Health effects of arsenic

02 January 2013 -- Long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking-water and food can cause cancer and skin lesions. Arsenic has also been associated with developmental effects, cardiovascular disease, damage to the nervous system, and diabetes. This recently updated fact sheet highlights the danger posed by arsenic-contaminated water used for drinking, food preparation and irrigation of food crops.

• Read the fact sheet on arsenic

28 December 2012 -- Key public health milestones were reached in 2012, including the end of polio transmission in India and meeting the Millennium Development Goal target on drinking water ahead of schedule. This photo feature presents a selection of some of the major health issues confronted in 2012.

• Read the year in review photo story

26 December 2012 -- Every year, there are an estimated 3–5 million cholera cases and more than 100 000 people die of the disease. Up to 80% of cholera cases can be successfully treated with oral rehydration salts (ORS). This fact file highlights key information about cholera, its prevention and treatment.

• Read the fact file on cholera

17 December 2012 -- After a rapid expansion of malaria prevention and control programmes between 2004 and 2009, global funding to fight malaria levelled off between 2010 and 2012. According to the World malaria report 2012, a funding slowdown could reverse recent gains in the fight against one of the world’s leading infectious killers.

• Read the news release on the World malaria report 2012
• View the malaria fact sheet