WHO Sets Out Timetable and Ethical Guardrails for Election of New Director-General; but Loopholes Remain 11/05/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen As the campaign to elect a new World Health Organization Director-General officially opens, a timeline for the process has been published by outgoing DG Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for consideration by member states at the upcoming Executive Board in May meeting. While guidelines aim to promote a transparent and level playing field, structural loopholes remain. […] Continue reading -> Hantavirus: Experts Question Claim that Only ‘Symptomatic’ People are Infectious 11/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Hantavirus has been confirmed in a French citizen evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship on Sunday, while two tests on a US citizen turned up one “weakly positive” and one negative result – but it is still unclear how the virus is being transmitted. The evacuation of passengers from the ship, now docked in […] Continue reading -> WHO Gender Parity Dips Amidst Staff Cuts, but Women Advance Slightly in Professional Ranks 10/05/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen A dramatically shrinking World Health Organization (WHO) has seen a slight decline in gender parity amidst restructuring. Strict recruitment policies and targeted job cuts have actively boosted female representation within the organisation’s professional ranks. But deep regional disparities in gender representation remain unresolved, with men holding the overwhelming majority of staff posts in the African, […] Continue reading -> More Girls Will Finish School if India’s Supreme Court Ruling on Menstrual Health is Implemented 08/05/2026 Disha Shetty In January, India’s Supreme Court has ruled that menstrual health is a fundamental right, directing states and schools to take measures to facilitate menstrual health and sanitation. The laws of the world’s most populous country are now in line with the United Nations (UN) stand on menstrual health taken in 2024, and one that is […] Continue reading -> When the UN Partners With the Harm It Is Meant to Prevent 08/05/2026 Unni Karunakara The United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) announced a “strategic partnership” with Nestlé to establish the World Food Academy 4 Sustainable Food Systems on 26 March. The arrangement incorporates Nestlé’s science and technology seminars, which reached around 7,000 students across over 300 academic institutions in more than 90 countries last year, […] Continue reading -> First Person Outside Cruise Ship is Suspected of Hantavirus Infection 07/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan The first person suspected of contracting hantavirus outside of passengers on the Hondius cruise ship is currently in a Dutch hospital. She is a flight attendant who came into contact with a former passenger who briefly boarded a KLM flight in Johannesburg, South Africa, but was prevented by airline staff from flying to Amsterdam as […] Continue reading -> ‘We Are Going to Die’: The Frontline Costs of Uganda’s New US Health Agreement 07/05/2026 Soita Khatondi Wepukhulu This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. On an early morning in February, 23-year-old Suzan Akello was found lying dead on a veranda outside a house she had visited in Namataala, Mbale town, in eastern Uganda. Friends said she could not afford a clinic and had taken herbal medicine to terminate a pregnancy. […] Continue reading -> Two More Reported Cases of Hantavirus Linked to Cruise Ship Hit by ‘Uncommon’ Human-to-Human Transmission 05/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Two more people linked to the cruise ship Hondius were reported to have fallen ill in Switzerland and France, according to Swiss and European media reports Wednesday. In the Swiss case, the infection and its links to the cruise ship were confirmed by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. On the reported French case, […] Continue reading -> Investing in Midwives is Essential to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health 05/05/2026 Teguest Guerma The International Day of the Midwife (May 5) reminds us that safe birth is not a stand-alone event, but part of the broader continuum of sexual and reproductive health and rights Most maternal deaths occur during labour, birth, or shortly after birth. Nearly 290,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2020, with […] Continue reading -> Pandemic Talks Extended – But Colombia Appeals for New ‘Method’ to Settle Differences 04/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Colombia has appealed for a new “method” to settle the outstanding annex of the Pandemic Agreement, after World Health Organization (WHO) member states failed to reach agreement last week after almost a year of talks. Talks on a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system were due to wrap up last Friday night, but have […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older Posts Newer Posts
Hantavirus: Experts Question Claim that Only ‘Symptomatic’ People are Infectious 11/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Hantavirus has been confirmed in a French citizen evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship on Sunday, while two tests on a US citizen turned up one “weakly positive” and one negative result – but it is still unclear how the virus is being transmitted. The evacuation of passengers from the ship, now docked in […] Continue reading -> WHO Gender Parity Dips Amidst Staff Cuts, but Women Advance Slightly in Professional Ranks 10/05/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen A dramatically shrinking World Health Organization (WHO) has seen a slight decline in gender parity amidst restructuring. Strict recruitment policies and targeted job cuts have actively boosted female representation within the organisation’s professional ranks. But deep regional disparities in gender representation remain unresolved, with men holding the overwhelming majority of staff posts in the African, […] Continue reading -> More Girls Will Finish School if India’s Supreme Court Ruling on Menstrual Health is Implemented 08/05/2026 Disha Shetty In January, India’s Supreme Court has ruled that menstrual health is a fundamental right, directing states and schools to take measures to facilitate menstrual health and sanitation. The laws of the world’s most populous country are now in line with the United Nations (UN) stand on menstrual health taken in 2024, and one that is […] Continue reading -> When the UN Partners With the Harm It Is Meant to Prevent 08/05/2026 Unni Karunakara The United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) announced a “strategic partnership” with Nestlé to establish the World Food Academy 4 Sustainable Food Systems on 26 March. The arrangement incorporates Nestlé’s science and technology seminars, which reached around 7,000 students across over 300 academic institutions in more than 90 countries last year, […] Continue reading -> First Person Outside Cruise Ship is Suspected of Hantavirus Infection 07/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan The first person suspected of contracting hantavirus outside of passengers on the Hondius cruise ship is currently in a Dutch hospital. She is a flight attendant who came into contact with a former passenger who briefly boarded a KLM flight in Johannesburg, South Africa, but was prevented by airline staff from flying to Amsterdam as […] Continue reading -> ‘We Are Going to Die’: The Frontline Costs of Uganda’s New US Health Agreement 07/05/2026 Soita Khatondi Wepukhulu This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. On an early morning in February, 23-year-old Suzan Akello was found lying dead on a veranda outside a house she had visited in Namataala, Mbale town, in eastern Uganda. Friends said she could not afford a clinic and had taken herbal medicine to terminate a pregnancy. […] Continue reading -> Two More Reported Cases of Hantavirus Linked to Cruise Ship Hit by ‘Uncommon’ Human-to-Human Transmission 05/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Two more people linked to the cruise ship Hondius were reported to have fallen ill in Switzerland and France, according to Swiss and European media reports Wednesday. In the Swiss case, the infection and its links to the cruise ship were confirmed by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. On the reported French case, […] Continue reading -> Investing in Midwives is Essential to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health 05/05/2026 Teguest Guerma The International Day of the Midwife (May 5) reminds us that safe birth is not a stand-alone event, but part of the broader continuum of sexual and reproductive health and rights Most maternal deaths occur during labour, birth, or shortly after birth. Nearly 290,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2020, with […] Continue reading -> Pandemic Talks Extended – But Colombia Appeals for New ‘Method’ to Settle Differences 04/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Colombia has appealed for a new “method” to settle the outstanding annex of the Pandemic Agreement, after World Health Organization (WHO) member states failed to reach agreement last week after almost a year of talks. Talks on a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system were due to wrap up last Friday night, but have […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older Posts Newer Posts
WHO Gender Parity Dips Amidst Staff Cuts, but Women Advance Slightly in Professional Ranks 10/05/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen A dramatically shrinking World Health Organization (WHO) has seen a slight decline in gender parity amidst restructuring. Strict recruitment policies and targeted job cuts have actively boosted female representation within the organisation’s professional ranks. But deep regional disparities in gender representation remain unresolved, with men holding the overwhelming majority of staff posts in the African, […] Continue reading -> More Girls Will Finish School if India’s Supreme Court Ruling on Menstrual Health is Implemented 08/05/2026 Disha Shetty In January, India’s Supreme Court has ruled that menstrual health is a fundamental right, directing states and schools to take measures to facilitate menstrual health and sanitation. The laws of the world’s most populous country are now in line with the United Nations (UN) stand on menstrual health taken in 2024, and one that is […] Continue reading -> When the UN Partners With the Harm It Is Meant to Prevent 08/05/2026 Unni Karunakara The United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) announced a “strategic partnership” with Nestlé to establish the World Food Academy 4 Sustainable Food Systems on 26 March. The arrangement incorporates Nestlé’s science and technology seminars, which reached around 7,000 students across over 300 academic institutions in more than 90 countries last year, […] Continue reading -> First Person Outside Cruise Ship is Suspected of Hantavirus Infection 07/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan The first person suspected of contracting hantavirus outside of passengers on the Hondius cruise ship is currently in a Dutch hospital. She is a flight attendant who came into contact with a former passenger who briefly boarded a KLM flight in Johannesburg, South Africa, but was prevented by airline staff from flying to Amsterdam as […] Continue reading -> ‘We Are Going to Die’: The Frontline Costs of Uganda’s New US Health Agreement 07/05/2026 Soita Khatondi Wepukhulu This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. On an early morning in February, 23-year-old Suzan Akello was found lying dead on a veranda outside a house she had visited in Namataala, Mbale town, in eastern Uganda. Friends said she could not afford a clinic and had taken herbal medicine to terminate a pregnancy. […] Continue reading -> Two More Reported Cases of Hantavirus Linked to Cruise Ship Hit by ‘Uncommon’ Human-to-Human Transmission 05/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Two more people linked to the cruise ship Hondius were reported to have fallen ill in Switzerland and France, according to Swiss and European media reports Wednesday. In the Swiss case, the infection and its links to the cruise ship were confirmed by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. On the reported French case, […] Continue reading -> Investing in Midwives is Essential to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health 05/05/2026 Teguest Guerma The International Day of the Midwife (May 5) reminds us that safe birth is not a stand-alone event, but part of the broader continuum of sexual and reproductive health and rights Most maternal deaths occur during labour, birth, or shortly after birth. Nearly 290,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2020, with […] Continue reading -> Pandemic Talks Extended – But Colombia Appeals for New ‘Method’ to Settle Differences 04/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Colombia has appealed for a new “method” to settle the outstanding annex of the Pandemic Agreement, after World Health Organization (WHO) member states failed to reach agreement last week after almost a year of talks. Talks on a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system were due to wrap up last Friday night, but have […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older Posts Newer Posts
More Girls Will Finish School if India’s Supreme Court Ruling on Menstrual Health is Implemented 08/05/2026 Disha Shetty In January, India’s Supreme Court has ruled that menstrual health is a fundamental right, directing states and schools to take measures to facilitate menstrual health and sanitation. The laws of the world’s most populous country are now in line with the United Nations (UN) stand on menstrual health taken in 2024, and one that is […] Continue reading -> When the UN Partners With the Harm It Is Meant to Prevent 08/05/2026 Unni Karunakara The United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) announced a “strategic partnership” with Nestlé to establish the World Food Academy 4 Sustainable Food Systems on 26 March. The arrangement incorporates Nestlé’s science and technology seminars, which reached around 7,000 students across over 300 academic institutions in more than 90 countries last year, […] Continue reading -> First Person Outside Cruise Ship is Suspected of Hantavirus Infection 07/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan The first person suspected of contracting hantavirus outside of passengers on the Hondius cruise ship is currently in a Dutch hospital. She is a flight attendant who came into contact with a former passenger who briefly boarded a KLM flight in Johannesburg, South Africa, but was prevented by airline staff from flying to Amsterdam as […] Continue reading -> ‘We Are Going to Die’: The Frontline Costs of Uganda’s New US Health Agreement 07/05/2026 Soita Khatondi Wepukhulu This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. On an early morning in February, 23-year-old Suzan Akello was found lying dead on a veranda outside a house she had visited in Namataala, Mbale town, in eastern Uganda. Friends said she could not afford a clinic and had taken herbal medicine to terminate a pregnancy. […] Continue reading -> Two More Reported Cases of Hantavirus Linked to Cruise Ship Hit by ‘Uncommon’ Human-to-Human Transmission 05/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Two more people linked to the cruise ship Hondius were reported to have fallen ill in Switzerland and France, according to Swiss and European media reports Wednesday. In the Swiss case, the infection and its links to the cruise ship were confirmed by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. On the reported French case, […] Continue reading -> Investing in Midwives is Essential to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health 05/05/2026 Teguest Guerma The International Day of the Midwife (May 5) reminds us that safe birth is not a stand-alone event, but part of the broader continuum of sexual and reproductive health and rights Most maternal deaths occur during labour, birth, or shortly after birth. Nearly 290,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2020, with […] Continue reading -> Pandemic Talks Extended – But Colombia Appeals for New ‘Method’ to Settle Differences 04/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Colombia has appealed for a new “method” to settle the outstanding annex of the Pandemic Agreement, after World Health Organization (WHO) member states failed to reach agreement last week after almost a year of talks. Talks on a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system were due to wrap up last Friday night, but have […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older Posts Newer Posts
When the UN Partners With the Harm It Is Meant to Prevent 08/05/2026 Unni Karunakara The United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) announced a “strategic partnership” with Nestlé to establish the World Food Academy 4 Sustainable Food Systems on 26 March. The arrangement incorporates Nestlé’s science and technology seminars, which reached around 7,000 students across over 300 academic institutions in more than 90 countries last year, […] Continue reading -> First Person Outside Cruise Ship is Suspected of Hantavirus Infection 07/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan The first person suspected of contracting hantavirus outside of passengers on the Hondius cruise ship is currently in a Dutch hospital. She is a flight attendant who came into contact with a former passenger who briefly boarded a KLM flight in Johannesburg, South Africa, but was prevented by airline staff from flying to Amsterdam as […] Continue reading -> ‘We Are Going to Die’: The Frontline Costs of Uganda’s New US Health Agreement 07/05/2026 Soita Khatondi Wepukhulu This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. On an early morning in February, 23-year-old Suzan Akello was found lying dead on a veranda outside a house she had visited in Namataala, Mbale town, in eastern Uganda. Friends said she could not afford a clinic and had taken herbal medicine to terminate a pregnancy. […] Continue reading -> Two More Reported Cases of Hantavirus Linked to Cruise Ship Hit by ‘Uncommon’ Human-to-Human Transmission 05/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Two more people linked to the cruise ship Hondius were reported to have fallen ill in Switzerland and France, according to Swiss and European media reports Wednesday. In the Swiss case, the infection and its links to the cruise ship were confirmed by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. On the reported French case, […] Continue reading -> Investing in Midwives is Essential to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health 05/05/2026 Teguest Guerma The International Day of the Midwife (May 5) reminds us that safe birth is not a stand-alone event, but part of the broader continuum of sexual and reproductive health and rights Most maternal deaths occur during labour, birth, or shortly after birth. Nearly 290,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2020, with […] Continue reading -> Pandemic Talks Extended – But Colombia Appeals for New ‘Method’ to Settle Differences 04/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Colombia has appealed for a new “method” to settle the outstanding annex of the Pandemic Agreement, after World Health Organization (WHO) member states failed to reach agreement last week after almost a year of talks. Talks on a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system were due to wrap up last Friday night, but have […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older Posts Newer Posts
First Person Outside Cruise Ship is Suspected of Hantavirus Infection 07/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan The first person suspected of contracting hantavirus outside of passengers on the Hondius cruise ship is currently in a Dutch hospital. She is a flight attendant who came into contact with a former passenger who briefly boarded a KLM flight in Johannesburg, South Africa, but was prevented by airline staff from flying to Amsterdam as […] Continue reading -> ‘We Are Going to Die’: The Frontline Costs of Uganda’s New US Health Agreement 07/05/2026 Soita Khatondi Wepukhulu This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. On an early morning in February, 23-year-old Suzan Akello was found lying dead on a veranda outside a house she had visited in Namataala, Mbale town, in eastern Uganda. Friends said she could not afford a clinic and had taken herbal medicine to terminate a pregnancy. […] Continue reading -> Two More Reported Cases of Hantavirus Linked to Cruise Ship Hit by ‘Uncommon’ Human-to-Human Transmission 05/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Two more people linked to the cruise ship Hondius were reported to have fallen ill in Switzerland and France, according to Swiss and European media reports Wednesday. In the Swiss case, the infection and its links to the cruise ship were confirmed by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. On the reported French case, […] Continue reading -> Investing in Midwives is Essential to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health 05/05/2026 Teguest Guerma The International Day of the Midwife (May 5) reminds us that safe birth is not a stand-alone event, but part of the broader continuum of sexual and reproductive health and rights Most maternal deaths occur during labour, birth, or shortly after birth. Nearly 290,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2020, with […] Continue reading -> Pandemic Talks Extended – But Colombia Appeals for New ‘Method’ to Settle Differences 04/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Colombia has appealed for a new “method” to settle the outstanding annex of the Pandemic Agreement, after World Health Organization (WHO) member states failed to reach agreement last week after almost a year of talks. Talks on a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system were due to wrap up last Friday night, but have […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older Posts Newer Posts
‘We Are Going to Die’: The Frontline Costs of Uganda’s New US Health Agreement 07/05/2026 Soita Khatondi Wepukhulu This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. On an early morning in February, 23-year-old Suzan Akello was found lying dead on a veranda outside a house she had visited in Namataala, Mbale town, in eastern Uganda. Friends said she could not afford a clinic and had taken herbal medicine to terminate a pregnancy. […] Continue reading -> Two More Reported Cases of Hantavirus Linked to Cruise Ship Hit by ‘Uncommon’ Human-to-Human Transmission 05/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Two more people linked to the cruise ship Hondius were reported to have fallen ill in Switzerland and France, according to Swiss and European media reports Wednesday. In the Swiss case, the infection and its links to the cruise ship were confirmed by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. On the reported French case, […] Continue reading -> Investing in Midwives is Essential to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health 05/05/2026 Teguest Guerma The International Day of the Midwife (May 5) reminds us that safe birth is not a stand-alone event, but part of the broader continuum of sexual and reproductive health and rights Most maternal deaths occur during labour, birth, or shortly after birth. Nearly 290,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2020, with […] Continue reading -> Pandemic Talks Extended – But Colombia Appeals for New ‘Method’ to Settle Differences 04/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Colombia has appealed for a new “method” to settle the outstanding annex of the Pandemic Agreement, after World Health Organization (WHO) member states failed to reach agreement last week after almost a year of talks. Talks on a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system were due to wrap up last Friday night, but have […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older Posts Newer Posts
Two More Reported Cases of Hantavirus Linked to Cruise Ship Hit by ‘Uncommon’ Human-to-Human Transmission 05/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Two more people linked to the cruise ship Hondius were reported to have fallen ill in Switzerland and France, according to Swiss and European media reports Wednesday. In the Swiss case, the infection and its links to the cruise ship were confirmed by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. On the reported French case, […] Continue reading -> Investing in Midwives is Essential to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health 05/05/2026 Teguest Guerma The International Day of the Midwife (May 5) reminds us that safe birth is not a stand-alone event, but part of the broader continuum of sexual and reproductive health and rights Most maternal deaths occur during labour, birth, or shortly after birth. Nearly 290,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2020, with […] Continue reading -> Pandemic Talks Extended – But Colombia Appeals for New ‘Method’ to Settle Differences 04/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Colombia has appealed for a new “method” to settle the outstanding annex of the Pandemic Agreement, after World Health Organization (WHO) member states failed to reach agreement last week after almost a year of talks. Talks on a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system were due to wrap up last Friday night, but have […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older Posts Newer Posts
Investing in Midwives is Essential to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health 05/05/2026 Teguest Guerma The International Day of the Midwife (May 5) reminds us that safe birth is not a stand-alone event, but part of the broader continuum of sexual and reproductive health and rights Most maternal deaths occur during labour, birth, or shortly after birth. Nearly 290,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2020, with […] Continue reading -> Pandemic Talks Extended – But Colombia Appeals for New ‘Method’ to Settle Differences 04/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Colombia has appealed for a new “method” to settle the outstanding annex of the Pandemic Agreement, after World Health Organization (WHO) member states failed to reach agreement last week after almost a year of talks. Talks on a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system were due to wrap up last Friday night, but have […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older Posts Newer Posts
Pandemic Talks Extended – But Colombia Appeals for New ‘Method’ to Settle Differences 04/05/2026 Kerry Cullinan Colombia has appealed for a new “method” to settle the outstanding annex of the Pandemic Agreement, after World Health Organization (WHO) member states failed to reach agreement last week after almost a year of talks. Talks on a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system were due to wrap up last Friday night, but have […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older Posts Newer Posts