As the World Health Assembly Opens Monday in Geneva it will have to grapple with shrinking global health budgets; new outbreak threats, including a new WHO-declaration of a public health emergency in Africa over an Ebola virus strain that lacks any vaccine; and an increasingly fractured geopolitical space with deep disputes over Iran, Ukraine, Gaza, […] Continue reading ->
On the five-year anniversary of the Global Diabetes Compact, WHO has issued a call to manufacturers to submit requests for “prequalification” of generic versions of the GLP-1 drug semaglutide for diabetes management – the drug that initially became famous for weight-loss – as well as fast-acting insulin analogues that have gained popularity over human insulin […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on governments to strictly regulate nicotine pouches to prevent an imminent epidemic among vulnerable adolescents. These highly addictive products threaten to dismantle decades of global progress in tobacco control if left completely unchecked, health officials warn. Faced with declining cigarette sales, tobacco companies continuously release new product lines, […] Continue reading ->
The European Commission announced its long-awaited Global Health Resilience Initiative on Wednesday. While the policy roadmap aims to support partner countries’ transition toward health sovereignty amid historic aid cuts and shifting geopolitical realities, critics are concerned about its heavy reliance on private funding. As global health gains face a severe threat of reversal from stagnating […] Continue reading ->
As the campaign to elect a new World Health Organization Director-General officially opens, a timeline for the process has been published by outgoing DG Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for consideration by member states at the upcoming Executive Board in May meeting. While guidelines aim to promote a transparent and level playing field, structural loopholes remain. […] Continue reading ->
A dramatically shrinking World Health Organization (WHO) has seen a slight decline in gender parity amidst restructuring. Strict recruitment policies and targeted job cuts have actively boosted female representation within the organisation’s professional ranks. But deep regional disparities in gender representation remain unresolved, with men holding the overwhelming majority of staff posts in the African, […] Continue reading ->
The United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) announced a “strategic partnership” with Nestlé to establish the World Food Academy 4 Sustainable Food Systems on 26 March.  The arrangement incorporates Nestlé’s science and technology seminars, which reached around 7,000 students across over 300 academic institutions in more than 90 countries last year, […] Continue reading ->
This week’s announcement of BioNTech factory closures in Germany marks an end to the country’s pandemic-era COVID-19 vaccine production boom. The Mainz-based pioneer announced that it will manufacture its final batches of the vaccine domestically later this year, transferring all future production to its American partner, Pfizer. This strategic retreat from Germany – which includes […] Continue reading ->
Officials at the Food and Drug Administration have blocked publication of two studies supporting the safety of widely used vaccines against Covid-19 and other safety studies on shingles in recent months, a spokesperson at the US Department of Health and Human Services confirmed. In October, 2025 FDA scientists were directed to withdraw two Covid-19 vaccine […] Continue reading ->