The health sector is a key economic sector and a job generator. The aggregate size of the world’s health sector is over US$ 5.8 trillion per year. Across the OECD countries, employment in health and social work grew by 48% between 2000 and 2014, while jobs in industry and agriculture declined.

Countries start to act on noncommunicable diseases but need to speed up efforts to meet global commitments. A new WHO report highlights the need to intensify national action to meet the global targets governments have agreed to protect people from heart disease, cancers, diabetes, and lung diseases.

This WHO report released on World Malaria Day, 2016 shows that, although an ambitious goal, eliminating malaria from 35 countries by 2030 is achievable. Malaria mortality rates have declined by 60% globally since the year 2000, but reaching the next level – elimination – will not be easy.

On the occasion of World Health Day 2016, WHO issues a call for action on diabetes, drawing attention to the need to step up prevention and treatment of the disease. The first WHO Global report on diabetes demonstrates that the number of adults living with diabetes has almost quadrupled since 1980 to 422 million adults.

Household air pollution is the single most important environmental health risk worldwide, and women and children are at particularly high risk from exposure. This global report provides new data on the still-pervasive use of polluting fuels for home cooking, lighting and heating, as well as an in-depth look at the impacts on women and children.

As the world’s urban population continues to grow, health inequities - especially between the richest and poorest urban populations - are a persistent challenge according to this new report by WHO and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).

A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) says despite more than a decade of work to reduce domestic air pollution sources, progress toward universal access to clean cooking fuels remains far too slow.

The main message emerging from this new comprehensive global assessment is that premature death and disease can be prevented through healthier environments – and to a significant degree.