The early resignation of Roberto Azevedo from the post of Director General (DG) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), sets the stage for a highly politicized competition over his successor – who will face a major challenge in demands to reshape the WTO in the wake of repeated US complaints about its trade dispute rulings […] Continue reading ->
African countries are lifting lockdowns even as COVID-19 cases across the continent reached a grim new milestone, topping 200,000 cases. The pandemic took only 19 days to reach 200,000 cases in Africa, while it took 98 days to reach the first 100,000 cases. Yet carefully easing lockdown orders in Africa may be the right move […] Continue reading ->
Asymptomatic transmission is possible, but the World Health Organization is still unsure as to what extent asymptomatic COVID-19 infections contribute to the spread of the virus, according to WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday. “Since early February, we have said that there are asymptomatic people that can transmit COVID-19. But we need more […] Continue reading ->
In what he described as a great “public health victory,” the World Trade Organization has ruled that Australia’s plain packaging requirements for tobacco products did not infringe on international trade, said the World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday. The decision by the WTO on Tuesday comes just as it also opened […] Continue reading ->
Switzerland is now the world’s safest country since the pandemic started, followed by Germany and Israel, according to a Regional Safety Assessment of 200 territories and regions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, Asia and Europe were the regions most successful in fighting the coronavirus although there were wide variations within Europe in terms of how countries […] Continue reading ->
Stay-at-home orders and lockdown measures helped greatly limit the spread of coronavirus in 11 European countries from the start of the epidemic to May 4th, according to a new modeling paper published in Nature on Monday. Some 3.1 million deaths were averted across the study countries thanks to “non-pharmaceutical measures” such as lockdowns and social […] Continue reading ->
In the wake of widespread demonstrations in the United States against police brutality, catalyzed by the death of George Floyd while being pinned under an officer’s knee, the World Health Organization has urged protestors to protect themselves against COVID-19. “We have certainly seen a lot of passion this week, we’ve seen people who’ve felt the […] Continue reading ->
In a series of flip-flops on Friday, the United Kingdom suspended the enrollment of new patients into the hydroxychloroquine arm of its massive RECOVERY trial, one of the largest randomised COVID-19 clinical trials in the world, after preliminary data showed “no benefit” for COVID-19 patients receiving the drug. The suspension of the trial came just […] Continue reading ->
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance raised a whopping US $8.8 billion at the first ever virtual Global Vaccine Summit co-hosted Thursday by the United Kingdom, surpassing the fundraising goal of US $7.4 billion. “We have secured a fantastic US $8.8. billion for Gavi’s work over the next five years and I’d like to thank everyone very, […] Continue reading ->
A day ahead of a major pledging event, Gavi-the Vaccine Alliance has received some US $70 million in pledges from a broad range of corporations, foundations, initiatives and individual philanthropists to modernise, streamline and strengthen its delivery of vaccines to children in the world’s poorest countries over the next 15 years. Meanwhile, Médecins sans Frontières […] Continue reading ->