Snake bites are neglected even amongst neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), said Bangladesh’s Professor Mohammad Abul Faiz, who was awarded the prestigious Dr Lee Jong-wook Memorial Prize at an event on the sidelines of last week’s World Health Assembly (WHA). The prize is for individuals, institutions, and governmental or nongovernmental organisations whose contributions to public health […] Continue reading ->
Three emerging threats to health: the commercial, digital, and climate determinants of health played centre stage at an event 40 years after a WHO charter shifted the focus of health from individual lifestyle choices to broader social and environmental determinants. Commercial formula company practices are just one case study of how structural factors like marketing […] Continue reading ->
The 79th World Health Assembly adopted a widely anticipated Global Health Architecture Reform initiative. While WHO and many member states lauded it as a landmark move, the actual mandate is, in fact, highly restrictive. The process will not yield recommendations on “revisions to organizational mandates nor specific mergers or consolidations” in the often overlapping functions […] Continue reading ->
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 ->
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 ->