Africa could start producing its own cutting-edge COVID-19 vaccines within a year via an mRNA technology transfer hub that is being set up in South Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Monday. But the speed at which the new hub may be able to swing into full-scale vaccine production depends on whether pharmaceutical […] Continue reading ->
Proponents of a sweeping World Trade Organization ‘waiver’ on intellectual property rights for all COVID-19 treatments, tests and vaccines face an uphill battle to reach consensus on a text ahead of a WTO General Council meeting scheduled for 27-28 July.  This is despite the recent agreement of the initiative’s opponents, including the European Union, Korea, […] Continue reading ->
From Indonesia and the Seychelles, to Chile and China itself, there are some worrisome indications that the Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac COVID vaccines sold by the hundreds of millions to vaccine-strapped low- and middle-income countries may not be performing as well as expected – particularly against rapidly spreading variants of SARS-CoV-2.   At the same time, […] Continue reading ->
Before the G7 leaders sat down on Friday afternoon in Cornwall to discuss how to “build back better” a world devastated by COVID-19, UK Prime Minister and summit host Boris Johnson challenged the Group to accept a target of providing one billion doses to developing countries. But the People’s Vaccine Alliance, a network of over […] Continue reading ->
Providing community-based mental health care that is respectful of human rights and recovery-focused has proven successful and cost-effective, according to a new report released by the World Health Organization.  WHO’s new “Guidance on community mental health service: promoting person-centered and rights-based approaches”, released today, includes examples from countries including Brazil, India, Kenya, Myanmar, New Zealand, […] Continue reading ->
Indonesia could manufacture 550 million COVID-19 vaccine doses a year if pharmaceutical companies were prepared to share the know-how, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told a World Health Organization event Friday. Sadikin was addressing the first anniversary of the WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), set up to encourage countries and manufacturers of COVID-19 products […] Continue reading ->