Negotiations on a ‘pandemic treaty’ are starting in earnest within weeks as the World Health Organization (WHO) distributed the first ‘zero-sum’ conceptual draft of the agreement to member states on Friday – but one of the biggest conundrums is how to pay to mitigate the next pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact […] Continue reading ->
SHARM EL SHEIKH, EGYPT – In a historic first, delegates to the 27th UN Climate Conference, COP27, agreed Sunday to create a “loss and damage” fund to assist countries suffering from the impact of the climate crisis, concluding a meeting that went into two days of overdrive, with negotiations day and night. They also added […] Continue reading ->
SHARM EL SHEIKH, EGYPT – Michael Terungwa, a solar entrepreneur in Abuja, Nigeria, will know that real progress is being made on climate change when things change in his hometown. When the 10-20% in customs and tariffs that he pays for cheap, imported Chinese solar panels are removed; when his customers’ solar purchases are subsidized […] Continue reading ->
SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt – Electric cooking is becoming more attainable for households in Africa, and BioLPG, a climate-neutral alternative to propane, could be a cost-effective replacement to the fossil fuel variant for household cooking in some developing countries, say experts at COP27, the global climate talks. The spoke at a panel session on tackling […] Continue reading ->
Regional production of vaccines and other pandemic-related products – and sharing the technical know-how to enable this – features strongly in the much-anticipated first draft of the global pandemic treaty proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to guide future pandemics. WHO member states will be briefed on the conceptual “zero-sum” draft on Friday in […] Continue reading ->
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Shujaat Ali Khan’s community in the Swat valley of Pakistan was devastated by recent flash floods, leaving thousands displaced and destroying infrastructure and crops. “Land in the area was completely destroyed and the community needed urgent support,” said Khan, who wanted to help his community. He found that climate activists from the […] Continue reading ->
Clinical trials on three Ebola vaccine candidates for the Sudan strain of the virus are due to start soon in Uganda, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). “I’m pleased to announce that a WHO committee of external experts has evaluated three candidate vaccines and agreed that all three should be included in the planned […] Continue reading ->
The healthcare sector is responsible for over 5% of global carbon emissions, double the amount of the aviation sector. But there is a way for healthcare actors to reduce this while at the same maintaining the quality of care in developed countries and expanding access to healthcare in developing countries. This is according to panellists […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) has strongly recommended that babies born before 37 weeks of gestation (preterm) or with low birth weight should be provided immediate skin to skin contact with a caregiver, which in turn increases their chances of survival. This recommendation by the global health agency is a significant change from the previous […] Continue reading ->
A worldwide decline in sperm counts of more than 50% over the past 46 years has been identified by a team of international researchers, and the decline has accelerated since the year 2000, according to an article in the journal Human Reproduction Update published on Tuesday. The article updates a previous study published in 2017, providing […] Continue reading ->