WHO Global Post-Natal Guidelines Are Aimed at Ensuring ‘Positive Experience’

30/03/2022 Editorial team

Between childbirth and six weeks is the most dangerous time for mothers and babies and when most deaths occur, and the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a new guideline called ‘Recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience‘ on Wednesday aimed at guiding all role-players during this period. One of the key […] Continue reading ->

War and Drought Push Wheat Prices up by 80% in North Africa and Middle East

29/03/2022 Kerry Cullinan

Food price hikes, hunger and instability are predicted globally – but particularly in North Africa and the Middle East, which are already in the midst of serious droughts and heavily dependent on Russia and Ukraine for wheat. Bread is the staple food in Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt, and the price of wheat had already increased […] Continue reading ->

Pilot Biohub Facility at Spiez Enables Fast Sharing of SARS-CoV2 Variants

29/03/2022 Aishwarya Tendolkar

The World Health Organization (WHO)’s first pilot biohub facility in Spiez, Switzerland, has been able to provide laboratories around the world with biological materials with epidemic or pandemic potential in under nine days, according to a consultative meeting convened last week. The Spiez Biohub was set up according to an agreement between Switzerland and the WHO […] Continue reading ->

Despite COVID, It Is Still Possible to Reduce NCD Mortality by One-Third by 2030: New Lancet Study

28/03/2022 Kerry Cullinan

Despite the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on health systems worldwide, it is still possible for low and middle-income countries (LMICs) to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by a third between 2015 and 2030. This is the optimistic message from a new Lancet study in the ”NCD 2030 Countdown” series published Friday, […] Continue reading ->

India, WHO Sign Deal To Establish Global Centre For Traditional Medicines

28/03/2022 Aishwarya Tendolkar

The government of India and the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday signed an agreement to set up a one-of-its-kind Global Centre for Traditional Medicine. India will invest $250 million in this centre which will be established in Jamnagar city in the state of Gujarat. The centre will work towards harnessing the potential of ‘traditional […] Continue reading ->

Huge Study Finds Second COVID-19 Booster is ‘Life-saving’ for Over 60s

28/03/2022 Maayan Hoffman

A second booster of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine reduced mortality rates among elderly people in Israel by 78%, according to a new study by the country’s Clalilt Health Services, Sapir College and Ben-Gurion University. This is the largest study of its kind to date, and involved more than 560,000 people aged 60. “The main conclusion […] Continue reading ->

Geneva Health Forum – From Pandemic Response to Planetary Health

25/03/2022 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on how human health and ‘planetary health’ are inextricably linked – through deforestation, urbanization and climate change, all of which increase future disease risks. This year’s Geneva Health Forum explores these and other critical global health challenges, as well as emerging solutions, just ahead of the World Health Assembly. […] Continue reading ->

Geneva Health Forum – Unique Platform for Dialogue in the World’s Global Health Hub

25/03/2022 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

The Swiss Confederation has been a key financial backer of the Geneva Health Forum since its early days. As the GHF prepares for its 2022 edition, 3-5 May, Pierre Strauss, health attaché to the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations, spoke with Health Policy Watch about the evolution of the Forum and its […] Continue reading ->

Minamata Convention: Parties Review Progress on Global Measures to Halt Mercury Poisoning

25/03/2022 Editorial team

Delegates from most of the world’s nations met in Bali this week to review progress in tackling the worldwide problem of mercury poisoning from artisinal gold mining and other environmental sources as well as in the health care industry, in line with the 2013 Minamata Convention. The parties were meeting for the fourth time since […] Continue reading ->

Nkengasong’s PEPFAR Prospects and Hopes for Africa CDC

25/03/2022 Paul Adepoju

The current Director of the Africa CDC is a vote away from leading PEPFAR. He unveils his vision for the US-led global HIV/AIDS response and future wishes for the Africa CDC. Dr John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is on track to lead the United States President’s […] Continue reading ->