The hoarding of more than 870 million excess doses of COVID-19 vaccines in just 10 high-income countries is likely to deprive hundreds of millions of healthcare workers and vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries of the opportunity to get even a first vaccine dose, according to a new report by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). […] Continue reading ->
Long months of pandemic lockdown have only exacerbated the harms due to alcohol  experienced by billions of people worldwide.  Now, WHO is in the process of developing a new alcohol action plan, in an effort to re-energize a stagnant process and overcome a “lost decade” of little progress on alcohol policies.  Can it make a […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Assembly is set to make a fateful decision in November over whether to negotiate a new international ‘Pandemic Treaty’ to improve future pandemic preparedness and response. However, major players like the United States, backed by some civil society groups, have suggested that revisions of the existing International Health Regulations (IHR) would be […] Continue reading ->
The COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent diversion of resources toward battling SARS-CoV2 has also set back global efforts to eliminate the world’s second most deadly infectious killer: Tuberculosis, by 2030.  Only a doubling of investments next year can pave the way to attainment of the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to eliminate the disease, […] Continue reading ->
A new social contract between European governments and their citizens is needed to lay the foundation for a resilient and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with health at the center, said panelists at the closing session of the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG) on Friday. A focus on ensuring social protection and equitable access […] Continue reading ->
Following news that Sanofi, a French pharma company, will abandon its promising mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) called for the corporation to transfer the vaccine technology and know-how to the WHO-led COVID-19 mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub in South Africa. Despite the existence of two approved mRNA vaccines and 13 candidates in advanced stages […] Continue reading ->
New statistics from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance show that routine immunisation programmes have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the latest data shows that there is extraordinary resilience in immunisation systems, with governments’ efforts to keep childhood vaccinations going despite the impact of the pandemic paying dividends. In the face of the pandemic, […] Continue reading ->
IBADAN – Following new travel policies that discriminate against vaccinated travellers from African countries, as compared to their European, Asian and Middle Eastern counterparts, African health officials have demanded clarifications, and accused the UK government of potentially festering vaccine hesitancy on the continent. A British government’ plan to drop a 10-day quarantine requirement for fully-vaccinated […] Continue reading ->
A WHO independent commission concluded  that 83 emergency responders to DR-Congo’s 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak, including some 21 WHO employees and consultants, had likely abused dozens of Congolese women, obtaining sex in exchange for promises of jobs – also raping nine women outright.   But the panel’s findings, which validate reports first published in September 2020 in […] Continue reading ->
US President Joe Biden has reaped praise for convening a Global COVID-19 Summit on the margins of this year’s United Nations General Assembly that placed vaccine shortfalls in low- and middle-income countries front and center of GA debates. But it remains to be seen if the big commitments repeated once more this week can break […] Continue reading ->