Capsules

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that allegations of misconduct in the organisation were being investigated according to WHO’s established procedures, having been referred to WHO’s Office of Internal Oversight Services by the Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The anonymous allegations, which had been circulating internally, were also addressed openly by Dr Tedros in global meetings with staff in which he stressed that WHO has zero tolerance for misconduct or discrimination of any kind.

Since Dr Tedros took office as Director-General in July 2017, he has championed openness, transparency and diversity. WHO’s senior management team is now one of the most diverse and gender-balanced of any United Nations agency. All regions of the world are represented and almost two-thirds are women. WHO is working consistently to increase geographical diversity and improve gender balance at all levels as part of its ongoing transformation process, a WHO note said.

The US Food and Drug Administration approved the first generic version of Sabril (vigabatrin) 500 mg tablets for treating complex partial seizures, also called focal seizures, as an adjunctive therapy (given with another primary treatment) in patients 10 years and older who have responded inadequately to several alternative (refractory) treatments.

“Prioritising the approval of generic drugs to compete with medicines that face little or no competition is a key part of our efforts to support access and reduce drug costs to patients. The availability of high-quality generic alternatives of critically important medicines, once the period of patent protection or exclusivity has ended on the brand drug, helps advance access and saves consumers billions of dollars each year,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb,

Complex partial seizures start in a specific area of the brain and can affect consciousness. Typically, complex partial seizures last between 30 and 90 seconds, and are often followed by a period of disorientation, confusion and/or fatigue, the FDA said, adding that labelling for vigabatrin tablets includes a boxed warning for permanent vision loss.

Transformation of the global food system is urgently needed as more than 3 billion people are malnourished (including people who are undernourished and overnourished), and food production is exceeding planetary boundaries – driving climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution due to over-application of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilisers, and unsustainable changes in water and land use. The findings are from the EAT-Lancet Commission which provides the first scientific targets for a healthy diet from a sustainable food production system that operates within planetary boundaries for food. The report promotes diets consisting of a variety of plant-based foods with low amounts of animal-based foods, refined grains, highly processed foods, and added sugars, and with unsaturated rather than saturated fats.

Human diets inextricably link health and environmental sustainability, and have the potential to nurture both. However, current diets are pushing the Earth beyond its planetary boundaries, while causing ill health. This puts both people and the planet at risk. Providing healthy diets from sustainable food systems is an immediate challenge as the population continues to grow – projected to reach 10 billion people by 2050 – and get wealthier (with the expectation of higher consumption of animal-based foods), a note from the journal said. To meet this challenge, dietary changes must be combined with improved food production and reduced food waste. The authors stress that unprecedented global collaboration and commitment will be needed, alongside immediate changes such as refocussing agriculture to produce varied nutrient-rich crops, and increased governance of land and ocean use.