Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Ph.D., took office this July as Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). He succeeds Margaret Chan, M.D., WHO’s director since 2007.

May 2003, soon after the U.S. invasion of Iraq — Some people are blessed and can sleep through anything. As luck would have it, I’m not one of them. It was 1:30 in the morning, my first night in Iraq. I was staring at the ceiling, listening to the howling sandstorm pounding the side of the building, which happened to be one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces.

Most women have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies, but sometimes complications arise. Although many pregnant women with hypertension do not experience serious problems, the condition can be dangerous for both the mother and the fetus.

Is life healthier with a pet? Animals are doing more every day to improve human health and well-being. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that pets can lower our blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, can banish feelings of loneliness, and can increase our opportunities for exercise, outdoor activities and socialization.

WiRED International invites you to explore a timeline in celebration of its 20th year of operation. Visit WiRED’s history from its beginning in the former Yugoslavia to its global reach today and enjoy the accompanying photos. In addition WiRED encourages you to go to its 20th Anniversary page and read the detailed stories of its history.

Yemen is in the grip of an unprecedented cholera epidemic that is killing one person nearly every hour, according to a recent ABC news report. UNICEF stated this week that the cholera outbreak has now reached more than 124,000 cases.

Early in 2003 WiRED International launched a Medical Information Center (MIC) in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Nairobi. U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, Johnnie Carson, gave the keynote speech during which he discussed the power of information.

WiRED International plans to launch its Infectious Disease Program in early July. The program’s purpose is to prepare communities to respond to infectious diseases such as Zika, Ebola, malaria, cholera and more than 40 others that plague populations across the planet.

The announcement that the United States is pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement is unsettling and distressing, but it cannot be defeating for people who see climate change as real. The World Health Organization recently wrote that “nearly a quarter of all deaths worldwide are linked to environmental issues. That’s 12.6 million deaths every year.”

May 31 is World No Tobacco Day. This year the World Health Organization’s theme is “Tobacco — a threat to development.” The campaign underlines the danger that the tobacco industry poses to the sustainable development of all countries, including the health and economic well-being of their citizens.