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16 May 2025 | Issue 304
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© WHO / Pierre Albouy
Conflict in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory [https://www.who.int/emergencies/situations/conflict-in-Israel-and-oPt]
WHO work on mpox [https://www.who.int/emergencies/situations/mpox-outbreak]
Latest news from WHO [https://www.who.int/news-room] and WHO events page [https://www.who.int/news-room/events]
Saturday, 17 May
WHO-ITU collaboration to protect hearing
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) marks 160 years of technology for humanity with a first-ever light show that will be projected onto the iconic ITU Tower, opposite the United Nations Office at Geneva, as part of Geneva Museum Night. Watch the light show live on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/ITU/live_videos/], YouTube [https://youtube.com/live/gmJwdIea-tg?feature=share], and ITU Webcast live [https://www.itu.int/webcast/live/itu160].
During the lightshow, ITU will acknowledge the close collaboration with WHO to develop standards that protect our hearing, especially when listening to music or playing video games. The two organizations also work together on how artificial intelligence can improve health around the world. For more information, visit the ITU website [https://www.itu.int/160/] and the WHO Make Listening Safe campaign [https://www.who.int/activities/making-listening-safe].
Sunday, 18 May
Election of Regional Director for Africa
Member States of the WHO African Region convene for a Special Session of the African Regional Committee for Africa on 18 May 2025 to elect the next Regional Director for Africa. Four candidates have been proposed for the position of Regional Director. The Regional Director-elect will be appointed by the WHO Executive Board, which meets 28-29 May and will take office thereafter.
The event will be live-streamed (except for the closed-door voting session) here: [https://www.afro.who.int/about-us/governance/sessions/second-special-session-who-regional-committee-africa]
More information about the candidates here: [https://www.afro.who.int/regional-director/election-2025/list-of-candidates]
19-27 May
One World for Health: The Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly [https://www.who.int/news/item/16-05-2025-one-world-for-health–the-seventy-eighth-world-health-assembly-convenes-from-19-to-27-may-2025]
The Seventy-eighth session of the World Health Assembly ( WHA78 [https://apps.who.int/gb/e/e_wha78.html]) will convene from 19 to 27 May 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland, under the theme “One World for Health”.
The Health Assembly will bring together high-level country representatives and other stakeholders to address health challenges. This year’s gathering comes at a pivotal moment for global health, as Member States confront emerging threats and major shifts in the landscape for global health and international development.
This year’s theme underscores WHO’s enduring commitment to solidarity and equity, highlighting that even in unprecedented times, everyone, everywhere should have an equal chance to live a healthy life.
Side Events:
A limited number of official side events will take place during the World Health Assembly at the Palais the Nations in Geneva from Monday 19 May to Saturday 24 May. These events will be included in the daily journals. More information and a list of events here [https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/18DFE0FD1CC9DA69].
Media and webcast information:
Public meetings of the WHA78 will be webcast live here. [https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/18DFE0FD1CC9DA69]
WHO will provide regular updates from the World Health Assembly via X [https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/18DFE0FD1CC9DA69], YouTube [https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/18DFE0FD1CC9DA69] and Bluesky [https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/18DFE0FD1CC9DA69].
Additional Information:
Working hours of WHA78 are 9:00-12:00 and 14:30-17:30 CEST.
WHO Governance information can be found here [https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/18DFE0FD1CC9DA69].
A daily journal with the Assembly’s provisional agenda and documents [https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_OWMwZTIxYzEtZTdhZS00OTA1LWE2NjYtMWY2YmFiNmIyNGVh%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%220f9e35db-544f-4f60-bdcc-5ea416e6dc70%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2285e64273-faf4-438c-8901-5c2823f75bbe%22%7d] will be available to download.
For the provisional agenda on PDF, scroll down to “Main documents” on this page where all meeting documents are available in six UN languages. The provisional agenda [https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_OWMwZTIxYzEtZTdhZS00OTA1LWE2NjYtMWY2YmFiNmIyNGVh%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%220f9e35db-544f-4f60-bdcc-5ea416e6dc70%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2285e64273-faf4-438c-8901-5c2823f75bbe%22%7d] contains hyperlinks to the meeting documents.
The Health Assembly’s agenda is preceded by the 42nd meeting of the Programme, Budget and Administration Committee of the Executive Board [https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_OWMwZTIxYzEtZTdhZS00OTA1LWE2NjYtMWY2YmFiNmIyNGVh%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%220f9e35db-544f-4f60-bdcc-5ea416e6dc70%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2285e64273-faf4-438c-8901-5c2823f75bbe%22%7d], which will meet 14-16 May, 2025. After the Assembly, the 157th meeting of the Executive Board [https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_OWMwZTIxYzEtZTdhZS00OTA1LWE2NjYtMWY2YmFiNmIyNGVh%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%220f9e35db-544f-4f60-bdcc-5ea416e6dc70%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2285e64273-faf4-438c-8901-5c2823f75bbe%22%7d] will take place from 28-29 May.
Tuesday, 20 May
Contaminated medicines and the integrity of the pharmaceutical excipient supply chain
Join WHO and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for a presentation on their joint study: Contaminated medicines and the integrity of the pharmaceutical excipient supply chain. This hybrid event will take place in Vienna, Austria, and online during the 34th Session of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, from 11:30 to 12:30 CEST.
The preventable harm caused by medicines contaminated with toxic chemicals—specifically diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG)—has persisted for over 90 years. At least 25 reported incidents have led to over 1300 reported deaths and many more hospitalizations leading to life changing injuries. While such events have often been treated as isolated anomalies, recent developments suggest the issue is more widespread than previously believed. This new study draws on a literature review, interviews with subject matter experts, a series of case studies, and a field study to explore the connection between criminal actions and poor manufacturing and distribution practices in the pharmaceutical sector. The full report will be made publicly available by the end of May 2025.
Click here to join the event live [https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_OWMwZTIxYzEtZTdhZS00OTA1LWE2NjYtMWY2YmFiNmIyNGVh%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%220f9e35db-544f-4f60-bdcc-5ea416e6dc70%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2285e64273-faf4-438c-8901-5c2823f75bbe%22%7d].
20 – 23 May
Ad hoc FAO/WHO expert meeting on water quality in agrifood systems and food safety implications – focus on chemical contaminants
WHO, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Office (FAO), will conduct the Ad hoc FAO/WHO expert meeting on water quality in agrifood systems and food safety implications with a focus on chemical contaminants from 20-23 May 2025 at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy. The meeting will discuss the food safety issues related to chemical water quality in environmental and recycled waters that may be used in agrifood systems. The outcomes will support the work of the Codex Alimentarius [https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/about-codex/en/] and/or other relevant stakeholders. Learn more: Ad hoc FAO/WHO expert meeting on water quality in agrifood systems and food safety implications – focus on chemical contaminants [https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2025/05/20/default-calendar/ad-hoc-fao-who-expert-meeting-on-water-quality-in-agrifood-systems-and-food-safety-implications-focus-on-chemical-contaminants]
Wednesday, 21 May
Web meeting: WHO-ITU Global standard for safe listening in video gameplay and esports
Join us on 21 May from 12:00 to 13:15 CET for the launch of the WHO-ITU Global standard for safe listening in video gameplay and esports.
With over 3 billion people worldwide engaging in video gameplay and esports, sound is at the heart of the experience. But the intense, prolonged exposure to high-volume audio poses serious risks to hearing health, especially for frequent players and professional competitors.
To address this growing concern, this first-of-its-kind standard will help integrate safe listening features into video gameplay devices and video game software, protecting users while maintaining their experience.
Register for the event [https://who.zoom.us/meeting/register/EZFFuIk2QnmZ5XmzBY_RDg#/registration].
More information on the safe listening standard in video gameplay and esports [https://www.who.int/multi-media/details/safe-listening-for-video-gameplay-and-esports].
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WHO EPI-WIN Webinar: mass gatherings, safe gatherings (3): managing political and cultural events
This webinar is the third in a series of webinars focused on mass gatherings. The webinar focuses on mass gatherings for political and cultural events. Large mass gatherings can pose public health risks and strain the public health resources of the hosting community, city or country. They require considerable preparedness and response capabilities. The EPI-WIN aims to share lessons learned and best practices from countries that have hosted political and cultural events.
Webinar Registration – Zoom [https://who.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ufY0J2b5TaWmlGCfVEwbDQ#/registration]
Also of interest:
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros is on BlueSky, follow him for global health updates: [https://bsky.app/profile/drtedros.who.int]
Stories of interest:
Fighting cholera in the front lines of Angola’s hardest hit provinces [https://www.afro.who.int/countries/angola/news/fighting-cholera-front-lines-angolas-hardest-hit-provinces] – 16 May 2025
Indonesia and WHO ramp up dengue fight with smarter surveillance [https://www.who.int/indonesia/news-room/item/16-05-2025-indonesia-and-who-ramp-up-dengue-fight-with-smarter-surveillance] – 16 May 2025
WHO events here [https://www.who.int/news-room/events]
Sign up for our newsletters here [https://www.who.int/news-room/newsletters]
Check out the WHO series, [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9S6xGsoqIBXRQzSDOfFb13iPrbL8fgy1] Science in 5 [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9S6xGsoqIBXRQzSDOfFb13iPrbL8fgy1]
Catch a series that debunks misinformation around WHO and public health, Plot Twist [https://youtube.com/shorts/LO5yskukhm0?feature=share]
Access WHO photos available for media use here [https://multimedia.who.int/]
WHO media contacts: