Country controversies, secret terms, opaque procurement, and massive unspent Congressional funds have characterised the first year of the America First Global Health Strategy. “Services are weaker than they were a year ago, HIV testing is down, treatment of children living with HIV is down, and community-based prevention is gutted,” said Emily Bass, expert consultant for […] Continue reading ->
Countries supported by the Global Fund put over a million more people on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, sustained tuberculosis treatment and distributed 34 million more insecticide-treated mosquito nets in 2025 than the previous year. In 2025, some 26.9 million people were on ARVs (compared to 25.6 million), 7.4 million people were treated for TB, and 196 […] Continue reading ->
Contracts, contracts, contracts. Virtually all the regional blocs that addressed the start of the eighth round of the pandemic agreement talks on Monday stressed that any pathogen access and benefit-sharing (PABS) system needs to include standard contracts with pharmaceutical manufacturers. These would set out the terms of accessing dangerous pathogens, as well as how to […] Continue reading ->
EU negotiator Americo Zampetti warns that ideological polarisation over pathogen access threatens to derail the WHO Pandemic Agreement. On the eve of the eighth round of talks on an annex to the Pandemic Agreement, the European Union’s (EU) chief negotiator has warned that “ideology” is blocking consensus. Negotiators meet at the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) […] Continue reading ->
After a gruelling recent Ebola infection, Dr Patrick Oparpio, a gynaecologist based in Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has urged health authorities to offer psychological support for Ebola survivors and their families. This week, the DRC reported 6,843 Ebola cases and 3,310 deaths – a case fatality rate of over 48% […] Continue reading ->
HIV services, mental health and harm reduction programmes have been severely affected by the huge funding cuts to organisations providing services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people over the past 18 months. Perversely, organisations in countries with the most repressive conditions for LGBTIQ people have been worst affected by cuts, according […] Continue reading ->
The United States will no longer fund Namibia’s HIV programme after 2027, following an impasse over data- and information-sharing terms required by the US for a longer aid package. The joint US-Namibia announcement frames the one-year aid phase-out as “recognition of Namibia’s historic achievement in reaching HIV epidemic control and surpassing global targets”. The US will […] Continue reading ->
The risk of infertility is 1.4 times higher in women who smoke, according to a systematic review of studies conducted between 2000 and 2026, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report released on Tuesday. “This means that if the risk of infertility is 15% for women who do not smoke, then 21% will experience […] Continue reading ->
The defenders of sexual and reproductive health and rights are on the frontline of the “heightened hostility to science, fact, and truth, directly facing the anti-science toxic tangles of racism, sexism, and homophobia,” asserted Professor Kate Gilmore, co-chair of the Human Reproduction Programme’s (HRP) Gender and Rights Advisory Panel. HRP is the United Nations instrument […] Continue reading ->
Women’s organisations are anxious that Secretary-General António Guterres will push the controversial proposed merger of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN Women at the UN General Assembly later this month. Guterres proposed the merger as part of his UN80 initiative, aimed at streamlining and cutting costs as the global body tries to recover from […] Continue reading ->