A new study has analysed antibiotic sales data from 70 middle-income and high-income countries, and found variation in the use of antibiotics to treat children, with some countries deviating from World Health Organization recommendations on antibiotic stewardship. Continue reading ->
Global health reaped a weekend windfall of new international and bilateral commitments over the past two days, beginning with the close of the G20 meeting in Argentina on Saturday, followed by the Mandela 100 Global Citizen festival in Johannesburg yesterday, which saw stars like Beyoncé, Jay-Z and others perform in the name of health and development causes, reaping a historic commitment by the United States of more than US$1.2 billion for the fight against HIV/AIDS and some US$ 139 million for the fight against neglected tropical diseases. Continue reading ->
A report launched jointly today by Population Services International (PSI), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the World Health Organization shows that people’s knowledge of their HIV status in sub-Saharan African countries nearly doubled just four years after self-testing programmes were introduced. Separately, a group of French NGOs called on the French President to lead elimination of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria by 2030. Continue reading ->
NAIROBI, Kenya -- “I got married at the age of 20 years seven years ago, just a year after finishing secondary school. My intention was to give birth to only two kids but my husband and his parents could hear none of it. Matters got worse when my second born turned out to be a girl like the eldest kid. My in-laws who live in rural Western Kenya said my husband was their only son so he was supposed to sire sons to inherit their land,” says Judy Akinyi (not her real name), a resident of Korogocho slum in the east of Nairobi. Continue reading ->
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania -- “What on earth have I done to deserve this suffering?” weeps Joha* a gay transgender woman, tears blurring her eyeshadows after she was refused a dose of life-prolonging antiretroviral medicine for HIV/AIDS at a local clinic because of her ambiguous gender identity. Continue reading ->
Clemens Martin Auer, director general of Austria’s Ministry of Health, could be said to take a pragmatic and original perspective when it comes to European and national policy. In an interview with Health Policy Watch during the recent European Health Forum in Bad Gastein, Austria, he discussed health priorities for the current Austrian presidency of the European Union and beyond. He also discussed ongoing efforts by a number of European countries to address high prices of medicines and public funding for R&D. This is the second of two parts. Continue reading ->
BAD HOFGASTEIN, Austria -- For many health issues, individuals and nations must work together to achieve solutions, Clemens Martin Auer, the director general of the health ministry of Austria, said in an interview with Health Policy Watch. And the annual European Health Forum Gastein is a good place to talk about it, he said. This is part one of a two-part interview. Continue reading ->
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania -- Salma Mahmoud sits under a Neem tree with her chin perched on her palms. She’s still moaning the death of her son Abdul, who died to cholera a year ago after guzzling suspected contaminated water. Continue reading ->
More dedicated to scientific research and much more “colourful” than the World Health Summit were descriptions for the 14th Global Grand Challenges Meeting 2018 that ended last night in Berlin and brought together some top researchers, policymakers and civil society. Like the WHS, the Grand Challenges Meeting focused on antimicrobial resistances and pandemic pathogens. But it also talked a little more on the issue of how better to incentivize R&D to fulfil SDG3, the UN Sustainable Development Goal on health, according to participants. Continue reading ->
NAIROBI, Kenya -- Countries in sub-Saharan Africa face myriad obstacles in ensuring their populations receive requisite vaccinations to combat diseases. Continue reading ->