A new Lancet Commission reports shows for the first time that the main killers of the poorest billion people in the world aren’t traditional “diseases of poverty” such as tuberculosis or neglected tropical diseases, but are non-communicable disease such as heart diseases and stroke, and injuries. The Lancet NCDs and Injuries (NCDI) Poverty Commission found that these […] Continue reading ->
The United Nations General Assembly adopted an omnibus resolution urging Member States to mount a coordinated global coronavirus response on 11 September. The resolution (Document A/74/L.92), submitted by the President of the Assembly Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, was almost passed unanimously, with only two countries voting against and two abstaining. United States & Israel Vote Against the […] Continue reading ->
Cape Town, South Africa – Dire predictions of Africa being overwhelmed by a tsunami of COVID-19 infections and deaths have not materialized – yet – and this is confounding many researchers. So whether the reason is the continent’s youthful population, a certain level of “herd immunity” gained from prior exposure to other coronaviruses, or simply […] Continue reading ->
COVID-19 has the potential to change how vaccines are sold and distributed, but industry leaders, academics, policymakers, and advocates are still struggling to decide the direction those changes should take. A successful COVID-19 vaccine should only be sold by companies to countries if it fits within an equitable distribution platform made by a neutral third […] Continue reading ->
Ibadan, Nigeria – The pandemic has brought to the fore Africa’s reliance on international support for its health sector – and it is also challenging the continent’s ability to build up its resilience when donors fall through. “There is a new public health order that is coming because of COVID-19. COVID-19 has opened our eyes […] Continue reading ->
AstraZeneca on Tuesday night suspended the Phase 3 trial of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine in order to investigate a a suspected severe adverse reaction in a volunteer reported in the United Kingdom. The trial suspension follows just on the heels of AstraZeneca’s chief executive officer’s pledge to seek regulatory approval for a COVID-19 vaccine only […] Continue reading ->
Nairobi, Kenya – While banker Peter Karagu is one of the over 35,000 people who have contracted COVID-19 disease in Kenya over the past 6 months, he cannot in any way be described as an ordinary victim of the respiratory illness. Throughout his 22 days confined at an isolation ward at Kenyatta University Teaching Research […] Continue reading ->
September 7 is the first International Day of Clean Air for blue skies launched by the United Nations’ General Assembly. It aims to build a global community of action that calls on countries to work together to tackle air pollution and provide clean air for all. As the COVID-19 lockdowns reminded us of from Wuhan […] Continue reading ->
Countries would be better off waiting until Phase 3 clinical trials, which test the safety and efficacy of an experimental vaccine in tens of thousands of people, are completed before rolling out the vaccine for wider use, World Health Organization Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan said on Monday. Although some countries, including China, Russia and the […] Continue reading ->
Most countries in the world are not on track to reduce premature deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCD) by a third by 2030, according to a new NCD 2030 Countdown report published by The Lancet. “An estimated 150 million people will lose their lives too early from a noncommunicable disease over the next decade and right […] Continue reading ->