ADDIS ABABA – After nearly 18 months of conflict between the Ethiopian federal government and Tigray rebels, the health system of the beleaguered region has “totally collapsed”, according to health officials and doctors there. Health workers in Tigray told The New Humanitarian by phone that shortages are so acute they are using expired drugs to […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization has announced an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and its continued investigation of almost 200 cases of unexplained acute hepatitis in the US and Europe in a media briefing Tuesday afternoon. Two cases of Ebola have been confirmed in the northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo, prompting health […] Continue reading ->
Some 42% of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean is fully vaccinated, but only five of the 22 member states have met the global goal of vaccinating 70% of their populations despite enough vaccine stocks being available, according to a media briefing on Wednesday. WHO Region Director for Eastern Mediterranean, Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, ascribed […] Continue reading ->
India’s air quality data, removed at the last minute from the WHO Air Quality database update just prior to its launch two weeks ago, has been restored again to the online repository. The omission of data from dozens of cities in one of the world’s most polluted nations went unnoticed by major media until it […] Continue reading ->
The Biden administration will no longer enforce its mask mandate for travel after a federal judge in Florida struck down the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mandate for planes, buses and trains Monday afternoon. US District Court Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ruled in favor of the Health Freedom Defense Fund which had […] Continue reading ->
China’s financial hub Shanghai continues to see rising COVID-19 cases despite the country’s attempts at a “no COVID” policy. The city reported over 27,000 coronavirus cases on Thursday, a new high, following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s announcement a day earlier reinforcing the zero-tolerance approach to COVID. “Prevention and control work cannot be relaxed,” Xi said […] Continue reading ->
Nearly ten years of air pollution data for dozens of Indian cities – among the most polluted in the world – was deleted from the latest World Health Organization Air Quality database just before WHO published the report on 4 April 2022, Health Policy Watch has learned. The Indian air quality data, spanning the years […] Continue reading ->
After Dr Garry Aslanyan became an avid follower of podcasts, he realized there was a dearth of material from the genre in his own global health field. So he set out to fill that gap with a new series featuring public health professionals and policymakers from around the world who have made a difference – […] Continue reading ->
The second season of the Global Health Matters podcast series kicks off with a close-up look at South Africa’s health equity initiatives and champions. Health Policy Watch will be featuring episodes from the series throughout the coming year as part of a TDR-supported series. As the world commits to equitable access to medicines and vaccines, […] Continue reading ->
Global health leaders have repeatedly called for stepped up investments to both slow down climate change and recognize the health co-benefits of more climate action. But political leaders, including those in low and middle-income countries, still need to do more, Prof. Guéladio Cissé, Coordinating Lead Author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) told […] Continue reading ->