Millions of girls miss school each month when they menstruate, as their families cannot afford sanitary pads or tampons – something that a Geneva-based diplomatic effort is seeking to address. Ambassador Matthew Wilson of Barbados described improving access to menstrual as a “global moral imperative” at a meeting of diplomats this week.  “[Caribbean] surveys show […] Continue reading ->
The United States government is moving rapidly to secure Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with African countries that offer limited health aid for five years in exchange for 25 years’ access to countries’ data about “pathogens with epidemic potential”. Some commentators have described the terms of the bilateral MOUs as “extractive” as they fail to offer […] Continue reading ->
African countries want information about pathogens with the potential to cause pandemics to be shared “exclusively” through a global system currently being negotiated at the World Health Organization (WHO) – yet at the same time, their governments are under pressure to agree to bilateral Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with the United States that will trade […] Continue reading ->
Canada has lost its measles elimination status after 12 months of continuous transmission of the highly infectious disease, the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) announced on Monday. This follows a PAHO expert meeting on infectious diseases last week, the Measles, Rubella, and Congenital Rubella Syndrome Elimination Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission. “The commission determined that endemic […] Continue reading ->