Health Policy Watch is publishing in an open-access format the latest draft of the World Health Assembly resolution on transparency of drug costs. The new draft, now available to all, reflects changes from the 10 May closed-door informal negotiations at the WHO, and shows progress toward compromise among member states. Continue reading ->
Thomas Cueni, director general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, shared his view on fair pricing with Health Policy Watch: “Most of us can probably agree that innovation is meaningless if it does not reach patients. At the same time, a Fair Price must strike a balance between a price that is […] Continue reading ->
This year’s World Health Assembly will provide perhaps the best measure to date of the World Health Organization director-general’s policies since taking office nearly two years ago. But it will also reflect changing times for country relationships and for the state of global health. Image Credits: Photo: WHO/Antoine Tardy, WHO/Antoine Tardy, WHO, WHO/J. D. Kannah. Continue reading ->
A new draft text from an informal consultation at the World Health Organization yesterday shows a North-South divide emerging as member states made changes to the proposed resolution on the transparency of drug prices and the costs of research and development (R&D), brought forward by Italy earlier this year, that is slated for discussion at […] Continue reading ->
Stamping out HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria can play a major role in helping to achieve universal health coverage (UHC), said a high-level panel of leaders and supporters of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, convened yesterday in the lead-up to the World Health Assembly later this month. Image Credits: WHO. Continue reading ->
A number of developed countries are working to delay a landmark proposal at the World Health Organization by Italy to increase transparency of drug prices and R&D costs in an effort to make medicines more affordable, according to sources. The Italian proposal has garnered a number of supporters, including within Europe; but at an informal WHO consultation today and last week at the European Union, countries such as Germany, France, and the United Kingdom have begun pushing for postponement of discussions, sources said. [Now updated with new version of proposal!] Continue reading ->
Loss of biodiversity around the world is happening at an unprecedented rate, damaging ecosystems and threatening grave impacts to human well-being, a new landmark report warns. But it’s not too late to make a difference, it says, through transformative, system-wide change across technological, economic and social factors. Image Credits: IPBES/Yildiz Aumeeruddy-Thomas, IPBES. Continue reading ->
Stimulating national government investments in health systems and reducing the large global burden of environmental and work-related health risks are two complementary approaches to universal health coverage (UHC) that are key to its success, said WHO’s lead on the issue. Image Credits: E.R. Fletcher. Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization says it has secured a commitment from the International Food and Beverage Alliance (IFBA) to phase out industrially-processed trans fat from the global food supply by 2023. Image Credits: WHO. Continue reading ->
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) this week launched its new five-year strategy that aims to overcome final hurdles in eradicating polio transmission. However, remaining pockets of transmission in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria pose challenges of geographic isolation, migration and insecurity, leading to “missing children” in polio vaccination efforts. Image Credits: Jean-Marc Giboux, GPEI. Continue reading ->