Humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has called on US diagnostics corporation Cepheid, which produces the GeneXpert testing machines that run COVID-19 tests, to immediately reduce the prices for the tests to allow for more people to be diagnosed as the pandemic continues to ravage parts of the world. MSF’s plea comes after Cepheid on […] Continue reading ->
A significant surge in COVID-19 cases in the tropical island of Seychelles, despite almost 70% of the population having been vaccinated, is baffling health officials while residents are calling for stricter law enforcement, especially for tourists. The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently working with health officials on the island to analyse the latest […] Continue reading ->
CAPE TOWN – The city is planning a vaccine outreach campaign aimed at encouraging an estimated 530,000 homeless people and migrants to get vaccinated. Cape Town is one of 18 cities that has been chosen by Bloomberg Philanthropies’ ‘Healthy Cities’ initiative for a grant of up to $50,000 to support vaccine distribution to reach high-risk […] Continue reading ->
IBADAN – The US government’s decision to support a temporary waiver on intellectual property related to COVID-19 vaccine patents & other knowhow in the World Trade Organization (WTO) is a positive development, said key stakeholders in Africa’s health ecosystem on Thursday. While US President Joe Biden’s reversal of the previous US position against the waiver […] Continue reading ->
Low-and-middle-income countries have made significantly less progress than high-income countries in implementing hand hygiene and infection prevention programmes that can stop deadly diseases, from diarrhoea to COVID-19, according to a recent A World Health Organization survey of 88 countries. And one in four health care facilities in poorer countries do not have basic water services […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization and the German government on Wednesday announced the launch of a new Global Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence that aims to harness the world of big data, media and epidemiological reports to more rapidly identify and respond to emerging disease risks. The hub, to be launched in Berlin later this […] Continue reading ->
“If we could participate in the WHO and World Health Assembly (WHA), the warning messages we would give to the organisation would receive more weight, and this would probably result in better responsive actions.” – Taiwan Health Minister Shih-Chung Chen Arguably, Taiwan has been repeating this statement for decades. Yet when Chen’s mild words are […] Continue reading ->
PUNE – For two weeks now Sijo Raju, along with a group of 20 young men and women, have been fielding calls from family members looking for oxygen cylinders, ventilator beds and ambulances. Finding a match can take a few hours as India’s overwhelmed health system and front-line healthcare workers try desperately to provide a […] Continue reading ->
KAMPALA – Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda have suspended passenger flights from India amid that country’s surge in COVID-19 cases and fears that a number of African countries are on the brink of their own surges. “All flights from India and all passengers originating from India are suspended from 1 May,” the Uganda Ministry of Health […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) appears to be inching towards the approval of the Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines as it struggles to fill a looming vaccine vacuum left by India’s Serum Institute – which has halted exports as the country continues to reel from a tragic coronavirus outbreak. Meanwhile, the WHO declared the latest […] Continue reading ->