‘Monkeypox Begins – and Must be Resolved in – Endemic Countries’

06/06/2022 Kerry Cullinan

The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970, yet the viral disease is only getting international attention since it has spread outside Africa to 27 non-endemic countries. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Dr Ebrahima Socé Fall described monkeypox as a “neglected tropical disease” when he opened a two-day meeting called by the WHO’s […] Continue reading ->

Pfizer’s Antiviral Drug May Have Potential as Long COVID Treatment

06/06/2022 Maayan Hoffman

Scientists and doctors are beginning to eye Paxlovid, the antiviral medicine developed by Pfizer to protect vulnerable people from severe disease, as a potential treatment for lingering COVID-19 symptoms after single patients report that the medicine has helped to reduce their symptoms. Long COVID affects as many as one in five people infected by the […] Continue reading ->

Shanghai Lockdown is Finally Relaxed But Stringent Testing Still Required

02/06/2022 Raisa Santos

Sixty five days after one of the toughest lockdowns in the world, China has eased COVID-19 restrictions on its financial hub, Shanghai, on Wednesday – finally allowing the majority of its 25 million residents to move freely again. However, at least 890,000 residents are confined at home, in “quarantine” or “control zones”. The announcement to […] Continue reading ->

Sex, War, Sustainability and the World Health Assembly – Last Week in Review

02/06/2022 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

Health and peace, sex and war, money and management. Whether in chorus or cacophony – last week’s World Health Assembly of WHO member states played most of the notes in the symphony of global debate over strategies to tackle disease, epidemics and pandemics and bolster health systems. But the root causes of emerging disease threats […] Continue reading ->

Doubling of Monkeypox Cases Outside of Endemic Countries Raises New Alarm Bells at WHO

01/06/2022 Raisa Santos & Elaine Ruth Fletcher

In just a matter of three days, the number of monkeypox cases reported to WHO outside of central and west Africa has doubled – with reports Wednesday of some 550 cases in more than 30 countries outside of the countries where the disease is endemic, WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press […] Continue reading ->

Scientists Might Never Determine Cause for Mysterious Acute Hepatitis Cases

31/05/2022 Maayan Hoffman

Just days after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that 650 total cases – and another 99 suspected cases – of mysterious acute hepatitis have been discovered in 33 countries worldwide, a top virologist has told Health Policy Watch that doctors and scientists may fail to ever find the root cause of the illness. “There […] Continue reading ->

WHO Governing Board Creates New Emergencies Committee – in Shadow of Debates on Ukraine, Sexual Terms and DRC Scandal

30/05/2022 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

In another one of a series of recent pandemic reform moves, the WHO Executive Board Monday approved the creation of a new Standing Committee on Health Emergencies, which could convene within 24 hours after the declaration of a global public health emergency – and liaise between the WHO Director-General and member states about modes of […] Continue reading ->

Another Reported Wild Polio Case in Mozambique Highlights Fragility of Eradication Gains

30/05/2022 Rahul Basharat Rajput

World Health Organization (WHO) member states endorsed a new polio eradication strategy 2022-2026 last week that aims to permanently interrupt all poliovirus transmission – both of the wild poliovirus and vaccine-derived cases. Meanwhile, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the discovery of a second wild poliovirus case in Africa, confirmed on 18 […] Continue reading ->

WHA Approves New Strategy After Sexual Health Debate

28/05/2022 John Heilprin & Elaine Ruth Fletcher

On its final day of a session dominated by discussions of sexual health and the war in Ukraine, the World Health Assembly (WHA) voted 61-2 to adopt a new global strategy on HIV, hepatitis B and Sexually Transmitted Infections 2022-2030 (GHSS) 30 absentions and 90 delegations skipping the vote altogether. The vote Saturday evening, after […] Continue reading ->

Assembly Approves Process to Update International Health Regulations on Pandemic Response

28/05/2022 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

Diplomats approve the complex process they will use to update the legally binding rules among nations for responding to global health emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic. GENEVA – The 194-nation World Health Assembly approved a resolution on Friday that halves the two-year period for amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) to take effect down […] Continue reading ->