Measles outbreaks are escalating in large parts of the world thanks to “backsliding” in national immunisation programmes during the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on immunization warned on Tuesday. “There were 25 million children un- or under-vaccinated in 2021,” said Dr Kate O’Brien, WHO’s director of immunization, […] Continue reading ->
Under the leadership of Dr Bernard Pécoul, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative became one of the flagship programmes for research and development into diseases affecting the world’s most forgotten people. He has contributed to the betterment of the lives of millions, yet few outside global health circles know his name. This is his story.  […] Continue reading ->
Sharp disagreements emerged about the role of intellectual property (IP) during a pandemic at a panel convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB), which is charged with developing a pandemic treaty. Komal Kalha, associate director of IP at the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), insisted that the fast […] Continue reading ->
World Health Organization Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan, a respected voice in WHO’s senior leadership is expected to resign within the next month – in the first major leadership shuffle by Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Health Policy Watch has learned.   Conversely, Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s […] Continue reading ->
While there is unanimous agreement that equity is the essential ingredient in any future pandemic treaty ‘recipe’, World Health Organization (WHO) member states are unclear about how can it be incorporated practically. This emerged from an informal consultation on how to “operationalise and achieve” equity convened on Wednesday by the WHO intergovernmental negotiation body (INB), […] Continue reading ->
The announcement by Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Coca-Cola will sponsor the 27th Annual United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) has been widely condemned by climate and health activists. The #COP27 Presidency announces The @CocaCola Company as a Supporting Sponsor to COP27. For more information: https://t.co/JDyhS2N79A pic.twitter.com/XRhjoA4i2b — COP27 (@COP27P) September […] Continue reading ->
Russia’s war in Ukraine is draining resources to build better health systems, while Sino-American rivalry is undermining the global solidarity needed to address future pandemics. But the massive under-investment in new antibiotics to combat drug-resistant “superbugs” and weak primary health systems might be the biggest enemies of global health. This was according to global health […] Continue reading ->