Better access to NCD medicines and treatments isn’t enough to ensure effective prevention and treatment of the conditions, responsible for 74% of premature deaths in the world. More attention needs to be focused on training, retention and effective use of health care workers, said a panel of experts at the World Health Summit. BERLIN – […] Continue reading ->
The devastating floods that submerged one-third of Pakistan in 2022 have severely disrupted the country’s vaccination programme, leaving millions of children at risk of preventable diseases. The floods severely damaged health infrastructure, causing overall immunization coverage in the country to drop to 64% in 2022, from a national average of 74% in 2020, according to […] Continue reading ->
German Ministers urge more investment in the Pandemic Fund and universal health coverage at a high-level pandemic preparedness meeting Even if vaccines and medicines are developed at record speed to address the next ominous global pathogen, they cannot prevent a pandemic without strong health systems to deliver them, stressed politicians and health leaders at a […] Continue reading ->
BAD HOFGASTEIN, Austria — Belgium, which takes over the presidency of the Council of the European Union in January 2024, plans to make the healthcare workforce crisis a central item on its agenda, the first time the issue will be prioritized at the highest level of EU policymaking in over a decade. “We are actively […] Continue reading ->
After the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing in indoor spaces raised awareness of the risks of infection in closed spaces and super-spreader events, scientists concerned about human exposure to other indoor contaminants and strategies to reduce risks are hopeful that the time has come for more action. BERN, Switzerland – A dearth of data and […] Continue reading ->
NEW YORK – While the United Nations (UN) high-level meeting (HLM) on universal health coverage (UHC) adopted a political declaration on Thursday committing member states to accelerate health for all, this will remain a paper promise unless governments invest in primary healthcare. This was the challenge issued to member states by World Health Organization (WHO) […] Continue reading ->
Health systems in Africa are under considerable strain: rapid demographic change, rising non-communicable diseases, and emerging and re-emerging threats such as COVID-19 and Ebola are increasing demands on limited health services. Africa, however, faces a challenging period in health financing to meet these increasing needs. Health spending in most countries remains far short of what is […] Continue reading ->
European air quality activists have won a key victory in the European Parliament, which approved tough new air pollution rules that would require countries to meet stricter WHO air quality guidelines by 2035, and allow EU citizens to sue for financial compensation for air pollution-related health damage. But the draft legislation still faces an uphill […] Continue reading ->
NEW YORK CITY – There has been little progress in expanding universal health service coverage (UHC) since the last UN High Level Meeting (HLM) meeting on the issue in 2019, and trends in financial protection are even worsening, with catastrophic out-of-pocket spending increasing when compared to 2015. The final draft of the political declaration for […] Continue reading ->
Leading global health experts and activists have expressed frustration and disappointment at the draft political declarations on pandemics, universal health coverage (UHC) and tuberculosis that world leaders are expected to adopt at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) next week. Key criticisms of the three declarations are that they offer no advancement on previous international […] Continue reading ->