullins said he's had "hundreds and hundreds" of interactions with police, and long believed drug decriminalization was smart policy.
  • But thinking decriminalization could help steer waves of users into rehab was misguided, and misinforming the public about the possible outcomes of the policy risked a backlash, Mullins said.
Over 35 years as a drug user, Vancouver resident Garth Mullins said he's had "hundreds and hundreds" of interactions with police, and long believed drug decriminalization was smart policy.
"I was first arrested for drug possession when I was 19, and it changes your life," said Mullins, who is now in his 50s and was an early backer of Canadian province British Columbia's decriminalization program that ended on Saturday.
"That time served inside can add up for a lot of people. They do a lifetime jolt in a series of three‑month bits," he told AFP.
BC's three-year experiment with drug decriminalization, which launched in 2023 and shielded people from arrest for possession of up to 2.5 grams of hard drugs, was groundbreaking for Canada.
Many praised it as a bold effort to ensure the intensifying addiction crisis devastating communities across the country was treated as a healthcare challenge, not a criminal justice issue.
But on January 14, BC's Health Minister Josie Osborne announced the province would not be extending the program.
"The intention was clear: to make it easier for people struggling with addiction to reach out for help without fear of being criminalized," Osborne said.
The program "has not delivered the results we hoped for," she told reporters.
For Mullins, the province's desired results were never realistic.
The former heroin user, who currently takes methadone, is an activist and broadcaster who co‑founded the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), which advised BC's government on decriminalization.
At VANDU's office in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighborhood, home to many drug users, the walls are full of pictures honoring those who have died from overdose.
"The idea behind decriminalization was one simple thing: to stop all of us from going to jail again and again and again," he said.
Breaking the cycle of arrests is crucial because criminal records make it more difficult to find work and housing, often perpetuating addiction, experts say.
But thinking decriminalization could help steer waves of users into rehab was misguided, and misinforming the public about the possible outcomes of the policy risked a backlash, Mullins said.
"For everybody out there, in society, sending fewer junkies to jail might not sound like a good thing to do."

Plan not 'sufficient'

After the province announced the program's expiration, Canadian media was filled with critics who said it had been mishandled.
Vancouver police chief Steven Rai said his force had been willing to support the plan, but "it quickly became evident that it just wasn't working."
Decriminalization "was not matched with sufficient investments in prevention, drug education, access to treatment, or support for appropriate enforcement," he added.
Cheryl Forchuk, a mental health professor at Western University who has worked on addiction for five decades, said BC "never really fully implemented" decriminalization because the essential complementary programs -- especially affordable housing supply -- were never ramped up.
"It was like they wanted to do something, but then really didn't put the effort into it and then said, gee, it didn't work," she told AFP.

Public safety

BC's experience mirrors that in the US state of Oregon, which rolled back its pioneering drug decriminalization program in 2024 after a four-year trial.
Like in Oregon, BC's program faced fierce criticism, with many saying public safety was threatened by a tolerance of open use.
A flashpoint moment in the western Canadian province was a 2024 incident where a person was filmed smoking what appeared to be a narcotic inside a Tim Hortons, the popular coffee shop chain frequented by families across the country.
Local politicians in Maple Ridge, BC, attributed the incident to a permissiveness about drugs ushered in by decriminalization.
But for Mullins, the incident spoke to broader misconceptions about the intent of the policy.
Decriminalization did not allow for drug use inside a restaurant, and the person could have been arrested.
Drug user advocates, he added, don't want policy that makes the broader public feel threatened.
"We need something where everybody feels safe, right? If people who are walking with their kids don't feel safe, that's a problem for me," he said.
But, he added, security also matters to users for whom "the world feels very scary and unsafe."
bs/bgs

infants

France tightens infant formula rules after toxin scare

BY MATHILDE DUMAZET

  • There is no established safety limit for cereulide in infant formula.
  • France has said it will impose stricter limits on the acceptable level of a toxin called cereulide in infant formula after potentially contaminated products were recalled in over 60 countries.
  • There is no established safety limit for cereulide in infant formula.
France has said it will impose stricter limits on the acceptable level of a toxin called cereulide in infant formula after potentially contaminated products were recalled in over 60 countries.
The infant formula industry has been rocked by several firms recalling batches that could be contaminated with cereulide, which can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea. 
French authorities launched an investigation into the deaths in December and January of two babies who were thought to have drunk possibly contaminated powdered milk.
At this stage investigators have not established a direct link between the symptoms and the milk consumed.
The recalls have raised fresh questions about food safety challenges in the global supply chain.
There is no established safety limit for cereulide in infant formula.
"Protecting the health of infants is the top priority for health authorities," the French agriculture ministry said late Friday.
The new threshold will be 0.014 micrograms of cereulide per kilogram of body weight, compared to 0.03 micrograms currently, it said.
This is the second lowering of a threshold in France in less than two weeks.
The recall of potentially contaminated infant formula has heaped scrutiny on Chinese firm Cabio Biotech, the supplier of an ingredient used in infant formula which is suspected of being tainted. 
Headquartered in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, Cabio Biotech is one of the world's largest producers of ARA, a fatty acid used primarily in baby formula and food products.
The French authorities have referred to a single "Chinese supplier" without naming it.
This week the European Commission asked the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to establish a standard for cereulide in children's products. 
It will issue an opinion on February 2.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said it had received reports of diarrhoea cases in infants following consumption of the products in question, but "no severe cases have been reported".

Lawsuit

Several manufacturers, including European giants like Nestle, Danone, and Lactalis, have issued recalls of infant formula in France and dozens of countries since December. 
The toxin is rare and difficult to detect, and some recalls have been carried out as a precaution, some manufacturers said.
On Thursday, Nestle provided a detailed timeline of its recalls, acknowledging that around 10 days had passed between the first detection of cereulide in late November and the first recalls on December 10.
The Swiss food conglomerate argued that, in the absence of "European regulations on the presence of cereulide in food", it had followed standard procedures.
The detection led to the precautionary recall of all products in contact with the production line where cereulide had been detected.
The group stressed that it was the first company to detect the problem.
Foodwatch, a European consumer association, has filed a lawsuit accusing manufacturers and the government of acting too slowly.
Eight French families, who said their babies suffered severe digestive problems after drinking formula named in the recall, have joined the lawsuit.
On Friday, Nestle refuted the accusations made by the watchdog, saying it reserved the right to respond in court "if Foodwatch continues to disseminate misleading information".
"Testing for bacteria of the Bacillus cereus family is routinely offered," Francois Vigneau of lab testing firm Eurofins said last week. He added however that tests for cereulide were "not part of standard checks".
"In the current context of milk recalls, this test is currently being requested because all stakeholders in dairy products in general, and infant formula in particular, are concerned about the situation," added Vigneau.
According to World Health Organisation estimates from 2019, 23 million people in Europe fall sick from eating contaminated food every year, and an estimated 4,700 people die.
rap-mdz-as/rmb

disinformation

Social media fuels surge in UK men seeking testosterone jabs

BY ANNA MALPAS

  • Men's hormone levels can fluctuate for lifestyle reasons but many are being prescribed testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) without medical need despite the health risks, doctors in the UK and Australia told AFP.  Promotional campaigns by private clinics use social media and influencers, as well as an ad campaign in the London Underground, to encourage young body-conscious men to test their levels, claiming fatigue or irritation are symptoms. 
  • Social media claims by clinics promoting testosterone treatment for men to improve their physique and mood are driving large numbers to pay for unnecessary medication that can have serious side effects, doctors say.
  • Men's hormone levels can fluctuate for lifestyle reasons but many are being prescribed testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) without medical need despite the health risks, doctors in the UK and Australia told AFP.  Promotional campaigns by private clinics use social media and influencers, as well as an ad campaign in the London Underground, to encourage young body-conscious men to test their levels, claiming fatigue or irritation are symptoms. 
Social media claims by clinics promoting testosterone treatment for men to improve their physique and mood are driving large numbers to pay for unnecessary medication that can have serious side effects, doctors say.
Men's hormone levels can fluctuate for lifestyle reasons but many are being prescribed testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) without medical need despite the health risks, doctors in the UK and Australia told AFP. 
Promotional campaigns by private clinics use social media and influencers, as well as an ad campaign in the London Underground, to encourage young body-conscious men to test their levels, claiming fatigue or irritation are symptoms. 
"Do you wish you could have more energy? Less body fat? A higher sex drive?" asks one ad.
Costly treatments could be the answer.
The trend is now affecting the state-funded National Health Service, since many seek free treatment there.
The number of men referred to NHS specialists after being diagnosed privately "has really exploded", said Channa Jayasena, a professor of endocrinology at Imperial College.
"It's a huge problem for us, which is impacting our ability to treat other patients."
TRT is needed by those with true deficiency, known as hypogonadism, including men who never went through puberty or had testicular cancer. 
But some clinics prescribe it to men with normal levels and risking side-effects including infertility and thickened blood that carries cardiovascular risks, doctors warn.
While private clinics are not obliged to disclose numbers, Jayasena estimated "hundreds of thousands" of men in the UK have accessed costly TRT privately. 
And most "just don't need it at all", he said.

Manosphere

Isobelle Smith, an endocrinologist in New South Wales, Australia, has made Instagram videos debunking TRT claims.
"I've seen the advertising that up to one in four or one in five men before the age of 40 have testosterone deficiency -- that is just absolutely not true," she told AFP.
"These companies are saying that essentially normal levels are low," she said.
"Really, it's performance-enhancing drugs."
Some link the TRT craze to the "manosphere" culture with its fixation on bulging muscles and longevity.
Misogynist influencer Andrew Tate claims to have "high T" and berates men with "low T". US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently extolled President Donald Trump's high levels.
Data on private clinics is not available, but prescriptions for testosterone by family doctors rose 13 percent in 2024 in England, according to the Care Quality Commission regulator.
The NHS in England spent over £30 million ($40.1 million) in 2024 on testosterone jabs and gels, according to the OpenPrescribing website. Some were used for gender change and women's health.
Studies in the United States and Europe have shown testosterone levels declining for decades, which scientists link to lifestyle and environmental factors.
Despite the scepticism from medical professionals, men told AFP they had felt the positive effects of TRT.
Gavin McNamee, a 41-year-old personal trainer from northeast England, said he had had poor mental health and low energy. But after five months of treatment, he said: "I just feel so much better".
"I feel like a different person," agreed Carl Graham, a 38-year-old legal administrator from Liverpool on TRT for over six months.
Neither man consulted NHS doctors, and both inject testosterone prescribed privately, paying £100 to £200 a month.

'Take a test'

Heavily-muscled influencers promote clinics offering TRT via gels, pills or injections.
Jayasena said images of "men with six-packs even in their 50s and 60s", such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, had great sway.
Advertising testosterone, like any prescription-only medicine, is illegal in the UK. 
But private clinics circumvent this by advertising blood tests.
"Feeling tired, unfocused, or taking longer to recover after workouts? It could be time to check your testosterone levels," reads one ad for Harley Street TRT provider.
"If you don't feel like you're firing on all cylinders, take a test," ex-commando and television personality Jason Fox says in a video promoted by online provider Voy.
The ads appear to target young men, and Harley Street TRT has a "25 plus" setting on its Meta ads, offering personal trainers £50 per referral. 
Each patient generates an "average £1,500 ($2,000) profit per year," it says.
am/jkb/phz

immigration

Minnesota Somalis organize house call care amid ICE raid fears

BY GREGORY WALTON

  • "I got a call from a mom that that's a immigrant and she was afraid to go to the hospital, and her child is now in the Intensive Care Unit," said the Somali-born American who, like all of the St. Paul-based volunteers, gave only their first name for fear of retaliation.
  • Two Somali-American co-workers have created a network to provide medical house calls to community members afraid to go outside in the face of the massive immigration operation underway in Minnesota.
  • "I got a call from a mom that that's a immigrant and she was afraid to go to the hospital, and her child is now in the Intensive Care Unit," said the Somali-born American who, like all of the St. Paul-based volunteers, gave only their first name for fear of retaliation.
Two Somali-American co-workers have created a network to provide medical house calls to community members afraid to go outside in the face of the massive immigration operation underway in Minnesota.
The paranoia and fear fomented by the sweeping immigration crackdown in the Midwestern state has led many migrants -- both those with legal status and those without -- to shelter at home, campaigners say.
Members of migrant communities have avoided medical treatment, been unable to purchase essentials, lost jobs and even taken their children out of school to avoid venturing outside where they are more vulnerable to immigration checks.
Hafsa, a mental health student, was spurred to act after an acquaintance delayed seeking medical help for their child, meaning the youth's condition deteriorated by the time they sought help. 
"I got a call from a mom that that's a immigrant and she was afraid to go to the hospital, and her child is now in the Intensive Care Unit," said the Somali-born American who, like all of the St. Paul-based volunteers, gave only their first name for fear of retaliation.
Somalis have been at the forefront of Donald Trump's aggressive anti-immigrant campaign, with the US president branding the community "garbage," questioning its intelligence and calling for deportations to intensify.
Immigration officers have been seen at hospitals and clinics, waiting for patients and questioning them about their legal status, according to a recent article in the American Journal of Managed Care.
That has led to a surge in "healthcare avoidance" in the Somali and Hispanic communities, it reported.
Beyond connecting people in St. Paul, which along with Minneapolis makes up the Twin Cities, to health care workers willing to make house calls, the volunteers also devote resources to vetting the medical staff themselves.
"It is a lot of work because you want to make sure that whoever you're sending to that person's house is somebody who doesn't have any ill intentions. So you're making a lot of calls," said Hafsa, 25.
Care is taken to ensure the travelling health workers are not followed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers as they drive to migrants' homes.
The small, informal team of volunteers spends upwards of 12 hours daily answering calls, matching community members to care, and onboarding the professionals.
"You get their skills, and then... there might be an intake form where they can list all that and their availability," said volunteer Cass, 43, a compliance officer in health care. 
"It's project management 101," she added.

'Word of mouth'

Beyond the slick, computerized tools, the volunteers rely on community contacts to raise awareness and receive referrals.
"It's just word of mouth," said Musab, 34, an entrepreneur. 
He pointed to one of the women supporting the service and said she was "locked in with every single community member."
"We're a very collective community, so we know about each other's statuses. So somebody would just call and say 'Hey, this person is sick or whatever'."
Hafsa likened the community response in the face of the unprecedented immigration crackdown to giving first aid to a wounded patient.
"We need as many hands on our body, patching all the wounds," she said.
After receiving an urgent call, Musab rose and put on his heavy down coat to fend off the bitterly cold conditions.
"This brother actually works with people in recovery... So I think one of the kids might be sick, so I'm about to just go see kind of what I can help them out with and what they need," he said heading out.
The volunteers' staging space, an events center in St. Paul, has been volunteered by a Somali businesswoman who made sweetened tea for the team.
A room set aside for brides-to-be has been converted into a storeroom for the medical supplies and cold weather gear being donated from across the United States.
Hafsa said the well-wishes that have accompanied the donations arriving in Amazon packages were helping to keep her going.
"I cry from gratitude," she said.
gw/mlm

AI

AI helps doctors spot breast cancer in scans: world-first trial

  • The trial involved more than 100,000 women who received routine breast cancer scans across Sweden in 2021 and 2022.
  • Artificial intelligence helps doctors spot more cases of breast cancer when reading routine scans, a world-first trial found Friday.
  • The trial involved more than 100,000 women who received routine breast cancer scans across Sweden in 2021 and 2022.
Artificial intelligence helps doctors spot more cases of breast cancer when reading routine scans, a world-first trial found Friday.
The results suggest countries should roll out programmes taking advantage of AI's scanning power to ease the workload of short-staffed radiologists, the Swedish lead researchers said.
Well before the release of ChatGPT in 2022 raised global awareness about AI, scientists had been testing out the technology's capacity to read medical scans.
But the new study published in The Lancet medical journal marks the first completed randomised controlled trial -- the gold standard for this kind of research -- looking at AI-supported breast cancer screening.
The trial involved more than 100,000 women who received routine breast cancer scans across Sweden in 2021 and 2022.
They were randomly sorted into two groups. In one, a single radiologist was assisted by an AI system to check the scans. 
The other followed the standard European method, which requires two radiologists to read the scans.
Nine percent more cancer cases were spotted in the AI group compared to the control group.
Over the following two years, those in the AI group also had a 12 percent lower rate of being diagnosed with cancer between routine scans, which are known as interval cancers and can be particularly dangerous.
The improvement was consistent across different ages and levels of breast density, which can be risk factors. The rate of false positives was similar in both groups.
Senior study author Kristina Lang of Sweden's Lund University said that "widely rolling out AI-supported mammography in breast cancer screening programmes could help reduce workload pressures amongst radiologists, as well as helping to detect more cancers at an early stage".
But this must be done "cautiously" and with "continuous monitoring", she said in a statement.

'The radiologist's eye'

Jean-Philippe Masson, head of the French National Federation of Radiologists, told AFP that "the radiologist's eye and experience must correct the AI's diagnosis".
Sometimes the "AI tool will have seen a change in breast tissue that is not actually cancer," he added.
The use of AI by radiologists is still in its "infancy" in France because these systems are expensive -- and prone to overdiagnosis, Masson warned.
Stephen Duffy, emeritus professor of cancer screening at Queen Mary University of London who was not involved in the study, said it provided further evidence that AI-assisted cancer screening is safe.
But he warned that the "reduction in interval cancers following screening in the AI group is not significant".
He urged another follow-up of the trial's participants to see if the control group "catches up".
Interim results from the trial, published in 2023, showed that AI nearly halved the time radiologists spent reading scans.
The AI model Transpara was trained on more than 200,000 previous examinations taken in 10 countries.
More than 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer and 670,000 died from the disease in 2022, according to the World Health Organization.
ref-dl/rh