“We all have a vested interest to stop this epidemic,” says Thomas Cueni, Director General of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA). As WHO on Tuesday convenes a Global Research & Innovation Forum to rapidly ramp up R&D, Cueni spoke with Health Policy Watch  about what he describes as  “the extraordinary willingness […] Continue reading ->
“Containment” remains the main objective of the battle against the coronavirus, said WHO’s Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday, following a weekend where reports of new virus clusters in the United Kingdom and France raised fresh concerns about the virus capacity to spread rapidly beyond China’s borders. The WHO Director General spoke to […] Continue reading ->
The world is facing a “severe disruption” in stocks of personal protective equipment vital for health workers to fight the novel coronavirus  raging through China’s Hubei Province and threatening other countries worldwide, said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a Friday press briefing. The Director-General spoke as cases of the new (2019-nCoV) virus continued […] Continue reading ->
After a total of 12.5 hours of consultations in five informal meetings, a bloc of countries led by Thailand won WHO Executive Board approval for a landmark decision to develop a new ten year-action plan to reduce the harmful use of alcohol. Representatives of Norway and the European Union joined as co-sponsors in a compromise […] Continue reading ->
As the number of novel coronavirus infections rose again on Thursday – to 28,060 confirmed cases in China and 225 abroad – a US Centers for Disease Control official raised the possible spectre that the epidemic could become a global “pandemic” – if countries fail to take assertive action now. “While unclear how the situation […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization Executive Board unanimously adopted two decisions that began to set the stage for global vaccine policy in the next decade – a draft resolution on “strengthening global immunization efforts to leave no one behind” and another on “eliminating meningitis by 2030,” after reviewing a report prepared by the Director-General on lessons […] Continue reading ->
WHO issued a call to the global community to come forward with US$ 675 million in funding to help some 60 low- and middle-income countries that are at significant risk of infection with the novel coronavirus that originated in Wuhan China prepare for possible outbreaks. The call was issued by WHO Director General Dr. Tedros […] Continue reading ->
The elements are all in place for expanding universal health coverage – what’s missing is more action at the country level, World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the WHO Executive Board on Wednesday. “All the political work is actually done now,” Dr. Tedros said. He was reporting on WHO action since the […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization’s Executive Board tackled two big issues today – primary health care, a cornerstone of WHO’s Universal Health Coverage platform, and cancer, the world’s second leading cause of premature deaths. In a comprehensive report released on World Cancer Day, WHO outlined an action plan that could save 7 million lives from cancer […] Continue reading ->