Mistrust undermined the pandemic agreement talks – but, ironically, the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) galvanised member states to reach agreement, according to Ambassador Anne-Claire Amprou, co-chair of the talks. “There was a lack of trust. That means that when member states wanted to make a proposal, sometimes it created suspicion […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Assembly delivered a landmark victory for traditional medicine and indigenous cultures Monday evening, approving a strategy that calls for increased investment in research and integrating ancient healing practices into modern healthcare systems worldwide. The approval marks a breakthrough moment for advocates of traditional medicine, with nations across Asia, Africa, the Middle East […] Continue reading ->
Vital medical aid from World Health Organization supply trucks has yet to reach the beseiged Gaza enclave since the doors of an 80-day blockade inched open a week ago, said Hanan Balkhy, WHO’s director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, at a UN-Geneva press briefing on Monday. The chaos on the ground in Gaza, against a […] Continue reading ->
For the first time since the 1990s, the World Health Organization has been asked by member states to update its assessment on the health impacts of nuclear war, although not without significant resistance, led by Russia and North Korea, but also including many other major nuclear states. The resolution calling for an updated assessment of […] Continue reading ->
WHO’s Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made an emotional appeal to Israel on Thursday to end its 80-day blockade of food, medicine and other humanitarian aid into Gaza, asking “if you can have mercy?” and adding: “the war is hurting Israel, and it will not bring a lasting solution.” Fighting back tears, the Director […] Continue reading ->
Addressing today’s global health challenges requires more than funding and innovation—it demands humility, open communication, and a shared commitment to collective action, according to IFPMA Director-General David Reddy. Reddy, speaking at an IFPMA side event during the 78th World Health Assembly, acknowledged the socio-political and financial barriers facing global health systems. However, he urged the […] Continue reading ->
There are tensions between World Health Organization (WHO) member states about how to approach the final negotiations on the pandemic agreement – an annex on Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system (PABS), according to Precious Matsoso, who co-chaired the negotiations. “There’s an argument about whether you invite experts to start working on a technical document […] Continue reading ->
Presidents, prime ministers and even opera singers, celebrated the unanimous adoption of the world’s first Pandemic Agreement by consensus at the World Health Assembly (WHA) plenary on Tuesday morning. Despite the 11th-hour insistence of Slovakia on a vote on the agreement in Committee A on Monday night, none of the World Health Organization (WHO) member […] Continue reading ->
In a surprise appearance Tuesday before WHO member states via pre-recorded video, new US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr extended a kind of olive branch to the World Health Organization, calling for “a new era of international health cooperation, free from political influence and corporate bias.” While Kennedy did not say […] Continue reading ->
An enormous list of World Health Organization (WHO) member states, 173 in all, lined up to speak in favour of the pandemic agreement at the World Health Assembly (WHA) on Monday – an extraordinary demonstration of the breadth of support for the document. By the end yesterday’s meeting of Committee A, member states passed […] Continue reading ->