Less than 15 years ago, UNAIDS opened its shining new Geneva headquarters opposite WHO’s. Now, a UN Task Force has suggested the two might merge.

Merging WHO and UNAIDs, and combining the “operational” component of WHO’s Emergencies response with that of other agencies are just two among the several dozen ideas pitched by the UN80 Initiative Task Force – in the full text of options for interagency budget cuts and efficiencies, obtained by Health Policy Watch. 

The list of over 50 bullet points, dubbed a “compilation of non-attributable suggestions by the Task Force,” that was commissioned by UN Secretary António Guterres in March, cites options for wide-ranging operational reforms and mergers amongst the patchwork of UN agencies active in four key areas: peace and security; humanitarian affairs; sustainable development; and human rights.  

The listing, marked “strictly confidential” also proposes to “reduce number of high-level posts (D1 and above),” systems wide – echoing plans for cutbacks in senior staff, now reportedly planned by the World Health Organization, the Geneva-based specialized UN agency, as it faces a $2.5 billion budget deficit from mid-2025 to end 2027.   

A companion memo, issued by UN Deputy Secretary General Guy Bernard Ryder on 25 April, also obtained by Health Policy Watch, requests all UN Secretariat operations in New York City and Geneva – the highest-cost UN duty stations – to undertake internal reviews “to identify as many functions as possible that could be relocated to existing lower-cost locations, brought closer to mandate implementation or clients/stakeholders in the field, or otherwise reduced or abolished if they are duplicative or no longer viable.”

UN SG Memo to Heads of Secretariat Entities in New York and Geneva – 25 April 2025.

The initiative to review UN-wide relocation options was initially reported Wednesday by Devex while excerpts from the UN Task Force 80 memo were reported on Thursday by Reuters.  

Asked to comment on the feasibility of a UNAID/WHO merger and other Task Force 80 ideas, a WHO spokesperson deferred, saying it was a UN initiative, and referred Health Policy Watch to the UN Secretary General’s Office.

Farhan Aziz Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary General’s Office, said in an emailed response: “These documents are part of an internal process which represents the operationalization of the UN80 initiative that the Secretary-General launched on 12 March. [It] is the preliminary result of an exercise to generate ideas and thoughts from senior officials on how to achieve the Secretary-General’s vision.”

The UN80 Task force is due to report its final recommendations to the 2026 UN General Assembly. 

UNAIDS-WHO merger and other global health moves? 

Task Force 80 suggests “strategic” merger of UNAIDS into WHO and UN Women Merger with the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

With regards to the UN’s activities on health, emergencies and related humanitarian and sustainable development initiatives, the task force’s list of consolidated ideas includes the following: 

Under Sustainable Development:  

  • “Strategic integration of UNAIDS into WHO, creating a more unified and efficient global health authority.” Alternatively, the Task Force also notes that “UNAIDS, under severe financial pressure and with a sunset clause of 2030, could transition into another, larger entity such as WHO or UNDP.”

Under Humanitarian Response:  

  • “Merge operational responsibilities and capabilities of major operational agencies (WFP, UNHCR, UNICEF, WHO) in humanitarian and conflict affected contexts.”

Although WHO made no comment, the agency’s Emergencies Department is one of the Organization’s largest, and some outside observers have long advocated for consolidating its on-the-ground operations with those of other humanitarian relief agencies.  The WHO Emergency response to the COVID pandemic, followed by mpox and a series of humanitarian crises was also the main reason for WHO’s massive surge in consultants – whose ranks doubled between 2017 and 2024, WHO’s Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told media on Thursday.  See related story.

UNAIDS also did not respond to Health Policy Watch requests for comment, as of publication.  However, the organization has been in deep trouble ever since the US government terminated its support earlier this year, with rumors of a possible closure or merger. The $93 million US contribution to the agency comprised some 41% of UNAIDS $222 million budget in 2023. Switzerland, the agency’s fourth largest donor also has announced it will end its support.

Merging UN institutions on climate and environment; women and sexual/reproductive health   

COP28, the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), November 2023 in Dubai.

Other major innovations proposed by the UN 80 Task Force in the sustainable development arena include  the formal integration of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which manages the annual rounds of climate negotiations and tracks countries’ climate commitments. 

The task force also pitches a merger of UN WOMEN and the UN Nations Population Fund  (UNFPA) “to create a powerful new entity focused on advancing gender equality and reproductive health and rights.” 

As part of that latter move, the Task Force also calls for better alignment of “select UNICEF programmes with this new entity, especially those focused on adolescent girls’ well-being and gender-based violence prevention and response.”

The UN80 Task Force also proposes that the UN Secretariat establish a UN Sustainable Development Department “that consolidates relevant entities to ensure cohesive and integrated support for the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, including: (Secretariat entities) DCO, DESA, UNDRR, UN-OHRLLS and (other entities) UNDP, UNCDF, UNV, UNRISD, FAO, IFAD, UN-Habitat, WHO, UN-Women, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNEP, WB, IMF, WTO, UNOPS, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNESCO.”

And the Task Force says that UNEP and UN Habitat should enhance their coordination to promote “sustainable urban development” – in a world seeing runaway, unplanned urban expansion – although it stops short of calling for a merger of the two agencies.   

Refugees and Human Rights 

UNRWA shelters in Khan Yunis in November 2023, at the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Most of Gaza’s population has been displaced by the war, multiple times.

The Task Force also suggests establishing a “UN Human Rights Department led by a High Commissioner for Human Rights, coordinating human rights promotion and protection across the UN system, including servicing the UN human rights mechanisms and integrating human rights into sustainable development, peace & security and humanitarian engagement.”

Currently, human rights work is centralized in a separate Geneva-based entity, the Office for the High Commissioner of Human Rights OHCHR, which also oversees the UN Human Rights Council, whose members have often been criticized for selectively focusing on human rights violations in the Israel-Palestine dispute, while while ignoring violations in China, Iran and elsewhere with regards to the systematic repression of minorities and dissident voices.   

With regards to humanitarian affairs, the Task Force suggested creating a “streamlined “UN Humanitarian Response and Protection Organization”, by integrating the OCHA (the UNOffice for Coordinating Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) and the IOM (International Organization of Migration), leveraging WFP’s expertise for material assistance procurement, distribution and logistics.”

Alternatively, it proposes creating “a new UN Refugee and Migration Agency (merging UNHCR and IOM).”

Strikingly, the Task Force does not suggest merging UNRWA, the UN Relief Agency for Palestinian Refugees – with the UN’s other main refugee entity UNHCR. It does, however, suggest creating a “UN Humanitarian Operations Department – including OCHA, WFP, UNRWA and a UN Refugee & Migration Agency (merging UNHCR and IOM)” to manage UN-wide humanitarian preparedness and response.  

UNRWA’s $1.16 billion budget to a major blow when the United States halted its support while some European nations paused contributions in the wake of the bloody 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israeli communities, in which Israel alleged some UNRWA employees participated. UNRWA has also been complicit in Hamas’ use of schools and clinics for military purposes, as well as filching humanitarian aid, Israel says. In the face of UNRWA’s rebuttals as well as Gaza’s dire humanitarian crisis, some donors resumed funding, while others, like Sweden, made the stoppage permanent.  Even so, UNRWA continues to enjoy strong financial and political support from key European nations, like Ireland and Norway, as well as many other G70 nations. 

Structural reorganization and response 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres launched the UN 80 initiative in March.

The Task Force 80 document also proposes a wide range of cross-cutting UN reforms, including:  “structural reform proposals around our four basic pillars, each with a geographic focus (Nairobi/ Africa should be the center of development agencies, including UNDP/ UNICEF/ UNFPA).”

It says that a patchwork of UN agencies working on “peace and security” should also be merged and consolidated, with resources and personnel “moved closer to the field.” 

Along with addressing fragmentation and duplication, it states that “outdated working methods are leading to inefficiencies,” citing intergovernmental meetings as one example of fora that “are not making use of modern tools and technologies.”

“The progressive proliferation of agencies, funds, and programmes has led to a fragmented development system, with overlapping mandates, inefficient use of resources, and inconsistent delivery of services,” the Task Force states.

Along with the consolidation of overlapping agencies and functions, it calls for “a strategic reduction of the UN’s presence in high-cost locations to ensure long-term financial sustainability” positioning forms as “proactive measures to enhance UN agility and responsiveness that extends beyond measures for cost-cutting or austerity.”

Image Credits: Wikimedia Foundation, United Nations , UN SG/Task Force 80, Dennis Sylvester Hurd, WHO/EMRO, UN.

In the first episode of “Trailblazers with Gary,” Global Health Matters podcast host Dr Garry Aslanyan sat down in South Africa with Professor Tulio de Oliveira — one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people in global health.

Oliveira leads the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation at Stellenbosch University and was part of the team that first identified the Beta and Omicron variants of COVID-19.

Aslanyan and Oliveira met in Oliveira’s lab to talk about the real story behind the Omicron discovery, how Africa came together to fight the pandemic, and why pandemic preparedness must remain a top priority, even as the world moves on.

Oliveira opened up about his roots in Brazil, his family’s move to Africa during the post-apartheid years, and how those early experiences shaped his life’s mission. Oliveira said he sees global health not as a job, but as a moral responsibility — one that requires constant vigilance, collaboration, and investment.

Aslanyan and Oliveira also discussed how climate change is already fueling new health crises across the globe. From dengue outbreaks in Ethiopia to cholera in Malawi, Oliveira explained how extreme weather, flooding, and increased mobility are making epidemics more likely — and more dangerous.

His message was clear: global health funding cuts are not just short-sighted — they’re dangerous. Pathogens don’t respect borders. Without strong, coordinated systems in place, we’re setting ourselves up for the next pandemic to hit even harder.

His advice to the global health community? Stay focused. Deliver results. And never underestimate the power of preparation.

Watch the full episode:

 

Image Credits: TDR – Global Health Matters.

(on right) WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus – ‘no regrets’ but
appeals to US to return to WHO

The United States’ dismantling of its vast network of global health aid and assistance programmes constitutes “greatest disruption to global health finance in memory” and it is “sowing chaos in public health”, that threatens to roll back decades of progress on infectious and neglected diseases of poverty that affect billions of people, said WHO’s Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday. 

But Tedros still expressed hopes that the WHO’s biggest donor might eventually rejoin – asserting boldly that the global health agency had already fulfilled key demands made by US President Donald Trump when he withdrew from the organization in January.  

“We still believe the US will reconsider and join. Because for me, the US withdrawal is not about losing money. … More important for me is its impact on the partnership. US leadership is important. US partnership is important. No country should be out of WHO because it [countries] benefit.…. The decision is lose, lose. The US loses, and the rest of the world, we know for sure, loses.”

The WHO Director General’s comments at a two hour-long briefing with Geneva’s UN press constituted his most significant statement on WHO’s budget crisis, restructuring, and the troubled US relationship since Trump’s inauguration. 

In a related development, an internal UN task force memo has suggested merging another financially troubled Geneva agency, UNAIDS, into the WHO, as well as merging WHO’s emergency operations with those of other agencies delivering emergency relief, including the World Food Programme, UNICEF and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) into a single humanitarian entity, Reuters reported. Asked for comment by Health Policy Watch, a WHO spokesperson declined, saying it was was a UN document.

Pushes back against Trump – saying reforms are happening

On the campaign trail, prior to being elected, Trump repeatedly blasted the organization as a “corrupt globalist scam, paid for by the United States but owned and controlled by China.” 

At the Geneva briefing, Tedros pushed back saying that most of the reforms that the Trump had cited in his Executive order issued shortly after his inauguration were already being made by the agency.  

At the same time, Tedros referred to the “catastrophic” health and hunger crisis in war-torn Gaza; a major cholera outbreak in Angola; and gang violence in Haiti as examples of public health threats faced by WHO – and the world. On a brighter note, he expressed optimism that WHO member states would finally approve a pandemic treaty in the upcoming World Health Assembly, 19-27 May, after negotiators, working around the clock, finally reached an accord last month.      

Countries Say YES to Pandemic Agreement

Trump’s reasons for leaving WHO are now ‘good reasons to stay’

Budget projection and gap from an internal briefing presented to member states in April.

Legally, the US withdrawal would take effect in January 2026, but WHO officials admit that along with the lost of voluntary funds, they also haven’t any of the $260 million in US assessed contribution for 2024-2025. Those losses, along with other laggard member state payments, has contributed to a $600 million budget shortfall for 2025. The agency faces a whopping $1.9 billion deficit for 2026-2027. 

“As far as we know, there were four issues mentioned in the Executive order” issued by Donald Trump to withdraw from the Organization,” Tedros said.  

“One is [organizational] reform, second is [US] payments, third is COVID management and fourth is independence. 

“And all four are good reasons for the US to stay,” he added, saying that the agency had undertaken more than 94 reform initiatives; WHO  is gradually  increasing all member states’ required contributions so that ultimately the United States would be able to “pay less” overall. 

In terms of COVID management, Tedros argued that the pandemic agreement would improve the world’s and WHO’s response to a future crisis without sacrificing national sovereignty- although the US has said that they will not participate in the accord. 

“And there are even many Americans in Congress who say that the accountability and transparency of the organization has improved,” Tedros maintained.  But the problem, he added, is “wrong information, and other people running around and blaming the organization.”

Praises past collaborations

Preventative treatment for NTDS, schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths, for school children in Tanzania – just one example of initiatives now facing cuts.

The Director General also praised WHO’s longstanding partnership with the United States – saying: “Of course, donor countries can spend money where they want – and we are grateful to those that have for decades funded health systems globally – but instead of an orderly decline, the abrupt cuts to overseas development aid and a challenging economic and trade environment are sewing chaos in public health.

“For example, advances in tackling Neglected Tropical Diseases, which affect over one billion people and disproportionately impact the poorest and most marginalized communities, are at real risk of backsliding,” Tedros said.

“Thanks to the huge efforts of the US government, more than three billion treatments have been delivered to 1.7 billion people in 26 countries over the past two decades.

“The combination of $1.4 billion from the United States, generous pharmaceutical donations, private sector innovation and (largely public sector) health workers, has helped stop transmission of lymphatic filariasis, river blindness, schistosomiasis, intestinal worms and trachoma in 14 countries.

“However, the abrupt cuts and withdrawal of US funding, on top of other donor countries cutting investments to NTDs, have led to treatment campaigns for more than 140 million people being paused, and research on new medical tools being cut.

“But it doesn’t have to be this way, and we urge governments to not turn their backs on the poorest and most marginalized and undermine decades of progress,” he said, pointing out that, “diseases continue to be born, with a heating world, protracted conflict and continuing outbreaks.”

25% of 2026-27 salary costs are unmet

New WHO Organizational plan reduces 10 divisions at headquarters to just four.

Just last week, WHO unveiled a new plan to staff and member states that would dramatically reduce the number of departments at headquarters from around 60 to around 33, while programme divisions at headquarters would shrink from 10 to just four. 

As for rank and file staff, some projections have held that cuts at headquarters, which faces the biggest deficit, could ultimately be in the range of 40%.

WHO staff salary gaps by region, as portrayed in slides circulated to WHO directors.

Tedros confirmed that the cutbacks would affect the Geneva headquarters’ operations most deeply, followed by rollbacks in WHO’s six regional and 152 country offices. 

While country offices should be the least affected, WHO is also planning to close country offices operating in high and upper middle income countries – which depend far less on the global health agency’s technical support, Tedros added.

But WHO’s head of Business Operations, Raul Thomas, said that officials are so far unable to make projections – until WHO management completes a “prioritization” exercise to determine more precisely what projects and programmes should be cancelled, which should remain – as well as what teams or initiatives might actually relocate outside of Geneva to less expensive locations.   

“The outcome of the shape of the organization will be heavily dependent on the prioritization exercise,” Thomas told journalists. “And out of that, we will then be able to determine the location of those positions that we’re going to reduce, the grades of those positions – which will heavily impact the number of positions [to be cut]. 

“What we do know is that, based on our projections, our financial projections, 25% of our salary costs for the next biennium are not met. So what that translates into in terms of number of positions and unknown at this point in time.”

At the same time, Tedros sought to put a positive light on the cutbacks, saying that in the end, it would make WHO more efficient and responsive to country needs. 

“We will make sure that this prioritization will help us to …focus the organization … to sharpen the organization and make it more focused and even more impactful.”

He made no reference at the briefing to the UN task force memo circulating, an initiative of  UN Secretary General António Guterres, which raises the possibility of even more dramatic changes – particularly regarding a possible UNAIDS merger with WHO and the merger of operational aspects of WHO’s Emergencies Department with those of other agencies.  The memo, prepared by a task force appointed in March by Guterres, was described by his Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric as an exercise to “generate ideas and thoughts from senior officials on how to achieve the Secretary General’s vision.” 

No regrets about past years of expansion 

Tedros, meanwhile, said that he had no regrets about the expansion of staff, consultants and senior directors positions that he has overseen since taking office in July 2017. 

An earlier report by Health Policy Watch found that globally, the number of the most senior, D2, directors had nearly doubled, increasing from 39 to 75 worldwide as of July 2024. The number of non-staff affiliates also soared from roughly 3800 in 2017 to around 7600 as of July 2024, while rank and file staff increased by 17%. See related story: 

EXCLUSIVE: Number of WHO Senior Directors Nearly Doubled since 2017, Costs Approach $100 million

On the large increase in D2 directors, Tedros said that the creation of new initiatives, such as the Chief Scientists’ Office, the WHO Academy; a new Berlin-based office of Pandemic Surveillance; and a Department of Digital Technology, had warranted the creation of new high-level positions – as part of initiatives to make WHO more fit for the future. 

“These were intentional and conscious …  things that can help the organization or prepare the organization for the future. It’s on science. It’s on evidence, on data, on digital technology.”

Beyond the creation of new positions, however, Tedros acknowledged that the near doubling of D2 directors, from 39 to 75 as of July 2024, as noted in the 10 March Health Policy Watch report, was largely a function of promotions. 

“Of course, if you count them as doubling, there were directors to be promoted from D1 to D2, and the reason for that is we need to be competitive, to attract talent. … And in terms of money, by the way, it’s a very small amount,” he said.

Sources: Appendix 1 to WHO staff rules 2024, effective as of January 2023, EB 2023 Salaries of Ungraded Positions and 31 July 2024 HR update: Estimates are based on costs of a D2 at Step VI and a D1/P6 at Step X of the published salary scale.

Swollen consultants’ ranks

As for the increase in consultants as well as staff, Tedros said that the COVID pandemic, followed by two mpox public health emergencies, not to mention other outbreaks and humanitarian crises, had led to the increase in WHO’s non-staff hires.  

“It had to be done. There was no other way. And I would do it again if there was an emergency,” he said, “We went from one thing to another, we don’t regret. There was a need.””

But he contended that the agency had been “over the last two years, trying to decrease” its consultants corps. In fact, 2023 was a peak year for WHO hires of both “consultants” as well as of personnel on non-staff Special Service Agreements, according to Health Policy Watch’s analysis of the HR data from 2017-2024.

New data published just ahead of WHA shows that consultancy contracts of all kinds did finally decline in end 2024 – from approximately 6311 contracts in 2023 to 5317 as of end 2024. And the number of full time equivalents (FTE) those contracts represent shrunk from 2398 to 1717 as of end year. For Special Services Agreements, the other major type of long-term, non-staff agreement, there was a very slight decline from 5606 to 5494 contract holders. 

WHO non-staff ‘affiliates’ in 2024: slight decline from 2023, which represented a six year peak.

In either case, Tedros said that he aims to use the present crisis to put WHO on a stronger footing. 

“That’s why I say it’s an opportunity, because we wanted to make the organization especially want a better footing addressing the systemic problems related to financing, and make sure that the organization is involved.”

As for the pending appointments of just four new Assistant Director General’s out of a team of 11 senior leadership members today, Tedros said that “It will be very difficult to satisfy the various expectations.  But I’m having a session with every senior manager, we are discussing openly, and I hope the outcome of the appointments will be for the best of the organization – make the organization even better.” 

Updated 2.5.2025

Image Credits: Health Policy Watch , WHO, RTI Fights NTDs, WHO , WHO HR and EB records, 2023-2024, WHO HR Update Tables as of 31.12.2024.

A baby being vaccinated in Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire.

African countries like Uganda and South Africa are rewriting the rules of emergency response. The rest of the world must follow – or fall behind.

Every April, World Immunisation Week is observed with predictable rhetoric: health leaders celebrate progress, governments make declarations, and global agencies issue reports highlighting gains and gaps in vaccination.

But as we enter a new phase of global health uncertainty with mounting climate shocks, geopolitical upheavals, and pandemic threats. We must go beyond ritual. It’s time to fundamentally reframe how we see vaccines: not just as tools to end disease, but as core infrastructure in the architecture of pandemic preparedness and response (PPR).

To do this, we must first understand how we got here.

From smallpox to COVID-19

Vaccines have always been about more than biology, they are about equity, power, and politics. The roots of modern immunisation trace back to the 18th century, when Edward Jenner introduced the smallpox vaccine in 1796.

But in truth, the practice of inoculation dates far earlier, with African, Asian, and Indigenous communities using forms of variolation centuries before Jenner’s discovery.

In the 20th century, vaccination scaled into a global public good. The World Health Organisation (WHO) launched the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) in 1974, with a mission to provide universal access to life-saving vaccines such as those for measles, polio, diphtheria, and tuberculosis.

This catalysed one of the greatest public health successes of all time: a 99% reduction in polio cases, millions of measles deaths averted, and a world finally free of smallpox by 1980.

Yet, in this century, immunisation programmes have struggled to maintain momentum. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine services worldwide, and in many African countries, immunisation coverage dropped sharply due to supply chain failures, misinformation, and funding gaps. In 2021 alone, nearly 25 million children missed routine vaccinations — 6 million more than in 2019.

But the pandemic also proved something profound: that immunisation systems, if properly funded and embedded into broader health systems, can serve as vital early warning and rapid response mechanisms.

Mainstreaming immunisation in pandemic preparedness

Immunisation programmes are often treated as siloed verticals, disconnected from national health security strategies. This is a mistake. In reality, robust immunisation systems are the frontline infrastructure for epidemic intelligence, surveillance, risk communication, and rapid response.

They have three critical advantages that pandemic preparedness cannot afford to overlook:

First up: Trusted Community Networks. Immunisation programmes have built decades of trust with communities. These networks—often led by nurses, midwives, community health workers, and civil society—are essential for communicating risk and reaching marginalised populations quickly during outbreaks.

Cold chain infrastructure is a second bonus.  No other area of the health system has the logistical muscle that immunisation programmes do. From solar fridges in rural Mali to drone deliveries in Rwanda, the cold chain is a backbone for health commodities distribution.

Lastly, immunisation drives are data-driven systems.  Immunisation tracking systems such as DHIS2 and electronic immunisation registries are already collecting real-time, geo-tagged health data. These can be integrated into early warning systems for new outbreaks.

Mainstreaming immunisation into PPR is not just smart, it is urgently necessary. The WHO’s Immunisation Agenda 2030 (IA2030) is clear: immunisation must be part of a life-course approach to health, linked to emergency response and resilient systems.

Africa is already showing us the way.

Uganda: Integrating immunisation and emergency preparedness

In 2018, Uganda launched a National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS), aligning its immunisation efforts with the International Health Regulations (IHR) framework. When COVID-19 hit, the country was able to leverage its longstanding immunisation network, especially in rural districts like Lira and Gulu, to support pandemic response.

Immunisation personnel were re-trained to support contact tracing, community awareness campaigns, and vaccine rollout. Cold chain equipment originally purchased for EPI was used to store COVID-19 vaccines. And thanks to the country’s Electronic Immunisation Register, Uganda was able to rapidly track coverage rates and identify gaps.

The result? Despite global inequities in vaccine supply, routine immunisation coverage bounced back faster than expected, aided by strengthened surveillance and data systems.

Uganda’s model demonstrates what is possible when immunisation and preparedness are not in competition, but in collaboration.

South Africa’s ‘whole-of-government’ vaccine response

South Africa’s response to COVID-19 was complex, but one standout success was integrating its immunisation programme with broader disaster management systems. From the outset, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) worked closely with the Expanded Programme on Immunisation to align data streams, forecasting, and workforce planning.

The government built an innovative digital platform—EVDS (Electronic Vaccine Data System)—that merged COVID-19 vaccination records with existing health databases, enabling real-time tracking and equitable rollout strategies [1]. Community-based organisations, many of which had deep roots in HIV vaccine research and advocacy, were mobilised to counter disinformation and support outreach.

Importantly, lessons from COVID-19 were fed back into South Africa’s revised National Pandemic Preparedness Plan, which now explicitly positions routine immunisation as a frontline defence and key surveillance tool.

This whole-of-government approach shows that mainstreaming immunisation isn’t about reinventing the wheel, it’s about unlocking the full potential of existing systems.

Risk of missing the moment

Despite these examples, many global frameworks still fail to treat immunisation as a core element of pandemic prevention. After three years of negotiations, the Pandemic Accord that will be presented at the World Health Assembly on 27 May makes only superficial mention of routine vaccination.

The text mentions strong primary health care and immunisation as important prevention, but for all intents and purposes these strategies are presented in siloes. Ideally, member states should have been mandated to integrate routine immunisation into primary health services, an approach which has “some of the greatest reach and demonstrable health outcomes,” according to Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance.  

Funding from initiatives such as the Pandemic Fund risks bypassing immunisation programmes altogether unless civil society and national governments push for integration.

This gap is not just technical—it’s political. Immunisation, especially in African contexts, has too often been treated as donor-driven charity rather than essential sovereignty. Reclaiming vaccines as part of national security and public infrastructure is part of a larger decolonial project: one that sees African states not as passive recipients of aid, but as active shapers of their own health futures.

Delivering on immunisation agenda 2030

As we mark Immunisation Week in 2025, we must move from commemoration to transformation. This means taking concrete steps to mainstream immunisation into national and global pandemic preparedness strategies:

Governments must include immunisation in national PPR Plans. Every country must revise its pandemic preparedness frameworks to explicitly include immunisation networks, data systems, and cold chain assets.

We must push for immunisation to be funded as core infrastructure. Donors and financing bodies, including the Pandemic Fund, must stop treating immunisation as a “vertical” programme and start investing in it as cross-cutting, systems-strengthening infrastructure.

Community leadership must be supported. Civil society, especially women-led and Indigenous organisations, must be funded and integrated into immunisation and emergency response planning.

Finally, the WHO’s Immunisation Agenda 2030 lays out a bold vision, but it will remain paper unless national governments are held accountable for delivering on its goals, including equity, coverage, and resilience.

This is not just about vaccines. It’s about dignity, sovereignty, and building systems that protect everyone, especially the most vulnerable, not just in times of crisis but every day.

Ultimately, the future of pandemic preparedness in Africa may lie not in high-tech labs or global summits, but in the quiet strength of a nurse with a cooler on her back, walking dusty roads to reach the last mile. That is where the next pandemic will be won—or lost.

Let us act before we forget.

Tian Johnson is the founder of the African Alliance and served on the South African Ministerial Advisory Council for COVID-19 at the height of the pandemic.

 

Image Credits: UNICEF.

Heated tobacco products (left and middle) are electronic devices that heat tobacco inserts. (The device on the right is an e-cigarette.)

Big tobacco companies are marketing heated tobacco products (HTP) as a less harmful alternative to cigarettes, but researchers warned this week that there is no evidence to support this or the industry claim that they can help smokers to quit.

HTPs are electronic devices that heat an insert of processed tobacco, often in a stick or pod, to produce an aerosol containing nicotine and other chemicals. The tobacco insert is often flavoured, including with flavours such as bubble gum and lime that appeal to young people.

“There are three key things policymakers and consumers need to know,” said Dr Sophie Braznell, a researcher from the University of Bath who co-authored a brief on HTPs released on Wednesday by STOP, a tobacco industry watchdog.

“First, heated tobacco products cause harmful effects. Second, there is no clear evidence that they are safer or less safe than other tobacco and nicotine products, even cigarettes. Third, available research lacks the independence and quality that might help us draw any conclusions about the impacts of real-world use,” Braznell told a media briefing on Wednesday.

Billion-dollar market

The main players in the HTP market.

The HTP market is estimated to be worth $36.7 billion and is projected to grow by over 52% between now and 2032, according to market research company Stellar.

“HTPs are available in at least 57 countries across Europe, North and South America, Eurasia, and East Asia. The market for HTPs in Africa and the Middle East is small but growing,” according to Stellar, with Asia Pacific being the fastest-growing region in the market.

HTPs have become more popular than cigarettes in Japan, while sales are surging internationally with promotions at events aimed at youth.

The HTP market leader is Philip Morris International’s (PMI) IQOS, an abbreviation of “I Quit Ordinary Smoking”, while British American Tobacco (which makes Glo) and Japan Tobacco International (Ploom) are the other key players.

HTPs are available in a limited number of African countries, including South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Ghana. 

However, the cost of the device is a barrier, acknowledged Frederic de Wilde, PMI’s president for South and Southeast Asia, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East, and Africa region.

“Africa definitely has a role to play and we are committed to coming up with smoke-free products to offer alternatives to African smokers,” de Wilde told African Business in an interview in late December 2024.

But he said that the current HTPs were “premium devices”, and PMI is “piloting a new simple device that is less expensive and targeted for medium and low price segments”.

How PMI’s Heated Tobacco Products are being consumed across the world.

Biased clinical trials

Braznell has spent the past five years reviewing clinical trials involving HTPs. She and colleagues found 49 clinical trials on humans, but 34 were linked to the tobacco industry, with one-third linked to Philip Morris International. 

In addition, they were usually run over a very short time – five days or less – and in controlled settings like laboratories, rather than real-world settings.

“Overall, 39 of the trials were judged to have a high risk of bias,” said Braznell, including selective reporting of results. She and colleagues also published their findings on the trials in the BMJ this week.

Aggressive marketing

Sophia San Luis, executive director of Imagine Law, a Philippines-based public interest law group

Sophia San Luis, executive director of Imagine Law, a Philippines-based public interest law group, told the media briefing that big tobacco companies were aggressively marketing their HTPs to young people.

President Ferdinand Marcos has hosted PMI since he assumed office in 2022, and the company has promoted its smoke-free products at events organised by First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos.

Renowned DJ Steve Aoki promotes IQOS products, and there is a ‘limited edition” HTP bearing his name. However, a range of NGOs and community organisations stopped an IQOS-sponsored concert featuring Aoki on the grounds that it violated advertising bans on tobacco products.

Marketing of PMI’s IQOS in Philippines was boosted by support from DJ Steve Aoki, with limite edition devices branded in his name.

Dmytro Kupyra, executive director of “Life,” a Ukrainian NGO working to reduce mortality and morbidity from non-communicable diseases, said his country had increased taxes on HTP six-fold in 2021, which had contained sales. 

However, in 2024, the Ministry of Finance reduced HTP taxes by 25%, after the tobacco companies conducted an intense campaign for taxes to be reduced. This means that Ukraine is no longer aligned with the European Union on taxation.

“For next four year, between 2025 to 2028, Ukraine will lose around $500 million in tobacco excise taxes, and Ukraine will have around 24,000 additional deaths from hamful tobacco use,” said Kupyra, who said that about 15% of young Ukrainians aged 18 to 28 use HTPs thanks to aggressive marketing.

Ukraine backtracked on HTP taxation in 2024.

Hazel Cheeseman, CEO of the UK’s Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said that PMI had a three-pronged strategy to promote HTPs.

“First of all, they want to aggressively secure a share of the nicotine market for their heated tobacco product, and are aggressively marketing them in ways that the UK Government does not believe is in line with the law,” said Cheeseman, whose public health charity set up by the Royal College of Physicians to end the harm caused by tobacco in the UK.

Hazel Cheeseman, CEO of the UK’s Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)

“They’re also seeking to secure a beneficial regulatory environment for their products through their lobbying efforts. But also, they want to be seen as a credible partner by the UK government on the basis that they have this apparently less harmful product,” said Cheeseman.

The UK’s comprehensive advertising restrictions on tobacco products were passed before HTPs existed, so PMI had marketed HTPs more aggressively and openly than they could for cigarettes, said Cheeseman.

When the UK government challenged PMI, they undertook to suspend marketing – but there are  numerous pop-up promotions of IQOS.

Questionable industry claims

“We are often told by the industry that heated tobacco products are a scientifically backed better alternative for adult smokers. But our own research shows us that we should be questioning whether, in fact, they are better for health,” said Braznell.

We’ve brought up questions and concerns about the quality of the available evidence, as well as other research that we’ve done over the last few years, which has shown that the tobacco industry continues to manipulate and misuse science for profit. 

“Work of our colleagues around the world has shown that many heated tobacco product users are not successfully quitting smoking using these products, and in fact, are perpetually continuing to use both heated tobacco products and cigarettes. 

“And lastly, we know that again and again, the tobacco industry is not just marketing heated tobacco products at smokers, but also to non-smokers and children.”

Image Credits: Filter, PMI.

A support group for HIV positive mothers in Zimbabwe. With massive aid cuts, medicines and support for people with HIV are under threat.

As Donald Trump’s US presidency reaches its 100th day, Zimbabweans living with HIV are fearful about their futures as they struggle to get antiretroviral medication.

MWENEZI, Zimbabwe – Memory Sibanda tried three times to get antiretroviral medication from her usual clinic in February but was turned away.

The 67-year-old has lived with HIV for the past 28 years. Jobless and widowed since 2003 when her husband succumbed to AIDS, Sibanda is unable to afford to buy the medication should the government fail to supply it.

She finally received a three-month supply in late February – half the usual allocation – and is anxious about what will happen when this runs out.

“I don’t know if this reduction of our treatment pills is happening only here in our village. Nurses don’t say anything to us about what is happening with the pills. I fear we might eventually end up not receiving the drugs at all, meaning many of us might die,” Sibanda, who lives in Chomutsvairo village in the southern province of Masvingo, told Health Policy Watch.

In the capital, Harare, a similar crisis faces HIV/AIDS patients. Mavis Makumbe, 65, has depended on free ARV treatment from the government for decades. But in late February, her whole life changed when she visited the New Start Centre in the city to fetch her medication.

“I found a notice on the door saying it was closed and no longer in operation. From there, I went back home and started taking the remaining tablets, but those again were not enough,” said Makumbe, a widow who has lived with HIV for 24 years.

Fortunately, her daughter’s friends rescued her by buying six months’ allocation of ARVs. The current going rate is $20 for a month’s supply – a fortune for the average Zimbabwean, with 80% of people working in the low-income informal sector and battling huge inflationary costs each month.

This is unsustainable for Makumbe, who is also battling cancer on one of her legs.

HIV positive prisoners also told Health Policy Watch that medicines are scarce.

“Not so long ago, we were being given rations of limited ARVs. Things are now worse after America has stopped giving us aid. Even painkiller pills are now hard to find in jail,” said an HIV positive prison inmate at Chikurubi Maximum Prison in Harare.

Trump aid cuts

The ARV shortage was caused when US President Donald Trump suspended all foreign aid for 90 days with immediate effect on 20 January. The Trump administration has since disbanded the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and extended the aid cut for a further 30 days until 20 May.

“We were put in a very tough situation by the aid cut by President Trump’s government,” said Stanley Takaona, president of the Zimbabwe HIV/AIDS Activist Union Community Trust.

“The aid cut-off was a bit harsh. We are praying that both our government and the US government will put on a humanitarian face and save our lives, as people living with HIV,” added Takaona, 62, who tested HIV positive at the age of 34 and started taking ARV treatment in 2001.

The government’s pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) initiative targeted at people with high exposure to HIV like sex workers has also been suspended amid the Trump administration’s global aid cuts.

In 2022, an estimated 1.3 million Zimbabweans were living with HIV, and 1.2 million were on ARVs – yet their medicine supply is now in jeopardy.

Progress under threat

Zimbabwe has made significant progress against HIV, and in 2023 it became one of only five African countries that achieved the 95-95-95 targets set by UNAIDS, with an estimated 95% of people with HIV aware of their status, 98% on treatment, and 95% of those on treatment having suppressed viral loads.

This is according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which has been the main recipient of the country’s Global Fund grant since 2009.

But with the US abandoning its commitments to combat the deadly virus abroad, activists like Sphiwe Chabikwa sees the gains made in fending off the disease being reversed.

“We are at risk. People may start dying again like what happened around 2000 and 2002 before ARVs were made available to everyone with HIV. I’m afraid,” said Chabikwa, who lives in Harare.

Chabikwa is a member of the Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+), the country’s network of people living with HIV.

For the past 25 years, Chabikwa has lived with HIV, and her steady access to ARVs has enabled her to manage the virus as a chronic disease.

“I get the second-line of antiretroviral treatment, but that again has had its supplies affected by the recent US aid cut. Instead of people living with HIV like me getting six months’ supplies of ARVs, this has now been reduced to three months’ supplies. That means the treatment drugs are in short supply and the authorities are trying to manage a crisis.”

Health experts predict that all the gains Zimbabwe made in defeating HIV might go to waste following the abrupt withdrawal of US aid.

Long queues now characterise the collection of HIV treatment, and patients are fearful about what the future holds for them.

Wilkins Hospital in Harare has stopped offering HIV tests and antiretroviral drugs since the US cut its aid to Zimbabwe.

Bribes for medicine

Fearing a future without ARVs, some other HIV patients admit to bribing nurses in order to get six months’ allocation of ARVs.

“Many HIV positive people in my area, including myself are now bribing nurses at local clinics in order to get the usual six months allocation of treatment drugs,” said a resident from Harare who asked to remain anonymous.

Zimbabwean nurses stationed at clinics distributing ARVs have capitalized on the patients’ fears.

“It’s our time to make money from the desperate HIV patients because our salaries alone can’t sustain us and so, with the now scarce ARVs, we just put a small fee on them for our own benefit in our backdoor deals with patients,” said a nurse at one of the clinics in Harare who spoke to Health Policy Watch on condition of remaining anonymous.

Authorities deny crisis

Yet the Zimbabwean authorities have denied that ARVs have run out. During a parliamentary question-and-answer session in February, Health Minister Douglas Mombeshora assured the nation that access to HIV treatment will continue despite global aid uncertainty.

Mombeshora claimed that Zimbabwe has secured enough stock of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to last for the next six months. 

Despite the Minister’s assurance, HIV patients have seen their treatment allocations reduced and those living with HIV fear the worst.

However, the Zimbabwean government is developing an HIV sustainability plan to address long-term funding issues and mobilising domestic resources to maintain priority HIV programmes, according to a UNAIDS report released on 31 March.

Over the past five years, the US provided over $1 billion Zimbabwe to combat HIV.

Before widespread access to ARV therapy in Zimbabwe, AIDS was a leading cause of death and estimated 130,000 people dying from HIV-related complications in 2002 alone, according to UNAIDS.

The availability of ARVs significantly reduced AIDS deaths, with the death toll dropping to around 20,200 by 2021, according to UNAIDS. Adult HIV prevalence has fallen from its peak of 26.5% in 1997 to 11.9% in 2021.

Call on government to step up

Olive Mutabeni, executive director for Life Empowerment Support Organization (LESO), a community-based HIV/AIDS organization in Zimbabwe, has challenged authorities to step up and purchase ARVs.

“There is a need for the Ministry of Health and the National AIDS Council to address this issue of ARVs supplies urgently before we lose people,” said Mutabeni.

Mutabeni, aged 64, started taking ARVs in 2009 yet 16 years later, she is unsure of her access to treatment: “I am worried that many HIV patients like me might soon perish like flies.”

The permanent discontinuation of HIV programmes currently supported by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) would lead to an additional 6.6 million new HIV Infections and additional 4.2 million AIDS-related deaths between 2025 and 2029, according to UNAIDS modelling.

 

Image Credits: DFID, Jeff Moyo.

Save Hands for Girls campaigns against female genital mutilation in The Gambia.

Urgent measures are needed to curtail the rising “medicalization” of female genital mutilation (FGM) and to engage health workers to prevent the practice, according to a new guideline published by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The guideline recommends professional codes of conduct that expressly prohibit health workers from performing FGM and stresses the need to train health workers to prevent the harmful practice. 

In several parts of the world, the practice is now increasingly performed by health workers. An estimated 52 million girls and women alive today were subjected to FGM by health workers –  around a quarter of all cases, according to the WHO.

The guideline offers sensitive communication approaches that can help health workers effectively decline requests to perform FGM, while informing people about its serious immediate and long-term risks, according to the WHO.

“Female genital mutilation is a severe violation of girls’ rights and critically endangers their health,” said Dr Pascale Allotey, WHO’s Director for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, and the United Nations’ Special Programme for Human Reproduction (HRP). 

“The health sector has an essential role in preventing FGM – health workers must be agents for change rather than perpetrators of this harmful practice, and must also provide high-quality medical care for those suffering its effects.”

Typically carried out on young girls before they reach puberty, FGM includes all procedures that remove or injure parts of the female genitalia for non-medical reasons.

Care for survivors

Over 230 million women and girls are estimated to be living with the effects of FGM. These include genital tissue damage, genitourinary tract infections, menstrual difficulties, urological complications (urinary tract infections and difficulty urinating), and sexual complications (dyspareunia and sexual dysfunction).

FGM/C is concentrated in a swath of countries from the Atlantic Coast to the Horn of Africa (2020 figures).

There is also an increased risk of obstetric complications including prolonged or obstructed labour, obstetric tears, caesarean birth, postpartum haemorrhage, episiotomy, fetal distress,, neonatal asphyxia and stillbirths. 

FGM also causes mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] and somatoform disorders.

Evidence shows that no matter who performs FGM, it causes harm. Some studies suggest it can even be more dangerous when performed by health workers, since it can result in deeper, more severe cuts. 

Its “medicalization” also risks unintentionally legitimizing the practice and may thereby jeopardize broader efforts to abandon the practice.

“Research shows that health workers can be influential opinion leaders in changing attitudes on FGM, and play a crucial role in its prevention,” said Christina Pallitto, Scientist at WHO and HRP, who led the development of the new guideline. 

“Engaging doctors, nurses and midwives should be a key element in FGM prevention and response, as countries seek to end the practice and protect the health of women and girls.”

Alongside effective laws and policies, the guideline highlights the need for community education and information, including community awareness-raising activities that involve men and boys. 

The guideline also includes several clinical recommendations to help ensure access to empathetic, high-quality medical care for FGM survivors. Given the extent of both short and long-term health issues that result from the practice, survivors may need a range of health services at different life stages, from mental health care to management of obstetric risks and, where appropriate, surgical repairs.

Burkina Faso has halved FGM prevalence among 15  to 19-year-olds over the past 30 years, while Sierra Leone and Ethiopia have reduced the incidence by 35% and 30% respectively, through collective action and political commitment to enforce bans and accelerate prevention.

Since 1990, the likelihood of a girl undergoing genital mutilation has decreased threefold but it remains common in 30 countries, and an estimated four million girls each year are still at risk.

 

Image Credits: Safe Hands for Girls, UNICEF.

Solar power at primary health centres in Karnataka state in India is improving healthcare delivery.

There’s an urgency to scale climate change solutions quickly, was the unofficial mantra at the World Health Summit, as delegates called for faster change and more funds.

NEW DELHI – It doesn’t cost much to ensure that a mother does not deliver her baby by candlelight, increasing the chances of the newborn’s and mother’s survival. 

Thousands of primary health centres (PHC) in India are benefiting from a solar project rollout that provides clean and sustainable power for around $4,000 to $5,000 per centre. This checks several sustainable development goal (SDG) boxes – for the planet, affordable and clean energy, good health and well-being and climate action. 

Installing solar at 25,000 primary and other health centres is scheduled to be completed next year, up from 15 centres ten years ago.

This was one of the few celebrated examples of climate action at scale at the World Health Summit (WHS) in New Delhi, a twice-a-year, influential gathering of health stakeholders, which ended on Sunday. 

Leading experts flagged hurdles that are slowing down such sustainable projects and programmes, ironically just as these should be accelerated, given the rapidly warming climate.

From scaling up affordable cooling, to faster funding mechanisms, to better data, experts from multilateral bodies such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB), funders, NGOs and CSOs listed their priorities. 

Economic growth now vs net zero later

As if on cue, the WHS coincided with northern India experiencing extreme heat, southern India’s heat index topping 50°C, and Europe posting its hottest March on record.

Decarbonisation is the usual response to rising heat, but this needs to be looked at from another lens, Marion Jane Cros, the World Bank’s  (WB) Senior Economist for Health, pointed out. Decreasing the carbon footprint is important, but it’s more urgent in the short term to tackle heat and protect economic growth. 

The WB estimates that heat stress could result in 34 million job losses in India by 2030 and reduce GDP by up to 4.5%,, amounting to $150-250 billion.

It makes a case, in its AHEAD programme with the government, for action to reduce heat stress through affordable, energy-efficient cooling systems. With heat waves expected to intensify in the coming years, Cros made an argument to protect human capital.

“If you are affected by climate health-sensitive disease, by heat stroke, or different heat-related diseases, you might not be able to go to work,” said Cros.

“Then if you have to go to the health facility, you might not have health insurance. You have to pay some money. Then you might encounter a catastrophic health expenditure. So again, if you are protected against (this), it makes you more resilient, in particular for the vulnerable population.”

Nearly half of the Indian population lives below $3.65 per day, Cros says, and can’t afford many of the cooling systems currently available. 

Keeping cool on a tight budget

One of the groups rolling out affordable cooling solutions is the Mahila (women) Housing Trust (MHT).  They work with women in communities who can’t afford air coolers, let alone air conditioners, and support them to paint their roofs in white reflective paint, which has been estimated to reduce the temperature by 2°C to 6°C.

The cool-roofs project involves painting roofs white, which can reduce indoor temperatures by 2-6° according to the Mahila Housing Trust.

For a deeper engagement, MHT’s executive director Bijal Brahmbhat says, they explain the science to the women, install thermometers to log the temperature and ask the women to compare it with a non-cooled house or the Met department’s temperature for that day.

“They understand, and slowly they started taking it up at a settlement level and also talking to the government,” she says.

MHT’s other initiative is to cool bus stops, and it launched the first site in Ahmedabad along with the local administration in mid-March amid a heat wave warning. The low-cost tech uses a combination of curtains made of grass to block the sun and mist fans to absorb the heat. It reduces the heat by a significant 6-7°C; the city’s highest temperature has been 48°C.

India’s “first cool bus stop” launched in Ahmedabad.

The low-cost cooling solution has led to inquiries from other cities, including Delhi, Brahmbhat says. The first one was expensive at a little over $4,000. 

“The first cooling station we did was net zero, but the solar cost was around 350,000 rupees. At places where we didn’t have the funds and we couldn’t go for solar, we used energy-efficient systems which would go on for a certain time and then stop for a certain time.”

Climate vs health to climate and health

As local administrations scale up responses to climate change, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) official told the WHS how governments in the region have changed their approach to climate and health in the last few years. 

Dinesh Arora, ABD’s principal health specialist, recalls that countries used to tell the bank to go and talk to the Ministry of Environment when it wanted to discuss climate change and health.

“I’m seeing a sea-change. Indonesia is talking about a full climate and health directorate within the health systems,” said Arora.

The ADB is working to see how the infrastructure of public health hospitals can be more resilient and withstand, say, a flood or an earthquake or how quickly it can resume functions.

Funding challenges

The WHS brought health and climate together in a way that the UN’s Conference of the Parties (COP) gathering has rarely done. But funding is a challenge for health projects. 

“There’s an urgency here. We need to scale solutions quickly,” says Neeraj Jain, of the global health non-profit, PATH. The challenge described by several speakers was a chicken-and-egg situation: funders need data on the possible impact, but collecting the data needs funds. This creates delays in launching new solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation.

A popular proposal for a way forward is for funders to start a climate action project, monitor its operational impact and course correct as needed. But this approach makes it easier for adaptation funding over mitigation, where the impact can be seen relatively quickly, for instance, greening of urban spaces to reduce the urban heat island effect, compared to setting up a wind power project.

The focus of funders is on real impact, not policy and narrative, says Jain, who is PATH’s Director of Growth Operations, Asia, Middle East and Europe at PATH. This is particularly the case in low and middle-income (LMICs) countries where the effects of climate change on health are most visible. 

“We as practitioners need to move into action mode and roll out solutions that have real, measurable impact. The impact has to be at scale and sustainable for the support from government, private, as well as philanthropic financing to flow in.”

Governments chase win-win climate solutions.

One of the largest examples of a decentralised decarbonisation and, so far, successful projects is the one by SELCO Foundation to solarise primary health centres (PHCS) in India. 

It began with 15 PHCs in 2016, and aims to cover 25,000 by 2026 at a cost of about $117 million (₹1,000 crores). So far, it has installed solar power in 10,000 PHCs for lights, fans, baby warming equipment, foetal monitoring systems, oxygen concentrators, vaccine and medicine storage refrigerators, diagnostics and so on. 

Twelve state governments have signed up for this, and SELCO’s director, Huda Jaffer explains that there are benefits in savings and health outcomes, including no deliveries by candlelight. 

“The way the program is packaged, they’re able to see a very tangible saturation based on a scale program for the state itself. Helping the fact is some catalytic capital, and systems in place for them to show that it has been rolled out, implemented and owned within a certain time frame at a certain saturation scale.”

Installing solar power in primary health centres in Karnataka state in India is making healthcare safer, including ensuring births don’t happen by candlelight, and addressing a warming planet.

But this demonstrable success comes with underlying constraints. India has well over 200,000 PHCs and sub-centres, many of which do not have reliable power from the grid or need diesel generators. 

The SELCO project only covers 12.5% of PHCs, costing about $4,000 to provide solar power per PHCs. It’s a model that could be scaled to Africa, where the electrification of health centres is low. 

Another issue is that several funders for such projects support the initial setting up of the systems (capex) but leave the running and maintenance (opex) to local communities and administrations that are usually understaffed, untrained, and have tight budgets. 

In India, there needs to be a dedicated government team to scale this from 25,000 PHCs to 200,000 plus, and ensure the solar set-up is maintained, Jaffer said, adding that SELCO is playing the role of a dedicated secretariat.

“But in Africa it has to be donor monies, and donor design is always capex-based systems, which typically leads to opex issues as there is no long-term ownership that is built in from the program design team.”

Equity: The same victims again and again

In the end, strip away the layers, and climate action is ultimately about equity.  Speaking at WHS, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, the former WHO Chief Scientist, said that every time we plan something, we must address where there are equity issues that we are forgetting about. 

Sustained heat exposure poses health risks like dehydration and cardiovascular diseases, especially for India’s informal workforce (85% of workers) and women engaged in household chores in poorly ventilated spaces, for example.

“Ultimately, those same people get left out of all programs, whether they are the elderly, the disabled or the very poor or women who have multiple of these risk factors,” said Swaminathan.

Image Credits: Selco Foundation, Mahila Housing Trust.

World Health Summit regional meeting, first-ever in South Asia, at Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam conference centre, originally built to host meetings of the G20.

NEW DELHI – The theme was “Scaling Access to Ensure Health Equity”, but that hardly reflected the intense concerns raised at the first World Health Summit regional meeting with the storm of Trump administration’s cutbacks and closures of global health programmes since January.  

Traditional medicine, climate and health, data transparency, and the role of artificial intelligence (AI) were among the key issues discussed and debated at the regional meeting, the first ever to be held in South Asia in the elegant Bharat Mandapam conference centre, a Modi pet project built for the G20.

The WHS global meeting is an influential gathering of global and national health officials, practitioners, the private sector and civil society held in Berlin supported by the German government and a range of influential partners including the World Health Organization.The regional summit in Delhi, seemed to copy that successful patent with over 4,500 participants from 54 countries in attendance at the three-day event, which ended on Sunday. 

For the Indian hosts of the WHS, the meeting was, however, part of a push for recognizing traditional medicine, a longstanding government priority, as an key player in global health.

The traditional medicine sessions at the summit “promises to serve as a major milestone for the global traditional medicine sector,” according to a statement by the Indian Press Information Bureau (PIB), and offer “opportunities to advance universal access to safe and effective traditional medicine practices.” 

In early December, New Delhi will host the second World Health Organization (WHO) Traditional Medicine Global Summit, which the government has framed as “sustainable health solutions rooted in cultural heritage.”

In its own statement, WHO noted the increasing demand for traditional herbal products, and rapid projected growth of over 8% annually, in coming years, almost doubling the industry value to $437 billion from $233 billion last year. 

“Significant new opportunities are driven by research findings, such as dehydrated greens for treating anemia, and the integration of Ayurvedic practices and yoga with biomedicine for successful management of filarial lymphedema,” said the WHO statement.

“Yet challenges persist, including the need for greater scientific validation, regulatory oversight, and sustainability. Increasing consumer and commercial demands, alongside inconsistent quality control, safety monitoring gaps, and environmental concerns, require more scientific innovation, regulatory reform, consumer engagement, and sustainable resource management.”

Trump’s attacks are ‘a wake-up call’ 

World Health Summit President: Prof. Dr. Axel R. Pries

Meanwhile, Trump’s decisions to withdraw from WHO and to dismantle USAID and its many health-focus aid programmes are a “wake-up call”, declared WHS president, Axel R. Pries in his remarks on the Summit’s opening day – adding that he hoped global health leaders could see this “as a challenge that they can operate effectively without the US.” 

At a packed session on ‘The changing face of global health – what does the US withdrawal mean for pandemic preparedness and response?’  and elsewhere, experts voiced similar concerns. 

“We’re in the perfect storm in global health,” said Helen Clark, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand and a leading campaigner for climate and health causes.

“We, of course, are very focused on the Trump factor and populism and what this is doing and this comes against a background of a financial crisis that countries are struggling with after the COVID-19 pandemic, a surge of violent conflict and the climate crisis which is causing more adverse events,” she added.

“The reality is if another pandemic threat is announced tomorrow we’re not going to see an operation warp speed out of the United States on the accelerated development of of vaccines and and treatments in fact at this point we can’t really count on the US endorsing vaccines at all given the views of the Secretary for health in the US,” Clark says.

Speaking to Health Policy Watch, Pries said, “If you say the US is pulling out and that’s creating a big change in the system, that tells you the system was wrong before, because we are many nations on the world. India is a big nation with three or four times the population of the US. So why should a single country make such a difference?”

Pries warned that if other nations follow in America’s footsteps and reduce health funding especially for global programmes, that would be “the wrong direction.” 

World Health Assembly likely to adopt traditional medicine strategy in May

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a video message to Summit: hopes that the new WHO strategy on traditional medicines will be approved by the WHA in May.

The Indian government, meanwhile, used the summit largely as a platform to promote major upcoming moves on traditional medicine remedies and strategies – including the Second WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine, scheduled for December and a pending new WHO global strategy on TM, which is due to come before the World Health Assembly in May for approval. 

Shri Prataprao Jadhav, Minister of Ayush, India’s traditional medicine ministry, described the event as an important leadup to the December summit, which will also be hosted in New Delhi. He called the regional meeting, “a timely opportunity to advance global dialogue on traditional medicine… in light of the “growing interest in holistic health.”

The focus on TM at the regional summit also reflects “India’s leadership in advancing traditional medicine globally,” Jadhav said.

The government is “supporting research to harness the power of these ancient practices. Using innovation, data and partnerships, we can increase safety and protect biodiversity,” said Ayush Ministry Secretary, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, at the Summit keynote session: ‘Restoring balance: Scaling up access to evidence-based traditional medicine for health and well-being.’  

The momentum by the Indian government and the WHO has been building up for some time now. The Indian government provided foundational support for the WHO to establish its headquarters for the Global Traditional Medicine Centre at Jamnagar, in Gujarat, India; incidentally, the city is famous for the world’s largest oil refinery, which is run by Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man.

Last February, the WHO included a new module in  the International Classification of Diseases, covering TM treatments for certain conditions, which the Indian government had long sought. This aims to allow for the more systematic tracking of traditional medicine services, research, and reporting. India’s government later announced it will prepare a public health strategy based on the WHO’s new ICD listing. 

Hurdles to traditional medicine 

WHO South East Asia Regional Director Saima Wazed with India’s Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha.

While the WHA will “hopefully” approve the new global TM strategy, WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a recorded message, the WHO statement also stressed the need to ensure more rigorous scientific study and regulatory oversight of TM.  

Increasing consumer and commercial demands have come against a landscape of inconsistent quality control, safety monitoring gaps, and environmental concerns, said the WHO statement. Other challenges persist, include the need for more scientific innovation, informed consumer engagement, and sustainable resource management. 

Speaking at the keynote, the WHO’s Regional Director, Saima Wazed, said that without robust regulatory systems, “a lot of harmful toxins” can be incorporated into TM remedies, without consumers being aware.

“Traditional medicine has always been part of our culture, particularly in Southeast Asia, and all 11 countries have very robust practices. But the scientific evidence has not evolved in the similar strain as modern-day medicine. And so WHO’s role is to ensure that we have the right evidence,” she says.

Dr Soumya Swaminathan, the WHO’s former Chief Scientist, highlighted another challenge. Bridging the traditional and modern requires a common language and vocabulary. Acknowledging that this takes time and effort, she called on the WHO and national bodies to take the lead. 

And despite recent, rapid moves for wider discussions and research, traditional medicine remains controversial and contentious.  “You need an open mind on both sides to be able to develop this framework of how do you design and implement a clinical trial,” Swaminathan said. 

It’s not science versus TM – it’s science for TM

There’s a reason why allopathic (conventional) medicine took off and did so well, said the Indian entrpreneur Aditya Burman Dabur, whose family business, Dabur, has manufactured traditional medications for local and international markets for decades. That’s because of the practices that it followed of getting evidence, writing it down, and making it publicly available in a manner that can be replicated, he pointed out.

In contrast, traditional medicine’s reliance on anecdotal evidence is not enough, Burman explained: “That’s not going to carry it across the oceans.”

Rather  by making use of peer-reviewed journal publications and doing things the way “that people expect us to do it; not trying to get them to see our point of view, (but) showing it to them through their own lens”, TM can come into its own, he asserted.  

Pries, meanwhile, struck a conciliatory note.  While underscoring the need for science-based evidence, conferences such as the World Health Summit can offer a “platform where the stakeholders talk to each other,” he said, adding: 

“It’s not science versus traditional medicine, it’s science for traditional medicine.”  

Image Credits: Chetan Bhattacharji /HPW.

Self-care (illustrative)

Self-care can be a key strategy in tackling the global crisis of non-communicable diseases that are responsible for three-quarters of premature deaths globally and 86 percent of early deaths (before age 70) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Moreover, dentists, pharmacists and community health workers are trained professionals who can provide innovative forms of self-care advice and guidance – reaching communities and individuals that are often beyond the reach of mainstream medicine, noted experts at a recent Global Self-Care Federation (GSCF) webinar held in the leadup to September’s High-Level meeting on NCDs.

Through these groups, countries are finding innovative ways to deliver informed self-care knowledge and tools to individuals and commnunities, which could help prevent many NCDs related to unhealthy diets and lifestyles – as well as making other disease conditions easier to diagnose and treat.

“I think it is important that society understands that the healthcare profession consists of physicians, pharmacists, dentists, and the nursing sector. It’s not just a focus on one of those four groups,” explained Greg Perry, GSCF director general. He added that it is important to look at how community health workers and other skilled health professionals can work together with individuals to expand access to self-care tools and encourage their use.

Stimulating such innovation around self-care is critical as the global health community prepares for the 2025 Fourth High-level Meeting on NCDs in New York this September, said experts from Africa CDC, patients organisations and the private sector at the recent GSCF webinar.

Inconsistent progress on self-care issues

Progress on integrating self-care into broader global strategies on NCDs has so far been inconsistent. The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a series of guidance on self-care strategies in various domains.  But so far, neither the WHO Global NCD Action Plan (2013–2030), nor the NCD and Universal Health Coverage aims of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, have sufficient emphasis on self-care strategies, critics say. At the same time, the world remains far from reaching the goals for reducing NCDs set forth in the UN SDGs or WHO action plans, and health systems, particularly in LMICs, are struggling to meet the growing demand for NCD care. GSCF has highlighted that a siloed approach to healthcare has failed in many regions.

In a new policy paper, GSCF makes the case for prioritizing self-care as a central pillar of the global NCD response. In that context, it calls for three key actions: Member states need to recognise self-care as a vital tool for easing the global burden of NCDs and reduce pressure on healthcare systems, including formally integrating certain self-care tools and tactics into national health coverage plans. Secondly, the 2025 High Level Political Declaration on NCDs should explicitly highlight the role of self-care in reducing NCD risks and improving prevention and management. And thirdly, self-care should be acknowledged as essential to empowering individuals and improving health outcomes.

According to Orajitt Bumrungskulswat, a board member of the International Alliance of Patients’ Organisations, several barriers hinder the greater integration of self-care into NCDs management. These include a lack of knowledge and skills about NCDs and self-care practices. Financial constraints also play a role, limiting access to affordable, high-quality self-care products and services. In addition, many communities face insufficient health education and a lack of supportive environments, networks, and peer groups.

Thailand’s campaign for healthier habits

In Thailand, there are 6.5 million people living with diabetes, 40 million with high blood pressure, approximately 1 million with kidney disease at various stages, 140,000 cancer cases per year, and up to 10 million people dealing with mental health issues, Bumrungskulswat said, citing Ministry of Health estimates.

“This is mainly because of individual behaviours and because people are not really aware of how to practice self-care,” Bumrungskulswat said.

To change this trajectory, the ministry launched a campaign aimed at encouraging healthier habits—such as reducing salty, oily, and sugary foods and increasing physical activity – particularly in southern Thailand’s more urbanised regions, where unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles are more prevalent. The campaign includes distributing prevention guidelines on social media and in communities and strengthening support networks and patient groups. These groups now collaborate closely with professionals and local healthcare centres to promote prevention and self-care education. Thailand is already beginning to see the impact of these efforts, Bumrungskulswat said.

Ireland’s dentists take the lead

In Ireland, dentists have been empowered to innovative forms of self-care guidance on topics like vaccination as well as smoking cessation.

Expanding the network of care providers is also proving to be a key strategy in the fight against non-communicable diseases. Dr Dympna Kavanagh, chair of the Platform for Better Oral Health, shared how Ireland has leveraged its dental professionals to support this goal.

“Embedding oral health into wider self-care and prevention frameworks, we can achieve better outcomes, not just for individuals, but for healthcare systems, populations and societies as a whole,” Kavanagh said.

In Ireland, Kavanagh’s program has redefined the free dental examination for lower-income patients to include oral check-ups, risk assessments, and lifestyle advice. Payments for delivering these services were increased by more than 25% to reflect dentists’ expanded role.

“We do see that there has been an increase of over 8,000 patients attending per month seeking treatment since introducing this change,” Kavanagh said.

Advice on smoking cessation and vaccination in oral health exams

And the same oral health checkups also support other preventative health measures, he noted, pointing out that:  “Dentists remain amongst the top three healthcare professionals providing tobacco cessation advice in Ireland.”

According to Ireland’s “Healthy Ireland” surveys, smoking rates have plateaued at 17%.

In recent years, oral health professionals have also been empowered to take on a role in advocacy around vaccinations.

Vaccination, a critical component of self-care, became a focal point during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ireland achieved high vaccine uptake in part by passing emergency legislation that authorised dentists and hygienists to administer vaccines. This policy has since been made permanent.

Today, Irish dentists are also supporting HPV vaccination efforts, which play a crucial role in preventing oral – as well as cervical – cancers.

“In our population campaigns, we are fortunate to see an uptake of 80% in girls and 76% in boys,” Kavanagh said.

She emphasised the need to keep oral health front and center in discussions about NCDs: “We must continue to amplify oral health as part of the global NCD agenda. We must remind policymakers and governments that prevention doesn’t begin with policy alone and doesn’t end with policy alone. It begins with empowered individuals who are supported to care for their own health by reducing tobacco and alcohol use, improving their diets, accessing vaccination and maintaining consistent oral hygiene.”

Expanding access through pharmacies

Purchasing drugs at a pharmacy in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Pharmacists are another group of caregivers who can play a vital role in guiding self-care strategies and choices, according to Mfonobong Timothy, Disease Prevention and Self-Care program coordinator for the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). She explained that pharmacies are widely recognised as first-line healthcare providers—personal healthcare professionals who are knowledgeable and highly accessible.

“Pharmacists are also playing a crucial role in promoting the role of vaccination in good health and wellbeing,” Timothy said. “In 56 countries and territories, we now have pharmacy-based vaccination, and we continue to advocate for this to ensure policymakers know that this is a form of self-care that we can provide to individuals towards having good health and wellbeing.”

In addition to their role in vaccination, Timothy emphasised that pharmacists provide essential hands-on guidance for using medical devices—a key part of supporting patients in their daily self-care routines.

“Without the strong support system, individuals may not feel motivated,” Timothy noted.

Community Health Workers can support shift from treatment to prevention of NCDs

Community Health Workers attend a training session on HIV prevention in Kirehe, Rwanda.

In some low and middle-income countries, there has been a shift away from the traditional medical model toward a community- or society-based model of care, often led by Community Health Workers. This shift is helping societies move from treatment toward prevention – and along with that, more informed self-care practices, explained GSCF’s Perry.

“In high-income countries, we have the drugs, we have the guidelines, we have the digital tools, yet we still see that healthcare-associated costs are increasing along with life expectancy,” said Dr Adelard Kakunze, lead for the NCDs, Injuries and Mental Health Program at the Africa CDC. “The question is why? Why, if we have all the knowledge and tools, are we not able to really control these conditions?”

Kakunze believes the answer lies in the lack of personal engagement with self-care. In most countries, he said, health systems have failed to encourage citizens to practice the daily discipline required for self-care—what he describes as the “invisible work” that begins after the clinic door closes. This can include checking one’s blood pressure, adjusting one’s diet, or going for a walk – before resorting to drug-based treatments.

In Africa, however, this approach is gaining traction, he maintains. With limited access to specialists and resources, countries on the continent have been forced to innovate. At the core of this innovation is community. Kakunze noting that many African countries have strong networks of community health workers (CHWs), embedded in nearly every neighbourhood.

“We have learned that those specialized services are too expensive, so we need to rely on communities,” he said.

“We also now have a political commitment to deploy and equip 2 million community health workers on the continent, and what we’ve been seeing in many countries [is] that they have really embraced this with a contextualized, adapted training curriculum now that integrates NCDs,” he said. “Now, those community health workers can screen, counsel, and follow thousands of patients at home.”

Examples in mental health

A lay counsellor sits with a community member on the Friendship Bench in Zimbabwe.

In the mental health arena, one example is the Friendship Bench project, developed in Zimbabwe and cited by recent WHO guidance as a global model of community-based mental health support.

Using a cognitive behavioural therapy-based approach, trained community volunteers—affectionately called “grandmothers”—deliver structured problem-solving therapy to people suffering from common mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. Patients meet with the grandmothers for six 45-minute sessions on discreet wooden benches at local clinics, creating a safe and welcoming space for healing.

Since its launch, the Friendship Bench has shown impressive results. A 2016 study published in JAMA found a significant reduction in depressive symptoms amongst participants. The model’s success has inspired adaptations beyond Zimbabwe, including in Malawi, Zanzibar, and even New York City—showing how solutions developed in low-income countries can transform mental health care around the world.

More recently, community health workers have been paired with primary healthcare centres or general practitioners who can provide supervision and standardised health checklists.

“We have seen the impact of those community health workers when they are supervised; the impact is really increasing a lot,” Kakunze said.

Looking ahead, the Africa CDC is now exploring the use of advanced technologies and tools to support community health workers and enhance their effectiveness.

Kavanagh echoed similar sentiments. She noted that Europe has taken a “very siloed, very narrow” approach to the healthcare workforce, defining it strictly as doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and nurses. She suggested countries should also consider tapping into their ageing populations to broaden that workforce.

“Talented people retire, and then the country loses their wealth of knowledge,” she said.

Kavanagh also proposed that older medical professionals could be engaged to play a meaningful role in community healthcare, helping fill workforce gaps while contributing valuable experience.

Private-sector partnerships

Six out of ten smokers, or 750 million people globally want to quit tobacco use.

Finally, experts say the private sector also has a vital role to play in advancing self-care.

Dr Vinayak Mohan Prasad, head of the No Tobacco Unit at WHO, noted that there are 1.25 billion tobacco users worldwide—and more than 60% of them want to quit. To address this, WHO established a consortium that brings together private companies, non-state actors, and state actors to collaborate on tobacco cessation.

“We have a pharma pillar, so all the pharma companies can come in. We have a digital tech pillar, and we have a couple of very powerful tech companies already in the consortium,” he said. “We also have a health system group. We have the research group because there are a lot of research gaps still existing.”

This collaborative model is being applied beyond tobacco control. Tamara Rogers, chief marketing officer for Haleon, highlighted how private and public actors can also partner to improve access to healthcare.

She explained that while private industry can drive innovation and develop affordable health products and solutions, non-governmental organisations can play a key role in ensuring these tools reach the people who need them most.

“I think building trustful, stable, multi-year partnerships is really pivotal in making sure that we can best maximize all of the collective resources, expertise and innovation,” Rogers said.

–Part of a supported series in collaboration with the Global Self-Care Federation

Image Credits: Caroline LM/ Unsplash, Wikimedia Commons, Cecille Joan Avila / Partners In Health, Sarah Johnson.