A new WHO White Paper on strengthening Health Emergency Preparedness and Response supports the creation of a “Global Health Emergency Council” under WHO auspices and some “targeted amendments” to existing International Health Regulations governing emergencies. However, the new White Paper, issued under the name of WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also avoids taking […] Continue reading ->
Preparing for future pandemics requires us to reuse and share data quickly in order to repurpose that information for improved diagnostics and treatments, proposed data experts and scientists at a high-level discussion at the Geneva Health Forum Wednesday afternoon. “It’s the value of what’s in data that can be reused, repurposed, to create new knowledge […] Continue reading ->
Now that COVAX has enough stock of COVID-19 vaccines, its focus is on vaccination uptake – including encouraging countries to combine campaigns against measles and polio with COVID-19, and even helping with “campaign-style” vaccination drives. This emerged at a media briefing on vaccine delivery called by the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, of which […] Continue reading ->
Pollution is responsible for the premature deaths of approximately 9 million people each year; more than the number of deaths attributable to war and terrorism, malaria, AIDS, tuberculosis, drugs, alcohol or even smoking. That’s also the equivalent of one in six premature deaths worldwide, pointed out Rachael Kupka, of the Global Alliance on Health and […] Continue reading ->
Geneva Health Forum’s Global Health Lab showcased over 100 new diagnostics and treatment tools designed for resource-constrained settings. GICMED is one of the over 100 innovations and devices that were featured. These innovations are specifically suited for resource-limited settings in lower-income countries. While global attention continues to be on the COVID-19 pandemic and outbreaks of […] Continue reading ->
  Excess deaths during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic are almost triple officially-reported deaths – around 14.9 million deaths rather than the 5.4 million currently reported, according to new figures released by the World Health Organization (WHO). These much-delayed excess death statistics were finally released on Thursday after being contested by India, […] Continue reading ->
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the level of worldwide investment in respiratory care and now that cases are on the decline, countries need to develop long-term strategies to use oxygen, according to health experts. “Severe pneumonia, sepsis, trauma complications – there are many patients that would benefit from oxygen,” explained Janet Diaz, a team lead […] Continue reading ->