Indian lockdowns, telehealth in California, a “sin tax” on alcohol and cigarettes in the Philippines – three public health advocates reflect on how these and other events have shaped the narrative around non-communicable diseases (NCDs).  The three included Apoorva Gomber, a medical doctor; Gina Agiostratidou, a philanthropic donor; and civil society leader Katie Dain, found […] Continue reading ->
Following months of delay, and delicate backdoor negotiations, WHO now says that it “hopes” an international team has been mandated by the World Health Assembly to investigate the sources of the SARS-CoV2 virus can travel to China in January to begin their fieldwork.   “The International team is currently working on logistical arrangements to travel to […] Continue reading ->
The President of France, Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for COVID-19, Élysée Palace has announced. In a statement published on its website on Thursday, the palace confirmed the diagnosis was made after Macron, 42, performed an RT PCR test, following his developing symptoms. He will now isolate for 7 days, abiding “health regulations in force […] Continue reading ->
Striking through the politicised warnings and potentially hollow gestures, a new study has found that COVID-19 vaccines could remain out of reach until at least 2022 for nearly one- fifth of the global population – despite months of pleas and appeals to ensure their widespread global distribution. The study, published in The BMJ, is the […] Continue reading ->
Second in a series: In the wake of the expanding media attention to a suppressed WHO report evaluating the early days of Italy’s COVID-19 pandemic response, WHO has begun circulating guidelines to staff for responding to the media over questions that have remarked about recommendations for Q&A The internal WHO memo obtained by Health Policy […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization’s suppression of an independent report that critically examined both the strengths and weaknesses of Italy’s COVID-19 pandemic response – sets a dangerous precedent that compromises the international organization’s credibility  at a time when WHO’s independence has been questioned – and the Italian national pandemic response is under intense scrutiny as well, […] Continue reading ->
WHO’s Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday issued yet another plea to leaders of rich countries to “honor their pledges” to fund COVID-19 vaccines sufficient to immunize the highest risk groups across the world. He spoke a day after South African officials raised the spectre that the world was heading towards a state […] Continue reading ->