The World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization met from 23-25 October to review progress and recommendations for the Global Vaccine Action Plan, including the need for guidance on the use of Ebola vaccines in emergencies, the contribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination toward eliminating cervical cancer, and the current status of polio and measles eradication, according to a press briefing. Continue reading ->
The diminishing arsenal of efficient antibiotics to fight bacteria is a threat denounced by many, but investment in research and development of new antibiotics is seen as lagging. As the danger of getting back to a pre-antibiotic age is increasing, alternative ways of financing new antibiotics are being discussed. At the World Investment Forum this week, a panel looked into innovative means of investment, and ways to attract private investors to this field. Continue reading ->
The United States Department of Health and Human Services has released a new plan intended to reduce drug prices for some patients on Medicare, based on an international pricing index model. In his announcement of the plan, President Trump said the US would save money “for our seniors by paying the prices other countries pay. Nothing special, just the prices that other countries pay.” Continue reading ->
More dedicated to scientific research and much more “colourful” than the World Health Summit were descriptions for the 14th Global Grand Challenges Meeting 2018 that ended last night in Berlin and brought together some top researchers, policymakers and civil society. Like the WHS, the Grand Challenges Meeting focused on antimicrobial resistances and pandemic pathogens. But it also talked a little more on the issue of how better to incentivize R&D to fulfil SDG3, the UN Sustainable Development Goal on health, according to participants. Continue reading ->
BERLIN -- Answering the call by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Ghana's President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg for a global action plan for pushing global health, heads of 11 major health organisations today signed “a commitment to find new ways of working together to accelerate progress towards achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals” at the close of the World Health Summit in Berlin. Continue reading ->