Rotary, a global network of community leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges, recently announced nearly US$100 million in grants to support the global effort to end polio, a vaccine-preventable disease that once paralyzed hundreds of thousands of children each year. Continue reading ->
Three international organisations playing a key role in the global effort to address rising human resistance to known antibiotics today announced a report on efforts at the national level worldwide, including with animal health, recognised as one of the key sources of resistance. In sum: progress is being made, but "serious gaps remain." Continue reading ->
The 2018 World Food Prize was awarded today to David Nabarro and Lawrence Haddad, for their work reducing maternal and child malnutrition. According to the World Food Prize press release, their efforts contributed toward “reducing the world’s number of stunted children by 10 million between 2012 and 2017.” Continue reading ->
Public health advocacy groups from Africa and elsewhere have sent a letter raising "serious" concerns about a declaration from a recent conference on access to quality medical products in francophone Africa. Continue reading ->
Falsified and substandard medical products continue to be a global concern, and how those products are characterised is important to avoid confusion, particularly with intellectual property rights infringement. A panel convened by Brazil, India and South Africa yesterday at the World Trade Organization looked at the implications of a new definition of such products at the neighbouring World Health Organization. Continue reading ->
UNAIDS announced today the launch of a "Gender Action Plan" for the next five years aimed at elevating women's status in the organisation worldwide. Continue reading ->
The new Intellectual Property Policy of South Africa has been posted to a government website. The contains a range of measures on patenting that will affect public health. Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) in a report last week released the funding situation regarding the response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The amount of funding needed for the Ebola Strategic Response Plan has increased to US$56.8 million, WHO said. Continue reading ->
Using flexibilities in the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) has long been an issue of the developing world. But policymakers gathered at a meeting on access to health in Brussels today said there was an urgent need for European Union countries, too, to make more use of flexibilities. Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization today published its first Essential Diagnostics List, which identifies the most-needed tests for conditions and diseases. Continue reading ->