United States President Joe Biden on Thusday unveiled a detailed strategy for sharing 80 million surplus US COVID-19 vaccine doses with other countries in need by the end of June. A detailed allocation plan for the first 25 million of those vaccine doses calls for sharing 75% through the WHO-cosponsored COVAX global vaccine facility – […] Continue reading ->
“Mass trauma” from COVID-19 has worsened mental health worldwide, WHO officials said at the 74th World Health Assembly (WHA) on Monday. The long neglected issue received special attention on the Assembly’s closing day, with member states expressing broad support for more action – after a year that saw new mental health issues emerge even while […] Continue reading ->
Amidst fresh calls from US President Joe Biden ordering the science and intelligence community to come up with a more detailed account of how the SARS-CoV2 virus emerged – it’s unclear how much action the World Health Assembly will really see on the issue. Language in the the final-agreed draft of a WHA resolution, Strengthening […] Continue reading ->
China told the World Health Assembly on Wednesday it will continue to support developing countries’ access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines – but it stopped short of any commitment to supplying its recently-approved Sinopharm vaccine to the WHO co-sponsored Global COVAX vaccine facility. WHO officials had said they hoped China would join the COVAX facility, following […] Continue reading ->
Controlling a disease outbreak requires cooperation both behind borders and between countries, experts said at a Wednesday event co-organised by the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Global Health Centre. And one key, neglected area of international cooperation has been travel restrictions, where countries worldwide have created a cacophony of different measures to control COVID. “Travel measures are […] Continue reading ->
The number of pandemic-related cases and deaths have rapidly accelerated in the first four months of 2021, said WHO officials on the second day of the 74th World Health Assembly – and despite sharp declines seen in almost every region over the four weeks, the situation remains “fragile.” The “highly unstable” global epidemiological situation, combined […] Continue reading ->
An unprecedented number of healthcare workers were seriously assaulted last year, even as health workers risked their lives on the front lines of the COVID-19 response. Over 412 COVID-related attacks on health workers, including kidnappings and murders, occurred between January and December 2020, experts reported at a World Health Assembly side event. The session Monday […] Continue reading ->
Strengthening the World Health Organization’s pandemic response is a key focus of the 74th World Health Assembly, which started on Monday – and WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has already secured agreements with powerful European member states to do just that. WHA discussion on a report from the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness […] Continue reading ->
Just days before the World Health Assembly opens, the United States still appears to be stalling on an initiative led by some of its major European allies, to move ahead decisively on proposals for a “Pandemic Treaty”, according to a US draft proposal seen by Health Policy Watch. The Pandemic Treaty proposal to create a […] Continue reading ->
The hostilities between Israel and Hamas over the past 10 days have caused significant damage to the health system in Gaza, putting the Palestinian population at risk of increased spread of COVID-19 – after six weeks in which new cases had been in sharp decline. The health system in Gaza is now facing severe shortages […] Continue reading ->