TB Remains A Major Public Health Problem In Europe, Report Finds

19/03/2019 David Branigan

A new report released today by the World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) found that while overall tuberculosis (TB) mortality and incidence rates have steadily fallen in the European region over the past decade, the disease should not be “underestimated.” The report warns that these rates are not sufficient to reach global targets for reducing the disease, further noting that while the European region may have only 2.8 percent of the world’s TB burden, it has 23 percent of the world’s burden of multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB). Continue reading ->

New Study Finds Better Sewage Management Critical To Combatting AMR

18/03/2019 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

Bacteria and other pathogens that are resistant to common anti-microbial medications appear to be most abundant in Africa, as well as parts of South-East Asia and other developing regions with a poor record of sewage and sanitation management, according to a new study published in Nature Communications. Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons. Continue reading ->

DNDi-led Study Finds Safer, Shorter Treatment For Debilitating Chagas Disease

15/03/2019 Divya Schlesinger

Severe side effects make the current course of prolonged drug treatment difficult for many patients with Chagas disease, but a Phase II clinical trial in Bolivia may have found an alternative treatment that is both quicker and significantly safer. Image Credits: Ana Ferreira/DNDi. Continue reading ->

Landmark International Guidelines Launched On Human Rights, Drug Policy

15/03/2019 Editorial team

As posted by UNAIDS and UNDP in a press release: VIENNA/GENEVA, 15 March 2019—A coalition of United Nations Member States, United Nations entities and leading human rights experts meeting at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, Austria, today launched a landmark set of international legal standards to transform and reshape global responses to the world drug […] Continue reading ->

DRC Ebola Response: Need To “Find A Balance” Between Protecting Patients, Building Trust

14/03/2019 David Branigan

World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters today that WHO is “working to find a balance between protecting patients and staff from attacks by armed groups and building community trust and ownership” in managing the response to the deadly Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Image Credits: Gabriele François Casini/MSF. Continue reading ->

UNAIDS Urges Worldwide Reform Of Drug Policies – Links To HIV Prevention, Human Rights

14/03/2019 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

UNAIDS urged UN member states convening today in Vienna for the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs to enact sweeping reforms of policies towards injecting drug users, most of whom lack critical access to basic “harm reduction” services that could prevent them from becoming infected with HIV. Continue reading ->

Global Health Benefits Of Reaching Climate, Environment Targets Could Be US$ 54.1 Trillion – Says UN Report

12/03/2019 David Branigan

The global health benefits of reducing air pollution and reaching the climate targets of the 2015 Paris Agreement could be as “high as $54.1 trillion dollars, at a cost of only $22.1 trillion,” according a new UN Environment analysis, to be released in full tomorrow. Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons. Continue reading ->

WHA Resolution For Transparent Drug Pricing: Italy Speaks Out

12/03/2019 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

Italy’s Minister of Health spoke out publicly today at a press conference in Rome on the proposed World Health Assembly resolution on drug price transparency, while an open letter published on the Ministry’s website called on other World Health Organization member states to support the initiative. Continue reading ->

Trilateral Guide To Preventing Spread Of Animal-Human Diseases

11/03/2019 William New

A extensive new guide released today provides detailed instructions and insight for governments and regions to prevent and combat zoonotic diseases - those that can spread between animals and humans, such as rabies, which continue to have "major impacts" on human health. Continue reading ->

New WHO Global Influenza Strategy Aims to Strengthen Country Response

11/03/2019 David Branigan

The World Health Organization today launched a new influenza strategy that takes a more holistic approach to protecting people worldwide from deadly flu threats. The Global Influenza Strategy 2019-2030 aims to address both seasonal prevention and control of influenza, as well as preparedness for future pandemics, while building the capacity of countries to respond to […] Continue reading ->