Health Policy Watch is the media partner for the Geneva Graduate Institute – Global Health Centre series of World Health Assembly events, running Thursday 14 May to Wednesday 27 May. The series of events is built around themes relevant to the 73rd session of the WHA, 18-19 May, the first ever Assembly to bring together the World […] Continue reading ->
Amidst the global shortage of ventilators, personal protective equipment, and diagnostics; sedatives, used to keep severe COVID-19 patients who require invasive ventilation continuously sedated, are in increasingly short supply around the United States. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Fresenius Propoven 2% (propofol 20 mg/mL) […] Continue reading ->
As countries cautiously begin to lift lockdown measures, WHO Executive Director for Health Emergencies Mike Ryan has again warned that serological studies were presenting increasing evidence that a ‘herd immunity’ approach to mitigating the effects of further waves of infection would not be effective.  Herd immunity occurs when a large enough proportion of the population […] Continue reading ->
As reports of COVID-19 patients presenting with cardiovascular symptoms continue to surface, World Health Organization experts say more research is needed to understand all of the clinical presentations of the new disease. Still, they underlined that the new coronavirus primarily causes respiratory disease. “It is clear that in a proportion of patients, [COVID-19] is causing […] Continue reading ->
As the 73rd World Health Assembly approaches, the European Union-sponsored draft resolution on the COVID-19 response is gathering steam and storm as it rolls closer to the planned opening of the Assembly on 18 May – with far less clarity about how it might actually hit the shores of the public debate.  The resolution aims […] Continue reading ->
Up to 190 000 Africans could die of COVID-19 within the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail. And up to 44 million Africans, or 26% of the African population, could be infected by the virus, according to a new modelling study  by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa. A proactive […] Continue reading ->
A newly identified microbe, named Microsporidia MB, can prevent mosquitoes from being infected by malaria parasites. This microbe could be used to block the transmission of malaria parasites from mosquito vectors to humans, according to new research published by researchers from the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) in Kenya and the University […] Continue reading ->