The world is on course to miss every one of the 52 health-related Sustainable Development Goal targets by 2030, the World Health Organization has warned, as ministers from its 194 member states gather in Geneva for an assembly tasked with reversing that trajectory. With malaria cases rising, maternal deaths still occurring at nearly three times […] Continue reading ->
On the five-year anniversary of the Global Diabetes Compact, WHO has issued a call to manufacturers to submit requests for “prequalification” of generic versions of the GLP-1 drug semaglutide for diabetes management – the drug that initially became famous for weight-loss – as well as fast-acting insulin analogues that have gained popularity over human insulin […] Continue reading ->
Philanthropy can help make every dollar deliver more impact. I often think about a boy I met in Kajiado County, Kenya. He was the same age as my son, but half his weight. A World Health Organization (WHO) colleague measured the circumference of his arm to confirm what was already painfully clear: he was severely […] Continue reading ->
The first international conference on phasing out the oil, gas and coal igniting the climate crisis ended with 57 governments representing every continent and a third of the global economy declaring the transition away from fossil fuels is now irreversible. “Actions taken to date prove that the energy transition is past its point of no […] Continue reading ->
African leaders opened the World Health Summit Regional Meeting at the United Nations complex in Nairobi this week with a unified declaration that two decades of dependence on foreign aid for health is over. “The challenge that I see is that many of the leaders in our continent believe that it is somebody else’s responsibility. […] Continue reading ->
The African Union and the European Commission have concluded three agreements worth €100 million aimed at strengthening Africa’s health systems. The first initiative supports the national public health institutes of 10 African countries to enhance disease surveillance, early warning systems, emergency response, research and laboratory services. The second, announced at the One Health Summit in […] Continue reading ->
Undermining vaccines, failing pregnant black women, threatening to remove black children with ADHD from their parents – these were some of the barrage of questions put to United States Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr when he appeared before the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday. Kennedy was testifying about […] Continue reading ->
The world’s darkest ongoing war – defined by sexual violence, extermination, famine and genocide – enters its fourth year today. With no end in sight, tens of millions of Sudanese people are facing a historic humanitarian crisis of “industrial proportions,” according to the United Nations (UN). Seven years after a new generation overthrew a three-decade […] Continue reading ->
Each year, hundreds of thousands of women die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth that are well understood and largely preventable. Most of these deaths occur in low and middle-income countries, with sub-Saharan Africa carrying the greatest burden. At the same time, millions of families continue to face financial barriers to essential health services, […] Continue reading ->
The gas that keeps hospital MRI scanners running has been caught in the crossfire of the war in Iran, raising the prospect of diagnostic delays, rising costs and rationing of one of modern medicine’s most important imaging tools. Roughly a quarter of all helium consumed worldwide goes toward cooling the superconducting magnets inside MRI scanners. […] Continue reading ->