A special session of the World Health Assembly is under way this week with just one item under consideration – Pandemic Treaty. Will a pandemic treaty be able to help address deficiencies in global solidarity, and improve access to essential lifesaving medicines, vaccines, and tools? The short answer is no. Not without the political will […] Continue reading ->
In a first face-to-face meeting in Geneva since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization’s 194 member states appeared set to adopt a landmark decision to negotiate a new treaty or framework convention governing pandemic response, dubbed “Our World Together”, and with over 100 countries now declaring co-sponsorship.   But from the start […] Continue reading ->
Ahead of World AIDS Day, 1 December, UNAIDS has warned that the world could face 7.7 million AIDS-related deaths over the next 10 years if leaders fail to tackle inequalities exacerbated by COVID-19.  If transformative measures needed to end HIV/AIDS are not taken, the world will also remain dangerously unprepared for pandemics to come, said […] Continue reading ->
As pandemic treaty negotiations kick off again at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva this week, countries face a stark choice. Will they decide to move ahead on a new system that vests an independent entity with greater powers to monitor their own national alert and responses – in the name of faster pandemic […] Continue reading ->
Six months after publication of their landmark report, Make it the Last Pandemic, the co-chairs of Independent Panel have re-entered the political fray over the slow pace of urgently needed reforms to vaccine equity, pandemic finance and countries’ legal obligations – that they say are required to end the COVID-19 pandemic and head off the […] Continue reading ->
In a bid to better respond to both domestic and global needs, as well as future threats, the Biden Administration plans to spend billions of dollars to expand US vaccine manufacturing capacity enabling production of 1 billion vaccine doses a year by mid-2022, two top White House officials told US media on Wednesday.  The announcement […] Continue reading ->
Pakistan and eight other countries, mostly in or around conflict zones, face the largest gaps in vaccine commitments needed to reach a WHO goal of 70% coverage by September 2022.  The data is part of a new “COVID Global Tracker” – launched Wednesday during a first-ever meeting of the world’s foreign ministers, convened by US […] Continue reading ->
Most countries’ drug policies are misaligned with governments’ obligations to promote health, human rights and development, according to the first-ever Global Drug Policy Index, which was launched on Monday. Drug policies that rely on criminalisation, police intervention and forced eradication have a detrimental effect on the health and human rights of the affected community instead of […] Continue reading ->