The raging pandemic has highlighted an urgent need to incorporate mental health into COVID-19 recovery plans and to ‘substantially’ improve mental health funding – Or the world will face a ‘massive’ mental health crisis in upcoming months, reported a United Nations policy brief on Thursday.  “The impact of the pandemic on people’s mental health is […] Continue reading ->
On the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale on Tuesday, we marked International Nurses Day, a day for the world to focus on the invaluable role that nurses play in our society. They not only have a tremendous role in health settings but are also crucial for the economic wellbeing and national security […] Continue reading ->
Health Policy Watch is the media partner for the Geneva Graduate Institute – Global Health Centre series of World Health Assembly events, running Thursday 14 May to Wednesday 27 May. The series of events is built around themes relevant to the 73rd session of the WHA, 18-19 May, the first ever Assembly to bring together the World […] Continue reading ->
As the 73rd World Health Assembly approaches, the European Union-sponsored draft resolution on the COVID-19 response is gathering steam and storm as it rolls closer to the planned opening of the Assembly on 18 May – with far less clarity about how it might actually hit the shores of the public debate.  The resolution aims […] Continue reading ->
Up to 190 000 Africans could die of COVID-19 within the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail. And up to 44 million Africans, or 26% of the African population, could be infected by the virus, according to a new modelling study  by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa. A proactive […] Continue reading ->
Women’s and children’s health advocates have lauded a landmark move by Sudan to finally criminalize the practice of female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C) – punishing perpetrators for up to 3 years in prison to ward them off the crime. Last Thursday, Sudan’s National Council for Child Welfare endorsed a long-awaited amendment to Criminal Law […] Continue reading ->
COVID-19 deaths per capita are twice as high in The Bronx, New York City’s poorest and most racially diverse borough, as compared to the predominantly white and more affluent borough of Manhattan, reported a new study published in JAMA on Wednesday.  The study’s findings draw out the potentially stark differences in the way the virus […] Continue reading ->
Routine vaccine campaigns, suspended worldwide in the wake of COVID-19 lockdowns, must be resumed immediately or else some countries could face a big surge in deaths from other preventable diseases, said Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance. Speaking at a press briefing Thursday, Berkley warned that routine immunizations for other infectious diseases such […] Continue reading ->