Nearly seven million people die prematurely each year because of ambient and household air pollution, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Moreover, studies have shown a direct correlation between classroom air quality and children’s performance in school. Finally, according to WHO, household air pollution exposure contributes to non-communicable diseases, including increased risk of illness […] Continue reading ->
European air quality activists have won a key victory in the European Parliament, which approved tough new air pollution rules that would require countries to meet stricter WHO air quality guidelines by 2035, and allow EU citizens to sue for financial compensation for air pollution-related health damage. But the draft legislation still faces an uphill […] Continue reading ->
NEW YORK CITY – There has been little progress in expanding universal health service coverage (UHC) since the last UN High Level Meeting (HLM) meeting on the issue in 2019, and trends in financial protection are even worsening, with catastrophic out-of-pocket spending increasing when compared to 2015. The final draft of the political declaration for […] Continue reading ->
Lawrence O. Gostin is “confident” that countries will adopt a pandemic accord at the 2024 World Health Assembly. The question is whether it will include the kind of “robust norms” necessary to ensure that the new accord is “transformative” with respect to correcting disparities and injustices uncovered in the last pandemic, and effective in its […] Continue reading ->
Leading global health experts and activists have expressed frustration and disappointment at the draft political declarations on pandemics, universal health coverage (UHC) and tuberculosis that world leaders are expected to adopt at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) next week. Key criticisms of the three declarations are that they offer no advancement on previous international […] Continue reading ->
Strengthening Africa’s medicines regulatory framework is key to achieving the “bold goal” of having 60% of the continent’s vaccines produced locally by 2040, said Margareth Ndomondo-Sigonda, head of health at the African Union’s development agency, AUDA-NEPAD. But only 7% of African country’s national medicines regulatory agencies (NMRA) have “moderately developed capacity”, and more than 90% […] Continue reading ->
Thousands of people and hundreds of civil society organisations are expected to march in New York City this weekend to call on US President Joe Biden to use his executive powers to stop the expansion of fossil fuel projects in the country. The march is one of over 400 marches, rallies and protests worldwide coordinated […] Continue reading ->
Ahead of next week’s United Nations Summit on the Social Development Goals, a new report asserts that a few simple measures could slash the deaths of mothers and babies A series of relatively simple interventions could save the lives of millions of mothers and babies and put the world on course to achieve the Sustainable […] Continue reading ->
Much more action, ambition and trillions of dollars are needed to limit global heating to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels as agreed by the Paris Agreement, according to a global stocktake report released on Friday by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). While the 46-page report with 17 key findings is delivered in […] Continue reading ->
Small Group of Indian Politicians Show Rare Bipartisan Unity to Fight a Common Enemy – Air Pollution
NEW DELHI – In the bitterly divided politics of India there’s an unusual ray of hope. Heading into a major election next year, the national parliament hardly functions, sitting for fewer days and working fewer hours than in years before. Yet a bipartisan group of Members (MPs) has joined hands to tackle one of the […] Continue reading ->