Two more experimental COVID-19 drugs, including the much-touted Remdesivir, appear to have fallen by the wayside, failing to show significant reductions in mortality among seriously ill patients. Interim results on Remdesivir and three other drug treatments being studied as part of the WHO Solidarity Therapeutics Trial, the world’s largest randomized controlled trial of COVID-19 drugs, […] Continue reading ->
A sweeping proposal by India and South Africa to suspend the protection of intellectual property (IP) related to COVID-19 health products is set to come before the The World Trade Organization’s TRIPS Council this week. The closed door discussion lays the groundwork for what could prove to be the most significant public debate over […] Continue reading ->
The world must take urgent action to end the global tuberculosis epidemic by 2030, especially as the pandemic threatens to unwind hard-won progress made in past decades, concluded the WHO’s 2020 Global Tuberculosis Report on Wednesday. While the WHO European region is on track to achieve key 2020 targets, the rest of the world has […] Continue reading ->
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has been awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts in fighting hunger in a year when food supplies for millions of people have been disrupted by COVID-19, destroyed by flooding and devoured by unprecedented locust swarms spreading across Africa and beyond. In Friday’s announcement, the Oslo-based […] Continue reading ->
One stillbirth occurs every 16 seconds worldwide with approximately 2 million stillborn babies a year, says the first UN-wide report to document the global scale of the issue. And COVID-19 related interruptions in maternal and child care services, particularly emergency obstetric care, could lead to an additional 60,000 to 200,000 stillbirths over the next 12 […] Continue reading ->
Moderna, Inc., developer of one of the four front-running COVID-19 vaccine candidates, announced on Thursday that the the company would “not enforce” its COVID-19-related patents against other companies making vaccines to combat the pandemic – and would also be willing to license intellectual property for their COVID-19 vaccines for the post pandemic period. “We feel […] Continue reading ->
With fires from crop stubble burning spreading across northern India heralding the beginning of Delhi’s winter air pollution season, Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has pledged to take pre-emptive action – announcing a ‘war on pollution,’ led from a ‘war room’ that he will personally command. His arsenal includes a seven-point action plan that will […] Continue reading ->
Acting on the advice of experts, the United States Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday issued new safety-focused guidelines for approval of new COVID-19 vaccines, that would almost certainly delay their emergency approval until after the November Presidential elections. Just hours after the rules were issued, United States President Donald Trump accused the FDA of […] Continue reading ->
Over 90% Of The World’s Countries Report Disruptions Of Critical Mental Health Services – WHO Survey
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted mental health services in 93% of countries at a time when they are most needed, concludes a new WHO survey, released Monday. The survey is based on data from 130 WHO countries gathered between June and August 2020. Despite rising awareness of the enormous strain that the pandemic has placed […] Continue reading ->
For the second year in a row, Geneva’s International Chamber of Commerce has hosted a dialogue bringing local tobacco industry leaders together with a major Geneva-based UN Agency – in this case to discuss the ‘role of multinationals in economic recovery following the coronavirus’. The ICC’s 6th Business Dialogue, involving Teresa Moreira, Head Competition and […] Continue reading ->