Women’s organisations are anxious that Secretary-General António Guterres will push the controversial proposed merger of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN Women at the UN General Assembly later this month. Guterres proposed the merger as part of his UN80 initiative, aimed at streamlining and cutting costs as the global body tries to recover from […] Continue reading ->
A group of senior national security and health officials contend that cutting funding to the regional health organization will cripple the Western hemisphere’s ability to defend itself against disease threats. The oldest multilateral health organization in the world, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), is fighting many of the same health threats it did at […] Continue reading ->
A draft charter on “family, sovereignty and values”, which would significantly undermine the rights of African women and girls, is not likely to be presented to the African Union (AU) General Assembly next February – despite a push from its conservative sponsors. “That draft instrument has not got to the AU yet, and it is […] Continue reading ->
The United States plans to cut its health funding to 18 countries by 59% of pre-2025 levels by 2030, according to a Public Citizen and Partners In Health analysis of the bilateral agreements the US has signed with these countries. The bilateral Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) were signed as part of the ‘America First Global […] Continue reading ->
Two sets of dogmas contend in Afghanistan: those of the Taliban and the West. Neither side pays the real price for their beliefs. Ordinary Afghans do with their lives. Some aid agencies labour quietly to bring help and hope through a dozen practical ways that bypass competing doctrines. They deserve support. In March last year, […] Continue reading ->
Following a landmark agreement in the United States on Wednesday, social media giant Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion to US states. This historic settlement obliges the company to make Instagram and Facebook safer for children. Scientific research – including a landmark report by an expert panel commissioned by the European Commission – […] Continue reading ->
Nearly a year after Israel and Hamas agreed to a US-brokered cease-fire, some 94% of Gaza’s 2.1 million Palestinian residents lack adequate shelters with 84% facing severe constraints in heating, cooling, cooking, lighting and hygiene and nearly 60% facing “critical” or “catastrophic” shelter needs. This according to a new analysis by the Global Shelter Cluster, […] Continue reading ->
BLANTYRE, MALAWI – As early as 6:30 am, Malawi’s community health workers are already scattered across urban and rural neighbourhoods, dressed in sky-blue uniforms with square cooler boxes slung over their shoulders. For four days in mid-August, health surveillance assistants (HSAs) across the country walked from door to door, administering the novel oral polio […] Continue reading ->
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone – For nearly two years, Sierra Leone’s Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Care Bill has been stuck in a political and social tug-of-war that has little to do with the technical business of passing a health law. Instead, the country is wrestling with who gets to define reproductive health in the country: […] Continue reading ->
The United States (US) National Institutes of Health (NIH) has lifted its ban on funding research projects in South Africa, according to a report by the journal, Science. The journal quotes an internal NIH memo sent to staff on Wednesday by director Dr Jay Bhattacharya, which says the NIH is exempt from an executive order […] Continue reading ->