“Much stronger surveillance” of deadly H5N1 and other avian influenza strains in both domestic and wild animals is needed both in The United States as well as globally so as to head off pandemic risks from variants that could mutate to infect humans more directly. A senior World Health Organization official, Dr Maria Van Kerkkove, […] Continue reading ->
WHO’s Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the new ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon, which took effect Wednesday, but he noted that health needs in Gaza remain huge and “will only increase” with the onset of winter cold and rains. While there is an opportunity now to rebuild southern Lebanon’s shattered health infrastructure, […] Continue reading ->
With half of the global population now under the age of 30, the question of how to involve younger adults in global health decision-making is becoming increasingly urgent. In the latest episode of the Global Health Matters podcast, Dr. Garry Aslanyan invites three young leaders to discuss the role of youth in shaping health-related policies […] Continue reading ->
A method that first developed around polio elimination and matured during the COVID pandemic, is now being tested and used to track a much wider array of emerging disease threats. A unique symposium of scientists and public health experts at the Paris Sorbonne University last week looked at its promise and potential. In April 2020, […] Continue reading ->
CAPE TOWN – Warning that the process of negotiating a pandemic agreement has days not months left, talks co-chair Precious Matsoso hopes that a deal will finally be clinched at the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) in early December. “We don’t have six months left to finish negotiations. We only have a […] Continue reading ->
The latest draft of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) pandemic agreement is awash with green highlights – an indication that countries have reached consensus on much of the text. But the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) announced on Monday that it would not be possible to reach an agreement by December – and countries would push […] Continue reading ->
Donald Trump has named Robert F Kennedy Jr as his choice for US health secretary, putting the controversial anti-vaccine activist and environmental lawyer in line to control some of the world’s most influential health agencies. Kennedy shot to political prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic when his organisation, Children’s Health Defense, became a leading global voice […] Continue reading ->
With plans underway for a new “Independent Panel” on Antimicrobial Resistance, endorsed at September’s UN High-Level AMR Meeting, the new body must become a strong scientific authority. It should have the power to “challenge” the agencies that create it and address both human and animal health factors driving drug-resistant pathogens. That was a key message […] Continue reading ->
The pandemic agreement will not be adopted at a special World Health Assembly (WHA) next month as countries still need “more time” to conclude the complex talks. Co-chairs of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) Ambassador Anne-Claire Amprou and Precious Matsoso broke this news at a media briefing on Monday evening. The […] Continue reading ->
Nearly 200 nations have backed a groundbreaking global action plan linking health and the natural world at the close of UN biodiversity negotiations in Cali, Colombia, marking a rare victory in a summit otherwise characterised by disappointment. The final agreement on a “health and biodiversity action plan” was approved as a voluntary rather than mandatory […] Continue reading ->