Children and adolescents diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) will benefit from a set of new guidelines that aim to shorten the treatment plan, expand preventative care, and introduce better diagnostic testing and treatments. The World Health Organisation (WHO) today released a new set of ‘game-changer’ guidelines where children and adolescents with non-severe forms of drug-susceptible TB […] Continue reading ->
With fewer than 1% of its 90 million citizens vaccinated against COVID-19, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has resorted to training teams of “rumour-busters” to tackle misinformation about the virus in order to encourage more people to get the vaccine. David Olela, communications lead for the DRC health ministry’s vaccination programme,  admits that his […] Continue reading ->
The mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines do not harm in vitro fertilization (IVF) success rates, according to a recent study, countering disinformation that vaccines could negatively affect fertility. In contrast, the SARS-CoV2 virus has been found to negatively affect the quality of embryos for couples who are undergoing IVF treatments and sperm. The peer-reviewed study, published in […] Continue reading ->
Women in Africa will feel the disruptive force of the pandemic for many years to come – with upticks in maternal deaths and prolonged disruptions in maternal, child and reproductive health services issues the continent must grapple with now.  About 40% of African countries are reporting continued disruptions to sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and […] Continue reading ->
Nearly half the world’s population lives in climate danger zones, according to the latest United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as “an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment on failed climate change leadership”. “Many ecosystems are at the point of no return now, and […] Continue reading ->
In the wake of the chaotic, and often failed, global response to the COVID pandemic, the United States is not waiting for an elaborate international treaty or convention on future pandemics, which will take years to negotiate.  Instead, Washington wants to fast track a series of nitty-gritty, but far- reaching changes in the existing International […] Continue reading ->