Each year, more than 21 million adolescent girls in low and middle-income countries become pregnant. About half of these pregnancies are unintended. Nine in 10 adolescent births occur among girls who were married before turning 18.

“Early pregnancies can have serious physical and psychological consequences for girls and young women,” said Dr Pascale Allotey, Director of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research at WHO. “(They) often reflect fundamental inequalities that affect their ability to shape their relationships and their lives.” 

Too young to give birth

Teen pregnancy carries serious health risks. These include higher rates of infection, complications, and premature birth. It also disrupts education and limits job opportunities later in life. Many young mothers end up trapped in poverty.

To help prevent teenage pregnancy, WHO is calling on governments to offer better alternatives to child marriage. These include improving access to education, financial services and jobs.

If all girls finished secondary school, child marriage could be slashed by up to two-thirds, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Stolen childhood

There has been global progress. In 2021, one in 25 girls gave birth before age 20. Twenty years earlier, the rate was one in 15. However, big gaps remain. In some countries, nearly one in 10 girls aged 15 to 19 still give birth each year.

“Early marriage denies girls their childhood and has severe consequences for their health,” said Dr Sheri Bastien, Scientist for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health at WHO.

She emphasized the power of education in transforming girls’ futures. At the same time, both boys and girls need to understand the concept of consent “and challenge the major gender inequalities that continue to drive high rates of child marriage and early pregnancy in many parts of the world.”

The WHO guidelines update advice issued in 2011. They promote comprehensive sexuality education which the UN agency says is essential so that boys and girls know how to use different types of contraception and where to seek advice. 

“It has been shown to reduce early pregnancies, delay the onset of sexual activity and improve adolescents’ knowledge about their bodies and reproductive health,” WHO said.

It follows a campaign last year that reached hundreds of thousands of young children under the age of 10.  Polio virus was recently detected in wastewater samples in Gaza, indicating that circulation is ongoing, thus putting young lives at risk.

The campaign is being led by the Palestinian Ministry of Health and implemented with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA and other partners.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini wrote in post on the social media platform X that 1,700 team members are taking part across the agency’s health centres and mobile points.

Separately, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “teams are on the ground providing support to ensure a quality campaign.”

UNRWA health teams constitute a third of the response, comprising 555 out of the total 1,660 teams involved.

They will be issuing vaccinations in 10 of its health centres: one in Rafah, three each in Khan Younis and the Middle Area, and one in Gaza City in the north.  Around 60 UNRWA mobile medical points will also carry out vaccinations.

The campaign is set to run through 26 February.

The findings, published in Nature Medicine on Monday, warn that if current trends continue, the world will see 3.2 million new breast cancer cases and 1.1 million related deaths each year by mid-century.

The burden will be disproportionately felt in low- and middle-income countries, where access to early detection, treatment and care remains limited.

“Every minute, four women are diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide and one woman dies from the disease, and these statistics are worsening,” said Dr. Joanne Kim, an IARC scientist and co-author of the report. 

“Countries can mitigate or reverse these trends by adopting primary prevention policies, such as WHO’s recommended ‘best buys’ for noncommunicable disease prevention, and by investing in early detection and treatment,” she explained.

A growing global burden 

Breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women worldwide and the second most common cancer overall.

In 2022 alone, an estimated 2.3 million new cases were diagnosed, with 670,000 deaths reported. However, the report highlights significant disparities across regions.

The highest incidence rates were recorded in Australia, New Zealand, North America and Northern Europe, while the lowest rates were found in South-Central Asia and parts of Africa.

Meanwhile, the highest mortality rates were reported in Melanesia, Polynesia and Western Africa, where limited access to healthcare contributes to poorer outcomes.

The link between breast cancer survival and economic development is stark: in high-income countries, 83 percent of diagnosed women survive, whereas in low-income countries, more than half of women diagnosed with breast cancer die from it.

Urgent need for action

The WHO launched the Global Breast Cancer Initiative in 2021, aiming to reduce breast cancer mortality rates by 2.5 per cent per year, which could prevent 2.5 million deaths by 2040.

The initiative focuses on early detection, timely diagnosis and access to quality treatment.

Dr. Isabelle Soerjomataram, Deputy Head of IARC’s Cancer Surveillance Branch, emphasised the need for high-quality cancer data to drive better policies in lower-income regions.

“Continued progress in early diagnosis and improved access to treatment are essential to address the global gap in breast cancer and ensure that the goal of reducing suffering and death from breast cancer is achieved by all countries worldwide,” she said.

The path forward 

The report underscores the importance of stronger health systems, increased funding for breast cancer screening and treatment, and the adoption of cost-effective prevention policies.

With the projected rise in cases and deaths, the international community faces an urgent challenge – one that requires coordinated action to ensure millions of lives are not lost to a disease that is increasingly preventable and treatable. 

In an alert on Tuesday, UN aid coordinators OCHA said that six humanitarian workers have been killed since January – the latest victim was shot during clashes last week near a hospital in Masisi Territory about 80 kilometres west of Goma, in North Kivu.

The same clashes reportedly killed three other civilians and injured a child, according to OCHA, which said that more than 100,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to further clashes last week in Lubero Territory, 250 kilometers north of Goma. 

Rape and other violations reported

Because of the insecurity several local health facilities have had to suspend activities. Humanitarian partners on the ground also report that there have been widespread human rights violations amid the fighting, including rape, OCHA said.

Meanwhile, local officials in South Kivu report schools are gradually re-opening in Kalehe Territory, located some 65 kilometres north of the provincial capital Bukavu.

Unexploded ordnance remains a problem in many areas affected by recent fighting, including two schools in the city of Minova, north of Bukavu, according to humanitarian partners.

The head of UN Peacekeeping Operations expressed concern over the humanitarian crisis and loss of life in the DRC during a press conference in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, on Monday.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix stressed that there is no military solution to the crisis and reiterated that while “it’s encouraging to see progress and involvement from stakeholders…the priority is a cessation of hostilities, implementation of decisions from the Luanda Process, and ensuring humanitarian access.” 

He added that the UN Mission faces limitations in M23-controlled areas but continues to protect civilians and reduce violence in other areas, safeguarding hundreds of thousands of civilians daily. 

Europe faces a ‘cradle to cane’ health crisis, warns WHO 

And in a medical update on Tuesday, UN health agency WHO warned that countries across Europe and Central Asia have a major problem with “stagnating” healthcare systems.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), almost 76,000 children in the region die before their fifth birthday every year.

In addition, non-communicable diseases claim the lives one in six people before they’re 70.

Wide regional variations

WHO’s latest European Health Report showed that under-five mortality ranged from 1.5 to 40.4 deaths per 1,000 live births across 53 countries in the region.

The top causes of death include pre-term birth complications, birth asphyxia and congenital heart anomalies.

Despite much progress in tackling non-communicable diseases across Europe and Central Asia, conditions such as heart and lung disease, stroke and diabetes remain by far the biggest killers. 

At least 10 countries have achieved a 25 per cent reduction in premature mortality from these four non-communicable diseases. 

Nonetheless, one in six people still die before they reach their 70th birthday from cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory disease, WHO said.

Chad: Nearly four million could go hungry during lean season

Humanitarians in Chad are warning about the impact of the forthcoming lean season on food security, amid already dire conditions, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Tuesday.

A regional assessment found that some 2.4 million people are not getting enough to eat, which is expected to rise to 3.7 million people, or 20 per cent of the population, during the lean season from June to August.

More than two million children under the age of five are malnourished, including more than half a million who are suffering from severe acute malnutrition who are at risk of dying in the coming months without the appropriate treatment. 

Additionally, nearly 300,000 pregnant and breast-feeding women are suffering from acute malnutrition.

Multiple shocks

Mr. Dujarric told journalists in New York that “this crisis is due to shocks, including natural catastrophes such as floods, which have destroyed croplands, in addition to the increasing price of basic commodities.”

Humanitarians warn that unless significant funding is received before the end of March, there will be no time to prevent a full-scale food security and nutrition crisis.

They are appealing for $1.45 billion to support operations in Chad this year but have so far received under $60 million, roughly four per cent. 

The agency is this week celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the entry into force of its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) – one of the most widely embraced UN treaties in history.

The Convention provides a legal framework and a comprehensive package of evidence-based tobacco control measures which include large pictorial health warnings on cigarette packages, smoke free laws and increased taxes on tobacco products.

Up to 5.6 billion people are now covered by at least one tobacco control policy in line with the treaty and studies have shown a decline in global smoking rates.

‘A plague on humanity’

“Tobacco is a plague on humanity – the leading cause of preventable death and disease globally,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 

He noted that “since the entry into force of the WHO FCTC and the MPOWER technical package that supports it, global tobacco use prevalence has dropped by one-third.”

The Convention is the first ever public health treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO. It came into effect on 27 February 2005 and currently there are 183 Parties covering some 90 per cent of the global population.

An event will be held on Thursday in Geneva to mark the milestone anniversary.

Bans and warnings

Thanks to the Convention, 138 countries now require large pictorial health warnings on cigarettes packets. Dozens more have implemented plain packaging rules which require a standard shape and appearance without branding, design or a logo. 

Both measures serve as powerful tools to reduce tobacco consumption and warn users about the dangers of tobacco use, WHO said.

Furthermore, over a quarter of the world’s population is now covered by policies that ban smoking indoors and in workspaces, saving millions from the dangers of second-hand smoke.

Meanwhile, over 66 countries have implemented bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, which include prohibitions against tobacco advertising in the media and sponsorship deals.

Confronting a ‘deadly’ industry

The treaty has also been instrumental in establishing legal defences in the face of the tobacco industry, which spends tens of billions of dollars on promotion. 

“The tobacco industry is a deadly industry behind the tobacco epidemic, now trying to position itself as part of the solution while actively derailing efforts at tobacco control which could save millions more lives,” said Dr. Adriana Blanco Marquizo, Head of the WHO FCTC Secretariat.

The treaty “equips Parties with a comprehensive set of measures to protect populations from the industry’s ever-evolving tactics – designed to profit at the cost of people’s lives and the health of our planet,” she added, urging countries “to remain ever watchful against its predatory tactics.”

The tobacco burden

Tobacco use is a major driver of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), causing premature death and disability, WHO explained.

Tobacco-related illnesses lead to catastrophic health expenditures, particularly for the world’s poor. Smokers are also more likely to lack access to nutritious food compared to non-smokers, including in wealthier countries. 

The impacts go even further. 

Tobacco cultivation uses large areas of land that could otherwise support sustainable food production systems, while its production further depletes vital resources such as land and water that are needed to produce food. 

Additionally, trillions of discarded plastic-heavy cigarette butts pollute ecosystems every year, further harming the planet.

Undermining public health

WHO said the tobacco industry “continues to undermine public health efforts, aggressively targeting youth through marketing, lobbying against tobacco control policies, and positioning itself as part of the solution to the problem it created.” 
 
Dr. Blanco Marquizo added that although great strides have been made in tobacco control, more remains to be done as “the tobacco industry continues to kill millions of people per year and its socio-economic burdens cause strains on entire populations.” 

She urged countries to fully implement the measures under the WHO FTC, including by increasing tobacco taxes, implementing smoke free laws, enforcing comprehensive advertising and sponsorship bans, prohibiting and regulating ingredients that form tobacco products, and addressing the challenges brought by new and emerging tobacco and nicotine products. 

“Through these measures we can save the lives of millions more people globally,” she said.