Features

On the eve of World Blood Donation Day, it is important to supporting the Tanzanian government and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in their efforts to officiate this important event in Kigoma region. The region has only 14 health facilities that provide Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care (CEmOC) of which 9 facilities in Kigoma Urban, Kibondo, Kakonko, Kasulu and Uvinza districts have been upgraded and receive support from WLF

On World No Tobacco Day, technical and financial assistance has been provided for new mass media and social media campaigns and new campaign tools that will help warn billions of people about the dangers of tobacco use.

The competition was launched to find the best graphics, photos and videos that illustrate the benefits of a smoke-free Vietnam, demonstrate ways of supporting compliance with Vietnam’s new smoke-free regulations, and exhibit public support for this smoke-free law.

Congratulations to several governments in Africa for moving forward with life-saving tobacco control policies. New policies are near passage or being implemented in Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa.

Today, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare unveiled a new four-minute video, called The Price We Pay, to highlight the economic and health impacts of tobacco use. The film explains how tobacco ruins livelihoods and lives.

Today marks the launch of a new national campaign to warn people about the harms of second-hand smoke and to promote smoke-free public spaces across Bangladesh. The campaign, called Smoke, was developed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW).

We welcome the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposed regulations to the e-cigarette industry, which include sales restrictions and labeling requirements of products that deliver vaporized nicotine, although the regulations falls short of expectations. The multibillion dollar e-cigarette industry has been expanding rapidly without oversight and amidst growing concerns about the health and safety of the products.

A new report from the CDC, highlights a dramatic increase in poisonings related to e-cigarettes. The study adds to a growing body of evidence underlining the urgent need for regulation of e-cigarettes and related products by the U.S. FDA and the need for the marketing, sale and use of e-cigarettes to be subject to the same restrictions as traditional cigarettes.

The UK Government is urged to introduce plain packaging for tobacco products without further delay. The Government had been awaiting the findings of the Chantler Review into the potential effectiveness of plain packaging before making a decision on the matter and today said that it intends to present details of potential legislation in the near future.

A perfect storm of factors has led to the rapid spread of Multi-Drug Resistant-Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and a major effort is needed to combat the increasing toll of the disease. MDR-TB threatens to undo decades of progress and brings new urgency to invest in healthcare systems, medicines and vaccines.