WHO Pilots Prequalification Programme For Insulin; Expanding Access To Treatment In Low-Income Countries

13/11/2019 Grace Ren

The World Health Organization announced Wednesday that it would implement a pilot programme to include human insulin products in its Prequalification of Medicines programme, in an effort to expand access to treatment for diabetes in low- and middle-income countries. The move is the first in a series of steps WHO is taking to address the […] Continue reading ->

Nairobi Population Summit Draws Attention & Debate Over Reproductive Health Rights

12/11/2019 Fredrick Nzwili

Nairobi, Kenya – A three day summit marking 25 years since the historic UN Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo opened here in the Kenyan capital on Tuesday, with a focus on actions that save mothers’ lives, make contraception and family planning more accessible, and end violence against women and girls. But as […] Continue reading ->

First-Ever Ebola Vaccine Gets World Health Organization “Pre-Qual” Seal of Approval

12/11/2019 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

The World Health Organization has “pre-qualified” a new Ebola vaccine in record time, just a day after the vaccine, Ervebo, received European regulatory approval. “This is the fastest vaccine prequalification process ever conducted by WHO,” said the organization in press release Tuesday evening. The WHO approval was described as a “critical step that will help […] Continue reading ->

WHO & UNICEF Co-Host First Conference On Child And Adolescent Mental Health

11/11/2019 Grace Ren

With rates of self-harm, suicide and anxiety among children and young people growing around the world, UNICEF and the World Health Organization hosted the first ever “Leading Minds” Conference to tackle adolescent mental health on November 7-9. The forum highlighted the growing recognition of mental health as a global health problem, and follows moves made […] Continue reading ->

Medicines for Malaria Venture At 20 Years: A Perfect Moment For New Innovation

11/11/2019 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

MMV CEO David Reddy talks about the steps MMV is taking to support a new generation of malaria research leadership, promote more gender-sensitive malaria treatment and fast-track innovation on new malaria combination therapies. This follows a string of MMV successes over the past two decades in fostering new paediatric malaria treatments, new combination therapies to […] Continue reading ->

Violence Against Ebola Responders Plagues Outbreak Response As Case Counts Plateau

08/11/2019 Grace Ren

The number of Ebola cases per week has plateaued at a low, but consistent, count of 19 per week in the past 21 days, but the violent death of a radio journalist who had won acclaim for his Ebola outreach work has responders remaining vigilant. One Ebola case was also detected this week at a […] Continue reading ->

Italian Health Minister Moves To Replace Key Architect of WHA Resolution On Drug Price Transparency

07/11/2019 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

In a move fraught with international political overtones, Italy’s new Minister of Health is moving to replace the Director General of the Italian Drug Agency (AIFA), Dr Luca Li Bassi, who was the key architect of the May World Health Assembly (WHA) resolution supporting greater price transparency in medicines markets, Health Policy Watch has learned. […] Continue reading ->

World Health Organization And Sudan Ministry of Health Scale Up Response To Cholera Outbreak

06/11/2019 Grace Ren

As a cholera outbreak inches closer to Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum, the Sudanese Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization are scaling up the response. Two cholera cases were confirmed in the district of Khartoum State on October 19. As of Monday, November 3, the Ministry of Health had reported 332 suspected cases […] Continue reading ->

Civil Society Pressures French Leaders To Adopt Transparency Amendments

06/11/2019 Grace Ren

A coalition of over 40 personalities – from doctors and economists to actors and health access activists – released an open letter Tuesday calling on the French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and the Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn to support a series of amendments to the French Social Security Budget Bill for 2020 providing for […] Continue reading ->

Urgent Climate Change Message By Over 11,000 Scientists; Reduce Air Pollution To Slow Warming & Save “Millions Of Lives”

05/11/2019 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

Some 11,258 scientists from 153 countries have issued a sharp warning in the journal BioScience, about the climate emergency faced by the global community. The scientists calls for “bold and drastic transformations” in six key areas to pull earth from the precipice of potentially catastrophic deterioration in basic life support systems. Their prescription includes: a […] Continue reading ->