A panel of experts have called for cautious, strategic and realistic approaches in rolling digital tools out to ensure that patients remain a priority. Speaking at the Geneva Health Forum on Tuesday, panellists noted that while the expectations for digital health are high, stakeholders need to be aware that digital health tools alone will not […] Continue reading ->
The COVID-19 pandemic, while devastating, has also created an opportunity for “patients to stand up, educate themselves well and build their expertise,” says Karen Alparce-Villanueva, a board member of the Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations (PAPO). She was speaking at a session of the Geneva Health Forum that focused on “Patients as Co-creators and disseminators […] Continue reading ->
Measles is on the rise globally, with a 50 percent increase in measles deaths from 2016 to 2019 and the highest number of reported cases in two decades, states a new joint report by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization, published on Thursday. The increase […] Continue reading ->
Experts are reluctant to name the increase in COVID-19 cases in African countries a second wave, following lockdown relaxations in South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Angola and Uganda. It is argued that the disease has so far mostly been an urban outbreak in Africa, and what is now being observed is an increasing spread in rural […] Continue reading ->
BREAKING – World Health Organization Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has proposed the creation of a Swiss-based global repository for sharing pathogen materials and clinical samples related to potential outbreak threats – allowing for the more rapid development of medical interventions. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the urgent need for this kind of system, said […] Continue reading ->
Africa is set to establish a plan of preparedness and to compile influenza data sets with the World Health Organisation (WHO), to expand its surveillance of potential flu outbreaks. The African region has also called for the integration of influenza surveillance into an all-inclusive infectious disease surveillance system, and for the creation of a necessary […] Continue reading ->
Despite the big success this year in the eradication of wild poliovirus in the African region, the COVID-19 crisis has seen a temporary interruption of polio vaccine programmes. This has led to a rise in vaccine-derived polio cases which, are more likely to occur when vaccine coverage is weaker, WHO and African Region health officials […] Continue reading ->
A series of new COVID-19 drug and vaccine funding commitments worth just over US$300 million were announced on Thursday by the Gates Foundation, France and the European Commission – amidst a quickening pace of anticipation that at least one, if not two, COVID-19 vaccines may soon become available. Appearing at the Paris Peace Forum, Melinda […] Continue reading ->
World Health Assembly members set aside the contentious issue of restoring Taiwan’s observer status at the member state forum – to focus on the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and linked to that WHO reform. That was despite a growing push by the United States, backed by Europe and their western Pacific allies for […] Continue reading ->
There is so far no evidence that the outbreak of mutant SARS-CoV-2 virus strains exploding in Danish mink farms threaten the development of a successful COVID-19 vaccine, said top World Health Organization (WHO) officials on Friday. More than 200 mink farms in Denmark have reported cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections, prompting Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, […] Continue reading ->