Two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, over ninety percent of countries continue to face ongoing disruptions to their health systems, according to a survey published Monday evening by the World Health Organization. The WHO Global Pulse Survey, the third of its kind since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, analysed responses from 129 countries, […] Continue reading ->
For the indigenous people of New Zealand, the Māori, cancer statistics are bleak, as they are 20% more likely to develop cancer, and twice as likely as non-Māori to die from it. But New Zealand-based Cancer Control Agency, Te Aho o Te Kahu, is trying to beat back against this inequity and close the gap […] Continue reading ->
Some 21 countries have now ratified the African Medicines Agency treaty – well beyond the 15 ratifications reached in November 2021, which allowed the AMA treaty instrument to formally take effect. Egypt, Africa’s third most populous country, is the most recent state to have both ratified and deposited the treaty – marking a significant milestone […] Continue reading ->
Cancer services remain backlogged in many parts of the world due to the effects of the two-year-long COVID pandemic – even as Europe hopes a pandemic “ceasefire that could bring us enduring peace” , said WHO’s European Regional Director Hans Kluge Thursday on the eve of World Cancer Day. Meanwhile, in Latin America, routine childhood […] Continue reading ->
Switzerland could be the next European country to lift virtually all COVID restrictions, federal officials said Wednesday – despite warnings from the World Health Organization, headquartered in Geneva, that a total relaxation of the pandemic rules could be premature. In a press briefing on Wednesday, Swiss federal government officials lifted all work-from-home and some quarantine […] Continue reading ->
In Unusual Move, US FDA Invites Pfizer to Request COVID-19 Vaccine Approval for Infants and Toddlers
What does the FDA know that we don’t? Hopefully a lot. Without offering much detail, the FDA yesterday afternoon asked Pfizer to send over a rolling submission to amend its Covid-19 vaccine Emergency Use Authorization to include children 6 months to under 5 years of age. The tricky part in making such a request is […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) is considering changing how it relates to non-state actors (NSAs), but some of these organisations are concerned that the changes envisaged by the global body may weaken their voices. In 2016, the WHO’s World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted a Framework for Engagement with NSAs – known as FENSA – to […] Continue reading ->
Almost four times the usual medical waste was generated in New Delhi during the height of India’s COVID-19 pandemic in May 2021 when all COVID-19 waste was mistakenly classified as infectious, according to a new report issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday. Most of the approximately 87,000 tonnes of personal protective equipment […] Continue reading ->
The explosion of unhealthy diets received considerable attention at last week’s WHO Executive Board meeting, as well as at last year’s UN Food Systems Summit – as key contributors to the global epidemic of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases – which have also exacerbated the health risks of billions of people […] Continue reading ->
Researchers find two antibodies in common in people with long-COVID, the lingering post-infection condition that was recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) last October. But scientists say symptoms and how many people develop the virus are still unclear. By Maayan Hoffman A sizable portion of the 370 million people infected with SARS-COV2 experience Post-Acute […] Continue reading ->