A week long meeting of WHO’s Executive Board kicked off on Monday with plans for a fresh WHO multi-year strategy, a new “Investment Fund” to help finance it – and a warning by Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom that he was “gravely concerned” that WHO member states would fail to adopt a global pandemic accord […] Continue reading ->
The Central African country of Cameroon became the first country globally to implement routine malaria vaccinations on Monday, marking a significant stride in the fight against the deadly disease that claims over half a million lives annually, primarily affecting children under five in Africa. According to Aurélia Nguyen, Chief Programme Officer of Gavi the Vaccine […] Continue reading ->
There will be close to 10 billion people in the world by 2050, and if the World Health Organization estimates are correct, as many as 22% of them – or 22 billion people – will be over 60. A separate study by American doctors found that by that same year, the number of people living […] Continue reading ->
WHO has released a novel set of guidelines on the ethics and governance of artificial intelligence (AI) in large multi-modal models (LMMs), a type of generative AI frequently used in healthcare. The guidelines include 40 recommendations for governments as well as other actors, such as technology companies and health care providers. Based on 2021 WHO […] Continue reading ->
The US government will commit $4 million to tackle lead poisoning, supporting developing countries to curtail lead in consumer goods like paints and toys in which the use of lead is still widespread, USAID administrator Samantha Power announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Power also called for more resources and action towards the […] Continue reading ->
The final hours of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday saw the launch of a new Global Alliance for Women’s Health which has the broad ambition of, “re-shaping the future of women’s health and the global economy.” So far 42 organizations have expressed interest in joining the alliance, including government leaders and representatives from […] Continue reading ->
As we approach the final months of member-state negotiations over a World Health Organization Pandemic Accord, due to come before the World Health Assembly in May, the efforts to forge a consensus have witnessed modest progress. However, the original divide between developed and developing countries on key issues such as finance, access and benefit sharing, […] Continue reading ->
Improving disease surveillance, strengthening primary healthcare, and being able to expand quickly during a crisis are some of the important lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic that can be applied to ‘Disease X’, according to health experts speaking on a panel at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday. “Disease X is a placeholder for unknown diseases,” […] Continue reading ->
“What we have is an existential climate crisis,” World Bank CEO Ajay Banga told the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting (WEF) in Davos on Wednesday. “We cannot think of eradicating poverty without caring about climate. We cannot think of eradicating poverty without thinking about health. We cannot think of eradicating poverty without caring about food […] Continue reading ->
Progress made towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is being reversed by climate change and, despite the promises made at the recent COP28, there are gaps in funding to address the crisis, Vanessa Kerry, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Special Envoy for Climate Change and Health told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos. […] Continue reading ->