Driven by Omicron, Africa is facing a steep wave of new COVID infections – last week reporting the fourth highest number of cases ever recorded in a single week, said WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday.  He was speaking at an exclusive media briefing in Geneva behind closed doors to a handful […] Continue reading ->
As more vaccine supplies finally become available to the world’s low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), the latent challenges that should have been addressed long before have emerged. Those include vaccine hesitancy and the ability of weak health systems to mount mass vaccination campaigns amidst other pressing health needs. Global policymakers need to shift their attention from […] Continue reading ->
An overwhelming majority of people in Africa – 78% of people surveyed across 19 countries in the African Union – are willing to get vaccinated, according to new research from the Partnership for Evidence-Based Response to COVID-19 (PERC). PERC – a public-private partnership consisting of organizations and institutions such as the African Union, Africa Centres […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Assembly Special Session (WHASS) closed on Wednesday with a standing ovation as virtually all 194 Member States committed to negotiating a new global accord to guide the response to future global pandemics. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, described the decision as “cause for celebration, and cause for […] Continue reading ->
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 ->