The world is at a crossroads. For decades, economies have relied on the linear model to “take, make, and dispose”; a circular economy is slowly emerging, which looks to “renew, remake, and share” instead. Moving toward a circular economy requires a fundamental rethinking of waste management practices and how they can affect health and wellbeing. This report analyzes assessment of economic benefits of the health outcomes from better waste management, and discusses approaches for assessing health impacts and their economic consequences in decision-making ...

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine has caused a deterioration in the level of access to health-care services and medicines in the country, particularly for people living in regions close to the front line and areas that are not partially or fully controlled by the Government of Ukraine, and for people who have been internally displaced. Cost and time constraints involved in getting to and from health facilities, as well as limited transportation options were the main barriers to accessing essential health-care services. At the same time, the ...

This report summarizes the main outcomes of a virtual consultation meeting on the development of the Tuberculosis Action Plan for the WHO European Region 2023–2030. The virtual consultation was part of an open consultation process to involve all relevant stakeholders in the development of the Action Plan and to ensure that all contributions and perspectives on the Action Plan are represented and considered. The finalized Action Plan will be submitted to the 72nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe on 12–14 September 2022 for adoption ...

Strengthened surveillance using a One-Health approach in at-risk animal populations and at the animal-human-environment interface is required to timely detect SARS-CoV-2 and mpox (‎previously known as monkeypox)‎ and monitor for virus evolution in order to prevent the establishment of these viruses in new animal hosts. Both SARS-CoV-2 and mpox have been declared Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (‎PHEIC)‎. The WHO Regional Office for Europe and the World Organization for Animal Health (‎WOAH)‎ in Europe are monitoring notified cases ...

The November 2022 characterization report was the second report for the 2022-2023 influenza season. As of week 52/2022, 109 321 detections had been reported. Of these detections, 94% were type A viruses, with A(‎H3N2)‎ and A(‎H1N1)‎pdm09 showing near equal proportions, 51% and 49% respectively, and 6% type B of which 707 were ascribed to a lineage, with all being B/Victoria. This represents a 5-fold increase in detections compared to the 2021-2022 season, despite only a modest increase (‎5%)‎ in the number of samples tested. The epidemic threshold of ...