As World Health Organization (WHO) member states get into line-by-line negotiations on a proposed pandemic accord to guide the world’s approach to future pandemics, there are growing calls for independent monitoring to ensure that the terms of such an accord are implemented. Layth Hanbali explains. Health Policy Watch: You and other colleagues have noted that […] Continue reading ->
A US intelligence chief has claimed that COVID-19 most likely originated in a laboratory in China, a claim that was promptly dismissed by the Chinese government. “The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan,” Christopher Wray, the head of […] Continue reading ->
Although the drafting of the proposed global pandemic accord will happen behind closed doors, civil society organisations want a say as they’re often on the ground dealing with health emergencies. This emerged during the second day of the meeting of the World Organization’s (WHO) intergovernmental negotiating board (INB), which is just starting to discuss the […] Continue reading ->
Concerns about equity and financing dominated day one of the negotiations on a global pandemic accord’s zero draft at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Geneva head office on Monday. Opening the fourth meeting of the intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) that is steering the process, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyusus noted that various people had […] Continue reading ->
Merck will appeal the recommendation by the Europe Union’s (EU) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) rejects its COVID-19 antiviral, Lagevrio (molnupiravir). The decision comes after months of deliberation by European regulators, who began looking at Lagevrio, in November 2021. The CHMP said there was a lack […] Continue reading ->
After five days of discussions last week on how to amend the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Health Regulations to make them more able to combat future pandemics, the international working group has “agreed on a way forward”, according to the WHO. WHO member states have proposed 307 amendments, and much of last week’s meeting […] Continue reading ->
World Health Organization (WHO) officials have sounded alarm bells following the death of an 11-year-old girl in Cambodia from the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza, the first such death in the country in nearly 10 years. At least 12 people in Cambodia have now been tested for infection with H5N1 following the girl’s death, […] Continue reading ->
On the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the international community is grappling with how to hold Russia accountable for war crimes, while many Ukrainians are struggling mentally and physically. “Ukraine is a crime scene,” Karim Khan, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), told a United Nations (UN) session on the war in […] Continue reading ->
By the time you finish reading this article, at least two women will have died from complications in pregnancy or childbirth. In the next 24 hours, another 798 will lose their lives. Nearly all of these women will be from low-and lower middle-income countries, and nearly all of their deaths will have been preventable. These […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reiterated its firm recommendation that wearing masks is an effective method to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in a media briefing on Wednesday. Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead for COVID-19, said that coronavirus is still in circulation and wearing appropriate face masks is one of the ways […] Continue reading ->