Countries expressed concern at an uptick in polio cases last year and discussed ways to double down on routine immunizations – interrupted by the pandemic and conflicts – at Thursday’s World Health Assembly. Polio is currently the only official global public health emergency.  Afghanistan and Pakistan are the last two remaining countries where the virus […] Continue reading ->
As a wave of cholera outbreaks spreads around the world, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance said it expects the global shortage of oral cholera vaccines to continue until the end of 2025. Supply of oral cholera vaccines for preventative use could catch up to demand by 2026, but “urgent action is needed,” according to a vaccine […] Continue reading ->
World Health Organization member-states greenlighted a budget of $6.83 billion for 2024-25 for the global health agency – an 11% increase over the 2022-23 budget.  Implicit in the budget is member-state implementation of a stepwise increase in assessed contributions.  The groundbreaking reform, which aims to have one-half of WHO’s spending financed more sustainably by fixed […] Continue reading ->
Artificial sweeteners should not be used to control body weight or reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), according to a World Health Organization (WHO) guideline issued on Monday.  “Non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) are not essential dietary factors and have no nutritional value. People should reduce the sweetness of their diet altogether, starting early in life, […] Continue reading ->
HIV activists want the US government to appeal Tuesday’s court ruling that pharmaceutical company Gilead did not infringe on patents held by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) related to two anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs. The US government had claimed $1 billion in patent violations in relation to the use of Gilead’s Truvada and […] Continue reading ->
There is widespread speculation that the World Health Organization (WHO) will decide that COVID-19 is no longer a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)” when its expert group convenes on Thursday. The 15th meeting of the Emergency Committee for COVID-19 has been convened by the WHO Director-General in terms of the International Health Regulations […] Continue reading ->
Uganda’s Parliament passed a revised Anti-Homosexuality Bill on Tuesday, retaining executions for certain same-sex activity and introducing harsher penalties for some categories of ‘offences’. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni had declined to sign into law an earlier version of the Bill after the Deputy Attorney General (DAG) had advised him that it would be open to […] Continue reading ->
Negotiations to tighten up the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Health Regulations (IHR) to make them pandemic-ready made “excellent progress” – but it still faces enormous obstacles. WHO member states spent four days last week addressing 100 of the 300 proposed amendments to the IHR, dealing particularly with compliance, implementation, and public health response.  In […] Continue reading ->