The World Health Organization published new data today that it says “reveals wide differences in consumption of antibiotics in different countries,” suggesting overuse and misuse of these life-saving medicines, which contributes to antibiotic resistance. Continue reading ->
As governments increasingly mobilise to address the now-recognised urgency of creating new antibiotics before humanity develops resistance to existing ones, the pharmaceutical industry broadly is trying to position itself to be helpful in the effort. In a statement today, an industry alliance on antimicrobial resistance reported on its progress this year to date. Continue reading ->
According to the World Health Organization, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) - or chronic diseases - including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, kill 41 million people each year and are on the rise in developing countries. This week, the WHO held the first general meeting of its mechanism aiming at facilitating prevention and control of NCD diseases. The numerous speakers shared local, regional, and international experiences in implementing measures. Separately, WHO announced the launch of a new collaborative platform for NCDs. Continue reading ->
Member states of the World Health Organization last week gathered for the first-ever Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health, and made a set of commitments in the time frame of the year 2030. The United Nations secretary general hailed the commitments as a "critical step" toward his own summit planned for 2019. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Dr Tedros) in remarks at the close of the conference highlighted the number of deaths from air pollution and laid out members' commitments from the meeting. These include sustainable energy sources for health facilities, establishing a multistakeholder action platform, educating and empowering health workers to bring change, scaling up WHO's air pollution programme, and looking into stronger institutional mechanisms such as possibly an air quality convention. Continue reading ->
Clemens Martin Auer, director general of Austria’s Ministry of Health, could be said to take a pragmatic and original perspective when it comes to European and national policy. In an interview with Health Policy Watch during the recent European Health Forum in Bad Gastein, Austria, he discussed health priorities for the current Austrian presidency of the European Union and beyond. He also discussed ongoing efforts by a number of European countries to address high prices of medicines and public funding for R&D. This is the second of two parts. Continue reading ->
WASHINGTON, DC -- The United States is one of the biggest funders of reproductive health and family planning in multiple developing countries. It is also one of the biggest distributors of contraceptive services in the international market providing all but one: Abortion. The US congressional midterm elections taking place on 6 November could influence further proposed changes to these policies by the current US administration, potentially affecting the lives of millions of women worldwide, for better or worse. Continue reading ->
BAD HOFGASTEIN, Austria -- For many health issues, individuals and nations must work together to achieve solutions, Clemens Martin Auer, the director general of the health ministry of Austria, said in an interview with Health Policy Watch. And the annual European Health Forum Gastein is a good place to talk about it, he said. This is part one of a two-part interview. Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization met from 23-25 October to review progress and recommendations for the Global Vaccine Action Plan, including the need for guidance on the use of Ebola vaccines in emergencies, the contribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination toward eliminating cervical cancer, and the current status of polio and measles eradication, according to a press briefing. Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization this week is holding its first-ever global conference on air pollution and health (30 October-1 November) in order to shed light on the alarming death toll of 7 million premature deaths caused every year by toxic air pollution and to call for a drastic scale-up of effective interventions to combat the problem. Continue reading ->
The diminishing arsenal of efficient antibiotics to fight bacteria is a threat denounced by many, but investment in research and development of new antibiotics is seen as lagging. As the danger of getting back to a pre-antibiotic age is increasing, alternative ways of financing new antibiotics are being discussed. At the World Investment Forum this week, a panel looked into innovative means of investment, and ways to attract private investors to this field. Continue reading ->