The latest draft of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) pandemic agreement shifts key decisions to the Conference of the Parties (COP) – a body that will be set up after the World Health Assembly (WHA) has adopted the agreement. The draft, developed by the WHO Bureau overseeing the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) talks, was distributed […] Continue reading ->
As Russian missiles rain down on hospitals and critical energy infrastructure keeping their lights on, Ukraine’s health system faces what could be its most challenging season yet in its third winter of full-scale war, the World Health Organization’s top European official warned Thursday. “This will likely be the toughest winter of the three that Ukraine […] Continue reading ->
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is planning to launch its mpox vaccination campaign in early October, marking a critical step in the fight against the ongoing outbreak across Africa, said Dr Jean Kaseya, Director-General of the African Centres for Disease Control and Protection (Africa CDC), on Thursday. Kaseya spoke at a press briefing following […] Continue reading ->
Over half a million Gazan children have been vaccinated against the deadly polio virus over the past 12 days, WHO said on Thursday, on the final day of a campaign that began 1 September, and which officials said appears to have attained the goal of reaching over 90% of the population of children under 10 […] Continue reading ->
The mpox outbreak – characterised by the all-too-familiar lack of vaccines for Africa – provided added impetus to the global negotiations for a pandemic agreement, which resumed at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva on Monday. Ethiopia, speaking for Africa, said that mpox, recently declared a public health emergency of international concern, “calls […] Continue reading ->
Hong Kong and London topped the list of 50 cities ranked for their efforts to prevent and address cardiovascular diseases – while Kathmandu and Cairo languished at the bottom. The City Heartbeat Index is a first-of-its-kind initiative of the World Heart Federation (WHF), a Geneva-based non-profit that works on cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention. CVD is […] Continue reading ->
With the number of new mpox cases continuing to rise, and many more potentially undetected, African countries affected by the latest outbreak are racing to mobilize funds and urgently deploy medical countermeasures, including vaccines. But as the current epidemic unfolds, there is an undeniable feeling of déjà vu. Global efforts are falling short of what […] Continue reading ->
United Nations officials are expressing concern that a new cholera outbreak in conflict-ridden Sudan, declared 10 days ago, could widen dramatically in the wake of increased rainfall and flooding. Some 658 cases of cholera have been reported since 12 August, with 28 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed in its latest situation report, published […] Continue reading ->
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is in talks with Bavarian Nordic, the only global producer of an mpox vaccine, about technology transfer to enable African manufacturers to make the vaccine on the continent. “I want to recognise and thank Bavarian Nordic for accepting to do the tech transfer in Africa, […] Continue reading ->
A little known, but potentially lethal virus is spreading throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, prompting the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other health agencies to issue warnings for travelers and clinicians. Oropouche virus, an arbovirus like dengue, Zika, and chikungunya, is spread through certain midge or mosquito bites. Oropouche symptoms are similar […] Continue reading ->