Six low-and middle-income countries in the Pacific region are set to receive the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the government of New Zealand in response to global supply constraints. Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga and Tuvalu will in the coming months benefit from the dose-sharing agreement, signed on Tuesday […] Continue reading ->
Researchers engaged in mosquito gene drive technologies are optimistic that new World Health Organization (WHO) guidance on best research practices will ensure that their work is safe and ethical. Such guidance also helps research results advance from laboratories to be used in the field, the researchers told Health Policy Watch. Due to limiting regulatory frameworks, […] Continue reading ->
In two decades of work on World Bank digital health initiatives, global health policy specialist Akiko Maeda found many fell short of their promises. She suggested these underperforming digital health initiatives focused too much on delivering hardware — but they failed to provide means to ensure stable electricity supplies, and similarly failed to provide adequate […] Continue reading ->
With vaccine deliveries delayed by India’s decision to prioritise local vaccination over export requests, Africa’s leading disease control agency suggested COVID-19 could become endemic. John Nkengasong, director of Africa’s CDC, told reporters on Thursday that Africa needs to immunise population majorities quickly, but the vaccine delays make this unlikely. “With the rate of immunisation in […] Continue reading ->
China told the World Health Assembly on Wednesday it will continue to support developing countries’ access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines – but it stopped short of any commitment to supplying its recently-approved Sinopharm vaccine to the WHO co-sponsored Global COVAX vaccine facility. WHO officials had said they hoped China would join the COVAX facility, following […] Continue reading ->
Bold decisions are required to strengthen the World Health Organization and equip it with authority and resources it needs to address glaring shortcomings in pandemic preparedness and response, the 74th World Health Assembly was told on Tuesday. Recommendations emerging out of a report by the Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee (IOAC) for the WHO Health […] Continue reading ->
The number of pandemic-related cases and deaths have rapidly accelerated in the first four months of 2021, said WHO officials on the second day of the 74th World Health Assembly – and despite sharp declines seen in almost every region over the four weeks, the situation remains “fragile.” The “highly unstable” global epidemiological situation, combined […] Continue reading ->
Just days before the World Health Assembly opens, the United States still appears to be stalling on an initiative led by some of its major European allies, to move ahead decisively on proposals for a “Pandemic Treaty”, according to a US draft proposal seen by Health Policy Watch. The Pandemic Treaty proposal to create a […] Continue reading ->
Rich countries need to cough up 1 billion vaccine doses by September, and big pharma should significantly expand its network of voluntary license sharing and manufacturing – in order to avoid a vote by World Trade Organization members on a controversial proposal to waive all COVID-related intellectual property for the duration of the pandemic. That […] Continue reading ->
The G20 Global Health Summit on Friday elicited more promises from wealthy nations to share COVID-19 vaccines, an undertaking by drug companies to make over a billion doses available by year-end – and an indication by the European Union that it would propose an alternative to the TRIPS waiver at the next World Trade Organization […] Continue reading ->