The United States appears to be walking back on threats to withdraw from the World Health Organization – just as US President Donald Trump is reported to be recovering from a bout with COVID-19 in Washington, DC.  Speaking at the first formal meeting of WHO’s Executive Board governing body to be convened since May, US […] Continue reading ->
The CEO of Pfizer, one of the frontrunners in the race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, has lambasted US President Donald Trump’s politicization of the vaccine approval timeline, declaring in an open letter that the company is “moving at the speed of science” and will not “succumb to political pressure” to prematurely rush its product […] Continue reading ->
WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus joined the chorus of world leaders wishing United States President Donald Trump and his wife a speedy recovery from COVID-19 – while the US presidential campaign entered uncharted waters, with the cancellation of campaign rallies and fears that other White House Staff and political allies who had accompanied […] Continue reading ->
For the second year in a row, Geneva’s International Chamber of Commerce has hosted a dialogue bringing local tobacco industry leaders together with a major Geneva-based UN Agency – in this case to discuss the ‘role of multinationals in economic recovery following the coronavirus’.  The ICC’s 6th Business Dialogue, involving Teresa Moreira, Head Competition and […] Continue reading ->
Moderna intends to seek US Food and Drug Administration emergency authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate for frontline medical workers by November 25th at the earliest, and only in late January for use in the general population.  That means that the vaccine, if approved on schedule, would only be available for widespread distribution to the […] Continue reading ->
The ‘infodemic’ is one of the “most concerning” governance challenges of our time, undermining trust in science in the midst of the pandemic, and threatening people’s physical and mental health, warned United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Achim Steimer.  While the overabundance of misinformation – or ‘infodemic – is not new, it has blown out […] Continue reading ->
Over the past two decades, the number of coronary heart disease deaths resulting from tobacco consumption has risen by 10,000 new deaths every year, warned WHO spokesperson Jaimie Guerra, in an interview with Health Policy Watch.  Tobacco consumption in all its forms increases the risks of developing coronary heart disease, warns a new brief published […] Continue reading ->
Against the backdrop of Thursday’s G-20 Health and Finance Ministers meeting on the COVID-19 pandemic, UN and Global health leaders were escalating their pleas to the world’s industrialized countries and global financial institutions for billions of dollars in immediate funding to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The calls echoed statements issued earlier this week by the […] Continue reading ->