Unlike China’s President Xi Jinping, United States President Donald Trump didn’t appear on camera yesterday at the opening of the first-ever virtual World Health Assembly. Instead he used Twitter to get his message across about China’s alledged coverup of early news about the novel coronavirus and WHO’s failure to act assertively vis a vis Beijing. […] Continue reading ->
China’s Xi Jinping announced a sweeping US$ 2 billion funding initiative for COVID-19 response in China’s opening speech at the World Health Assembly. Later in the day, the United States, disgruntled and having withdrawn funding from WHO, said it had spent US$ 9 billion on Covid-19 response and would soon be funneling over US$500 million […] Continue reading ->
The world seems set to make at least a symbolic display of unity in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic  at the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA), which begins on Monday. The WHO’s 194 member states are expected to overwhelmingly approve a European Union-led resolution that aims to step up the global COVID-19 response, and […] Continue reading ->
World Health Organization member states reached initial agreement today on a European Union-led draft resolution on global COVID-19 response to go before the upcoming World Health Assembly – overriding some of the previous US objections to language referring to the rights of countries to override patent rules. The draft resolution to be submitted to the […] Continue reading ->
World Health Organization member states were close to an agreement Wednesday evening on a European Union-led draft resolution on global COVID-19 response to the upcoming World Health Assembly. If approved, it would pave the way for coordinated planning by the global health community to ensure wide and equitable access by people worldwide to COVID-19 medicines […] 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 ->
A rare, severe inflammatory illness – largely believed to be associated with COVID-19 – is putting children in ICUs in the United Kingdom and the United States.  The children present with symptoms similar to toxic shock syndrome or Kawasaki’s disease – a pediatric heart disease that causes inflammation or swelling of the blood vessels, according […] Continue reading ->
In a mild statement touching on a politically wired issue, World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the agency would step up its investigations of the original animal source of the SARS CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.  His comment came in response to a recommendation of the WHO Emergency Committee that met […] Continue reading ->