The World Health Organization has recommended to the UN Secretary General that cannabis and cannabis resin be removed from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs – a classification of drugs with “particularly dangerous properties”, including narcotics such as fentanyl, heroin and other opioids. Continue reading ->
The fair pricing of medicines and the transparency of costs were underlined as key by many nongovernmental organisations last week during a discussion at the World Health Organization Executive Board on access to medicines. The Board heard about staggering numbers of people deprived of access to medication and health products, with examples from patients with epilepsy, kidney diseases and other illnesses preventing them from getting better or surviving their condition. Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization Executive Board last week heard about what the lack of access to medicines and other health services has meant in real life. These ranged from the heart-wrenching story of a baby girl needing and getting pain-killing medication to ease her life and passing to bring attention to the need for palliative care, to millions of children not getting the treatment they need to treat tuberculosis or heart diseases. Continue reading ->
Wellcome has committed to provide more than £10 million to the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) over three years to develop new oral treatments for leishmaniasis, a devastating parasitic disease that primarily affects some of the world’s poorest people. Continue reading ->
With a united voice that World Health Organization Board members agreed last week on a draft resolution for the preparation of a United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on universal health coverage in the fall, following intensive closed consultations. The United States, however, dissociated itself from language it thought gave a permissive view of abortion. Continue reading ->
Over the past year, the World Health Organization (WHO) has rolled out the latest version of its benchmarking tool for evaluating progress of national regulatory authorities towards meeting WHO quality assurance targets. This benchmarking tool applies a more transparent and systematic approach than previous versions, and was developed through “extensive” consultation with member states and the public. Continue reading ->
Cancer patients in developing countries often cannot get drugs for moderate and severe pain relief, due to the lack of access to opioid drugs. Access to cancer pain treatment needs to be eased, despite legitimate concerns about opioid abuse in some countries, says the World Health Organization (WHO). Continue reading ->
Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali, celebrated its first car-free day today, while a Kenyan telecom company was reported to have launched a major initiative to install 3,000 low-cost air pollution sensors around the country, in response to growing fears about air pollution’s health impacts. Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization Executive Board last week remained uncertain on the way forward on questions of access to influenza viruses as countries are increasingly implementing an international protocol regulating the sharing of genetic resources. The Board requested informal discussions be held in the lead-up to the annual World Health Assembly in May. Continue reading ->
There is a need to strengthen multisectoral collaboration to halt the global tuberculosis epidemic, WHO Executive Board (EB) members said in a review of the WHO End TB Strategy, which aims to reduce TB deaths by 90 percent by 2030. Continue reading ->