A festering civil conflict fueling rampant fear and distrust has been a major obstacle in the World Health Organization’s efforts to end the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). But now, funding shortages could further cripple the already strained response – unless the global community steps up quickly, Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom […] Continue reading ->
New York – Strengthening references to sexual and reproductive health and rights, marginalised people, and public-private partnerships that ensure rights and inclusion, were among the core proposals pitched yesterday at a United Nations multi-stakeholder meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), involving representatives of government, UN agencies, civil society and the private sector. The milestone meeting […] Continue reading ->
Ten countries, including five European Union (EU) member states, have now lined up in support of a landmark resolution to increase transparency of drug prices globally, which is expected to be a key focus of deliberations by WHO member states as they convene for the 72nd World Health Assembly (WHA), May 20-28 in Geneva. Image […] Continue reading ->
Deaths from infections resistant to common antibiotics, antivirals and anti-parasitic drugs could increase more than ten-fold to 10 million deaths annually by 2050, warns a ground-breaking United Nations report released today. Image Credits: WHO/Quinn Mattingly, UN. Continue reading ->
Child vaccination targets of at least 80 percent coverage in low- and middle-income countries, are regularly being missed. To better understand why this is happening, a new study created high resolution maps of vaccine coverage to identify disparities within countries and to inform effective strategies to increase coverage and access. Image Credits: WHO. Continue reading ->
As leaders from across the globe met in Paris today to renew commitments against malaria on World Malaria Day, a Geneva-based group announced the scale-up of a project in rural Zambia that reduced severe malaria fatality by 96 percent. The innovative project administers life-saving drugs to children with malaria in rural communities, and provides immediate […] Continue reading ->
Scientists from a range of countries are calling for an update to World Health Organization guidelines on biosimilar products in order to help national authorities better implement policies to make biosimilars less costly. Current guidelines are outdated and are being misused, they say. But a WHO official told Health Policy Watch the guidelines document should not be made “over-prescriptive”, and that a thorough assessment by an expert group last year found a revision unnecessary but will keep considering it. Continue reading ->
For children under five years, increasing active play and reducing sedentary screen-time, while getting sufficient sleep, is critical for healthy physical and cognitive development, which impacts life-long health, according to new World Health Organization guidelines. Image Credits: WHO. Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization today announced that a new vaccine for malaria, which has been in development for 30 years and recently passed clinical trials, is being introduced as part of the routine childhood immunization programmes of Malawi, soon to be followed by Kenya and Ghana. Image Credits: WHO/M. Nieuwenhof. Continue reading ->
Global health policymakers need to adopt a “bench-to-bedside” approach to research and development, to ensure that new drugs and vaccines are not only put into the development pipeline, but are also readily available for responding to global health crises such as Ebola, says Michelle Childs of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi). Image Credits: […] Continue reading ->