Latest news with #healthregulations
Arabian Business
a day ago
- Business
- Arabian Business
Dubai Municipality completes 34,700 food safety inspections in first half of 2025
Dubai Municipality has completed 34,700 inspection visits across food establishments throughout the emirate during the first half of 2025, ensuring compliance with health regulations and safety standards. The inspections form part of the Municipality's mission to build an integrated and sustainable food system that improves quality of life for residents and visitors, whilst supporting Dubai's vision of becoming one of the most liveable and future-ready cities in the world. #DubaiMunicipality conducted nearly 34,700 food inspections in H1 2025 to ensure compliance with health standards across the city's food establishments, reinforcing its commitment to a safe, healthy community. #DubaiMoreLiveable #FoodSafety — بلدية دبي | Dubai Municipality (@DMunicipality) July 30, 2025 The first half of 2025 witnessed the opening of approximately 2,336 new food establishments, reinforcing Dubai's reputation as a leading destination for investment in the food and hospitality industries. Dubai Municipality enhances food safety measures During the same period, around 173,775 food shipments totalling 4.9 million tons were cleared through Dubai's ports, strengthening the city's role as a global food trade gateway. Dubai Municipality cleared approximately 940,000 food items following inspections and registered around 77,700 new food products in its databases. These figures reflect the efficiency of the Municipality's digital food registration and inspection systems, which align with international best practices and safety protocols. 'Safeguarding food safety is a cornerstone of enhancing quality of life in the emirate. These achievements reflect the ongoing efforts by Dubai Municipality to build a comprehensive and sustainable food ecosystem that promotes well-being and consumer trust in the quality of food available in our markets. We remain committed to enforcing the highest food safety standards and establishing a benchmark model that reinforces Dubai's regional and global leadership in food safety oversight,' Dr Sultan Al Taher, Director of the Food Safety Department at Dubai Municipality said in a statement according to the Dubai Media Office. Dubai Municipality continues to enhance its regulatory oversight by integrating smart tools and technologies to ensure food integrity across the supply chain. These initiatives keep pace with Dubai's economic and trade growth and reaffirm the city's position as a global centre that prioritises the health, safety, and happiness of its communities.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
US rejects WHO pandemic changes to global health rules
(Corrects to indicate US rejected 2024 amendments to global health rules, not 2025 pandemic agreement, in headline, paragraphs 1-3, 6-7, 9) By Ahmed Aboulenein WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States has rejected amendments adopted in 2024 by members of the World Health Organization to its legally binding health rules aimed at improving preparedness for future pandemics following the disjointed global response to COVID-19. The Department of State and Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement they had transmitted on Friday the official U.S. rejection of the amendments to the International Health Regulations, which were adopted by consensus last year. The amendments introduced a new category of "pandemic emergency" for the most significant and globally threatening health crises in an effort to shore up the world's defenses against new pathogens. "Developed without adequate public input, these amendments expand the role of the WHO in public health emergencies, create additional authorities for the WHO for shaping pandemic declarations, and promote WHO's ability to facilitate 'equitable access' of health commodities," the U.S. statement said. "Terminology throughout the 2024 amendments is vague and broad, risking WHO-coordinated international responses that focus on political issues like solidarity, rather than rapid and effective actions," said the statement, jointly issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy, who has a long history of sowing doubt about vaccine safety, had slammed the WHO in a video address to the Assembly during its vote on a separate pandemic agreement, saying it had failed to learn from the lessons of the pandemic. That pact, which was adopted in Geneva in May after three years of negotiations, aims to ensure that drugs, therapeutics and vaccines are globally accessible when the next pandemic hits. It requires participating manufacturers to allocate a target of 20% of their vaccines, medicines and tests to the WHO during a pandemic to ensure poorer countries have access. U.S. negotiators left discussions about the accord after President Donald Trump began a 12-month process of withdrawing the U.S. - by far the WHO's largest financial backer - from the agency when he took office in January. Its exit means the U.S. would not be bound by the pact. Kennedy and Rubio said on Friday that their rejection protects U.S. sovereignty. The IHR amendments and the parallel pandemic pact leave health policy to national governments and contain nothing that overrides national sovereignty, however.
RNZ News
18-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
US rejects WHO pandemic changes to global health rules
By Ahmed Aboulenein , Reuters Robert F Kennedy Jr Photo: ALEX WONG / AFP The United States has rejected amendments adopted in 2024 by members of the World Health Organization (WHO) to its legally binding health rules aimed at improving preparedness for future pandemics following the disjointed global response to Covid-19. The Department of State and Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement they had transmitted on Friday the official US rejection of the amendments to the International Health Regulations, which were adopted by consensus last year. The amendments introduced a new category of "pandemic emergency" for the most significant and globally threatening health crises in an effort to shore up the world's defenses against new pathogens. "Developed without adequate public input, these amendments expand the role of the WHO in public health emergencies, create additional authorities for the WHO for shaping pandemic declarations, and promote WHO's ability to facilitate 'equitable access' of health commodities," the US statement said. "Terminology throughout the 2024 amendments is vague and broad, risking WHO-coordinated international responses that focus on political issues like solidarity, rather than rapid and effective actions," said the statement, jointly issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr. Kennedy, who has a long history of sowing doubt about vaccine safety , had slammed the WHO in a video address to the Assembly during its vote on a separate pandemic agreement, saying it had failed to learn from the lessons of the pandemic. That pact, which was adopted in Geneva in May after three years of negotiations, aims to ensure that drugs, therapeutics and vaccines are globally accessible when the next pandemic hits. It requires participating manufacturers to allocate a target of 20 percent of their vaccines, medicines and tests to the WHO during a pandemic to ensure poorer countries have access. US negotiators left discussions about the accord after President Donald Trump began a 12-month process of withdrawing the US - by far the WHO's largest financial backer - from the agency when he took office in January. Its exit means the US would not be bound by the pact. Kennedy and Rubio said on Friday that their rejection protects US sovereignty. The IHR amendments and the parallel pandemic pact leave health policy to national governments and contain nothing that overrides national sovereignty, however. - Reuters
Reuters
18-07-2025
- Health
- Reuters
US rejects WHO pandemic changes to global health rules
WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) - The United States has rejected amendments adopted in 2024 by members of the World Health Organization to its legally binding health rules aimed at improving preparedness for future pandemics following the disjointed global response to COVID-19. The Department of State and Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement they had transmitted on Friday the official U.S. rejection of the amendments to the International Health Regulations, which were adopted by consensus last year. The amendments introduced a new category of "pandemic emergency" for the most significant and globally threatening health crises in an effort to shore up the world's defenses against new pathogens. "Developed without adequate public input, these amendments expand the role of the WHO in public health emergencies, create additional authorities for the WHO for shaping pandemic declarations, and promote WHO's ability to facilitate 'equitable access' of health commodities," the U.S. statement said. "Terminology throughout the 2024 amendments is vague and broad, risking WHO-coordinated international responses that focus on political issues like solidarity, rather than rapid and effective actions," said the statement, jointly issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy, who has a long history of sowing doubt about vaccine safety, had slammed the WHO in a video address to the Assembly during its vote on a separate pandemic agreement, saying it had failed to learn from the lessons of the pandemic. That pact, which was adopted in Geneva in May after three years of negotiations, aims to ensure that drugs, therapeutics and vaccines are globally accessible when the next pandemic hits. It requires participating manufacturers to allocate a target of 20% of their vaccines, medicines and tests to the WHO during a pandemic to ensure poorer countries have access. U.S. negotiators left discussions about the accord after President Donald Trump began a 12-month process of withdrawing the U.S. - by far the WHO's largest financial backer - from the agency when he took office in January. Its exit means the U.S. would not be bound by the pact. Kennedy and Rubio said on Friday that their rejection protects U.S. sovereignty. The IHR amendments and the parallel pandemic pact leave health policy to national governments and contain nothing that overrides national sovereignty, however.
Gizmodo
05-06-2025
- Health
- Gizmodo
RFK Jr. Is Opening the Alternative Medicine Floodgates
Snake oil salesmen will be eating good during the Trump presidency. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently declared that he will greatly expand people's access to experimental and alternative medical treatments, even while acknowledging that a 'lot of charlatans' are likely to take advantage of suffering people as a result. RFK Jr. made the announcement during a recent interview on the Ultimate Human Podcast hosted by Gary Brecka, a self-proclaimed biologist, biohacker, and longevity expert (Brecka appears to possess two bachelors' degrees in biology, but is not a licensed medical doctor). Kennedy stated that, under his reign as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Americans will more easily be able to get their hands on treatments not currently approved by health regulators. 'If you want to take an experimental drug—you can do that, you ought to be able to do that,' Kennedy told Brecka. While many patient advocates in general have pushed for looser regulations surrounding experimental or off-label treatments, other experts have cautioned that it's important to strike a balance between improved access and safety. And it's unlikely Kennedy's approach will meet that threshold. For starters, Kennedy has long spread misinformation about vaccines (one of the most effective medical interventions ever created), nutrition, and other health topics. And he's no stranger to backing alternative treatments that have next to no evidence supporting their use. During this latest interview, for instance, he referenced chelation and stem cells as unproven therapies that people should have easier access to. Stem cell medicine is a legitimate and growing field of research. But direct-to-consumer stem cell clinics often exaggerate their benefits, claiming stem cells can treat everything from cancer to long covid. In recent years, this cottage industry has exploded in the U.S. and overseas, and some patients have been severely injured from buying into the hype. People have experienced pulmonary embolisms, bacterial infections, and other serious complications, including blindness, from visiting these clinics. The risk-balance equation is arguably even worse with chelation therapy. Chelation involves using drugs that bind to heavy metals in the body, allowing them to be excreted out through urine. It's an effective treatment for certain kinds of acute poisoning or toxic exposures. But in alternative medicine circles, chelation is regularly used to 'cleanse' people of supposed toxins dubiously blamed for a bevy of chronic illnesses, including autism. As with stem cells, people have gotten hurt or died after taking chelation for unapproved uses. RFK seems to be fully aware of the potential danger that would come with making these treatments easier to access, yet brushed that off as inevitable during his interview. 'And of course you're going to get a lot of charlatans, and you're going to get people who have bad results,' he said. 'And ultimately, you can't prevent that either way. Leaving the whole thing in the hands of pharma is not working for us.' The Food and Drug Administration has previously warned the public to stay away from chelation therapy for autism and from unregulated stem cell treatments, but who knows if these warnings will stay up for much longer. Kennedy and the Trump Administration have repeatedly undermined approved medical treatments like vaccines. Now he's set to open the floodgates for unlicensed drugs that may not work or will harm people desperate enough to use them.
