Although a draft pandemic agreement may take weeks or months longer to conclude, there are moves underfoot to try to quickly wrap up negotiations and get final member state sign-off on amendments to the 2005-era WHO International Health Regulations  (IHR) at the this week’s World Health Assembly (WHA), said the co-chair of the working group […] Continue reading ->
CAPE TOWN – Moderna tried to extract a huge price for its COVID-19 vaccine from the South African government at the height of the pandemic, according to the local NGO, Health Justice Initiative (HJI), in revelations made public this week. The US-based pharma company wanted to charge $42 per vaccine in mid-2021 when vaccines were […] Continue reading ->
Senior WHO officials sounded a cautiously optimistic note Tuesday about the prospects for WHO member states to somehow wrap up down-to-the-wire negotiations on a landmark Pandemic Accord in time to submit a final agreement to the World Health Assembly, which begins next Monday, 27 May. Meanwhile, they heralded the milestone agreement “in principle” to amend […] Continue reading ->
With Gaza’s Rafah crossing into Egypt closed by an advancing Israeli incursion, and Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing shut since last Sunday’s Hamas missile attack, Gaza hospitals have only about three days left of fuel and medical supplies, said WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Wednesday.     The global health agency is making contingency plans for […] Continue reading ->
In the universe of Geneva’s global health hub, which includes dozens of international NGOs and WHO as the brightest star in the solar system, a parallel universe of locally-grown health and humanitarian collaborations have also developed around the University of Geneva and Geneva University Hospitals. GENEVA – Ten years ago, two medical professionals from Madagascar […] Continue reading ->
Most H5N1 infections spreading through US dairy cattle and other animal populations are likely going undetected despite stepped up surveillance by the US Department of Agriculture, Michael Osterholm, director of the Centre for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), told Health Policy Watch on Wednesday. Osterholm spoke as a growing number of infectious experts were […] Continue reading ->
The US plans to double the number of countries it supports to prevent infectious disease outbreaks, opting for bilateral agreements with at least 100 countries, according to its new Global Health Security Strategy (GHSS). “Recent outbreaks, from mpox to Marburg, cholera, and other diseases… are wake-up calls for anyone who thought COVID was a once-in-a-lifetime […] Continue reading ->
Speaking out on World Health Day, WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus decried the destruction of Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital and blamed Israel for the devastation, saying that the “atrocity” of the Hamas attacks on Israeli communities 7 October, did not justify “the horrific ongoing bombardment, seige and health system demolition by Israel in Gaza.” […] Continue reading ->