WHO | Week Ahead for media | 1 October 2021

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Friday 10.01 21 | Issue 127

WHO / Ismail Taxta

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) updates

A virtual press briefing with simultaneous translation in all UN languages with the participation of the WHO Director-General is planned for this week. Media advisories with Zoom links/dial-in details will be emailed in advance. For the latest news from WHO on COVID-19 and other breaking health stories, read WHO's news updates.

Sunday, 3 October
Film screening of Duty Free: a tale of ageism in employment

The Global campaign to combat ageism is organizing the first international screening of the documentary film Duty Free on Sunday, 3 October, from 15:00–17:00 CEST.

The film tells the story of Rebecca Danigelis, a 75-year-old woman who gets fired without cause from her lifelong job as a hotel housekeeper. The documentary not only gives visibility to the issue of ageism against older people in the labour market but also exposes the economic insecurity that ensues and shapes the future of many older people worldwide. The screening will take place online and will be live captioned in all UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish).

This event is part of the initiative Ageism through the ages that the global campaign to combat ageism is running from 1 October (International Day of Older Persons) to 20 November 2021 (World Children’s Day) to give focused attention to ageism as it affects different age groups.

Register to join the online film screening. Download the film flyer. Help spread the word about ageism by using and following the hashtag #AWorld4AllAges

4-8 October

Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE)

The meeting for the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) will be held from Monday 4 to Thursday 7 October 2021 inclusive. Friday 8 October 2021 is a closed session. More info here, including draft agenda.

Tuesday, 5 October

VPC with UN Secretary-General, WHO Director-General on global COVID-19 vaccination strategy

A virtual press conference with UN Secretary-General, WHO Director-General on global COVID-19 vaccination strategy will take place next Tuesday at 15:00 CEST. Speakers:

Join via Zoom:

Join by phone:

New targets towards ending preventable maternal deaths

An estimated 810 women die each day due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth, with the majority of these deaths occurring in the poorest countries. For every woman who dies of pregnancy-related causes, many more suffer from morbidity, disabilities and long-term ill-health.

Next Tuesday, WHO and UNFPA will release new targets that will need to be reached by 2025 to reduce maternal deaths and meet the Sustainable Development Goals. These include targets for antenatal care visits, births attended by skilled health personnel, proximity to emergency obstetric care, access to early routine postnatal care and sexual and reproductive health care and information. Join the webinar at 14:00 CEST. Factsheet on maternal mortality and WHO health topic page on maternal mortality.

Wednesday, 6 October

Health Equity and Pandemics – a Moonshot for Sustainable Health

WHO and the Karolinska Institutet will hold a joint virtual seminar on Wednesday on current and future action needed to redress health inequities, prevent pandemics and achieve sustainable health for all. The seminar is part of a deepened collaboration between WHO and Karolinska to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goal of #HealthForAll. Read more on the collaboration. The seminar will take place 11:00 to 13:30 CEST, and is open to media. Connect here. More details next week.

Expanding our understanding of post COVID-19 condition web series: Rehabilitation Care

Following WHO webinars on Recognition and on Research of Post COVID-19 condition earlier this year, WHO will conduct a third webinar in this series on Rehabilitation Care next Wednesday at 13:30 to 15:30 CEST. This webinar will present the WHO clinical case definition and the development of a Core Outcome Set for Post COVID-19 Condition, along with three other sections. Register here.

VPC on SAGE/MPAC findings on RTS,S malaria vaccine

A Virtual Press Conference on SAGE/MPAC global advisory bodies' review of RTS,S/AS01 vaccine evidence to inform a potential WHO recommendation on broad deployment of a malaria vaccine for children in sub-Saharan Africa will take place next Wednesday, and is scheduled for 17h30 CEST. A media advisory will be issued next week.

Friday, 8 October

Mental Health Atlas 2020

WHO’s Mental Health Atlas provides an overview of mental health resources available around the world. Data provided by 171 countries on mental health policies, legislation, financing, human resources, and the availability and use of mental health services, is compiled to show progress (and lack of progress) towards meeting the mental health targets set by the global health community.

The Atlas is being released next Friday in the lead-up to World Mental Health Day on 10 October, which will focus this year on scaling up access to quality mental health care. More on World Mental Health Day.

Saturday, 9 October

World Hospice and Palliative Care Day

On World Hospice and Palliative Care Day next Saturday, WHO will release two new resources on assessing the development of palliative care worldwide and on quality health services and palliative care. These will be officially released on Tuesday, 5 October, in a WHO pre-congress session at EAPCs World congress on palliative care. This WHO session will be led by palliative care experts from across the world and explore the implementation of the 2014 World Health Assembly resolution on palliative care.

Listen to the latest podcast episode of Global Health Matters on Reimagining research leadership

About this episode: Strong research ecosystems require strong research leaders. In this episode, we hear from Karlee Silver who speaks about how Grand Challenges Canada has supported the discovery and research of new solutions to health and other challenges. Tembeka Mpako-Ntusi of Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa says research management at universities should address not only current challenges but also those lurking on the horizon.

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