Leaders of the 27 European Union member states are moving closer to a consensus on an EU-wide system of vaccine certificates for travel between countries in the bloc. Within three months a system will be introduced, EU officials announced on Thursday, the first day of the two-day virtual summit of the European Council. Several EU […] Continue reading ->
Over 400 US organisations and 115 Members of the European Parliament declared their support this week for a waiver on intellectual property rights for COVID-19 products, due to be discussed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) General Council. Even so, WTO insiders said that consensus was more likely to build around a “third way” approach […] Continue reading ->
Global Fund Investigating Karachi Private Hospital For US$ 4.2 Million In Misallocations Of TB Funds
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – EXCLUSIVE – The Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and Pakistan’s Health Ministry are investigating a private sector hospital in Karachi for alleged mismanagement of some US$ 4.2 million in Global Fund funds allocated to the country for tuberculosis elimination (TB) activities. The Indus Hospital (TIH), the principal recipient of […] Continue reading ->
The Medical Association of Tanzania (MAT) has started a massive awareness campaign on the prevention of COVID-19 following last Sunday’s admission by President John Magufuli and the Ministry of Health that the disease exists in the country. “We have started an advocacy strategy through the media and communities on prevention of COVID-19,” Dr. Elisha Osati, […] Continue reading ->
Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo, will be publicly vaccinated with the Oxford/AstraZeneca SARS-CoV2 vaccine on 2 March, signifying the start of the West African country’s vaccine rollout. On Wednesday, Ghana became the first country in the world to receive vaccines via the global vaccine access platform, COVAX, according to Health Policy Watch. The Ivory Coast is expected […] Continue reading ->
The largest peer reviewed study to date of some 1.193 million Israelis – half of whom received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine – confirms the vaccine’s efficacy in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 as well as serious cases and deaths – even after the first dose is administered. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, […] Continue reading ->
A new COVID-19 Oxygen Emergency Taskforce has been created in response to the dearth of sustainable oxygen supplies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) – and its critical importance for treatment of COVID-19. Co-created by Unitaid and Wellcome Trust in partnership with the WHO and a range of other global public health agencies, the taskforce, […] Continue reading ->
The appointment of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the former Nigerian Finance Minister, World Bank development economist and its former Vice President, and black African woman, as head of the WTO, has been heralded as ‘a big deal’, an inspiration, and ‘a sign of the many strides (Africa) has made in gender parity’. While all this is true, […] Continue reading ->
Under cloudy skies, Ghana’s first precious doses of Covid-19 vaccines arrived Wednesday morning at Accra’s Kotoka International Airport. They are also the first supplies to be distributed by the WHO co-sponsored COVAX facility on the African continent. The arrival of some 600,000 vaccines marks a milestone in months of effort by WHO, UNICEF, GAVI and […] Continue reading ->
The United Kingdom, Switzerland, Israel and Turkey are cautiously reopening businesses and relaxing limits on gatherings and travel as COVID-19 cases declined both globally and within these countries. However, parts of France, the Czech Republic, and Sweden are preparing for harder lockdown measures as their cases surge in contrast to worldwide trends. As of 23 […] Continue reading ->