A global index on access to medicine has found that the majority of the medicines needed by the world’s poor are developed by only five companies, and that these medicines are focused primarily on just five diseases. The group behind the index calls on more pharmaceutical companies to join efforts for increased access and to expand the list of medicines, in order to build resilience in treating diseases that affect the poor. Continue reading ->
According to the World Health Organization, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) - or chronic diseases - including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, kill 41 million people each year and are on the rise in developing countries. This week, the WHO held the first general meeting of its mechanism aiming at facilitating prevention and control of NCD diseases. The numerous speakers shared local, regional, and international experiences in implementing measures. Separately, WHO announced the launch of a new collaborative platform for NCDs. Continue reading ->
The United Nations late last month sought to hold landmark high-level meetings on ending tuberculosis and fighting noncommunicable diseases like cancer and cardiovascular disease, with mixed results. Now a Swiss-based expert is looking at the outcomes and what comes next, and in a webinar talked about the political trade-offs resulting from the meetings, the need to push for an integrated agenda on Universal Health Coverage, and how the private sector should be engaged. Continue reading ->
Hospitals in the Indian state of Rajasthan will be assessed next month to gauge whether upgrades, paid for with a new international innovative financing model, have brought them up to the new government quality standards. At least 92 small private healthcare organisations (SHCOs) - small private rural and urban hospitals - are being upgraded this year, and 360 in total over three years. If they manage to improve, 600,000 pregnant women would have improved care during delivery and potentially save the lives of up to 10,000 women and newborns over five years, according to one of the funders, the US government’s donor arm, USAID. The innovative financing model, called a development impact bond, has been put together by a consortium of philanthropic, NGOs, private organisations with USAID. But importantly, according to Priya Sharma, senior policy and innovative financing adviser at USAID, the model is advantageous for funders – whether they be governments or donors - wanting to make improvements with better outcomes. Continue reading ->
The chief of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Secretariat, Vera Luiza da Costa e Silva, told delegates from its 181 member states attending a Conference of the Parties meeting in Geneva (1-6 October) many governments have advanced tobacco control actions, but also noted some are lagging behind and warned that with astronomical budgets, the tobacco industry "continues their furious efforts" to undermine the implementation of the treaty. Continue reading ->