The World On Fire: Five Global Health Stories To Watch In 2020 – Part II

21/01/2020 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

“Creaking health systems” are among the leading risks faced by the global community, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks 2020 Report. People live longer, but health gains have also plateaued in recent decades. Threats from longstanding infections as well as those from emerging diseases pose a double set of challenges. Along with that, […] Continue reading ->

Increase Healthcare Spending By 1% GDP, Save 60 Million Lives

21/01/2020 Grace Ren

The World Health Organization’s Director-General called on global and national leaders meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to increase their national healthcare spending by an average of 1% of National Gross Domestic Product (GDP). A 1% GDP increase in spending would inject more than US $200 billion a year into community-based primary […] Continue reading ->

As Coronavirus Outbreak Surges In China, WHO Calls For Emergency Meeting

20/01/2020 Grace Ren

The World Health Organization will convene an Emergency Committee meeting over the new coronavirus outbreak that began in Wuhan, China, after more than 300 new cases were confirmed since 17 January, including the first cases to hit other Chinese megacities and provinces. On Tuesday, the virus crossed the Pacific, with the first case in the […] Continue reading ->

The World On Fire: Five Global Health Stories To Watch In 2020

17/01/2020 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

The failed 2019 UN Climate Conference in Madrid ended in mid-December just about when the massive wildfire destruction of Australia’s bushlands was beginning. The wildfires that broke shortly afterward took the form of a Gaia-like revenge. Australia, along with the United States, Japan and Brazil, had been among the countries that had blocked real progress […] Continue reading ->

Human Transmission Of New Coronavirus May Be Occuring; Ebola Outbreak Stabilizes

15/01/2020 Grace Ren

The mysterious new pneumonia coronavirus that has emerged in Wuhan, China may also be transmitted between people, health experts in China and Geneva now suspect. Officials are concerned that the outbreak may also spread globally as a new exported cases of the novel virus were confirmed in Thailand on Friday and Japan on Thursday, and […] Continue reading ->

Transparency & Collaboration Key To Defining A “Fair” Price For Essential Medicines

14/01/2020 Grace Ren

More public disclosure and information-sharing about drug prices and their R&D costs, is key to determining a fair price for essential medicines, concludes a series of five articles on fair pricing published Monday in the BMJ. The series, supported in part by the World Health Organization, highlights the increased priority drug price transparency is receiving […] Continue reading ->

Mystery Virus in Wuhan Identified As Novel Coronavirus; Researchers Still Searching For Animal Host

13/01/2020 Grace Ren

Chinese authorities have been commended for the speed at which they have identified the genetic make up of a novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV as the cause of a new pneumonia-like illness in Wuhan, China. The virus has infected 42 people, and is likely transmitted primarily through animals to humans, said a leading infectious disease specialist on […] Continue reading ->

Mental Health – Among The ‘Most Neglected’ Of Neglected Tropical Disease Issues, Says DNDi Scientist

10/01/2020 Grace Ren

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) can lead to physical disfiguration, stress and stigmatization, which leave lifelong impacts on the mental health of many of those infected, even after the disease itself is cured. As the health community prepares to mark the first-ever World NTD Day on 30 January, Nathalie Strub-Wourgaft, director of Neglected Tropical Diseases at […] Continue reading ->

Emergencies, Cervical Cancer, IP & Innovation Among Highlights Of Member State Consultations Ahead Of WHO Executive Board

09/01/2020 Editorial team

Ahead of the upcoming WHO Executive Board meeting 3-8 February, WHO has launched a series of informal consultations this week with member state representatives on key issues that will be coming before the governing body – and ultimately the May meeting of the World Health Assembly (WHA). The detailed consultation agenda, published on the WHO […] Continue reading ->

DRC Struggles With Twin Outbreaks Of Measles & Ebola; WHO Appeals For US$40 Million For Measles Vaccine Drive

07/01/2020 Editorial team

With the death toll from the world’s worst measles outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) now exceeding 6000, the World Health Organization (WHO) appealed to donors on Tuesday for $US 40 million more in funding to stop the advance of the disease – which has killed nearly three times as many people […] Continue reading ->