Before the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control was adopted in 2003, the World Health Organization had worked for many years to prevent damage caused by tobacco consumption with the goal of passing an international agreement on tobacco regulation. The agreement, however, was not moving forward. “The real breakthrough came as scientific evidence emerged showing the […] Continue reading ->
Africa’s limited pharmaceutical industry, high costs of raw materials, and dependence on imported medicines have long hampered citizens’ access to the medicines they need.  The challenges the continent faces are daunting. They include poor supply chain systems, lack of government investment in the pharmaceutical sector, unfavourable manufacturing conditions, limited health workforce, lack of sustainable health […] Continue reading ->
(DELHI, India via The New Humanitarian) – As medical professionals across the globe grappled with COVID-19 infections, microbiologist Dr. Bhavani Eshwaragari was confronting a quieter – though no less dangerous – pandemic. Reviewing patient samples in her laboratory in Continental Hospital in the southern India city of Hyderabad, she began to notice an alarming trend […] Continue reading ->
Pharmaceutical giants have questioned why a waiver on intellectual property (IP) rights for COVID-19 vaccines is still on the table when they are battling to find markets for their vaccines amid order cancellations – including from the Africa Centre for Disease Control.  “I’m stunned that the proposed IP waiver is still being debated while supplies […] Continue reading ->
Long months of pandemic lockdown have only exacerbated the harms due to alcohol  experienced by billions of people worldwide.  Now, WHO is in the process of developing a new alcohol action plan, in an effort to re-energize a stagnant process and overcome a “lost decade” of little progress on alcohol policies.  Can it make a […] Continue reading ->
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a “silent pandemic” of drug resistance to mutated bacteria, viruses and parasites is gaining ground and requires major government investments in antibiotic research and development (R&D), a group of experts has warned. “People are dying across the world from drug-resistant infections. This is a problem of today, and […] Continue reading ->