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 ->
A draft political declaration on pandemics, due to be adopted by the United Nations General Assembly later this month, offers “little hope” that the UN process will make a difference in global pandemic preparedness, global health experts said on Friday. The document, made public on Thursday, is long on words but short on commitments. The […] Continue reading ->
Amidst the vibrant rhythms of Africa, a less audible rhythm beats – an alarming rise in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Between 50% and 88% of deaths in at least seven African countries are due to NCDs, according to the 2022 World Health Organization (WHO) Noncommunicable Disease Progress Monitor. Yet, the realm of […] Continue reading ->
With the fate and nature of the pandemic accord currently being negotiated by World Health Organization (WHO) member states still uncertain, global health experts are calling for “realistic” backup plans to protect the world against the next pandemic. “We need an ambitious but implementable pandemic accord – that is the Holy Grail,” Javier Guzman, Director […] Continue reading ->
Routine childhood immuniaztions rebounded in 2022 from the set-backs of the COVID pandemic. But coverage still fell short of pre-COVID numbers in 2019, with 20.5 million children missing out on one or more routine vaccines last year as compared to 18.4 million in 2019. The new data is contained in a report published jointly Tuesday […] Continue reading ->