In advance of critical biodiversity negotiations in Geneva, over twenty former headers of state, ministers, and environmental and indigenous leaders urgently called on governments – including their own – to back the protection of at least 30% of the planet by 2030.  Led by former US Senator Russ Feingold and comprised of either former Heads […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) released new guidelines on abortion care on Wednesday, that include recommendations on telemedicine for the first time. Telemedicine has helped support access to abortion and family planning services during the COVID-19 pandemic, and is also being used in places where abortion access is limited. Over 25 million unsafe abortions occur […] Continue reading ->
Moderna has committed to permanently waiving its COVID-19 patents in 92 low- and middle-income countries, and is pursuing vaccines for 15 diseases identified as the world’s biggest public health risk, including ebola, tuberculosis and malaria. The company has also offered outside researchers access to its mRNA technology to pursue research on emerging and neglected infectious […] Continue reading ->
Countries need to prevent more SARS-CoV2 infections in wildlife, as this could result in the establishment of animal reservoirs, according to a joint statement by the World Health Organisation, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).   So far domestic animals, free-ranging, captive or farmed wild animals such as big […] Continue reading ->
A four-year-old girl from Jerusalem has been diagnosed with polio, Israel’s Health Ministry said Sunday – the first case in the country since 1989. The source of the girl’s infection is vaccine-derived polio virus, according to Israel’s head of Public Services Dr Sharon Alroy-Preis, speaking to reporters on Monday evening. “We are not talking about […] Continue reading ->
The United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) will offer certain government-funded coronavirus technologies to WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), top US officials said on Thursday.  The  announcement by US Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra at a virtual meeting Thursday with other ministers of health, could help bolster support for the […] Continue reading ->
Molnupiravir, an oral COVID-19 antiviral medication, has just been added as a conditional recommendation to the World Health Organization’s living guidelines on COVID-19 therapeutics.  The pill, created by Merck, had already been approved by the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) in January to be distributed and supplied in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).  In comparison […] Continue reading ->
As streams of Ukrainians leave their country to escape from Russian attacks, the World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned that they, and other migrants and refugees, are not being included in programmes to treat critical non-communicable diseases (NCDs), like diabetes, that can be deadly if treatment is not maintained. WHO’s NCD Director Dr Bente Mikkelsen […] Continue reading ->
Residents in the European Union will soon have access to a single electronic database with information about all medicine available in the region, following the European Medicines Regulatory Network’s adoption of a common standard for electronic product information (ePI).  “This will enable any EU resident to get up-to-date information on all medicines available to patients […] Continue reading ->