After three years of number-crunching, economists have come up with a price tag for what overweight and obesity cost countries in 2019, and it’s a staggering 2.19% of their gross domestic product (GDP). On average, African countries paid $20 per capita to address the consequences of overweight and obesity, while in countries in the Americas, […] Continue reading ->
The Global Fund goes into its pledging conference on Wednesday substantially short of its $18 billion minimum target to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria over the next five years. Hosted by US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the seventh replenishment conference is the culmination of a months-long […] Continue reading ->
Children with type 1 diabetes living in rural parts of the world’s poorest countries often struggle to get life-saving insulin as programmes addressing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) tend to be urban-based and adult-focused. But an initiative to address life-threatening NCDs affecting children and young adults – particularly type 1 diabetes, rheumatic and congenital heart disease, and […] Continue reading ->
As the push for adequate funds to address HIV, tuberculosis and malaria reaches its climax with next week’s replenishment meeting of the Global Fund, the fund’s latest report reveals it has saved 50 million lives between 2002 and 2021. The Global Fund raises money in three-year cycles and seeks $18 billion for its seventh replenishment, […] Continue reading ->
If all countries significantly raise taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary beverages, this could prevent 50 million premature deaths over the next 50 years, according to Michael Bloomberg, World Health Organization (WHO) Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) and Injuries. “Plus, the taxes would raise more than $20 trillion in revenue to support public health […] Continue reading ->
Although COVID-19 and monkeypox cases are declining globally, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned against complacency on Wednesday. Although COVID-19 cases were down by 80% since February, “last week, one person died with COVID-19 every 44 seconds and most of those those those deaths are avoidable,” said Tedros. “There is no […] Continue reading ->
A new initiative to introduce COVID-19 oral antivirals and national test-and-treat programmes in 10 countries in Africa and Southeast Asia was launched on Wednesday by the COVID Treatment Quick Start Consortium. The consortium will support governments to introduce and scale up access to antivirals, starting with Pfizer’s Paxlovid, in high-risk populations in Ghana, Kenya, Laos, […] Continue reading ->