The Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine became the latest COVID-19 vaccine to receive an Emergency Use Listing from the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday; experts said the vaccine showed an overall efficacy rate of 79% in preventing symptomatic and serious disease. The WHO approval positions Sinopharm to become a major player in the COVAX global facility. […] Continue reading ->
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how crucial journalism is to counter the rapid spread of inaccurate information and to hold governments accountable, a diverse panel of leading journalists noted on Thursday, a few days after World Press Freedom Day. Sometimes that story-telling saves lives, but it can also come at a high personal cost to […] Continue reading ->
A significant surge in COVID-19 cases in the tropical island of Seychelles, despite almost 70% of the population having been vaccinated, is baffling health officials while residents are calling for stricter law enforcement, especially for tourists. The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently working with health officials on the island to analyse the latest […] Continue reading ->
World Trade Organization’s (WTO) director general Ngozi Onkonjo-Iweala on Thursday hailed the United States government’s decision to support the suspension of intellectual property rules on COVID-19 vaccines – while also emphasising the urgency of even more immediate actions to increase vaccine supplies to lower-income countries. In a statement after a two-day closed-door WTO General […] Continue reading ->
IBADAN – The US government’s decision to support a temporary waiver on intellectual property related to COVID-19 vaccine patents & other knowhow in the World Trade Organization (WTO) is a positive development, said key stakeholders in Africa’s health ecosystem on Thursday. While US President Joe Biden’s reversal of the previous US position against the waiver […] Continue reading ->
The United States has swung its weight behind a hotly-debated proposal by India and South Africa to suspend intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines for the duration of the pandemic. The dramatic turnabout in the US position, announced Wednesday evening by US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, signals a sea change in the balance of powers […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization and the German government on Wednesday announced the launch of a new Global Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence that aims to harness the world of big data, media and epidemiological reports to more rapidly identify and respond to emerging disease risks. The hub, to be launched in Berlin later this […] Continue reading ->
CAPE TOWN – The “circular discussion” at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the TRIPS waiver needs to move to “text-based” negotiations, Ambassador Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter, South Africa’s Permanent Representative to the WTO said on Tuesday. Her Indian counterpart, Brajendra Navnit, added that opponents of the waiver had been using “delaying tactics” since the beginning of […] Continue reading ->
“If we could participate in the WHO and World Health Assembly (WHA), the warning messages we would give to the organisation would receive more weight, and this would probably result in better responsive actions.” – Taiwan Health Minister Shih-Chung Chen Arguably, Taiwan has been repeating this statement for decades. Yet when Chen’s mild words are […] Continue reading ->
PUNE – For two weeks now Sijo Raju, along with a group of 20 young men and women, have been fielding calls from family members looking for oxygen cylinders, ventilator beds and ambulances. Finding a match can take a few hours as India’s overwhelmed health system and front-line healthcare workers try desperately to provide a […] Continue reading ->