GENEVA: Nearly one in three women has experienced intimate partner or sexual violence, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, warning no society &quot;can call itself fair, safe or healthy while half its population lives in fear.&quot; &quot;Violence against women is one of humanity&#39;s oldest and most pervasive injustices, yet still one of the least acted upon,&quot; WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. In a fresh report, the UN health agency estimated that 840 million women globally -- nearly a third -- have experienced violence by an intimate partner, meaning someone they are in a romantic relationship with, or sexual violence in their lifetime. In the past year alone, 316 million women &ndash; 11% &nbsp;of those over the age of 15 -- faced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner, the report showed. Progress had been &quot;painfully slow,&quot; WHO said, pointing out that intimate partner violence had declined by only 0.2% annually over the past two decades. LynnMarie Sardinha, with WHO&#39;s department of sexual, reproductive, maternal, child, and adolescent health and ageing, warned that the number of reported cases might even begin to rise. &quot;Increased awareness will likely lead to more reports of violence,&quot; she told reporters. &#39;Stark picture&#39; For the first time, the WHO report also includes national and regional estimates of sexual violence committed by someone other than an intimate partner. It determined that 263 million women had experienced non-partner sexual violence since the age of 15, cautioning that the problem was &quot;significantly under-reported due to stigma and fear.&quot; Wednesday&#39;s analysis covers data collected between 2000 and 2023 across 168 countries, &quot;revealing a stark picture of a deeply neglected crisis,&quot; WHO said. The report lamented that despite mounting evidence on effective strategies to prevent violence against women, funding for such initiatives was &quot;collapsing.&quot; In 2022, for instance, just 0.2% of global development aid went to programs focused on preventing violence against women. Funding has fallen further since the start of this year, after US President Donald Trump led the way on halting foreign aid globally. The report underscored that violence against women begins early. For example, WHO pointed out that in the past 12 months alone, 12.5 million adolescent girls &ndash; 16% of those between the ages of 15 and 19 -- have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner. Conflicts, climate impact Women everywhere are at risk. &quot;The results highlight a tragic reality for women and girls worldwide ... in almost essentially every community,&quot; Jeremy Farrar, WHO&#39;s assistant director-general for health promotion, disease prevention and care, told reporters. However, the data indicates that women in poorer countries and those affected by conflict or global warming are disproportionately affected. Climate change &quot;can result in floods, it can result in famines, it can result in other types of natural disasters,&quot; explained Avni Amin, head of WHO&#39;s rights and equality unit. As with war and conflict, this can drive people from their homes or create economic insecurity, which can increase stress at home and disrupt law and order -- all of which &quot;increases the risk,&quot; Amin said. The worst situation is found in Oceania &mdash; the island countries of the Pacific, excluding Australia and New Zealand. There, 38% of women reported intimate partner violence in the past year -- more than three times the global average of 11%, the report showed. In southern Asia, that figure was 19%, while in Africa it ranged from 14% to 17%. In Europe and North America, meanwhile, 5% of women reported experiencing violence, while 7% did in Latin America and the Caribbean, the report showed.

Europe

In a fresh report, the UN health agency estimated that 840 million women globally have experienced violence by an intimate partner.

Nearly a third of women face partner or sexual violence: WHO

Web Desk

<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organization (WHO) and global partners released the 2025 Lancet Countdown report, urging that protecting human health must drive climate action amid rising heat deaths and fossil fuel dependence worldwide.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The report warns that continued reliance on fossil fuels and inadequate adaptation to rising temperatures are taking a devastating toll on lives, economies, and health systems worldwide.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;This report, produced with WHO as a strategic partner, makes clear that climate inaction is killing people now in all countries. However, climate action is also the greatest health opportunity of our time. Cleaner air, healthier diets, and resilient health systems can save millions of lives now and protect current and future generations.&rdquo;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The findings show 12 of 20 key indicators tracking health threats have reached record levels. Climate inaction is costing lives, straining health systems, and undermining economies.&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;The climate crisis is a health crisis. Every fraction of a degree of warming costs lives and livelihoods,&rdquo; said Dr Jeremy Farrar, Assistant Director-General for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Care at the World Health Organization.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The report identifies Asia among the regions with the most significant rise in heatwave exposure due to climate change, alongside Africa and Small Island Developing States.&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It adds that the climate suitability for dengue transmission &mdash; spread by Aedes mosquitoes &mdash; has risen by 48.5% since the 1950s, contributing to millions of new cases globally.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heat exposure threat&nbsp; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The report highlights a 23% rise in heat-related deaths since the 1990s, with an average of 546,000 people dying annually due to heat exposure. Infants and older adults each experienced over 20 heatwave days per person in 2024, four times as many as two decades ago. Droughts and heatwaves have pushed an additional 124 million people into food insecurity.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Economic losses are also mounting. Heat exposure resulted in 640 billion potential labor hours lost in 2024, with productivity losses estimated at $1.09 trillion.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Governments spent $956 billion on fossil fuel subsidies in 2023 &mdash; more than triple the annual amount pledged to support climate-vulnerable countries. In 15 nations, fossil fuel subsidies exceeded entire national health budgets.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Despite these challenges, the report highlights progress. Between 2010 and 2022, reduced coal-derived air pollution prevented 160,000 premature deaths annually.&nbsp;Global surge in droughtThe Lancet Countdown warns that the &ldquo;percentage of the global land area affected by at least 1 month of extreme drought reached a record-breaking 60&middot;7% in 2024, 299% above the average&rdquo; since the 1950s.&nbsp; Researchers said the rise in global droughts reflects how higher temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns are disrupting water and food systems. &ldquo;Droughts threaten food productivity and water security, and heighten the risk of infectious diseases,&rdquo; the report noted. It added that prolonged dry periods are also worsening air quality by increasing dust exposure and wildfire risks, while disrupting power generation and river transport in several regions.<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/c35cf4c5-b5b4-4451-90b2-843ef423bdfe-Drought in Pakistan .png" alt="Annual number of months of extreme drought on average in 1951–1960 (A) and 2024 (B) (Lancet Countdown report 2025)" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 680px;"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic" style="line-height: 2;">Annual number of months of extreme drought on average in 1951&ndash;1960 (A) and 2024 (B) (Lancet Countdown report 2025)</figcaption></figure> <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Global energy&nbsp; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Renewable energy generation reached a record 12% of global electricity, creating 16 million jobs. Two-thirds of medical students received climate and health education in 2024.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;We already have the solutions at hand to avoid a climate catastrophe,&rdquo; said Dr Marina Romanello, Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown at University College London. &ldquo;Rapidly phasing out fossil fuels in favor of clean renewable energy and efficient energy use remains the most powerful lever to slow climate change and protect lives.&rdquo;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&lsquo;Leading the way&rsquo; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;While some governments have slowed their climate commitments, the report shows that cities, communities, and the health sector are leading the way,&rdquo; WHO official,&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap" id="isPasted">Dr Jeremy Farrar&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">said.&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nearly all reporting cities have completed or plan to complete climate risk assessments, while health-related greenhouse gas emissions fell 16% globally between 2021 and 2022.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The 2025 Lancet Countdown report said weather-related extreme events caused $304 billion in global economic losses in 2024, which is 0.27% of global GDP.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As preparations for COP30 in Bel&eacute;m, Brazil, advance, the WHO said the report provides key evidence for placing health at the center of climate action. The organization will expand on these findings through its forthcoming COP30 Special Report on Climate Change and Health, focusing on the policies and investments needed to protect global health and equity.

Climate

The report on 'Health and climate change' urges global measures to safeguard health as rising temperatures, pollution, and fossil fuel use drive record heat deaths, disease spread, and economic losses, while highlighting progress in renewable energy and health system resilience.

Climate change claims millions of lives every year, Lancet report finds

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has launched a nationwide vaccination campaign against human papillomavirus (HPV), aiming to immunize 4.1 million girls aged nine to 14 across all four provinces to prevent cervical cancer, health officials said on Monday.&nbsp;The vaccination drive will run from September 15-27. It will focus on immunizing both, school-going and out-of-school girls. Vaccinations will be administered at Expanded Program on Immunisation (EPI) centers, schools, and through mobile outreach teams; supported by over 3,000 mostly female vaccinators, data operators, social mobilizers, and assistants.&nbsp;A digital tracking system, called the Sindh Immunisation Electronic Record System, was deployed in southern Pakistan to enroll girls and monitor vaccination status over time. This will ensure a long-term assessment of vaccine effectiveness, officials said. Emergency medical support, including ambulances, will accompany teams to handle rare adverse reactions.&nbsp;Cervical cancer cases risingHPV causes 80-90% of cervical cancer cases. Its cases have been increasing each year in Pakistan, where about 5,000 new cervical cancer cases are diagnosed annually. Over 3,000 preventable deaths occur each year.&nbsp;The vaccine will be offered free of charge as a single dose to reduce dropout rates. It will become part of Pakistan&rsquo;s routine immunization schedule in 2026, starting with nine-year-old girls.&nbsp;&nbsp;Health experts talked about the importance of screening in addition to vaccination, recommending women undergo cervical cancer screening twice in their lifetime, at ages 35 and 45. Tests such as pap smears and HPV DNA testing are encouraged.&nbsp;The World Health Organization (WHO) reported last month that it has trained over 49,000 health workers across Pakistan. The effort covers Punjab, Sindh, the Islamabad Capital Territory, and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Expansion to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is planned for 2026, with Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan to follow in 2027.&nbsp;WHO officials described the vaccination campaign as a critical step towards the global goal of eliminating cervical cancer by 2030, which calls for 90% of girls vaccinated by age 15, 70% of women screened, and 90% of cancer cases receiving treatment.&nbsp;&ldquo;By protecting girls today, Pakistan is reducing future cervical cancer deaths,&rdquo; said a WHO representative.&nbsp;

Pakistan launches nationwide HPV vaccination campaign targeting young girls

Health

The vaccination drive will run from September 15-27, focusing on immunizing 4.1 million girls aged nine to 14 across Pakistan.

Articles tagged with "World Health Organization (WHO)"

Nearly a third of women face partner or sexual violence: WHO

Climate change claims millions of lives every year, Lancet report finds

Pakistan launches nationwide HPV vaccination campaign for young girls