Universal health coverage, access to medicines, and noncommunicable diseases are priorities for Switzerland in global health policy. Amb. Nora Kronig Romero is the head of the International Affairs Division and Vice Director General of the Federal Office of Public Health, as well as Swiss Ambassador for Global Health. She sat down with Health Policy Watch while in Geneva last week for the meeting of the World Health Organization Executive Board, which Switzerland attended as an observer to the governing board comprised of 34 WHO member states. Continue reading ->
A human embryo’s DNA is “edited” to take out a disease. Surgeons practice complicated procedures on models created by 3-D printers. A pre-programmed drone collects blood samples from residents of a rural village and travels back to the capital. These awe-inspiring scenarios have all recently unfolded in what is undoubtedly a golden era of innovation in healthcare. Continue reading ->
Surely, the topic of human mobility has been the stumbling block in the common agenda of European countries for the last few years. In fact, the very existence of the European Union as we have known it so far is at stake, on this political issue. A certain degree of prudence would seem understandable, then, a few months ahead of the May EU elections. Surely, the intergovernmental nature of the UN agencies force them to interact with Member States, that is why exacerbating the political arena is a risky operation that may not pay off at all, in the long run. Moreover, for WHO Europe, the report on the health of refugees and migrant people in the 53 countries of the region is the first one of its kind, which may explain the hesitance of the beginner. But it is difficult to deny a bitter aftertaste, especially after the press conference. Continue reading ->
The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the second largest ever, occurring in a “perfect storm” of a densely-populated conflict zone. Yet thanks in large part to a strong collaboration between the World Health Organization and the pharmaceutical industry, the outbreak has so far remained confined to two DRC provinces, says Peter Salama, WHO deputy director general for emergency preparedness and response. Continue reading ->
Combating climate change will reduce the huge toll of 7 million deaths from air pollution as well as generating jobs in green energy, former California Governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a surprise appearance today at the opening plenary of the 24th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 24), in Katowice, Poland. Continue reading ->
Global health reaped a weekend windfall of new international and bilateral commitments over the past two days, beginning with the close of the G20 meeting in Argentina on Saturday, followed by the Mandela 100 Global Citizen festival in Johannesburg yesterday, which saw stars like Beyoncé, Jay-Z and others perform in the name of health and development causes, reaping a historic commitment by the United States of more than US$1.2 billion for the fight against HIV/AIDS and some US$ 139 million for the fight against neglected tropical diseases. Continue reading ->