In a first face-to-face meeting in Geneva since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization’s 194 member states appeared set to adopt a landmark decision to negotiate a new treaty or framework convention governing pandemic response, dubbed “Our World Together”, and with over 100 countries now declaring co-sponsorship.   But from the start […] Continue reading ->
As pandemic treaty negotiations kick off again at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva this week, countries face a stark choice. Will they decide to move ahead on a new system that vests an independent entity with greater powers to monitor their own national alert and responses – in the name of faster pandemic […] Continue reading ->
Six months after publication of their landmark report, Make it the Last Pandemic, the co-chairs of Independent Panel have re-entered the political fray over the slow pace of urgently needed reforms to vaccine equity, pandemic finance and countries’ legal obligations – that they say are required to end the COVID-19 pandemic and head off the […] Continue reading ->
In a bid to better respond to both domestic and global needs, as well as future threats, the Biden Administration plans to spend billions of dollars to expand US vaccine manufacturing capacity enabling production of 1 billion vaccine doses a year by mid-2022, two top White House officials told US media on Wednesday.  The announcement […] Continue reading ->
A “Zero Draft” report by a WHO Working Group gives cautious endorsement to advancing negotiations over a new “Pandemic Treaty” among WHO’s 194 member states.  That endorsement by the Working Group of member states remains couched in highly nuanced, diplomatic language that makes it clear how big the lift may be to actually negotiate a […] Continue reading ->
Ahead of a critical G20 meeting this weekend, WHO and its partners are asking the world’s leading industrialized nations  to come up with another US$ 23.4 billion over the course of the coming year to address stark shortages in COVID vaccines, tests and treatments remain dismally low in Africa and other parts of the developing […] Continue reading ->
An ambitious  wish list of global economic and fiscal  measures that the world should adopt to combat the COVID-19 pandemic has been floated by the World Health Organization- just ahead of a critical G-20 meeting of the world’s most industrialized nations this weekend.  These include proposals for massive debt relief to debt-ridden countries and a […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization would allocate some US$ 15 million annually to ramp up training programmes for WHO staff and consultants in the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), beginning with ten countries that have the “highest risk” profile, according to a draft plan under discussion with member states.  The proposed “Management Response Plan”, […] Continue reading ->