The raging pandemic has highlighted an urgent need to incorporate mental health into COVID-19 recovery plans and to ‘substantially’ improve mental health funding – Or the world will face a ‘massive’ mental health crisis in upcoming months, reported a United Nations policy brief on Thursday.  “The impact of the pandemic on people’s mental health is […] Continue reading ->
World Health Organization member states reached initial agreement today on a European Union-led draft resolution on global COVID-19 response to go before the upcoming World Health Assembly – overriding some of the previous US objections to language referring to the rights of countries to override patent rules. The draft resolution to be submitted to the […] Continue reading ->
Countries that reopen while COVID-19 is still circulating widely will likely face strong waves of virus resurgence, and then have to reinstate severe lockdown measures. However, the cyclical relaxation and reinstatement of some public health measures, such as bans on mass gatherings or school closures, may also be normal as countries learn how to track […] Continue reading ->
World Health Organization member states were close to an agreement Wednesday evening on a European Union-led draft resolution on global COVID-19 response to the upcoming World Health Assembly. If approved, it would pave the way for coordinated planning by the global health community to ensure wide and equitable access by people worldwide to COVID-19 medicines […] Continue reading ->
Health Policy Watch is the media partner for the Geneva Graduate Institute – Global Health Centre series of World Health Assembly events, running Thursday 14 May to Wednesday 27 May. The series of events is built around themes relevant to the 73rd session of the WHA, 18-19 May, the first ever Assembly to bring together the World […] Continue reading ->
Up to 190 000 Africans could die of COVID-19 within the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail. And up to 44 million Africans, or 26% of the African population, could be infected by the virus, according to a new modelling study  by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa. A proactive […] Continue reading ->
A new report published Wednesday provides guidance to African governments on how to use data to chart a way out of COVID-19 lockdowns. Concerns that the economic impact of stringent stay-at-home orders may become too tough to bear for families has some African countries considering adapting or easing public health restrictions. Some 69% of people […] Continue reading ->
COVID-19 deaths per capita are twice as high in The Bronx, New York City’s poorest and most racially diverse borough, as compared to the predominantly white and more affluent borough of Manhattan, reported a new study published in JAMA on Wednesday.  The study’s findings draw out the potentially stark differences in the way the virus […] Continue reading ->
“Epidemics, such as this one or any other, by their very nature, feed off existing inequalities and make them worse. And that’s what we see COVID-19 doing to inequalities between countries and within countries.” – Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS.  As the COVID-19 crisis unfolds and the global economy grinds to a halt, how […] Continue reading ->