Sudden fever, a severe cough and acute respiratory distress are the familiar onset symptoms of seasonal flu, which has affected WHO’s European Region with unusual intensity and speed this year. As the Northern Hemisphere enters winter, health systems are struggling to manage an epidemic driven by an aggressive, genetically mutated influenza strain A(H3N2) subclade K. […] Continue reading ->
MUMBAI, India – Cervical cancer kills more than 75,000 women in India each year, according to figures recently disclosed in Parliament – yet it is one of the most preventable cancers. In India, low human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination coverage, limited access to routine screening and deep-rooted social behaviours – such as early marriage and […] Continue reading ->
Kenya’s High Court suspended the implementation of the country’s Memorandum of Understanding with the United States on Thursday after two separate court challenges by the Consumer Federation of Kenya (COFEK) and local Senator Okiya Omtatah. COFEK argues that the agreement contravenes Kenya’s Data Protection Act, Digital Health Act, Health Act, and new data regulations that […] Continue reading ->
A new WHO review has reaffirmed that childhood vaccines don’t cause autism, based on an examination of more than 25 years of studies scoping for possible linkages. There is no causal link, either, between vaccines containing preservatives such as thimerosal or aluminium and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the review by the Global Advisory Committee on […] Continue reading ->
Global leaders pledged US$ 1.9 billion to advance polio eradication on Monday, including a new $1.2 billion commitment by the Gates Foundation. The pledges, made on the margins of Abu Dhabi Finance Week, reduce the remaining budget gap for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s (GPEI) to just $440 million through 2029. That’s in comparison by […] Continue reading ->
A United States vaccine advisory panel, recently reformed to include known vaccine skeptics, voted to eliminate a three-decade-long recommendation that all newborns in the US receive a vaccine to protect against hepatitis B (Hep B) at birth – a change that was denounced immediately by medical groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the […] Continue reading ->
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has pared down its staff in its Geneva headquarters, Washington DC and New York by 33% – from 643 to 440 people, the agency confirmed today, following a June replenishment drive that fell about $2 billion short of a $11.9 billion fundraising goal for 2026-2030. Beginning in 2026, the agency will […] Continue reading ->
In Kenya, toxicologists and epidemiologists face a difficult choice: to pursue better-paid work to support their families, or volunteer as reviewers for vaccine clinical trials, often without the compensation needed to cover even their children’s school fees. Their dilemma underscores a broader challenge in Africa’s clinical research ecosystem. Slow, duplicative approval processes and limited regulatory […] Continue reading ->
The post-pandemic decline in infection-prevention practices, along with the broader crash in global health finance, are undermining progress against antimicrobial resistance – one of the planet’s most urgent health threats. At a recent panel discussion co-hosted by the Geneva Health Forum (GHF), leading experts from WHO, academia, biotech, and patient advocacy warned that national AMR plans […] Continue reading ->
Global malaria programmes have helped to save an estimated 14 million lives between 2000 and 2024, but growing drug resistance is threatening to undermine years of hard-won gains, a new World Health Organization (WHO) report has shown. Last year, the world recorded 282 million malaria cases and more than 600,000 deaths, with Africa accounting for […] Continue reading ->