Firearms were the leading causes of death amongst children and teenagers aged 1-17 in the US in 2020 and 2021, according to a new study published by KFF, a US-based policy think tank. The number of children dying in firearm-related incidents in the US has doubled since 2013, and now ranks higher than other causes […] Continue reading ->
After three days of climate talks with Chinese officials, US Climate Envoy John Kerry acknowledged political differences were obstructing cooperation between his country and China, the world’s biggest climate polluters. Kerry concluded his Chinese visit by appealing for the climate crisis to be addressed as a stand-alone issue separate from politics if progress is to […] Continue reading ->
On a partly cloudy morning last week, staff and onlookers watched with excitement and curiosity as a drone carrying polio vaccine doses was launched from the Matawale Health Centre in Zomba in eastern Malawi. The drone was being sent to Chisi Island, one of the hard-to-reach parts of this district that is often left out of […] Continue reading ->
With the sixth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) meeting to develop a pandemic accord currently underway in Geneva, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief minced no words when he slammed “groups with vested interests” for trying to sabotage the negotiations. “Twenty years ago, the tobacco industry tried to undermine negotiations on the WHO […] Continue reading ->
For the second time this year, a new drug showed that the cognitive decline caused by Alzheimer’s disease – the leading cause of dementia worldwide that affects an estimated 55 million people – can be slowed down. Clinical trial results for donanemab, presented to the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Monday, showed the antibody medicine […] Continue reading ->
Routine childhood immuniaztions rebounded in 2022 from the set-backs of the COVID pandemic. But coverage still fell short of pre-COVID numbers in 2019, with 20.5 million children missing out on one or more routine vaccines last year as compared to 18.4 million in 2019. The new data is contained in a report published jointly Tuesday […] Continue reading ->
Women Deliver, one of the world’s largest gatherings on gender equity and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), opened in Kigali in Rwanda on Monday amid a global backlash against abortion. “We’re facing enormous headwinds against gender equality, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and a growing anti-rights movement worldwide,” said Maliha Khan, […] Continue reading ->
Russia has withdrawn from a UN-brokered agreement that allowed Ukraine to safely export grains from its ports in the Black Sea. The move is expected to have a significant impact on global food prices, imperilling the food security of millions around the world. “I deeply regret Russia’s decision to terminate the implementation of the Black […] Continue reading ->
Pandemic accord negotiations resumed on Monday with World Health Organization (WHO) member states expressing a hunger for text-based talks to begin on a first draft amid grave concerns about whether enough progress will be made before the northern hemisphere summer break. Roland Driece, co-chair of the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB), told the […] Continue reading ->
The licensing agreement reached between Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and the Stop TB Partnership on Thursday to allow the generic production of the tuberculosis drug, bedaquiline, is simply a “stop-gap” measure that applies to a limited number of countries, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). At least nine countries in the Eastern Europe and Central […] Continue reading ->