The mRNA Vaccine Technology Transfer Hub in South Africa will start animal studies on its first COVID-19 vaccine candidate in October, a senior World Health Organization official said Wednesday. If all goes according to plan, human clinical trials will begin towards the end of 2023. “We did start this (mRNA vaccine hub) with a longer […] Continue reading ->
The announcement by Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Coca-Cola will sponsor the 27th Annual United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) has been widely condemned by climate and health activists. The #COP27 Presidency announces The @CocaCola Company as a Supporting Sponsor to COP27. For more information: https://t.co/JDyhS2N79A pic.twitter.com/XRhjoA4i2b — COP27 (@COP27P) September […] Continue reading ->
Russia’s war in Ukraine is draining resources to build better health systems, while Sino-American rivalry is undermining the global solidarity needed to address future pandemics. But the massive under-investment in new antibiotics to combat drug-resistant “superbugs” and weak primary health systems might be the biggest enemies of global health. This was according to global health […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) has pushed the deadline to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease from 2025 to 2030. The earlier deadline had been decided on at the 2013 G8 Dementia Summit. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and makes up 60-70% of the global dementia cases. WHO’s A Blueprint for […] Continue reading ->
Humans, animals, plants and the environment we all share face escalating risks from antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with the potential for irreversible damage ever more likely. Both our health and the health of the planet are at stake, says a leading champion for more action. We know what to do. One Health thinking has been with […] Continue reading ->
After Eugen Ghita arrived in Greece from his native Romania, he did not have a legal residency document, which meant that he did not have access to any kind of public services, including healthcare. “The first two years health was equivalent to having money,” he recalls, sharing his experience during the latest episode of the […] Continue reading ->
The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) has signed a voluntary licence agreement with Japanese pharmaceutical company, Shionogi, to enable generic companies to produce its COVID-19 antiviral treatment pill candidate, provided it gets regulatory approval. The pill, ensitrelvir fumaric acid, has already shown efficacy in a phase 2/ 3 trial involving 1,821 COVID-19 patients from Japan, South […] Continue reading ->
Global vaccine purchasing mechanisms including Gavi and the United Nations have been urged to purchase a minimum of 30% of their vaccines from African manufacturers, according to a resolution, Call to Action: Africa’s new public health order adopted by African member states on the sidelines of the recent United Nations general assembly (UNGA). The resolution, […] Continue reading ->
Leaders of a coalition of former Tuareg and Arab rebels in Mali signed a written pledge on civilian protections for health and medical facilities during armed conflict, reflecting global efforts to stem attacks on health facilities, transport, and patients that have became more frequent since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. The two leaders with […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a new initiative to counter the added malaria threat posed by the rapid expansion on the African continent of the mosquito Anopheles stephensi — native to parts of South Asia and the Arabian Peninsula, the organization said this week. The initiative comes just as the world struggles to […] Continue reading ->