A new partnership between Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations(CEPI), Africa CDC and the African Union Commission to enhance vaccine research, development and manufacturing in Africa has been hailed as “critical” to enable countries to take ownership of their national health security. Following a two day African Vaccine Manufacturing Virtual Conference held earlier this week, the […] Continue reading ->
This past few weeks has seen a flurry of open letters from academics, politicians and NGOs dispatched to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden and other heads of state, urging their governments to support a proposal to the World Trade Organization to for a proposed “waiver” suspending intellectual property (IP) rights, and […] Continue reading ->
Gates Foundation: Technology Transfer, Not Patents Is Main Roadblock To Expanding Vaccine Production
Patents are not the main roadblock to producing enough coronavirus vaccines for the world – rather the challenge is technology transfer with manufacturers, said a top official at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) on Wednesday. His comments joined those of pharma voices in what seems to be a growing counter-trend to that of […] Continue reading ->
It is “unacceptable” that millions of people diagnosed with diabetes do not have access to insulin because of financial hardship – 100 years after the lifesaving medication was discovered. World Health Organization Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was speaking at a Global Diabetes Summit that saw the launch of a new Global Diabetes Compact […] Continue reading ->
India has greenlighted Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for emergency use following a severe shortage of vaccines against the coronavirus and a massive spike in cases, and is now poised to become one of the world’s largest manufacturing hubs for the vaccine with 50 million doses produced by July. India’s aproval of a third COVID vaccine […] Continue reading ->
The Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration and its allies in Congress have already posted an impressive track record of early efforts to revive and champion U.S. leadership in global health. The American Rescue Plan, proposed by President Biden in January and passed in March, includes significant emergency funding to support the international COVID-19 response through initiatives […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) both are hosting key global meetings aimed at improving global access to COVID-19 vaccines and fair medicine prices this week behind closed doors. The WHO Fair Pricing Forum started on Tuesday and its stated aim is to activate “additional support for countries to achieve […] Continue reading ->
Italian prosecutors in the city of Bergamo, the epicentre of the country’s first COVID wave, are reportedly investigating Ranieri Guerra, a senior World Health Organization advisor, for misleading testimony and his role in the suppression of a WHO report into Italy’s coronavirus response “An Unprecedented Challenge“- which contained critical material about the Italian government’s […] Continue reading ->
African vaccine producers supply just 1% of the continent’s needs at present – but the plan is to increase this to 60% by 2040, according to John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control (CDC). “The vision is to ensure Africa has timely access to vaccines to protect public health security, by establishing […] Continue reading ->
Although taxing tobacco products is one of the most effective ways to discourage smokers – and it provides governments with revenue – it is “the least implemented” tobacco control policy globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). “It takes vision and courage for political leaders to stand up against the powerful vested interests that […] Continue reading ->