New Principles Offer Guide to Human Rights During Health Emergencies

26/05/2023 Alex Winston

As the world continues to learn the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new set of principles aiming the help guide the future of human rights in global medical emergencies was published and discussed on Tuesday at an event of the 76th World Health Assembly (WHA). The event, titled “Beyond Panic & Neglect: Building a […] Continue reading ->

WHO to Share Information with Congolese Court in Sexual Abuse Cases of 13 Women

27/04/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

Gaya Gamhewage, the agency’s lead official in prevention and response to sexual misconduct, describes WHO’s recent moves to bring justice to DRC’s victims. In a long-awaited move, the World Health Organization (WHO) is preparing to share files with the Congolese courts on the sexual exploitation and abuse complaints of 13 women who are pursuing criminal […] Continue reading ->

13 Marburg Virus Cases Now Confirmed in Equatorial Guinea – More May Be Passing Under Radar

30/03/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

Authorities in Equatorial Guinea have confirmed another four cases of deadly Marburg virus disease, bringing the total number of cases for the country’s current outbreak to 13 – although some sources warn that the case count could be much higher, due to the lack of lab capacity and reporting delays. In a Twitter post late […] Continue reading ->

Novel Ways to Advance Sudan Ebolavirus Vaccine Candidates? Experts Meet as Uganda’s Outbreak Declared Over

11/01/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

WHO’s Africa Region has declared the end to the recent outbreak of Sudan Ebolavirus – just a day before WHO convenes Ebola experts in a global consultation to explore a way forward on testing three candidate vaccines for the deadly Sudan strain of the virus. The oubreak was declared over after the elapse of 44 […] Continue reading ->

Exclusive: Vaccine Trial Against Sudan Ebolavirus – With No Recent Infections in Uganda, What’s Plan B?

23/12/2022 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

The World Health Organization (WHO) isn’t talking about it publicly, but behind the scenes WHO is planning a meeting for 12 January to evaluate next steps, Health Policy Watch has learned, as the absence of new cases in the Uganda outbreak makes it impossible to begin a clinical trial based on a ring vaccination of […] Continue reading ->

WHO Director General: Hopes COVID Global Health Emergency Can Be Declared Over in 2023

14/12/2022 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

There are emerging hopes that sometime in 2023, WHO can declare that the COVID-19 global health emergency is over, said WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking at a pre-holiday press briefing on Wednesday. Meanwhile, however, the world continues to invest some $2 trillion in wars and “killing each other” – but not nearly […] Continue reading ->

Uganda Extends Lockdowns in Bid to End Ebola Outbreak

28/11/2022 Stefan Anderson

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has extended quarantine measures in the two districts at the epicentre of the country’s Ebola epidemic for another 21 days, citing the need to protect gains in the fight against the virus. This marks the third renewal of lockdowns in Kassanda and Mubende, and authorities are hopeful it will be the […] Continue reading ->

Uganda and WHO to Test Vaccine Candidates to Combat Country’s Ebola Outbreak

04/11/2022 Stefan Anderson

On Friday, the Ebola taskforce of Kassanda district in Uganda delivered the remains of four people that succumbed to the the virus for burial to their home village of Kitongo. Three of the bodies belong to family members who died from exposure to the virus after they exhumed a loved one they had lost to […] Continue reading ->

Ebola Outbreak Reaches Kampala

28/10/2022 Stefan Anderson

Six schoolchildren in the Ugandan capital of Kampala are the latest to be infected with Ebola, according to the country’s health minister on Wednesday – and with 15 cases in the densely populated city, some want the government to impose a lockdown. So far, there have been 109 confirmed cases, including 30 deaths, of the […] Continue reading ->

WHO Advises Rationing Cholera Shots Amid Global Vaccine Shortage

19/10/2022 Megha Kaveri

A shortage of cholera vaccines and a number of outbreaks have prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to advise countries to administer single doses of the vaccine instead of the usual two doses. So far, 29 countries have reported cholera outbreaks, with Haiti, Syria and Malawi dealing with large outbreaks. The standard preventive approach to […] Continue reading ->