The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the first COVID-19 diagnostic test for self-testing at home and that provides rapid results. The Lucira COVID-19 All-In-One Test Kit is a molecular-based single use test that is intended to detect the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19. “While COVID-19 diagnostic […] Continue reading ->
Many Geneva-based health agencies have worked together for years to improve global access to diagnostics and treatment, but the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated much closer collaboration and speedier decision-making. This is according to experts from the WHO co-sponsored  “ACT Accelerator” medicine access partnership – including UNITAID, the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), and the […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization is encouraged by early results of the efficacy of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine but its most immediate concern is the impact of the surge in cases in Europe and the Americas, threatening both health workers and health systems. “While we continue to receive encouraging news about COVID-19 vaccines and remain cautiously […] Continue reading ->
Third in a series –  Even before the coronavirus struck, large swathes of Africa, as well as parts of South-East Asia and Latin America, still relied on fragmented paper-based medical records, making it difficult to track people’s medical history – and thus provide high-quality treatment and care. The Virtual Innovation Fair, which is a key […] Continue reading ->
Second in a series – On Wednesday, 18 November, at 2pm CET, leading experts at the Geneva Health Forum (GHF) 2020 will provide their take on how to move forward on the recently approved WHO global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer, which kills 300,000 women every year, mostly in low-resource settings like […] Continue reading ->
BREAKING – World Health Organization Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has proposed the creation of a Swiss-based global repository for sharing pathogen materials and clinical samples related to potential outbreak threats – allowing for the more rapid development of medical interventions.  The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the urgent need for this kind of system, said […] Continue reading ->
Despite the big success this year in the eradication of wild poliovirus in the African region, the COVID-19 crisis has seen a temporary interruption of polio vaccine programmes. This has led to a rise in vaccine-derived polio cases which, are more likely to occur when vaccine coverage is weaker, WHO and African Region health officials […] Continue reading ->