Latest news with #healthministry
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
At least 91 killed near aid centers across the Gaza Strip in last day
At least 91 people have been killed near aid centers across the Gaza Strip in the last day, according to reports from Hamas and local hospitals. Israeli forces were reported shooting at the crowds. The deaths at aid sites come as international aid agencieswarn of dire hunger in the territory. A global initiative monitoring hunger said this week that a "worst-case scenario of famine" is unfolding in Gaza. Hospital officials told ABC News that 14 Palestinians were killed near an aid center in Muraj. At another aid center in Netzarim, at least 13 people were killed, local hospitals told ABC News. MORE: At least 37 killed, 270 injured while seeking aid in northern Gaza: Hospital Deaths from a single major incident on Wednesday near an aid distribution site near Zikim rose to 58, the health ministry said, increasing the toll from the 37 it published on Wednesday. Another 579 were injured, the health ministry added. Later, the health ministry upped the overall death toll from all aid sites over the past day to 91. On Thursday, the IDF released a statement on the shooting in Zikim, saying dozens of Gazans were gathered around aid trucks, in close proximity to its troops. According to the statement, IDF troops fired warning shots in the area in response to the threat posed to them. The IDF said it is not aware of any casualties as a result. Israeli officials have long accused Hamas of seizing humanitarian goods and selling them to fund militant activity. Hamas denies those claims. Israel on Sunday said it was beginning daily 10-hour "tactical pauses" in several densely populated areas to facilitate the movement of aid into the territory. Hospitals in the Gaza Strip have recorded two new deaths in the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, according to the health ministry, bringing the total number to 159 people, including 90 children.
Bloomberg
16 hours ago
- Health
- Bloomberg
Colombia's Petro Decrees State Control of Health Care
By President Gustavo Petro is seeking to push through his controversial health care plan by decree, bypassing lawmakers that have so far blocked his repeated attempts to expand state control over the system. The decree published by the health ministry practically eliminates the role of public and private-sector health insurers in favor of regional governments.
Free Malaysia Today
18 hours ago
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
Health ministry drops case against doctor for dispensing ivermectin
Health ministry officials had seized the antiparasitic drug found in Dr Che Amir Farid Che Isahak's clinic, arguing that it was not a registered product. (Reuters pic) PETALING JAYA : The health ministry has withdrawn a criminal case against a doctor for possessing and dispensing ivermectin. Dr Che Amir Farid Che Isahak said the ministry's decision to drop the case yesterday followed a ruling made by the Federal Court four months ago on a related matter. In March, the apex court unanimously decided to uphold doctors' right to give patients ivermectin. Health ministry officials had raided Che Amir's clinic in Ampang in 2021 during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The raid followed reports that two patients, unconnected to Che Amir, had self-prescribed ivermectin and allegedly suffered acute poisoning and breathing difficulties. Officials seized the antiparasitic drug found in the clinic, arguing that it was not a registered product. They also claimed that the doctor was not legally permitted to sell or dispense the drug. Che Amir was subsequently charged in the magistrates' court with selling and dispensing the drug. When contacted, Che Amir said although the case resulted from the use of ivermectin for Covid-19 patients, the court's decision allows doctors who are proponents of the drug to use it for the prevention or treatment of any other types of diseases or conditions. 'And we can now safely prescribe and dispense ivermectin without fear of being raided anymore.' He also said more diseases had been found to be amenable to treatment with ivermectin, including cancer. However, he said while there had been many preclinical studies, no clinical study had been conducted. 'Ivermectin is emerging as a treatment for many types of cancer. 'For now there are only case reports and testimonies on the treatment of cancer with ivermectin. I hope that clinical trials will be conducted soon.'
The Guardian
a day ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Children and elderly people most vulnerable as Gaza famine deepens, warn experts
Humanitarian experts and doctors are warning that children, elderly people and those with pre-existing health conditions are most at risk of famine in Gaza. Pro-Israeli activists and Israel's foreign ministry have tried to challenge the veracity of shocking pictures that have appeared in the international media, despite widespread and well-documented evidence of growing and worsening famine under conditions of Israeli restrictions on aid. One such picture, which was used widely by the international media, including the Guardian, showed a young boy suffering from severe malnutrition, who it subsequently transpired also had a pre-existing health condition. Experts say that children under the age of five, including those with other health issues, and elderly people, will always be most vulnerable in the circumstances of famine. In recent days, aid agencies, governments and the UN's food security monitor, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification initiative (IPC), have provided evidence of increasing starvation, in particular among children under five. Estimates from other recent famines have suggested that the risk of dying for children under five can be twice as high as for adults, with a greater risk for children with health issues. According to the health ministry in Gaza, 154 people have died of hunger since the start of the war, including 89 children. Complicating the issue, say other experts, is the fact that children weakened by malnourishment are vulnerable to other potentially fatal diseases, especially if they are living in the open and in unsanitary conditions. Underlying the risk for the young and those with other health complications, Marina Adrianopoli, a technical expert in the field of undernutrition at the World Health Organization, warned of the risk to 'vulnerable children [who] do not have access to services for the prevention and management of acute malnutrition' a situation she said that can lead 'to widespread diseases, malnutrition and starvation'. 'Acute malnutrition is a life-threatening condition in its most severe form, which requires urgent treatment,' she said. 'When a child suffers from severe acute malnutrition, especially when associated with medical complications, this child is at high risk of mortality.' Adrianopoli said: 'Children with acute malnutrition need to be immediately identified and referred for the appropriate treatment which is needed for their survival. Children with wasting are extremely vulnerable, their immune system is compromised, their susceptibility to infections increases rapidly. Saving their lives and averting avoidable mortality can only happen by providing adequate treatment.' Earlier this month, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported an alarming rise in malnutrition at its clinics, warning that 25% of the children and pregnant and breastfeeding women that it screened were malnourished, adding that cases of severe malnutrition in children under five had tripled in just two weeks. Speaking on Wednesday from Deir al-Balah in Gaza, the MSF doctor Mohammed Fadlalla 'categorically rejected the cynical and cruel narrative' that there is no hunger in Gaza. 'Malnutrition is affecting everyone, the sick, the healthy and the old because no one is eating enough. But the people who are most affected tend to be the most vulnerable: children from zero-five, the elderly, those with pre-existing conditions like diabetes,' he said. The findings and testimony from MSF were amplified this week by the latest alert from the IPC, the UN food security monitor whose data collection and cautious deliberations on determining whether famine exists are regarded as the gold standard on the issue. An IPC alert on Monday warned that two out of the three famine thresholds have now been breached in parts of Gaza, with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Unicef warning that time is running out to mount a full-scale humanitarian response. The WFP said: 'Food consumption – the first core famine indicator – has plummeted in Gaza since the last IPC Update in May 2025, with data showing that more than one in three people (39%) are now going days at a time without eating, meaning more than 500,000 people – nearly a quarter of Gaza's population – are enduring famine-like conditions, while the remaining population is facing emergency levels of hunger.' It continued: 'Acute malnutrition – the second core famine indicator – inside Gaza has risen at an unprecedented rate. In Gaza City, malnutrition levels among children under five have quadrupled in two months, reaching 16.5%. This signals a critical deterioration in nutritional status and a sharp rise in the risk of death from hunger and malnutrition.' The sense of urgency is driven by the fact that the impact of famine on the body proceeds slowly at first, then very rapidly as the body uses available fat before beginning to break down muscle cells, which release chemicals, including potassium, chloride and sodium, and cellular debris into the bloodstream, rapidly triggering more serious health issues, including severe malnutrition in young children. Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has tried to suggest untruthfully there is 'no starvation in Gaza'.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Children and elderly people most vulnerable as Gaza famine deepens, warn experts
Humanitarian experts and doctors are warning that children, elderly people and those with pre-existing health conditions are most at risk of famine in Gaza. Pro-Israeli activists and the country's foreign ministry have tried to challenge the veracity of shocking pictures that have appeared in the international media, despite widespread and well-documented evidence of growing and worsening famine under conditions of Israeli restrictions on aid. One such picture, which was used widely by the international media, including the Guardian, showed a young boy suffering from severe malnutrition, who it subsequently transpired also had a pre-existing health condition. Experts say that children under the age of five, including those with other health issues, and elderly people, will always be most vulnerable in the circumstances of famine. In recent days, aid agencies, governments and the UN's food security monitor, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification initiative (IPC), have provided evidence of increasing starvation, in particular among children under five. Estimates from other recent famines have suggested that the risk of dying for children under five can be twice as high as for adults, with a greater risk for children with health issues. According to the health ministry in Gaza, 154 people have died of hunger since the start of the war, including 89 children. Complicating the issue, say other experts, is the fact that children weakened by malnourishment are vulnerable to other potentially fatal diseases, especially if they are living in the open and in unsanitary conditions. Underlying the risk for the young and those with other health complications, Marina Adrianopoli, a technical expert in the field of undernutrition at the World Health Organization, warned of the risk to 'vulnerable children [who] do not have access to services for the prevention and management of acute malnutrition' a situation she said that can lead 'to widespread diseases, malnutrition and starvation'. 'Acute malnutrition is a life-threatening condition in its most severe form, which requires urgent treatment,' she said. 'When a child suffers from severe acute malnutrition, especially when associated with medical complications, this child is at high risk of mortality.' 'Children with acute malnutrition need to be immediately identified and referred for the appropriate treatment which is needed for their survival. Children with wasting are extremely vulnerable, their immune system is compromised, their susceptibility to infections increases rapidly. Saving their lives and averting avoidable mortality can only happen by providing adequate treatment.' Earlier this month, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported an alarming rise in malnutrition at its clinics, warning that 25% of the children and pregnant and breastfeeding women that it screened were malnourished, adding that cases of severe malnutrition in children under five had tripled in just two weeks. Speaking on Wednesday from Deir al-Balah in Gaza, the MSF doctor Mohammed Fadlalla 'categorically rejected the cynical and cruel narrative' that there is no hunger in Gaza. 'Malnutrition is affecting everyone, the sick, the healthy and the old because no one is eating enough. But the people who are most affected tend to be the most vulnerable: children from 0-five, the elderly, those with pre-existing conditions like diabetes,' he said. The findings and testimony from MSF were amplified this week by the latest alert from the IPC, the UN food security monitor whose data collection and cautious deliberations on determining whether famine exists are regarded as the gold standard on the issue. An IPC alert on Monday warned that two out of the three famine thresholds have now been breached in parts of Gaza, with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and Unicef warning that time is running out to mount a full-scale humanitarian response. 'Food consumption – the first core famine indicator – has plummeted in Gaza since the last IPC Update in May 2025, with data showing that more than one in three people (39%) are now going days at a time without eating, meaning more than 500,000 people – nearly a quarter of Gaza's population – are enduring famine-like conditions, while the remaining population is facing emergency levels of hunger,' the WFP warned. It continued: 'Acute malnutrition – the second core famine indicator – inside Gaza has risen at an unprecedented rate. In Gaza City, malnutrition levels among children under five have quadrupled in two months, reaching 16.5%. This signals a critical deterioration in nutritional status and a sharp rise in the risk of death from hunger and malnutrition.' The sense of urgency is driven by the fact that impact of famine on the body proceeds slowly at first, then very rapidly as the body uses available fat before beginning to break down muscle cells, which release chemicals, including potassium, chloride and sodium, and cellular debris into the bloodstream, rapidly triggering more serious health issues, including severe malnutrition in young children. Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has tried to suggest untruthfully there is 'no starvation in Gaza'.
