Investing in as little as $0.24 per patient per year in digital health interventions – telemedicine, mobile messaging, and chatbots – could significantly lower the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), says a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Telecommunication Union (UTI). These interventions could avert 2 million deaths and 7 […] Continue reading ->
While COVID exposed the urgency of ensuring that Africa can manufacture vaccines, the current mpox and cholera outbreaks have painfully underscored the continent’s vulnerability. African countries affected by mpox are dependent on vaccine donations from wealthy countries, while a dire global shortage of cholera vaccines has forced the World Health Organization (WHO) to advise countries […] Continue reading ->
Bavarian Nordic has no plans to sell or manufacture its vaccines directly to African countries, the company’s Vice President of Investor Relations told Health Policy Watch, saying that donations from rich countries will likely be the main source of supplies.   WHO’s announcement of a global mpox health emergency may have sent a wake-up call to […] Continue reading ->
The recent CARICOM summit of Caribbean leaders has endorsed a new Afro-Caribbean Health and Development  (HeDPAC) initiative aimed at stimulating South-South collaboration on resilient health systems, health worker capacity building, and local medicines and vaccines manufacture.  The formal CARICOM Communiqué at the close of the Summit in Grenada invited its 15 member states and five […] Continue reading ->
The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the risks of over-reliance on global supply chains for essential health products. Disruptions led to severe delays and shortages of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics, with low- and middle-income countries bearing the brunt. Vaccine inequality starkly highlighted Africa’s vulnerability. Yet this crisis unveiled a unique opportunity for the continent: a chance to […] Continue reading ->
India will contribute $85 million over a decade to the World Health Organization’s Global Traditional Medicine Center, the WHO announced. The center, located in the Indian western city of Jamnagar, aims to strengthen the evidence base for traditional medicine and provide data on related policies, practices and public use. The donation is part of a […] Continue reading ->
The Argentina-based biotech firm,  Sinergium Biotech, has agreed to share know-how on the production of an mRNA vaccine for Avian influenza (H5N1) with WHO’s  Tecnology Transfer Hub so that an affordable vaccine could rapidly be produced for developing countries, WHO said Monday. The agreement marks the first time that a vaccine developer has actually volunteered […] Continue reading ->