Country controversies, secret terms, opaque procurement, and massive unspent Congressional funds have characterised the first year of the America First Global Health Strategy. “Services are weaker than they were a year ago, HIV testing is down, treatment of children living with HIV is down, and community-based prevention is gutted,” said Emily Bass, expert consultant for […] Continue reading ->
Social media will be banned for children under 13 across the European Union according to the newly proposed “EU Kids Act”, announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today (16 September) in Brussels. The sweeping digital health initiative mandates strict parental oversight for young teenagers aged 13 to under 15 across all 27 […] Continue reading ->
The lethality of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is not just in its genome. Neither is it entirely explained by the country’s internal instability and defunded, broken health infrastructure. Have we allowed the virus to outsmart us by overlooking past lessons? The signs around the DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak indicate […] Continue reading ->
EU negotiator Americo Zampetti warns that ideological polarisation over pathogen access threatens to derail the WHO Pandemic Agreement. On the eve of the eighth round of talks on an annex to the Pandemic Agreement, the European Union’s (EU) chief negotiator has warned that “ideology” is blocking consensus. Negotiators meet at the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) […] Continue reading ->
A new CDC research center aims to better understand the possible health effects of those 21 years or younger at the time of their 9/11 exposure. For the past two decades, the World Trade Center (WTC) health program has pioneered research exploring the health effects of people exposed to the toxic dust and trauma of […] Continue reading ->
A new three-dose vial presentation of the maternal RSV vaccine received prequalification from the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday, unlocking large-scale distribution across lower-income countries. The decision enables global health alliances to introduce affordable immunisation during pregnancy, protecting newborns from severe respiratory disease. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) remains the second leading cause of infant […] Continue reading ->
HIV services, mental health and harm reduction programmes have been severely affected by the huge funding cuts to organisations providing services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people over the past 18 months. Perversely, organisations in countries with the most repressive conditions for LGBTIQ people have been worst affected by cuts, according […] Continue reading ->
Fragmented enforcement and uncoordinated policies fail to stem the illegal tobacco trade in Europe, a new report by the EU Court of Auditors finds. The surge of unregulated novel nicotine products and a shift toward illegal manufacturing sites expose significant regulatory gaps. The auditors demand that Brussels take a more active role to establish a […] Continue reading ->
The risk of infertility is 1.4 times higher in women who smoke, according to a systematic review of studies conducted between 2000 and 2026, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report released on Tuesday. “This means that if the risk of infertility is 15% for women who do not smoke, then 21% will experience […] Continue reading ->
The defenders of sexual and reproductive health and rights are on the frontline of the “heightened hostility to science, fact, and truth, directly facing the anti-science toxic tangles of racism, sexism, and homophobia,” asserted Professor Kate Gilmore, co-chair of the Human Reproduction Programme’s (HRP) Gender and Rights Advisory Panel. HRP is the United Nations instrument […] Continue reading ->