Italy’s former Undersecretary of State for Health, Armando Bartolazzi, discusses the implications of recent moves to replace the head of the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA), based on political considerations of the a new Health Minister.   “Health is a Political Choice” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros in his keynote session at the World Health Summit, […] Continue reading ->
Nairobi, Kenya – The US has thrown considerable weight behind opponents of the Nairobi Summit on Population and Development (ICPD25), saying it will only support family planning programmes that offer alternatives to abortions.  The statement by Valerie Huber, the US special representative for global women’s health, on the Summit’s closing day, added fuel to the […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization has “pre-qualified” a new Ebola vaccine in record time, just a day after the vaccine, Ervebo, received European regulatory approval. “This is the fastest vaccine prequalification process ever conducted by WHO,” said the organization in press release Tuesday evening. The WHO approval was described as a “critical step that will help […] Continue reading ->
Some 11,258 scientists from 153 countries have issued a sharp warning in the journal BioScience, about the climate emergency faced by the global community. The scientists calls for “bold and drastic transformations” in six key areas to pull earth from the precipice of potentially catastrophic deterioration in basic life support systems. Their prescription includes: a […] Continue reading ->
Demonstrators poured onto the streets and politicians pointed fingers as Delhi’s air pollution levels soared above the threshold air quality monitoring stations could record on Sunday. The Indian Supreme Court issued a scathing statement calling for politicians to stop “passing the buck” on the air pollution issue and take urgent action in the “public health […] Continue reading ->
Berlin, Germany – From antimicrobial resistance to drug access, climate change and emerging trends such as growing obesity in Africa alongside under-nutrition, this year’s World Health Summit’s is packed with an imposing agenda, dwarfed only by the staggering dimensions of the real-world challenges. “Polio has almost been eradicated, HIV/AIDS has been driven back and we […] Continue reading ->
A G20 Health Ministers Declaration, issued after a two-day meeting of ministers in Okayama Japan, has endorsed rapid achievement of universal health coverage, a more effective support of healthy ageing, increased attention to health emergencies and their underlying causes such as poverty and weak health systems, and more forceful action on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The […] Continue reading ->