The World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) remains deadlocked on the “fundamental question” of whether a waiver on intellectual property rights of COVID-related products is the best way to address equitable vaccine access during the pandemic. This is according to a draft oral status report adopted at Tuesday’s […] Continue reading ->
An estimated 1.5 million children worldwide have lost a parent, grandparent, or caregiver due to COVID-19, according to a new study published in The Lancet on Tuesday.  The study, which was conducted by international researchers, including scientists from the World Health Organization (WHO), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the University of […] Continue reading ->
The World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat has issued a list of bottlenecks and trade-facilitating measures on critical COVID-19 products, ahead of Wednesday’s  High-Level Dialogue between itself and the World Health Organization (WHO) on how to expand COVID-19 vaccines manufacturing to ensure equitable access. “One common theme that emerges from the list is that essential goods […] Continue reading ->
The World Food Program (WFP) and World Health Organization (WHO) launched a health emergencies project, INITIATE2, on Monday. The joint INITIATE2 project will gather health emergency actors, research and academic institutions, and international and national partners to facilitate knowledge sharing and skills transfer to improve emergency health responses.  The project will develop innovative solutions to […] Continue reading ->
Africa experienced a 43% week-on-week increase in COVID-19 deaths, as the Delta variant accelerated infections for the eighth week in a row, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported at its weekly Africa press briefing. Hospital admissions increase rapidly and countries face shortages in oxygen and intensive care beds, as the Africa hit six million cumulative […] Continue reading ->
Though new COVID-19 cases are down nearly 20% from last week in the Americas, many countries are experiencing a resurgence in infections, officials from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) announced at a press briefing on Wednesday.  Over 962,280 new cases were reported in the region in the past week, according to data from the […] Continue reading ->
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has accepted the resignation of Henrietta Fore as executive director of UNICEF  “with deep regret” and expressed his full understanding of her decision to resign. Through a statement released by his spokesman on Tuesday, Guterres thanked Fore her “inspiring leadership of UNICEF and for her service to improve the lives of […] Continue reading ->
WHO’s Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus slammed plans by Pfizer and Moderna, as well as a handful of rich countries, to begin offering ‘booster’ COVID vaccines to some groups of people – saying that the world has evolved a “dangerous” two-tiered system of vaccinations, driven by greed instead of enlightened self-interest. “It’s becoming a […] Continue reading ->