World Trade Organization’s (WTO) director general Ngozi Onkonjo-Iweala on Thursday hailed the United States government’s decision to support the suspension of intellectual property rules on COVID-19 vaccines – while also emphasising the urgency of even more immediate actions to increase vaccine supplies to lower-income countries.   In a statement after a two-day closed-door WTO General […] Continue reading ->
IBADAN – The US government’s decision to support a temporary waiver on intellectual property related to COVID-19 vaccine patents & other knowhow in the World Trade Organization (WTO) is a positive development, said key stakeholders in Africa’s health ecosystem on Thursday.   While US President Joe Biden’s reversal of the previous US position against the waiver […] Continue reading ->
Low-and-middle-income countries have made significantly less progress than high-income countries in implementing hand hygiene and infection prevention programmes that can stop deadly diseases, from diarrhoea to COVID-19, according to a recent A World Health Organization survey of 88 countries.  And one in four health care facilities in poorer countries do not have basic water services […] Continue reading ->
The United States has swung its weight behind a hotly-debated proposal by India and South Africa to suspend intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines for the duration of the pandemic. The dramatic turnabout in the US position, announced Wednesday evening by US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, signals a sea change in the balance of powers […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization and the German government on Wednesday announced the launch of a new Global Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence that aims to harness the world of big data, media and epidemiological reports to more rapidly identify and respond to emerging disease risks.   The hub, to be launched in Berlin later this […] Continue reading ->
CAPE TOWN – The “circular discussion” at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the TRIPS waiver needs to move to “text-based” negotiations, Ambassador Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter, South Africa’s Permanent Representative to the WTO said on Tuesday. Her Indian counterpart, Brajendra Navnit, added that opponents of the waiver had been using “delaying tactics” since the beginning of […] Continue reading ->