January 2011
Update on the activities of the WHO-HCWH Global Mercury-free Healthcare Initiative for INC2

WHO and HCWH prepared an update on the activities of the WHO-HCWH Global Mercury-free Healthcare Initiative prepared for the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to prepare a global legally binding instrument on Mercury (INC2) which will be held in Chiba, Japan from 24 to 28 January, 2011.

WHO and HCWH prepared a Two Year Progress Report, Toward the Tipping Point for INC1 in June 2010. This update captures the numerous activities and developments since then.

>> Download update

January 2011
Brazil:  São Paulo and Santa Catarina States Phasing-out Mercury Medical Devices

The Health Secretariat of São Paulo State has banned the purchase of any equipment containing mercury in public hospitals and other health services.  The resolution, issued in December 2010, applies to 50 public hospitals run by the state system, as well as hundreds of smaller health units.  It prohibits the use of all mercury thermometers and sphygmomanometers by 2012. It also restricts the use of dental amalgam to pre-dosed capsules. Read Resolution (in Portuguese).

Meanwhile, the Santa Catarina State government has banned mercury thermometers in hospital systems and pharmacies.  The law will go into full effect by August 2011.  Read More (in Portuguese).

January 2011
2nd Southeast Asia Conference on Mercury-Free Health Care

The conference will be held in Manila, Philippines, March 15-16, 2011. It is being co-organized by HCWH, WHO and the UNDP GEF Global Healthcare Waste Project. Participants from ministries of health, health care institutions and health professionals are invited to attend.

>> Read more

January 2011
WHO Fosters Solar-powered, Mercury-free Blood Pressure Device for Low-resource Settings

Hypertension, the Journal of the American Heart Association reports on the creation and field testing of this solar-powered, user-friendly, accurate, and inexpensive device for measuring blood pressure.  The device, which does not require observers to be trained in the auscultatory technique, will allow non-physician health workers (who are the backbone of the primary health care system in many developing countries) to participate in the diagnosis and management of hypertension. 

>> Read article
>> Read editorial

>> News from 2010
>> News from 2009
>> News from 2008