Health Policy Watch recently reported that some European countries at the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement negotiations maintain that intellectual property (IP) negotiations belong at the World Trade Organization (WTO) rather than the WHO. If they mean to say that new WTO laws cannot be established at the WHO, they have a point. But […] Continue reading ->
A new Health Technology Access Pool (H-TAP), which aims to broaden the scope of IP and patent-sharing with low- and middle-income countries and a new African Union co-sponsored ‘manufacturing support platform’ were among the initiatives announced this week at the Second World Local Production forum in The Hague. The global forum, the second ever to […] Continue reading ->
Time-bound waivers of intellectual property (IP) rights and benefits for countries that share information about threatening pathogens are some of the key components of the draft pandemic accord sent to World Health Organization (WHO) member states by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) on Monday. These two issues have been major bones of contention in negotiations and […] Continue reading ->
BERLIN, Germany — Hours before the release of the second draft of the Pandemic Accord on Monday, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told the World Health Summit that a pandemic agreement with “major limitations” on intellectual property (IP) rights protection will “not fly” for Germany and most of its fellow European Union (EU) members. “For […] Continue reading ->
On the morning of October 10, 2022, Russia launched a barrage of over 100 cruise missiles and suicide drones at Ukraine’s power grid and water supply, striking civilian areas across the country. One of the first targets hit were the streets around Kyiv City Clinical Hospital 5, a medical facility with hundreds of beds in […] 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 ->
Cholera cases doubled last year in comparison to 2021, and preliminary data suggests that 2023 is likely to be even worse, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a media briefing on Wednesday. “So far 28 countries have reported cases this year, compared with 16 during the same period last year,” said […] Continue reading ->
There are “concerning trends for COVID-19 ahead of the winter season in the northern hemisphere”, including increased ICU admissions and hospitalisation in Europe, and case increases in the Middle East and Asia, according to World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. However, the WHO’s ability to assess the threat of new COVID-19 variants […] Continue reading ->
Pharmaceutical giant Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and generic manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII) charged the South African government more than the European Union for COVID-19 vaccines – and South Africa assumed all the risk in ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ contracts with Pfizer, J&J and SII. This is according to an analysis of the contracts led by Health […] 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 ->