Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, has undertaken to adapt its approach to procuring vaccines in order to support African vaccine manufacturing. In a plan released on Thursday, Gavi has committed to placing “a higher value on the benefits of diversification to supply security, with a focus on Africa”. The 10-point plan, developed in consultation with […] Continue reading ->
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania—At a smoky kitchen in the port city of Dar es Salaam, none of the customers jostling to place their orders knows that the irresistibly tasty roast chicken may be harbouring bacteria that could make them sick. “I don’t think poultry farmers would do anything likely to cause harm,” said 34-year-old Lilian […] Continue reading ->
Ahead of the global climate talks in Egypt, the World Health Organization (WHO) has urged governments to expedite fossil fuel phase out and transition into clean energy. “Climate change is already impacting health in many ways, through more frequent and extreme weather events, more disease outbreaks, and more mental health issues,” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus, […] Continue reading ->
Two of the World Health Organisation’s top leadership team in Geneva – Dr Soumya Swaminathan and Dr Ren Minghui – are on the brink of leaving as Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s long-anticipated leadership shake-up starts to take shape. Swaminathan is WHO’s Chief Scientist, while Ren serves as assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage, Communicable […] Continue reading ->
In February, Colombia introduced one of the most liberal abortion laws in the world after activists took to the courts – but now their challenge lies in ensuring the health system is in a position to offer terminations Not long ago, abortion in Colombia was a taboo topic that could not be mentioned during […] Continue reading ->
A $15 million initiative to address the harms of alcohol consumption through policy change was launched Tuesday, roughly doubling the total global spending on mitigating the effects of alcohol. Alcohol is one of the top-ten drivers of death, illness and injury, with wide-ranging social and economic harms, many disproportionately affecting young adults, according to Vital […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) launched the first global knowledge platform dedicated to climate and health on Monday called climahealth.info. The global open-access platform is envisaged as being the “go-to technical reference point for users of interdisciplinary health, environmental, and climate science”, according to the WHO in a media release. […] Continue reading ->
The SARS-CoV2 virus just won’t give up. As the northern hemisphere heads into its third pandemic winter, experts say the continued evolution of Omicron’s sub-variants indicates a fresh wave is coming, but no one knows which variant will fuel it. Scientists have catalogued 390 Omicron lineages and 48 recombinants of the virus – which occur […] Continue reading ->
NEW DELHI – Govind Ram is still waiting to get justice for the death of his daughter in 2019 – who allegedly died from contaminated cough syrup. In December 2019, Ram’s two-year-old, Surabhi, had a fever and chest congestion. Ram, a labourer in the Udhampur district of India’s Jammu and Kashmir region, took his daughter […] Continue reading ->
The global cholera vaccines shortage relates to the unpredictability of the disease, and the fact that it unattractive to manufacturers as it is a disease of poverty – but if preventive vaccines are part of a routine vaccine package where cholera is endemic, this could stabilise demand and outbreaks There is no short-term solution to […] Continue reading ->