Sweeping personnel cuts and a massive emergency funding shortfall trigger sharp warnings about acute WHO operational risks from member states and experts. Yet, diverging regional priorities complicate short-term and sustainable financing solutions. GENEVA –Member states sounded alarms over severe WHO budget constraints on Thursday at the World Health Assembly. Delegates warned that a 9.4% staff […] Continue reading ->
After a full day of intense diplomatic debate, the World Health Assembly adopted a last-minute compromise text on Friday declining formal recognition of Argentina’s withdrawal notification, and leaving the nation’s legal status unresolved. GENEVA – Delegates at the Seventy-Ninth World Health Assembly in Geneva reached a compromise regarding Argentina’s withdrawal from the global health body. […] Continue reading ->
While the health harms of biomass cookstoves, and the smoke they produce inside the homes of developing countries has received significant attention in the past two decades, a wide range of chemical and pathogenic air pollutants create hazards in modern homes and buildings – also threatening health. Investments in ventilation, air filtration, monitoring, and clean […] Continue reading ->
The world is in the last stretch of polio eradication, but closing this gap will require political commitment, the World Health Organization (WHO) told member states at the ongoing 79th session of the World Health Assembly (WHA). Polio virus has shown resurgence in conflict-hit or hard-to-reach areas like northern Yemen, Gaza, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Conflict […] Continue reading ->
The African region made an impassioned appeal for global funding to be restored for malaria elimination at the World Health Assembly on Wednesday. Drastic aid cuts in the past 18 months, particularly by the United States, have had a dramatic effect on malaria efforts – particularly as they coincide with growing drug resistance. Nigeria, speaking […] Continue reading ->
GENEVA – The World Health Assembly (WHA) voted 91-2 to adopt a resolution condemning Iranian attacks on civilian infrastructure across Gulf countries amid its war with the United States and Israel. The resolution condemns “in the strongest terms” the Iranian attacks on civilians and civilian objects in Gulf states and Jordan, citing damage to “medical […] Continue reading ->
Amid surging geopolitical tensions, increased global health threats, and strained public budgets, global health leaders and pharmaceutical executives converged in Geneva with a unified message: medical innovation must be treated as a critical investment not a healthcare drain. Showcasing this shift, Canada unveiled strategic investments and new regulations. GENEVA – Inside the packed ballroom of […] Continue reading ->
Neither Russia’s delegate banging her desk to interrupt Ukraine’s representative speaking at the World Health Assembly (WHA), nor her request to dismiss debate, stopped member states from condemning Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s health system. A report by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director-General before delegates estimated that Russia’s aggression on Ukraine has caused 55,600 civilian […] Continue reading ->