Time to Invest in Preventing and Treating NCDs 08/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Testing patients for diabetes at a World Health Organization event. If all countries significantly raise taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary beverages, this could prevent 50 million premature deaths over the next 50 years, according to Michael Bloomberg, World Health Organization (WHO) Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) and Injuries. “Plus, the taxes would raise more than $20 trillion in revenue to support public health programmes, helping to save even more lives,” Bloomberg told a virtual event convened to make a global appeal for more investment in NCDs. “Every year, 17 million people under the age of 70 die of non-communicable diseases, mostly in low and middle-income countries,” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the event, co-hosted by WHO, the NCD Alliance and the World Diabetes Foundation. “Nearly seven million lives could be saved by 2030 if low and lower middle-income countries invest an additional $1 per person per year on cost-effective interventions, like graphic warnings on cigarette packaging, food labelling and bicycle lanes,” said Tedros. Katie Dain, CEO of the NCD Alliance, decried the fact that “a multitude of political commitments have yet to really translate into adequate [financial] commitments”. “NCDs will cause more suffering in lives lost this decade than any other health issue. They wi’ll drain the global economy and impede human capital and undermine any effort to ensure the world is better prepared for future pandemics after COVID-19,” said Dain. Financing for NCDs has stagnated at around 2% of the development assistance for health for two decades. Paul Fife from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation stressed that “the proper way to finance NCD action is in general through health system reform more broadly, as opposed to very focused disease control programme approaches, such as we have seen for some infectious diseases.” Fife added that “we need to be careful to not give the impression that donors and donor financing are the most instrumental in driving or not driving investments in NCDs”. “For all but the poorest countries and countries in conflict or humanitarian crises, the investments made by governments, insurance agencies, private companies – and the degree to which they are universal, meaning equitable – are far more important than donor aid,” Fife stressed. Preventing NCDs key to achieving universal health coverage From a luxury good to a part of daily diets, sugary drinks that increase the risks of diabetes have become highly popular in Africa. “The big challenge is actually to build a broader, more equitable and efficient health system and integrate NCDs into the system. The path forward is the progressive realisation of universal health coverage.” Dr Omary Ubuguyu from Tanzania’s health ministry said that many of his citizens had to pay for their own NCD treatment as only 15% of the population had health insurance. “So 85% have to pay out of their pockets for health care services and this makes them very vulnerable,” said Ubuguyu. “At the moment, what we are paying for the dialysis, for example, is almost $400 per week, So we have seen a lot of people selling their assets, only to find after one year that they can’t afford to continue with this was a treatment and then dying,” he said, adding that his country was introducing a mandatory health insurance scheme for all – although there were significant financial challenges. “Integration of NCDs with other services, notably HIV and tuberculosis, is also on our agenda,” he added. Uruguay has implemented a number of policies to address NCDs including provisions to regulate tobacco and unhealthy food, according to health ministry official Luis Galicia. Citizens have universal health coverage with a “payment by performance system”, where suppliers are reimbursed if patients comply with targets linked to cancer, hypertension, diabetes, heart and cerebral vascular indicators, said Galicia. “We have allocated a part of the taxes on alcohol and sugary beverages to the prevention and control of NCDs,” he added. Funding targets Bente Mikkelsen Bente Mikkelsen, WHO director of NCDs, said that it is “a huge disappointment that many, many countries don’t realise the epidemiological shift that has happened from HIV, malaria, TB, to actually looking at that seven out of 10 deaths in the world is now linked to NCD”. Earlier in the meeting, South African HIV activist and academic Dr Vuyiseka Dubula, had called on people to put pressure on African countries to ensure that they spent more on health. Mikkelsen said that the NCD sector should set a global target for NCD expenditure as the HIV sector had. “I think we need a target for investment in NCDs, and we need to target for also including NCD into UHC. Part of that should be measures for domestic funding, which can very well be also linked to the health taxation,” said Mikkelsen. However, she also stressed that the demand for increased investment in NCDs had to come from WHO member countries. Despite a raft of global resolutions, policy options and implementation tools, a global roadmap “what we totally lack is the demand”. Demand creation “There is no demand to be seen when the proposal comes from a country that doesn’t include NCD. How can that be? So, even before the data, we are about demand creation.” Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Dr Kelly Henning warned that progress against NCDs was being hampered by “powerful stakeholders promoting and selling harmful products”. “It takes resolve at the highest levels of leadership to push back against these interests and requires effective public education so that the population can support and participate in the change that’s needed,” said Henning. In 2018, Bloomberg convened a task force on fiscal policy for health, which concluded that raising health taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sweetened beverages, “is highly underutilised and would save millions of lives and bring in much needed government revenue”, said Henning. “After reviewing the evidence, the task force found that tobacco taxes can do more to reduce premature mortality than any other single health policy. Unfortunately, since the taskforce report came out, we haven’t really made all that much progress,” said Henning. “And why is that? The task force concluded that implementing health taxes was a measure of government resolve because industry’s pushback against tax increases with false and misleading standards, and oftentimes, influences them.” The NCD Alliance is running a week-long awareness campaign about the need to invest in NCDs. Only 14 countries are on track to meet the WHO’s nine voluntary global targets for the prevention and control of NCDs, due to be assessed at the fourth High-level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (HLM4) in 2025. Image Credits: Twitter: @WHO, Heala_SA/Twitter. Famine is ‘at the Door’ in Somalia, UN Warns 08/09/2022 Obi Anyadike, The New Humanitarian Thousands of Somalis escaping drought and conflict have been arriving every month in sprawling settlements on the outskirts of towns, like this one in Baidoa, south-central Somalia, pictured in August 2022. Famine “is at the door” in Somalia, with “concrete indications” that parts of the south-central Bay region will be in famine between October and December this year without an urgent surge in aid, the United Nations (UN) warned this week. “This is the final warning to all of us,” the UN’s humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, told a press conference in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. “This is the last minute of the eleventh hour to save lives.” A two-year drought, mass displacement, decades of war, and a so-far sluggish aid response means more than seven million people – almost half the population – are already chronically hungry. In May, at least 213,000 people in the Bay region were in “catastrophe” – a technical term for starving. But despite growing evidence for months of the looming crisis, aid has been slow to arrive. In April, the UN’s $1.5 billion response plan was just 17% funded, only reaching 70% in August. As a result, there have been repeated fears of “pipeline breaks” in relief delivery. “Much of that donor money has come in the last month, but what can you do in just one month to meet needs?” said a UN official, who asked for anonymity so they could speak freely. “Why didn’t they frontload the aid and act earlier?” Somalia’s last famine was in 2011, when 250,000 people died as a result of drought and conflict. “The situation and trends resemble those seen in 2010 and 2011, but now they’re worse,” said Griffiths. Drought drives over a million people into camps Four seasons of back-to-back drought have driven more than a million people from their rural homes. Mostly women and children, they have camped in packed settlements of bivouacs, made from scrounged bits of old cloth on the outskirts of towns – more reliant on the generosity of the local community than aid agencies. Crop failure and the decimation of livestock herds have been compounded by rocketing food prices. In June, the cost for a household to meet its basic food needs was between 56 and 110% higher than the five-year average in some of the hardest-hit regions, according to the World Food Programme. Even if the rate of aid deliveries does pick up, a La Niña-induced failure of the October rains is forecast, which will trigger an unprecedented fifth drought season and a “humanitarian catastrophe” that will likely last through to March 2023, said Griffiths. What is famine? Famine is a highly technical classification that meets three specific criteria: At least 20% of households in a given area face an extreme lack of food; more than 30% of children under five in the sample group are acutely malnourished; and at least two people out of every 10,000 are dying daily from hunger-related causes (in a non-crisis sub-Saharan African country, the rate is around 0.3). The analysis is led by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system, made up of UN agencies, international non-profits, and governments. The IPC’s hunger gauge – from Phase 1 “minimal” to Phase 5 “famine” – has become the globally accepted barometer of food insecurity. A famine declaration is a last call for action when all the early warning designed to prevent famine has gone unheeded. As such, it marks the “failure of the humanitarian system”, said José Lopez, IPC’s global programme manager. Only two famines have been declared since the IPC system was launched in 2004: Somalia in 2011; and South Sudan in 2017, when conflict-related starvation threatened 80,000 people in parts of Unity State. As famine occurs in areas where almost by definition data is hard to gather, there’s a little wiggle room in the classification system, even within Phase 5: “Famine likely” means it’s probably underway – or will be in the near future – but the evidence is not all there yet to declare a Phase 5 Famine. A “famine projected”, as in the case of Somalia today, means there’s a “narrow window” to act to prevent what otherwise will become a full-fledged famine. The Phase 5 catastrophe category signals individual households are experiencing starvation, but less than 20 percent of the overall population in the given area are in famine conditions. It’s important to note that the IPC system measures intensity rather than magnitude: The focus is on the proportion of people starving in a given area rather than the absolute number experiencing famine. It’s also only a snapshot of what has already happened. When famine is declared, it’s in a sense too late – deaths are already occurring. Twelve-month-old Fatun was enrolled in a supplementary feeding programme in Gedo, in southern Somalia, in June 2022. Making the call Famine analysis is handled by the country-level Technical Working Group (TWG) of the IPC, which operates in 35 food insecure countries and is typically government-led. An almost identical system, the Cadre Harmonisé, covers West Africa. The TWG normally brings 50 to 100 analysts together to examine the evidence, drawing on the existing data from humanitarian agencies, and groups like the US-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). The number crunching usually takes a couple of weeks. In the case of Somalia, three teams were spread between Mogadishu, Hargeisa in Somaliland, and north-central Galkayo. The teams were then brought together to consolidate the data in a final week-long meeting in Nairobi. When famine is suspected – or more controversially, no consensus is reached on the evidence – a Famine Review Committee (FRC) is triggered. Made up of around five independent experts, the committee validates the TWG’s findings. Its conclusions can differ. That was the case in South Sudan’s eastern county of Pibor in 2020. Government-aligned members of the TWG had downplayed the severity of the crisis, rating it “catastrophe”, while the FRC determined “famine was likely”. There was “clear political interference”, said a senior aid official, who asked not to be named. “Part of the TWG was trying to suppress the possibility of Phase 5 [Famine].” Does a declaration matter? It “triggers a lot of action”, said Lopez. In 2011, there was a doubling of funding for Somalia within days of the declaration. But a focus on famine tends to imply the IPC’s other phases of food insecurity are somehow tolerable. And while famine typically affects relatively few people, millions can be in “emergency” situations with hunger-related deaths – or “excess mortality” in IPC’s dispassionate definition. “The problem is that decision-makers want to know whether there is famine or not before they act to the extent that is required,” said Lopez. “But people can be in Phase 4 for a long time, with excess mortality. It’s already a disaster and requires a strong response.” The hard lesson from Somalia’s famine in 2011 – and the successful management of an extreme drought six years later – is that relief needs to be anticipatory rather than reactive. Apart from saving lives, it’s also financially prudent (however distasteful that may sound). Every $1 spent on disaster prevention saves more than $2 in future emergency costs. The politics of famine The evidence bar for famine is deliberately high, designed to rule out the chance of false alarms and give donors confidence in the verdict. The flip-side is that there are “relatively few protections” against missing the signals and failing to declare a famine when one is underway, researchers Daniel Maxwell and Peter Hailey point out. It’s a particular problem in conflicts in which governments are involved, and where starvation is used as a weapon of war. In the long-running violence in Syria and Yemen, where city sieges have been a hallmark, it has been difficult to collect the detailed evidence needed to make a famine determination – even though general levels of hunger have been incredibly high. That could also be occurring in Ethiopia, where a government aid blockade of the northern region of Tigray – and now renewed fighting – threatens almost six million lives. “The word ‘famine’ is highly charged,” said analyst Alex de Waal, who has written extensively on the politics of famine. “That is why the Ethiopian government is so anxious to prevent humanitarian data-gathering in Tigray, and the Saudi-led coalition has been doing the same in Yemen.” Given the limitations around data that can prejudice the evidence, a famine declaration “is a political act masquerading as a technical diagnosis”, said De Waal. A Somalian mother with her baby, who is being treated for malnutrition. Somalia’s access problem Somalia’s food crisis is also complicated by conflict. An estimated 900,000 people live in areas controlled by the jihadist group, al-Shabab, which has been battling successive weak central governments for more than two decades. They are hostile to Western aid agencies, preferring to trumpet their own, limited relief efforts, or to grant access to small, local NGOs they trust – which they then “tax”. US counter-terror legislation also inhibits direct humanitarian engagement by US-funded agencies. Griffiths on Monday called for the humanitarian community to be given “immediate and safe access to all those in need”, but said that no talks were underway with al-Shabab to negotiate safe passage. “Al-Shabab wants to monopolise legitimacy,” according to Mohammed Ibrahim Shire, a Horn of Africa analyst. “As such, everything has to go through them and be managed by them so that they can sustain this image of a ‘state actor in waiting’.” That poses a dilemma for drought victims living in al-Shabab-controlled zones. “They either have to flee to government-controlled areas and receive support there, or stay put and wait for al-Shabab’s humanitarian wing to deliver aid,” said Shire. “Whatever action they take, help is not always guaranteed.” This article was first published in The New Humanitarian. Image Credits: Mercy Corp/ TNH, Samantha Reinders/ WFP, UNICEF. Pan-American Region Secures First Monkeypox Vaccines Deal 08/09/2022 Raisa Santos & Stefan Anderson Carissa Etienne, PAHO Director In an effort to prevent the spread of monkeypox, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) signed an agreement with Bavarian Nordic to obtain 100,000 vaccine doses for Latin America and the Caribbean. That will allow PAHO to start delivering the doses to the 12 countries that requested them in September. The agreement will make the Americas the first and only region to receive monkeypox vaccines through a multilateral effort. PAHO used its Revolving Fund, which provides access to vaccines at affordable prices, to secure its first agreement with the Danish vaccine company. Attempts to secure vaccines in other regions, such as Africa, where monkeypox is endemic, have been stymied, with little discussion from the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO is in talks, however, with some vaccine manufacturers and nations to obtain some of their large vaccine reserves and distribute those monkeypox doses more widely and equitably. A WHO spokesperson told Health Policy Watch it has been “in close contact” with those manufacturers and nations “since the beginning of the outbreak.” “WHO continues to urge countries with larger stockpiles to share and donate vaccines,” the spokesperson said, “[and] is concerned that the inequitable access to vaccines and treatments seen during the COVID-19 response is repeating itself in this monkeypox multi-country outbreak.” The spokesperson also noted that PAHO is still consolidating nations’ formal requests for some of the doses and is “working to define the best way forward to guarantee an equitable vaccine distribution.” Twelve countries in the Americas region have signed up to receive the vaccines from PAHO’s Revolving Fund, with an additional seven countries talking toPAHO about ordering some. PAHO says it expects to receive the first batch of doses from Bavarian Nordic in September, then a second batch in November and a third batch in December — making for 100,000 doses in all. PAHO did not disclose how much it is paying for the doses. The Americas – highest burden of monkeypox worldwide More than 30,000 new monkeypox cases have been reported in the Americas as of 6 September, saddling the region with the highest burden anywhere. Most of the cases are concentrated in the United States, Brazil, Peru, and Canada. The fraction of monkeypox cases that do not involve any recent contact with men who have sex with men (MSM) continues to rise in the US, suggesting a silent spread of the virus to other communities. Four monkeypox-related deaths have been reported in Brazil, Cuba, and Ecuador. Though PAHO was able to secure an agreement with Bavarian Nordic for monkeypox vaccines, PAHO’s Director Carissa Etienne noted these doses remain in limited supply, necessitating the use of other public health measures as well. Due to the shortage, WHO does not recommend mass vaccinations. “Vaccination, when available, can be deployed as a preventative measure,” said Etienne. “With vaccines in short supply, and with no effective treatment for monkeypox, countries should intensify efforts to prevent the spread of the virus in our region,” she said. “We need to guarantee equitable allocation, and this requires the prioritizing of vaccine distribution to maximize the health impact.” Monkeypox response must involve affected communities Ciro Ugarte, PAHO Director of Health Emergencies The limited vaccine supply highlights the need to involve affected communities in the public health response to monkeypox. Ciro Ugarte, PAHO’s director of health emergencies, said public health authorities “need to be in close contact with the individuals who have higher risk of transmission and involve them in the prevention and early diagnosis efforts, as well as care.”As vaccine shortages limit the potential to stem the outbreak, Ugarte emphasized, there can be no effective response without community involvement. “Risk communication is extremely important and effective,” he said. “The vaccine is a tool to help, but it will not be solving the final problem.” To achieve full community participation, Etienne said, all possible efforts must be made to reduce the harmful impact that stigma can have on people’s ability to get treatment. “LGBTQ+ communities face stigma and discrimination that impacts their health and well being, but stigma has no place in public health”, she said. “It prevents those at risk from accessing information, getting tested, or seeking medical attention when they show symptoms.” Etienne said the continent’s experience with HIV/AIDS should serve as a cautionary tale. “We must work to break down stigma and discrimination or most at-risk populations will not seek care,” she said. “The pandemic is not behind us” Marcos Espinal, Interim Assistant Director, PAHO Though the region’s renewed focus and cooperation on monkeypox response is a welcome development, PAHO officials said, significant work remains to be done to confront the COVID-19 threat. “COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths have decreased across the Americas,” said Etienne. “Despite this trend, hundreds of people are still dying every day from COVID-19 across our region. Just last week, we had 4,954 reported deaths in the Americas.” Dr Marcos Espinal, director of PAHO’s department of communicable diseases and health analysis, said public health authorities must keep delivering COVID-19 vaccinations, too. “We have many countries in the region where less than 40% are covered,” said Espinal. “We have not left the pandemic behind.” China Maintains “zero-COVID” Policy in Chengdu Despite Fatal 6.8 Magnitude Earthquake 07/09/2022 Raisa Santos China’s Chengdu enforces strict lockdown despite earthquake Authorities in China’s southwestern city of Chengdu are sticking to the nation’s “zero-COVID” policy demanding a lockdown on the city’s 21 million inhabitants even in the face of a major earthquake that has killed at least 66 people in the region. Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province, has been beset by a heatwave and drought this summer and last week was plunged into a lockdown after an increase in COVID cases. Some in Chengdu say they were ordered to stay inside while the 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck a mountainous area in Luding County, about 200 km (125 miles) from Chengdu, while those that ran outside say their movements were severely restricted due to the pandemic. Videos shared on Douyin, China’s TikTok platform, show panicked residents behind chained gates, shouting to be let out. In one, a man swears at a security guard, rattling what appears to be his apartment gates and trying to open it, then shouts: “Hurry up, open the door, it’s an earthquake!” In response, the guards say: “It’s over, the earthquake’s already over.” Another video claims to be an audio recording of a loudspeaker message: “Go back home and do not gather here, it’s just an earthquake. We [here in Sichuan] have a lot of experience [when it comes to earthquakes]. The 6.8-magnitude earthquake on Monday was the strongest Sichuan has seen since 2017. Provincial authorities said at least 66 people were dead, 253 people were injured and 15 others were missing as of Tuesday afternoon. Chengdu lockdown most severe since Shanghai Citizens in Chengdu, China, rush to gather necessities before city-wide lockdown. Chengdu’s lockdown is the most severe since China’s largest city of Shanghai was placed in isolation over the spring and summer. Starting last week, 1 September, residents were no longer allowed to leave their homes without special permission. Authorities also began citywide testing. Nationwide, China reported 1,499 new cases of local infection, most of them asymptomatic, on Tuesday. Sichuan province accounted for 138 of those cases. In all, 65 million people across China in 33 cities are grappling with partial or full lockdowns, according to Chinese media, from Chengdu to the southern economic powerhouse of Shenzhen to the oil-producing city of Daqing, near Russia. Chengdu, which reported 121 cases, is showing signs of tightening restrictions. At least one district in Chengdu has banned even the ordering of takeout meals and coffee, according to a notice posted on the internet. Business owners are preparing for the worst. Eli Sweet, an American who runs a chain of dance studios in Chengdu, told Bloomberg his business was already hit by power cuts across Sichuan province in recent weeks before the COVID lockdown. “We’re definitely teetering on the brink of dying,” he said of his chain of dance studios, “which is pretty sad considering we built this business from scratch to a pretty significant scale.” The atmosphere in Chengdu, he added, has become one of “fatigue, annoyance and general compliance.” Chinese president Xi Jinping’s “zero-COVID” strategy tested before October re-election China’s Xi Jinping in 18 May address before the World Health Assembly China has stuck to its “zero-COVID” policy of compulsory testing, lockdowns, quarantines and masking despite moves from the rest of the world to open up again since the virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019. World Health Organization Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called this strategy unsustainable in the face of the more infectious but less lethal Omicron variant that emerged in May. For China’s President Xi Jinping, his nation’s strategy may seem like evidence that the Communist Party’s system of governance has distinct advantages over Western democracy. But for George Magnus, a research associate at Oxford University, the situation may be masking a hard truth: China still isn’t in a position to handle a COVID-19 outbreak. “Its hospital system is not up to it, mRNA vaccines are not yet widely available, and the elderly vaccination rate is still low,” Magnus told Bloomberg. “This is a problem for the 2020s and for Xi, whose opponents in the party, sensing all this, and also Xi’s risky foreign policies, may not be as docile in the future as now,” he said. With the Communist Party’s twice-a-decade leadership summit coming up in October, in which Jinping is expected to be re-elected as China’s top leader for another five years, the evolving situation in Chengdu, alongside the outbreaks in other cities, may in fact undermine Jinping’s proclamation that the “zero-COVID” strategy is a winning one. “The more cities get locked down, the more Chinese will turn against COVID-zero,” said Frank Tsai, founder of consulting firm China Crossroads. “The party knows that there is a tipping point,” he said, “and it would be smart to get ahead of this tipping point and declare victory before it comes.” Image Credits: Global News/Twitter , Manya Koetse/Twitter. WHO Warns Against ‘Complacency’ over COVID-19 and Monkeypox 07/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Maria van Kerkhove Although COVID-19 and monkeypox cases are declining globally, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned against complacency on Wednesday. Although COVID-19 cases were down by 80% since February, “last week, one person died with COVID-19 every 44 seconds and most of those those those deaths are avoidable,” said Tedros. “There is no guarantee these trends will persist. The most dangerous thing is to assume they will,” he added. “You might be tired of hearing me say the pandemic is not over. But I will keep saying it until it is. This virus will not just fade away.” On monkeypox, Tedros said that there was a downward trend in Europe and although cases in the Americas also appeared to decline, it was “harder to draw firm conclusions about the epidemic in that region”. “Some countries in the Americas continue to report increasing number of cases and in some, there is likely to be under-reporting due to stigma and discrimination or a lack of information for those who need it most. “But as I said earlier, a downward trend can be the most dangerous time if it opens the door to complacency,” stressed Tedros. “WHO continues to recommend that all countries persist with a tailored combination of public health measures: Testing, research and targeted vaccination where vaccines are available.” He added that community engagement is vital, and that the WHO had consulted with community leaders from all over the world to listen to their views and concerns and to “emphasise the informed importance of responding to monkeypox using existing services and infrastructure, including those for HIV and sexual health”. Tedros also stressed the importance of the global negotiations on an appropriate global instrument to address future pandemics, adding that more public hearings on this would be held by the WHO’s intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) later this month. COVID vaccine schedule? Meanwhile, WHO Executive Director of Health Emergencies, Dr Mike Ryan said that he hoped that it would be possible for the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) to develop a vaccination schedule for COVID-19. “Many countries now are offering people third and fourth doses of vaccine and we will have to come to a point where there’s some kind of schedule created that’s beyond the idea of a primary schedule,” said Ryan. ‘Obviously, it’s tough for countries to deal with ad hoc policy where you’re adding an extra booster on for certain people after so many months, and it’s very easy to become incoherent,” he added. “I think governments are making the best decisions they can, based on the data that they have, but ultimately we need to settle down into some acceptable pattern of vaccination boosting.” However, WHO technical lead on COVID-19, Maria van Kerkhove, said that while many people were hoping that SARS CoV2 would “fall into some kind of a seasonal pattern like we see with influenza, right now we don’t have that predictability”. “The reason for that is because we’re seeing this virus continue to evolve quite rapidly.” New Initiative Will Enable Speedy Introduction of COVID-19 Antivirals in Africa and Southeast Asia 07/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Pfizer’s Paxlovid, an oral antiviral against COVID-19. A new initiative to introduce COVID-19 oral antivirals and national test-and-treat programmes in 10 countries in Africa and Southeast Asia was launched on Wednesday by the COVID Treatment Quick Start Consortium. The consortium will support governments to introduce and scale up access to antivirals, starting with Pfizer’s Paxlovid, in high-risk populations in Ghana, Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In Africa just over 20% of the population is fully vaccinated and vulnerable people, particularly the elderly and immune-compromised, are at risk of developing severe illness or dying from COVID-19. Paxlovid has been shown to reduce deaths in elderly people by over 80% if it is taken within five days of infection, which is why early COVID-19 testing is particularly important. However, access to Paxlovid is presently limited and it is largely available in high-income countries only. In addition, of three billion COVID-19 tests administered worldwide since the pandemic, only 0.4% took place in a low-income country. Operational research on test-and-treat The initiative will combine the antiviral roll-out with operational research on how best to develop and scale up COVID-19 test-and-treat programmes in low- and middle-income countries. Pfizer will donate 100,000 courses of Paxlovid to start, but the programme will shift to using low-cost generics as soon as they become available, according to the consortium. The consortium is made up of Duke University, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), COVID Collaborative, and Americares as implementing partners, with support from the Open Society Foundations, Pfizer and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. “We have seen throughout the global COVID-19 response that new life-saving interventions like vaccines and treatments are not quickly reaching those most in need around the world,” said Dr Krishna Udayakumar, founding director of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center. “The Quick Start Consortium is partnering with governments to bring urgently needed medicines to high-risk populations in countries that do not have easy access to such innovations.” COVID Collaborative president Gary Edson described the 18-month programme as “the first concerted effort to bring new highly effective COVID oral antiviral treatments to low and middle income countries”, adding that it will complement the efforts of the US government and multilateral organisations with whom we’ve been closely coordinating Professor Lloyd Mulenga, director of infectious diseases for the Zambian Ministry of Health, said that his government had wanted access to oral antivirals to treat those with COVID-19 “and we are thus excited to be part of an initiative accelerating Paxlovid for use for COVID management”. “With this new milestone, we expect less [hospital] admissions and also fewer COVID-related deaths leading to a reduced burden on our health system,” added Mulenga. “The Quick Start Consortium will help us to continue to build and strengthen a resilient healthcare system, quickly find the patients who need treatment, and make sure they get needed medicines, regardless of socio-economic status,” said Professor Claude Muvunyi, Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Center. “Like so many other diseases, COVID-19 won’t go away if you just ignore it.” Correct injustice of access CHAI CEO Dr Neil Buddy Shah said that the programme aimed to correct the injustice of disproportionate access to life-saving COVID-19 tools, but added that this goal could not be met by Quick Start alone. “We welcome additional partners to join our consortium’s efforts,” said Shah. CHAI has been instrumental in assisting African countries to get access to cheaper antiretroviral medication to treat HIV. Meanwhile, Christine Squires, President and CEO of Americares, one of the world’s leading non-profit providers of donated medicine and medical supplies, said that the COVID-19 pandemic had claimed over six million lives and impacted the health of hundreds of millions of people over the past two and a half years. “By expanding access to testing and treatment in low- and middle-income countries, we will be taking a more equitable approach to reduce hospitalisations and severe disease and, ultimately, save lives,” she stressed. Image Credits: Pfizer . Ethiopian Ambassador Slams WHO Director General Tedros over Tigray Conflict 06/09/2022 Editorial team Hirut Zemene Kassa, Ethiopian ambassador to the European Union The Ethiopian ambassador to the European Union has spoken sharply against World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, calling his criticisms against the Ethiopian government and its role in the Tigray conflict in northern Ethiopia “unprofessional” and that he was using his position “degrading” and “abusing”. “The way he’s handling the matter is completely unprofessional to me,” Hirut Zemene said in an interview in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon. “He is a United Nations figure … The role he is playing right now … is very, very much degrading his position. I would think he would think about global health — like he says ‘global health for all’ — around the world, around Ethiopia, not only in one particular area.” Tedros, an ethnic Tigrayan, has publicly denounced the Ethiopian government in the past for its blockade in the Tigray region, calling it a “complete blockade” on health and humanitarian aid. Zemene once worked under Tedros when the latter was foreign minister of Ethiopia under the previous government, and she helped celebrate Tedros’ election as WHO Director General in May 2017. On Wednesday, however, she said he has been “abusing his position” at the WHO by commenting “about only one area” in northern Ethiopia — “a very shameful thing to do.” “Financially, the government has supported him, invested resources in him, to be a representation of the world in the WHO, coming from Ethiopia,” Zemene said. Read more on Devex Image Credits: UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré. Unitaid Invests in New TB Tests, as South Africa Study Reports Importance of Better Screening 06/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Many children with tuberculosis don’t receive the necessary treatment because of challenges with diagnosis. Two-fifths of people with tuberculosis are unaware that they are infected because their diagnosis relies on outdated tests – something Unitaid and partners aim to change with a $30 million investment in new diagnostic technologies to enable same-day results. Announcing the investment on Tuesday, the global health agency explained that the current diagnosis in low and middle-income countries relies on sputum tests that have low sensitivity, especially in the presence of HIV coinfection, require patients to make multiple visits to health centres and are “largely ineffective in diagnosing children or people in advanced stages of disease who have difficulty producing sputum”. New US$30 million investment will improve access to same-day test results to enable more people to quickly access appropriate treatment. Find out more: https://t.co/QYvznt0aDl pic.twitter.com/OEJ1Djy1Rw — Unitaid (@UNITAID) September 6, 2022 The announcement comes shortly after the publication in this month’s International Journal of Infectious Diseases of a massive 29-year study of TB in South Africa, which found that incidence and mortality were substantially reduced by the introduction of antiretroviral HIV therapy and increased screening. South Africa has one of the highest TB rates in the world and the researchers, from the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, found that 8.8 million people had developed TB, and 2.1 million died during the study period from 1990 to 2019. HIV, which weakens a person’s immunity, was responsible for 4.8 million of the cases and 1.4 million deaths. Testing doubled The study also estimated the impact on TB incidence of various treatment interventions, finding that antiretroviral therapy (ART) and increased TB screening, were the most effective. “Between 2005 and 2012, South Africa scaled-up efforts to identify TB cases and testing rates doubled. As a result, there were rapid reductions in TB incidence owing to increased TB screening during this period. In 2019, increased screening led to a 28% reduction in TB incidence,” according to lead author, Mmamapudi Kubjane, a researcher in the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town. The study also found that the provision of ART led to a 20% reduction in TB incidence by 2019. “The benefits of ART in reducing incidence depend on CD4 count and duration of ART. HIV-positive individuals who initiate ART earlier at higher CD4 counts and stay on ART for longer experience the greatest benefits of ART,” said Kubjane. The impact of the other treatment interventions – directly observed therapy (DOTS), isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT), and Xpert MTB/RIF – were “modest” single-figure percentages. Xpert MTB/RIF is a highly sensitive test that can simultaneously detect TB and resistance to the TB drug rifampin (RIF) in less than two hours. When South Africa introduced this new Xpert MTB/RIF test in 2011 to replace sputum testing, it was expected to bring substantial health benefits – yet clinical trials have found little or no impact on TB mortality, according to recent analyses. “To understand these dynamics better, modelling studies with detailed diagnostic algorithms that account for empirical treatment are required,” the study recommends. Combination approaches to diagnosis This is something that Untaid and its partners could tackle. Unitaid has partnered with FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), to evaluate alternative TB sampling approaches, and develop and evaluate combination approaches to diagnosis. More than 10 million people each year fall ill with tuberculosis (TB), and an estimated four million people with TB – two out of every five – go undiagnosed, according to Unitaid. “Efforts to reduce the TB burden are greatly hampered by the large number of people who never receive a diagnosis and therefore do not access treatment,” it adds. “For those who do receive a positive diagnosis, the process can be lengthy and sometimes means patients do not start on the correct treatment from the outset, which can lead to drug resistance.” Image Credits: University of Cape Town Lung Institute. Argentina Now Requires Big Food to Add Warning Labels to Ultra-Processed Foods 06/09/2022 Raisa Santos Big food companies in Argentina now need to add warning labels to their ultra-processed products. Consumers in Argentina are getting help to identify unhealthy food, thanks to new food promotion laws that mandate front-of-package warning labels, the first phase of which started recently. Last year, Argentina’s president signed one of the world’s strongest and most comprehensive food policy laws, requiring ultra-processed products with excess levels of sodium, sugar, fats and calories to include black octagonal warnings on the front of the package. Big food companies were given until 20 August to add the warnings, while small and medium food and beverage companies have until 20 February 2023 to do so. Companies that produce products that are high in sugar, calories, sodium and fat are prohibited from advertising these to children or selling them at schools. Argentinian civil society groups applauded the start of the new law, emphasizing it was a step in the right direction after years of advocacy. “This moment is the time when people in Argentina will start to have the chance to know what they are eating,” said Luciana Castronuovo of Fundacion InterAmerica del Corazon (FIC) Argentina, speaking to the Global Health Advocacy Incubator. The law is comprehensive as it also includes the regulation of food marketing and school environments, guaranteeing the rights to health and healthy food of children and youth, Victoria Tiscornia, nutritionist and researcher at FIC Argentina, told Health Policy Watch. “This comprehensive law is evidence-based and includes the best public health standards to tackle the double burden of malnutrition in Argentina.” ‘Major step’ to ensuring the right to healthy food Argentina’s accomplishment comes at a time when advocates are pushing for healthy food policies across Latin America in response to high rates of diet-related diseases like diabetes, obesity and heart disease and an increase in the availability of ultra-processed food and drinks. For the past five years, civil society organizations in Argentina fought for a package of policies that include front-of-package warning labels (FOPL), marketing restrictions and the removal of unhealthy food and drinks from schools. “This law is a major step towards guaranteeing both the population’s right to healthy food and the right to information.,” said Tiscornia. “It seeks to provide clear and truthful information to consumers about the products they buy so that they can make informed decisions and choose the healthiest consumption options.” The new law in Argentina is based on the experiences of other countries in the region, such as Chile, Mexico, and Peru, which have also implemented FOPL in their packaging. Chile was the first country to implement front-of-package labelling in 2016. Research has shown favourable significant positive changes in food choices as a result of labelling. Some 68% of people changed their eating habits and 20% of industries reformulated their products to comply with the established profile and thus avoid warning seals on the packaging. In addition, the purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages showed a significant decrease of almost 24% since the implementation of labelling. Other parts of the world have also been working towards changing food policy with highly processed foods. Nigeria recently introduced a new tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in June in an effort to curb the growing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related non-communicable diseases in the country. Challenges in implementation and communication in months to come Supermarket in Argentina with processed sugary food products. However, the new law in Argentina includes an article that allows companies to request a time extension for including the front of package warning labels (FOPL), Tiscornia added. FIC Argentina and other civil society organizations have been monitoring this process and conducting information requests but no official response explaining the number and reason for extensions has been yet provided. “This situation, although legal, affects the transparency of the policy process and the proper implementation of the law.” she said FIC Argentina and other civil society groups will be facing many challenges in the coming months in regards to the new law, such as implementation and communication to the public, said Maga Ailén Merlo Vijarra from Argentinian human rights nonprofit FUNDEPS. “In the coming months we will be working on disseminating key information about the law and the need for this public health strategy and we will also focus on the human right to healthy food.” Products that were manufactured and packaged before the law came into force are not required to add labels. Additionally, rice, dry noodles and legumes, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables and milk, amongst other unprocessed or minimally processed foods are exempted from the labels. Table sugar and salt, vegetable oils, dried fruits and nuts, will also be exempted from labelling. Vijarra noted that the challenges with implementation include understanding which products have labels and which companies will have extensions approved. “In the coming months we expect to better protect Argentinean children and adolescents from abusive marketing strategies employed by the food industry, leading to a safer and healthier environment to develop and grow,” she concluded. Image Credits: Global Health Policy Incubator , Vera and Jean-Christophe/Flickr . Africa Pushes Gas as Transitional Energy Source, Insisting Climate Goals Cannot Hamper Economic Progress 05/09/2022 Paul Adepoju Solar panels in the Egyptian desert. The US government committed itself to supporting Nigeria’s transition away from fossil fuels during a meeting between US vice-president Kamala Harris and Nigeria’s vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, last Friday. However, despite global commitments to reduce fossil fuel reliance to address climate change, a number of African countries have recently committed to expanding their oil and coal production, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. African leaders have also asserted that achieving global climate goals cannot come at the price of economic development on the continent – and they intend to invest in gas as a transitional form of energy on the continent’s path to renewable energy. Nigeria launched its Energy Transition Plan on 24 August, mapping out how the country intends to achieve carbon emission neutrality by 2060, including by transitioning from petrol to gas – but the continent’s most populous nation needs over $400 billion to implement the plan and many western countries have moratoriums on financing hydrocarbon projects. It was truly a pleasure to meet with Vice-President Kamala Harris to discuss Nigeria's #EnergyTransition Plan and other interests between our Governments. pic.twitter.com/8qJnhTOQRf — Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (@ProfOsinbajo) September 2, 2022 During last week’s meeting, Harris welcomed Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan and applauded Osinbajo’s leadership for just energy transitions in Africa and “the two leaders committed to working closely to support Nigeria’s energy access and energy security goals, as well as our shared global climate goals”, according to a White House statement. Continued investment in oil But some African countries’ actions are not in line with the globally set climate goals. The Democratic Republic of Congo is planning to issue 30 new licenses for oil rigs that could threaten some parts of the country’s rainforest. “We had concerns about the announcement of the auction of these oil and gas exploration blocks, some of the blocks infringe on sensitive rainforest and peatland areas, including in the Virunga National Park and Salonga National Park,” said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken during a recent visit to the DRC. Meanwhile in Kenya, in early August President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned the Kipevu terminal, a large new oil storage facility at the Mombasa port intended to store large volumes of oil for the country’s development. In August 2021, the government of Ghana revealed plans to invest $1.65 billion to accelerate oil and gas exploration via the acquisition and development of oil and gas assets. Following an EU ban on coal importation from Russia, South Africa’s coal sales to Europe rose eight-fold during the first half of 2022 compared with last year. ‘Moral and economic madness’ After the 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report reported that the expansion of coal, oil and gas production is a great risk to global climate goals, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, described the expansion as “moral and economic madness”. But many African governments are getting behind the gas transition, arguing that moving immediately to renewable energy will hamper the continent’s economy and development. In May, 10 countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, and Zimbabwe – adopted a seven-point communique urging the international community to support gas “as a transition fuel and the long-term displacement of gas by renewable energy and green hydrogen for industrial development, if financially and technically sustainable”. In Senegal, $5 billion is projected to be spent on the second phase of the country’s liquefied natural gas project. President Macky Sall is a firm critic of what he described as the hypocrisy of western governments that guzzle gas at home but have declared a virtual moratorium on financing hydrocarbon projects abroad. “You cannot tell us that renewables alone can develop a continent — it has never been the case anywhere else and it cannot be the case in Africa,” Sall said. Egypt to host COP27 In November, Egypt’s “green city” of Sharm El Sheikh will host the 27th United Nations climate change conference, COP27, and this will offer an opportunity to show what the continent is doing to align with global climate goals including net zero carbon emissions by 2060 and mainstreaming renewable energies. Egypt has described the provision, mobilization and delivery of climate finance for developing countries as an urgent priority — particularly in light of current financial crises, debt challenges and increasing interest rates. “It is imperative to make appropriate financial flows that are based on needs identified through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other vehicles, with a focus on concessional finance instruments, and grants as appropriate, while providing a clear revision of the definition of bankable projects that takes into consideration climate benefits and not only risks, and achieving cross-cutting impacts,” Egypt said on its website for COP27. At COP26, a major talking point among African delegates and climate activists was the need for richer countries, who are also the world’s majornpolluters, to provide sufficient funds for developing countries to fight the crisis. During COP26, South Africa, the European Union, France, Germany, the UK and the US launched an ambitious long-term Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to support the South Africa’s decarbonisation efforts in order to move its economy towards more reliance on renewable energy resources. The JETP aims to mobilise $8.5 billion for South Africa, and Nigeria hopes to achieve similar support for its energy transition plan. Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts This site uses cookies to help give you the best experience on our website. Cookies enable us to collect information that helps us personalise your experience and improve the functionality and performance of our site. By continuing to read our website, we assume you agree to this, otherwise you can adjust your browser settings. Please read our cookie and Privacy Policy. Our Cookies and Privacy Policy Loading Comments... You must be logged in to post a comment.
Famine is ‘at the Door’ in Somalia, UN Warns 08/09/2022 Obi Anyadike, The New Humanitarian Thousands of Somalis escaping drought and conflict have been arriving every month in sprawling settlements on the outskirts of towns, like this one in Baidoa, south-central Somalia, pictured in August 2022. Famine “is at the door” in Somalia, with “concrete indications” that parts of the south-central Bay region will be in famine between October and December this year without an urgent surge in aid, the United Nations (UN) warned this week. “This is the final warning to all of us,” the UN’s humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, told a press conference in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. “This is the last minute of the eleventh hour to save lives.” A two-year drought, mass displacement, decades of war, and a so-far sluggish aid response means more than seven million people – almost half the population – are already chronically hungry. In May, at least 213,000 people in the Bay region were in “catastrophe” – a technical term for starving. But despite growing evidence for months of the looming crisis, aid has been slow to arrive. In April, the UN’s $1.5 billion response plan was just 17% funded, only reaching 70% in August. As a result, there have been repeated fears of “pipeline breaks” in relief delivery. “Much of that donor money has come in the last month, but what can you do in just one month to meet needs?” said a UN official, who asked for anonymity so they could speak freely. “Why didn’t they frontload the aid and act earlier?” Somalia’s last famine was in 2011, when 250,000 people died as a result of drought and conflict. “The situation and trends resemble those seen in 2010 and 2011, but now they’re worse,” said Griffiths. Drought drives over a million people into camps Four seasons of back-to-back drought have driven more than a million people from their rural homes. Mostly women and children, they have camped in packed settlements of bivouacs, made from scrounged bits of old cloth on the outskirts of towns – more reliant on the generosity of the local community than aid agencies. Crop failure and the decimation of livestock herds have been compounded by rocketing food prices. In June, the cost for a household to meet its basic food needs was between 56 and 110% higher than the five-year average in some of the hardest-hit regions, according to the World Food Programme. Even if the rate of aid deliveries does pick up, a La Niña-induced failure of the October rains is forecast, which will trigger an unprecedented fifth drought season and a “humanitarian catastrophe” that will likely last through to March 2023, said Griffiths. What is famine? Famine is a highly technical classification that meets three specific criteria: At least 20% of households in a given area face an extreme lack of food; more than 30% of children under five in the sample group are acutely malnourished; and at least two people out of every 10,000 are dying daily from hunger-related causes (in a non-crisis sub-Saharan African country, the rate is around 0.3). The analysis is led by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system, made up of UN agencies, international non-profits, and governments. The IPC’s hunger gauge – from Phase 1 “minimal” to Phase 5 “famine” – has become the globally accepted barometer of food insecurity. A famine declaration is a last call for action when all the early warning designed to prevent famine has gone unheeded. As such, it marks the “failure of the humanitarian system”, said José Lopez, IPC’s global programme manager. Only two famines have been declared since the IPC system was launched in 2004: Somalia in 2011; and South Sudan in 2017, when conflict-related starvation threatened 80,000 people in parts of Unity State. As famine occurs in areas where almost by definition data is hard to gather, there’s a little wiggle room in the classification system, even within Phase 5: “Famine likely” means it’s probably underway – or will be in the near future – but the evidence is not all there yet to declare a Phase 5 Famine. A “famine projected”, as in the case of Somalia today, means there’s a “narrow window” to act to prevent what otherwise will become a full-fledged famine. The Phase 5 catastrophe category signals individual households are experiencing starvation, but less than 20 percent of the overall population in the given area are in famine conditions. It’s important to note that the IPC system measures intensity rather than magnitude: The focus is on the proportion of people starving in a given area rather than the absolute number experiencing famine. It’s also only a snapshot of what has already happened. When famine is declared, it’s in a sense too late – deaths are already occurring. Twelve-month-old Fatun was enrolled in a supplementary feeding programme in Gedo, in southern Somalia, in June 2022. Making the call Famine analysis is handled by the country-level Technical Working Group (TWG) of the IPC, which operates in 35 food insecure countries and is typically government-led. An almost identical system, the Cadre Harmonisé, covers West Africa. The TWG normally brings 50 to 100 analysts together to examine the evidence, drawing on the existing data from humanitarian agencies, and groups like the US-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). The number crunching usually takes a couple of weeks. In the case of Somalia, three teams were spread between Mogadishu, Hargeisa in Somaliland, and north-central Galkayo. The teams were then brought together to consolidate the data in a final week-long meeting in Nairobi. When famine is suspected – or more controversially, no consensus is reached on the evidence – a Famine Review Committee (FRC) is triggered. Made up of around five independent experts, the committee validates the TWG’s findings. Its conclusions can differ. That was the case in South Sudan’s eastern county of Pibor in 2020. Government-aligned members of the TWG had downplayed the severity of the crisis, rating it “catastrophe”, while the FRC determined “famine was likely”. There was “clear political interference”, said a senior aid official, who asked not to be named. “Part of the TWG was trying to suppress the possibility of Phase 5 [Famine].” Does a declaration matter? It “triggers a lot of action”, said Lopez. In 2011, there was a doubling of funding for Somalia within days of the declaration. But a focus on famine tends to imply the IPC’s other phases of food insecurity are somehow tolerable. And while famine typically affects relatively few people, millions can be in “emergency” situations with hunger-related deaths – or “excess mortality” in IPC’s dispassionate definition. “The problem is that decision-makers want to know whether there is famine or not before they act to the extent that is required,” said Lopez. “But people can be in Phase 4 for a long time, with excess mortality. It’s already a disaster and requires a strong response.” The hard lesson from Somalia’s famine in 2011 – and the successful management of an extreme drought six years later – is that relief needs to be anticipatory rather than reactive. Apart from saving lives, it’s also financially prudent (however distasteful that may sound). Every $1 spent on disaster prevention saves more than $2 in future emergency costs. The politics of famine The evidence bar for famine is deliberately high, designed to rule out the chance of false alarms and give donors confidence in the verdict. The flip-side is that there are “relatively few protections” against missing the signals and failing to declare a famine when one is underway, researchers Daniel Maxwell and Peter Hailey point out. It’s a particular problem in conflicts in which governments are involved, and where starvation is used as a weapon of war. In the long-running violence in Syria and Yemen, where city sieges have been a hallmark, it has been difficult to collect the detailed evidence needed to make a famine determination – even though general levels of hunger have been incredibly high. That could also be occurring in Ethiopia, where a government aid blockade of the northern region of Tigray – and now renewed fighting – threatens almost six million lives. “The word ‘famine’ is highly charged,” said analyst Alex de Waal, who has written extensively on the politics of famine. “That is why the Ethiopian government is so anxious to prevent humanitarian data-gathering in Tigray, and the Saudi-led coalition has been doing the same in Yemen.” Given the limitations around data that can prejudice the evidence, a famine declaration “is a political act masquerading as a technical diagnosis”, said De Waal. A Somalian mother with her baby, who is being treated for malnutrition. Somalia’s access problem Somalia’s food crisis is also complicated by conflict. An estimated 900,000 people live in areas controlled by the jihadist group, al-Shabab, which has been battling successive weak central governments for more than two decades. They are hostile to Western aid agencies, preferring to trumpet their own, limited relief efforts, or to grant access to small, local NGOs they trust – which they then “tax”. US counter-terror legislation also inhibits direct humanitarian engagement by US-funded agencies. Griffiths on Monday called for the humanitarian community to be given “immediate and safe access to all those in need”, but said that no talks were underway with al-Shabab to negotiate safe passage. “Al-Shabab wants to monopolise legitimacy,” according to Mohammed Ibrahim Shire, a Horn of Africa analyst. “As such, everything has to go through them and be managed by them so that they can sustain this image of a ‘state actor in waiting’.” That poses a dilemma for drought victims living in al-Shabab-controlled zones. “They either have to flee to government-controlled areas and receive support there, or stay put and wait for al-Shabab’s humanitarian wing to deliver aid,” said Shire. “Whatever action they take, help is not always guaranteed.” This article was first published in The New Humanitarian. Image Credits: Mercy Corp/ TNH, Samantha Reinders/ WFP, UNICEF. Pan-American Region Secures First Monkeypox Vaccines Deal 08/09/2022 Raisa Santos & Stefan Anderson Carissa Etienne, PAHO Director In an effort to prevent the spread of monkeypox, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) signed an agreement with Bavarian Nordic to obtain 100,000 vaccine doses for Latin America and the Caribbean. That will allow PAHO to start delivering the doses to the 12 countries that requested them in September. The agreement will make the Americas the first and only region to receive monkeypox vaccines through a multilateral effort. PAHO used its Revolving Fund, which provides access to vaccines at affordable prices, to secure its first agreement with the Danish vaccine company. Attempts to secure vaccines in other regions, such as Africa, where monkeypox is endemic, have been stymied, with little discussion from the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO is in talks, however, with some vaccine manufacturers and nations to obtain some of their large vaccine reserves and distribute those monkeypox doses more widely and equitably. A WHO spokesperson told Health Policy Watch it has been “in close contact” with those manufacturers and nations “since the beginning of the outbreak.” “WHO continues to urge countries with larger stockpiles to share and donate vaccines,” the spokesperson said, “[and] is concerned that the inequitable access to vaccines and treatments seen during the COVID-19 response is repeating itself in this monkeypox multi-country outbreak.” The spokesperson also noted that PAHO is still consolidating nations’ formal requests for some of the doses and is “working to define the best way forward to guarantee an equitable vaccine distribution.” Twelve countries in the Americas region have signed up to receive the vaccines from PAHO’s Revolving Fund, with an additional seven countries talking toPAHO about ordering some. PAHO says it expects to receive the first batch of doses from Bavarian Nordic in September, then a second batch in November and a third batch in December — making for 100,000 doses in all. PAHO did not disclose how much it is paying for the doses. The Americas – highest burden of monkeypox worldwide More than 30,000 new monkeypox cases have been reported in the Americas as of 6 September, saddling the region with the highest burden anywhere. Most of the cases are concentrated in the United States, Brazil, Peru, and Canada. The fraction of monkeypox cases that do not involve any recent contact with men who have sex with men (MSM) continues to rise in the US, suggesting a silent spread of the virus to other communities. Four monkeypox-related deaths have been reported in Brazil, Cuba, and Ecuador. Though PAHO was able to secure an agreement with Bavarian Nordic for monkeypox vaccines, PAHO’s Director Carissa Etienne noted these doses remain in limited supply, necessitating the use of other public health measures as well. Due to the shortage, WHO does not recommend mass vaccinations. “Vaccination, when available, can be deployed as a preventative measure,” said Etienne. “With vaccines in short supply, and with no effective treatment for monkeypox, countries should intensify efforts to prevent the spread of the virus in our region,” she said. “We need to guarantee equitable allocation, and this requires the prioritizing of vaccine distribution to maximize the health impact.” Monkeypox response must involve affected communities Ciro Ugarte, PAHO Director of Health Emergencies The limited vaccine supply highlights the need to involve affected communities in the public health response to monkeypox. Ciro Ugarte, PAHO’s director of health emergencies, said public health authorities “need to be in close contact with the individuals who have higher risk of transmission and involve them in the prevention and early diagnosis efforts, as well as care.”As vaccine shortages limit the potential to stem the outbreak, Ugarte emphasized, there can be no effective response without community involvement. “Risk communication is extremely important and effective,” he said. “The vaccine is a tool to help, but it will not be solving the final problem.” To achieve full community participation, Etienne said, all possible efforts must be made to reduce the harmful impact that stigma can have on people’s ability to get treatment. “LGBTQ+ communities face stigma and discrimination that impacts their health and well being, but stigma has no place in public health”, she said. “It prevents those at risk from accessing information, getting tested, or seeking medical attention when they show symptoms.” Etienne said the continent’s experience with HIV/AIDS should serve as a cautionary tale. “We must work to break down stigma and discrimination or most at-risk populations will not seek care,” she said. “The pandemic is not behind us” Marcos Espinal, Interim Assistant Director, PAHO Though the region’s renewed focus and cooperation on monkeypox response is a welcome development, PAHO officials said, significant work remains to be done to confront the COVID-19 threat. “COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths have decreased across the Americas,” said Etienne. “Despite this trend, hundreds of people are still dying every day from COVID-19 across our region. Just last week, we had 4,954 reported deaths in the Americas.” Dr Marcos Espinal, director of PAHO’s department of communicable diseases and health analysis, said public health authorities must keep delivering COVID-19 vaccinations, too. “We have many countries in the region where less than 40% are covered,” said Espinal. “We have not left the pandemic behind.” China Maintains “zero-COVID” Policy in Chengdu Despite Fatal 6.8 Magnitude Earthquake 07/09/2022 Raisa Santos China’s Chengdu enforces strict lockdown despite earthquake Authorities in China’s southwestern city of Chengdu are sticking to the nation’s “zero-COVID” policy demanding a lockdown on the city’s 21 million inhabitants even in the face of a major earthquake that has killed at least 66 people in the region. Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province, has been beset by a heatwave and drought this summer and last week was plunged into a lockdown after an increase in COVID cases. Some in Chengdu say they were ordered to stay inside while the 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck a mountainous area in Luding County, about 200 km (125 miles) from Chengdu, while those that ran outside say their movements were severely restricted due to the pandemic. Videos shared on Douyin, China’s TikTok platform, show panicked residents behind chained gates, shouting to be let out. In one, a man swears at a security guard, rattling what appears to be his apartment gates and trying to open it, then shouts: “Hurry up, open the door, it’s an earthquake!” In response, the guards say: “It’s over, the earthquake’s already over.” Another video claims to be an audio recording of a loudspeaker message: “Go back home and do not gather here, it’s just an earthquake. We [here in Sichuan] have a lot of experience [when it comes to earthquakes]. The 6.8-magnitude earthquake on Monday was the strongest Sichuan has seen since 2017. Provincial authorities said at least 66 people were dead, 253 people were injured and 15 others were missing as of Tuesday afternoon. Chengdu lockdown most severe since Shanghai Citizens in Chengdu, China, rush to gather necessities before city-wide lockdown. Chengdu’s lockdown is the most severe since China’s largest city of Shanghai was placed in isolation over the spring and summer. Starting last week, 1 September, residents were no longer allowed to leave their homes without special permission. Authorities also began citywide testing. Nationwide, China reported 1,499 new cases of local infection, most of them asymptomatic, on Tuesday. Sichuan province accounted for 138 of those cases. In all, 65 million people across China in 33 cities are grappling with partial or full lockdowns, according to Chinese media, from Chengdu to the southern economic powerhouse of Shenzhen to the oil-producing city of Daqing, near Russia. Chengdu, which reported 121 cases, is showing signs of tightening restrictions. At least one district in Chengdu has banned even the ordering of takeout meals and coffee, according to a notice posted on the internet. Business owners are preparing for the worst. Eli Sweet, an American who runs a chain of dance studios in Chengdu, told Bloomberg his business was already hit by power cuts across Sichuan province in recent weeks before the COVID lockdown. “We’re definitely teetering on the brink of dying,” he said of his chain of dance studios, “which is pretty sad considering we built this business from scratch to a pretty significant scale.” The atmosphere in Chengdu, he added, has become one of “fatigue, annoyance and general compliance.” Chinese president Xi Jinping’s “zero-COVID” strategy tested before October re-election China’s Xi Jinping in 18 May address before the World Health Assembly China has stuck to its “zero-COVID” policy of compulsory testing, lockdowns, quarantines and masking despite moves from the rest of the world to open up again since the virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019. World Health Organization Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called this strategy unsustainable in the face of the more infectious but less lethal Omicron variant that emerged in May. For China’s President Xi Jinping, his nation’s strategy may seem like evidence that the Communist Party’s system of governance has distinct advantages over Western democracy. But for George Magnus, a research associate at Oxford University, the situation may be masking a hard truth: China still isn’t in a position to handle a COVID-19 outbreak. “Its hospital system is not up to it, mRNA vaccines are not yet widely available, and the elderly vaccination rate is still low,” Magnus told Bloomberg. “This is a problem for the 2020s and for Xi, whose opponents in the party, sensing all this, and also Xi’s risky foreign policies, may not be as docile in the future as now,” he said. With the Communist Party’s twice-a-decade leadership summit coming up in October, in which Jinping is expected to be re-elected as China’s top leader for another five years, the evolving situation in Chengdu, alongside the outbreaks in other cities, may in fact undermine Jinping’s proclamation that the “zero-COVID” strategy is a winning one. “The more cities get locked down, the more Chinese will turn against COVID-zero,” said Frank Tsai, founder of consulting firm China Crossroads. “The party knows that there is a tipping point,” he said, “and it would be smart to get ahead of this tipping point and declare victory before it comes.” Image Credits: Global News/Twitter , Manya Koetse/Twitter. WHO Warns Against ‘Complacency’ over COVID-19 and Monkeypox 07/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Maria van Kerkhove Although COVID-19 and monkeypox cases are declining globally, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned against complacency on Wednesday. Although COVID-19 cases were down by 80% since February, “last week, one person died with COVID-19 every 44 seconds and most of those those those deaths are avoidable,” said Tedros. “There is no guarantee these trends will persist. The most dangerous thing is to assume they will,” he added. “You might be tired of hearing me say the pandemic is not over. But I will keep saying it until it is. This virus will not just fade away.” On monkeypox, Tedros said that there was a downward trend in Europe and although cases in the Americas also appeared to decline, it was “harder to draw firm conclusions about the epidemic in that region”. “Some countries in the Americas continue to report increasing number of cases and in some, there is likely to be under-reporting due to stigma and discrimination or a lack of information for those who need it most. “But as I said earlier, a downward trend can be the most dangerous time if it opens the door to complacency,” stressed Tedros. “WHO continues to recommend that all countries persist with a tailored combination of public health measures: Testing, research and targeted vaccination where vaccines are available.” He added that community engagement is vital, and that the WHO had consulted with community leaders from all over the world to listen to their views and concerns and to “emphasise the informed importance of responding to monkeypox using existing services and infrastructure, including those for HIV and sexual health”. Tedros also stressed the importance of the global negotiations on an appropriate global instrument to address future pandemics, adding that more public hearings on this would be held by the WHO’s intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) later this month. COVID vaccine schedule? Meanwhile, WHO Executive Director of Health Emergencies, Dr Mike Ryan said that he hoped that it would be possible for the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) to develop a vaccination schedule for COVID-19. “Many countries now are offering people third and fourth doses of vaccine and we will have to come to a point where there’s some kind of schedule created that’s beyond the idea of a primary schedule,” said Ryan. ‘Obviously, it’s tough for countries to deal with ad hoc policy where you’re adding an extra booster on for certain people after so many months, and it’s very easy to become incoherent,” he added. “I think governments are making the best decisions they can, based on the data that they have, but ultimately we need to settle down into some acceptable pattern of vaccination boosting.” However, WHO technical lead on COVID-19, Maria van Kerkhove, said that while many people were hoping that SARS CoV2 would “fall into some kind of a seasonal pattern like we see with influenza, right now we don’t have that predictability”. “The reason for that is because we’re seeing this virus continue to evolve quite rapidly.” New Initiative Will Enable Speedy Introduction of COVID-19 Antivirals in Africa and Southeast Asia 07/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Pfizer’s Paxlovid, an oral antiviral against COVID-19. A new initiative to introduce COVID-19 oral antivirals and national test-and-treat programmes in 10 countries in Africa and Southeast Asia was launched on Wednesday by the COVID Treatment Quick Start Consortium. The consortium will support governments to introduce and scale up access to antivirals, starting with Pfizer’s Paxlovid, in high-risk populations in Ghana, Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In Africa just over 20% of the population is fully vaccinated and vulnerable people, particularly the elderly and immune-compromised, are at risk of developing severe illness or dying from COVID-19. Paxlovid has been shown to reduce deaths in elderly people by over 80% if it is taken within five days of infection, which is why early COVID-19 testing is particularly important. However, access to Paxlovid is presently limited and it is largely available in high-income countries only. In addition, of three billion COVID-19 tests administered worldwide since the pandemic, only 0.4% took place in a low-income country. Operational research on test-and-treat The initiative will combine the antiviral roll-out with operational research on how best to develop and scale up COVID-19 test-and-treat programmes in low- and middle-income countries. Pfizer will donate 100,000 courses of Paxlovid to start, but the programme will shift to using low-cost generics as soon as they become available, according to the consortium. The consortium is made up of Duke University, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), COVID Collaborative, and Americares as implementing partners, with support from the Open Society Foundations, Pfizer and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. “We have seen throughout the global COVID-19 response that new life-saving interventions like vaccines and treatments are not quickly reaching those most in need around the world,” said Dr Krishna Udayakumar, founding director of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center. “The Quick Start Consortium is partnering with governments to bring urgently needed medicines to high-risk populations in countries that do not have easy access to such innovations.” COVID Collaborative president Gary Edson described the 18-month programme as “the first concerted effort to bring new highly effective COVID oral antiviral treatments to low and middle income countries”, adding that it will complement the efforts of the US government and multilateral organisations with whom we’ve been closely coordinating Professor Lloyd Mulenga, director of infectious diseases for the Zambian Ministry of Health, said that his government had wanted access to oral antivirals to treat those with COVID-19 “and we are thus excited to be part of an initiative accelerating Paxlovid for use for COVID management”. “With this new milestone, we expect less [hospital] admissions and also fewer COVID-related deaths leading to a reduced burden on our health system,” added Mulenga. “The Quick Start Consortium will help us to continue to build and strengthen a resilient healthcare system, quickly find the patients who need treatment, and make sure they get needed medicines, regardless of socio-economic status,” said Professor Claude Muvunyi, Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Center. “Like so many other diseases, COVID-19 won’t go away if you just ignore it.” Correct injustice of access CHAI CEO Dr Neil Buddy Shah said that the programme aimed to correct the injustice of disproportionate access to life-saving COVID-19 tools, but added that this goal could not be met by Quick Start alone. “We welcome additional partners to join our consortium’s efforts,” said Shah. CHAI has been instrumental in assisting African countries to get access to cheaper antiretroviral medication to treat HIV. Meanwhile, Christine Squires, President and CEO of Americares, one of the world’s leading non-profit providers of donated medicine and medical supplies, said that the COVID-19 pandemic had claimed over six million lives and impacted the health of hundreds of millions of people over the past two and a half years. “By expanding access to testing and treatment in low- and middle-income countries, we will be taking a more equitable approach to reduce hospitalisations and severe disease and, ultimately, save lives,” she stressed. Image Credits: Pfizer . Ethiopian Ambassador Slams WHO Director General Tedros over Tigray Conflict 06/09/2022 Editorial team Hirut Zemene Kassa, Ethiopian ambassador to the European Union The Ethiopian ambassador to the European Union has spoken sharply against World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, calling his criticisms against the Ethiopian government and its role in the Tigray conflict in northern Ethiopia “unprofessional” and that he was using his position “degrading” and “abusing”. “The way he’s handling the matter is completely unprofessional to me,” Hirut Zemene said in an interview in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon. “He is a United Nations figure … The role he is playing right now … is very, very much degrading his position. I would think he would think about global health — like he says ‘global health for all’ — around the world, around Ethiopia, not only in one particular area.” Tedros, an ethnic Tigrayan, has publicly denounced the Ethiopian government in the past for its blockade in the Tigray region, calling it a “complete blockade” on health and humanitarian aid. Zemene once worked under Tedros when the latter was foreign minister of Ethiopia under the previous government, and she helped celebrate Tedros’ election as WHO Director General in May 2017. On Wednesday, however, she said he has been “abusing his position” at the WHO by commenting “about only one area” in northern Ethiopia — “a very shameful thing to do.” “Financially, the government has supported him, invested resources in him, to be a representation of the world in the WHO, coming from Ethiopia,” Zemene said. Read more on Devex Image Credits: UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré. Unitaid Invests in New TB Tests, as South Africa Study Reports Importance of Better Screening 06/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Many children with tuberculosis don’t receive the necessary treatment because of challenges with diagnosis. Two-fifths of people with tuberculosis are unaware that they are infected because their diagnosis relies on outdated tests – something Unitaid and partners aim to change with a $30 million investment in new diagnostic technologies to enable same-day results. Announcing the investment on Tuesday, the global health agency explained that the current diagnosis in low and middle-income countries relies on sputum tests that have low sensitivity, especially in the presence of HIV coinfection, require patients to make multiple visits to health centres and are “largely ineffective in diagnosing children or people in advanced stages of disease who have difficulty producing sputum”. New US$30 million investment will improve access to same-day test results to enable more people to quickly access appropriate treatment. Find out more: https://t.co/QYvznt0aDl pic.twitter.com/OEJ1Djy1Rw — Unitaid (@UNITAID) September 6, 2022 The announcement comes shortly after the publication in this month’s International Journal of Infectious Diseases of a massive 29-year study of TB in South Africa, which found that incidence and mortality were substantially reduced by the introduction of antiretroviral HIV therapy and increased screening. South Africa has one of the highest TB rates in the world and the researchers, from the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, found that 8.8 million people had developed TB, and 2.1 million died during the study period from 1990 to 2019. HIV, which weakens a person’s immunity, was responsible for 4.8 million of the cases and 1.4 million deaths. Testing doubled The study also estimated the impact on TB incidence of various treatment interventions, finding that antiretroviral therapy (ART) and increased TB screening, were the most effective. “Between 2005 and 2012, South Africa scaled-up efforts to identify TB cases and testing rates doubled. As a result, there were rapid reductions in TB incidence owing to increased TB screening during this period. In 2019, increased screening led to a 28% reduction in TB incidence,” according to lead author, Mmamapudi Kubjane, a researcher in the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town. The study also found that the provision of ART led to a 20% reduction in TB incidence by 2019. “The benefits of ART in reducing incidence depend on CD4 count and duration of ART. HIV-positive individuals who initiate ART earlier at higher CD4 counts and stay on ART for longer experience the greatest benefits of ART,” said Kubjane. The impact of the other treatment interventions – directly observed therapy (DOTS), isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT), and Xpert MTB/RIF – were “modest” single-figure percentages. Xpert MTB/RIF is a highly sensitive test that can simultaneously detect TB and resistance to the TB drug rifampin (RIF) in less than two hours. When South Africa introduced this new Xpert MTB/RIF test in 2011 to replace sputum testing, it was expected to bring substantial health benefits – yet clinical trials have found little or no impact on TB mortality, according to recent analyses. “To understand these dynamics better, modelling studies with detailed diagnostic algorithms that account for empirical treatment are required,” the study recommends. Combination approaches to diagnosis This is something that Untaid and its partners could tackle. Unitaid has partnered with FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), to evaluate alternative TB sampling approaches, and develop and evaluate combination approaches to diagnosis. More than 10 million people each year fall ill with tuberculosis (TB), and an estimated four million people with TB – two out of every five – go undiagnosed, according to Unitaid. “Efforts to reduce the TB burden are greatly hampered by the large number of people who never receive a diagnosis and therefore do not access treatment,” it adds. “For those who do receive a positive diagnosis, the process can be lengthy and sometimes means patients do not start on the correct treatment from the outset, which can lead to drug resistance.” Image Credits: University of Cape Town Lung Institute. Argentina Now Requires Big Food to Add Warning Labels to Ultra-Processed Foods 06/09/2022 Raisa Santos Big food companies in Argentina now need to add warning labels to their ultra-processed products. Consumers in Argentina are getting help to identify unhealthy food, thanks to new food promotion laws that mandate front-of-package warning labels, the first phase of which started recently. Last year, Argentina’s president signed one of the world’s strongest and most comprehensive food policy laws, requiring ultra-processed products with excess levels of sodium, sugar, fats and calories to include black octagonal warnings on the front of the package. Big food companies were given until 20 August to add the warnings, while small and medium food and beverage companies have until 20 February 2023 to do so. Companies that produce products that are high in sugar, calories, sodium and fat are prohibited from advertising these to children or selling them at schools. Argentinian civil society groups applauded the start of the new law, emphasizing it was a step in the right direction after years of advocacy. “This moment is the time when people in Argentina will start to have the chance to know what they are eating,” said Luciana Castronuovo of Fundacion InterAmerica del Corazon (FIC) Argentina, speaking to the Global Health Advocacy Incubator. The law is comprehensive as it also includes the regulation of food marketing and school environments, guaranteeing the rights to health and healthy food of children and youth, Victoria Tiscornia, nutritionist and researcher at FIC Argentina, told Health Policy Watch. “This comprehensive law is evidence-based and includes the best public health standards to tackle the double burden of malnutrition in Argentina.” ‘Major step’ to ensuring the right to healthy food Argentina’s accomplishment comes at a time when advocates are pushing for healthy food policies across Latin America in response to high rates of diet-related diseases like diabetes, obesity and heart disease and an increase in the availability of ultra-processed food and drinks. For the past five years, civil society organizations in Argentina fought for a package of policies that include front-of-package warning labels (FOPL), marketing restrictions and the removal of unhealthy food and drinks from schools. “This law is a major step towards guaranteeing both the population’s right to healthy food and the right to information.,” said Tiscornia. “It seeks to provide clear and truthful information to consumers about the products they buy so that they can make informed decisions and choose the healthiest consumption options.” The new law in Argentina is based on the experiences of other countries in the region, such as Chile, Mexico, and Peru, which have also implemented FOPL in their packaging. Chile was the first country to implement front-of-package labelling in 2016. Research has shown favourable significant positive changes in food choices as a result of labelling. Some 68% of people changed their eating habits and 20% of industries reformulated their products to comply with the established profile and thus avoid warning seals on the packaging. In addition, the purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages showed a significant decrease of almost 24% since the implementation of labelling. Other parts of the world have also been working towards changing food policy with highly processed foods. Nigeria recently introduced a new tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in June in an effort to curb the growing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related non-communicable diseases in the country. Challenges in implementation and communication in months to come Supermarket in Argentina with processed sugary food products. However, the new law in Argentina includes an article that allows companies to request a time extension for including the front of package warning labels (FOPL), Tiscornia added. FIC Argentina and other civil society organizations have been monitoring this process and conducting information requests but no official response explaining the number and reason for extensions has been yet provided. “This situation, although legal, affects the transparency of the policy process and the proper implementation of the law.” she said FIC Argentina and other civil society groups will be facing many challenges in the coming months in regards to the new law, such as implementation and communication to the public, said Maga Ailén Merlo Vijarra from Argentinian human rights nonprofit FUNDEPS. “In the coming months we will be working on disseminating key information about the law and the need for this public health strategy and we will also focus on the human right to healthy food.” Products that were manufactured and packaged before the law came into force are not required to add labels. Additionally, rice, dry noodles and legumes, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables and milk, amongst other unprocessed or minimally processed foods are exempted from the labels. Table sugar and salt, vegetable oils, dried fruits and nuts, will also be exempted from labelling. Vijarra noted that the challenges with implementation include understanding which products have labels and which companies will have extensions approved. “In the coming months we expect to better protect Argentinean children and adolescents from abusive marketing strategies employed by the food industry, leading to a safer and healthier environment to develop and grow,” she concluded. Image Credits: Global Health Policy Incubator , Vera and Jean-Christophe/Flickr . Africa Pushes Gas as Transitional Energy Source, Insisting Climate Goals Cannot Hamper Economic Progress 05/09/2022 Paul Adepoju Solar panels in the Egyptian desert. The US government committed itself to supporting Nigeria’s transition away from fossil fuels during a meeting between US vice-president Kamala Harris and Nigeria’s vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, last Friday. However, despite global commitments to reduce fossil fuel reliance to address climate change, a number of African countries have recently committed to expanding their oil and coal production, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. African leaders have also asserted that achieving global climate goals cannot come at the price of economic development on the continent – and they intend to invest in gas as a transitional form of energy on the continent’s path to renewable energy. Nigeria launched its Energy Transition Plan on 24 August, mapping out how the country intends to achieve carbon emission neutrality by 2060, including by transitioning from petrol to gas – but the continent’s most populous nation needs over $400 billion to implement the plan and many western countries have moratoriums on financing hydrocarbon projects. It was truly a pleasure to meet with Vice-President Kamala Harris to discuss Nigeria's #EnergyTransition Plan and other interests between our Governments. pic.twitter.com/8qJnhTOQRf — Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (@ProfOsinbajo) September 2, 2022 During last week’s meeting, Harris welcomed Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan and applauded Osinbajo’s leadership for just energy transitions in Africa and “the two leaders committed to working closely to support Nigeria’s energy access and energy security goals, as well as our shared global climate goals”, according to a White House statement. Continued investment in oil But some African countries’ actions are not in line with the globally set climate goals. The Democratic Republic of Congo is planning to issue 30 new licenses for oil rigs that could threaten some parts of the country’s rainforest. “We had concerns about the announcement of the auction of these oil and gas exploration blocks, some of the blocks infringe on sensitive rainforest and peatland areas, including in the Virunga National Park and Salonga National Park,” said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken during a recent visit to the DRC. Meanwhile in Kenya, in early August President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned the Kipevu terminal, a large new oil storage facility at the Mombasa port intended to store large volumes of oil for the country’s development. In August 2021, the government of Ghana revealed plans to invest $1.65 billion to accelerate oil and gas exploration via the acquisition and development of oil and gas assets. Following an EU ban on coal importation from Russia, South Africa’s coal sales to Europe rose eight-fold during the first half of 2022 compared with last year. ‘Moral and economic madness’ After the 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report reported that the expansion of coal, oil and gas production is a great risk to global climate goals, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, described the expansion as “moral and economic madness”. But many African governments are getting behind the gas transition, arguing that moving immediately to renewable energy will hamper the continent’s economy and development. In May, 10 countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, and Zimbabwe – adopted a seven-point communique urging the international community to support gas “as a transition fuel and the long-term displacement of gas by renewable energy and green hydrogen for industrial development, if financially and technically sustainable”. In Senegal, $5 billion is projected to be spent on the second phase of the country’s liquefied natural gas project. President Macky Sall is a firm critic of what he described as the hypocrisy of western governments that guzzle gas at home but have declared a virtual moratorium on financing hydrocarbon projects abroad. “You cannot tell us that renewables alone can develop a continent — it has never been the case anywhere else and it cannot be the case in Africa,” Sall said. Egypt to host COP27 In November, Egypt’s “green city” of Sharm El Sheikh will host the 27th United Nations climate change conference, COP27, and this will offer an opportunity to show what the continent is doing to align with global climate goals including net zero carbon emissions by 2060 and mainstreaming renewable energies. Egypt has described the provision, mobilization and delivery of climate finance for developing countries as an urgent priority — particularly in light of current financial crises, debt challenges and increasing interest rates. “It is imperative to make appropriate financial flows that are based on needs identified through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other vehicles, with a focus on concessional finance instruments, and grants as appropriate, while providing a clear revision of the definition of bankable projects that takes into consideration climate benefits and not only risks, and achieving cross-cutting impacts,” Egypt said on its website for COP27. At COP26, a major talking point among African delegates and climate activists was the need for richer countries, who are also the world’s majornpolluters, to provide sufficient funds for developing countries to fight the crisis. During COP26, South Africa, the European Union, France, Germany, the UK and the US launched an ambitious long-term Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to support the South Africa’s decarbonisation efforts in order to move its economy towards more reliance on renewable energy resources. The JETP aims to mobilise $8.5 billion for South Africa, and Nigeria hopes to achieve similar support for its energy transition plan. Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts This site uses cookies to help give you the best experience on our website. Cookies enable us to collect information that helps us personalise your experience and improve the functionality and performance of our site. By continuing to read our website, we assume you agree to this, otherwise you can adjust your browser settings. Please read our cookie and Privacy Policy. Our Cookies and Privacy Policy Loading Comments... You must be logged in to post a comment.
Pan-American Region Secures First Monkeypox Vaccines Deal 08/09/2022 Raisa Santos & Stefan Anderson Carissa Etienne, PAHO Director In an effort to prevent the spread of monkeypox, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) signed an agreement with Bavarian Nordic to obtain 100,000 vaccine doses for Latin America and the Caribbean. That will allow PAHO to start delivering the doses to the 12 countries that requested them in September. The agreement will make the Americas the first and only region to receive monkeypox vaccines through a multilateral effort. PAHO used its Revolving Fund, which provides access to vaccines at affordable prices, to secure its first agreement with the Danish vaccine company. Attempts to secure vaccines in other regions, such as Africa, where monkeypox is endemic, have been stymied, with little discussion from the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO is in talks, however, with some vaccine manufacturers and nations to obtain some of their large vaccine reserves and distribute those monkeypox doses more widely and equitably. A WHO spokesperson told Health Policy Watch it has been “in close contact” with those manufacturers and nations “since the beginning of the outbreak.” “WHO continues to urge countries with larger stockpiles to share and donate vaccines,” the spokesperson said, “[and] is concerned that the inequitable access to vaccines and treatments seen during the COVID-19 response is repeating itself in this monkeypox multi-country outbreak.” The spokesperson also noted that PAHO is still consolidating nations’ formal requests for some of the doses and is “working to define the best way forward to guarantee an equitable vaccine distribution.” Twelve countries in the Americas region have signed up to receive the vaccines from PAHO’s Revolving Fund, with an additional seven countries talking toPAHO about ordering some. PAHO says it expects to receive the first batch of doses from Bavarian Nordic in September, then a second batch in November and a third batch in December — making for 100,000 doses in all. PAHO did not disclose how much it is paying for the doses. The Americas – highest burden of monkeypox worldwide More than 30,000 new monkeypox cases have been reported in the Americas as of 6 September, saddling the region with the highest burden anywhere. Most of the cases are concentrated in the United States, Brazil, Peru, and Canada. The fraction of monkeypox cases that do not involve any recent contact with men who have sex with men (MSM) continues to rise in the US, suggesting a silent spread of the virus to other communities. Four monkeypox-related deaths have been reported in Brazil, Cuba, and Ecuador. Though PAHO was able to secure an agreement with Bavarian Nordic for monkeypox vaccines, PAHO’s Director Carissa Etienne noted these doses remain in limited supply, necessitating the use of other public health measures as well. Due to the shortage, WHO does not recommend mass vaccinations. “Vaccination, when available, can be deployed as a preventative measure,” said Etienne. “With vaccines in short supply, and with no effective treatment for monkeypox, countries should intensify efforts to prevent the spread of the virus in our region,” she said. “We need to guarantee equitable allocation, and this requires the prioritizing of vaccine distribution to maximize the health impact.” Monkeypox response must involve affected communities Ciro Ugarte, PAHO Director of Health Emergencies The limited vaccine supply highlights the need to involve affected communities in the public health response to monkeypox. Ciro Ugarte, PAHO’s director of health emergencies, said public health authorities “need to be in close contact with the individuals who have higher risk of transmission and involve them in the prevention and early diagnosis efforts, as well as care.”As vaccine shortages limit the potential to stem the outbreak, Ugarte emphasized, there can be no effective response without community involvement. “Risk communication is extremely important and effective,” he said. “The vaccine is a tool to help, but it will not be solving the final problem.” To achieve full community participation, Etienne said, all possible efforts must be made to reduce the harmful impact that stigma can have on people’s ability to get treatment. “LGBTQ+ communities face stigma and discrimination that impacts their health and well being, but stigma has no place in public health”, she said. “It prevents those at risk from accessing information, getting tested, or seeking medical attention when they show symptoms.” Etienne said the continent’s experience with HIV/AIDS should serve as a cautionary tale. “We must work to break down stigma and discrimination or most at-risk populations will not seek care,” she said. “The pandemic is not behind us” Marcos Espinal, Interim Assistant Director, PAHO Though the region’s renewed focus and cooperation on monkeypox response is a welcome development, PAHO officials said, significant work remains to be done to confront the COVID-19 threat. “COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths have decreased across the Americas,” said Etienne. “Despite this trend, hundreds of people are still dying every day from COVID-19 across our region. Just last week, we had 4,954 reported deaths in the Americas.” Dr Marcos Espinal, director of PAHO’s department of communicable diseases and health analysis, said public health authorities must keep delivering COVID-19 vaccinations, too. “We have many countries in the region where less than 40% are covered,” said Espinal. “We have not left the pandemic behind.” China Maintains “zero-COVID” Policy in Chengdu Despite Fatal 6.8 Magnitude Earthquake 07/09/2022 Raisa Santos China’s Chengdu enforces strict lockdown despite earthquake Authorities in China’s southwestern city of Chengdu are sticking to the nation’s “zero-COVID” policy demanding a lockdown on the city’s 21 million inhabitants even in the face of a major earthquake that has killed at least 66 people in the region. Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province, has been beset by a heatwave and drought this summer and last week was plunged into a lockdown after an increase in COVID cases. Some in Chengdu say they were ordered to stay inside while the 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck a mountainous area in Luding County, about 200 km (125 miles) from Chengdu, while those that ran outside say their movements were severely restricted due to the pandemic. Videos shared on Douyin, China’s TikTok platform, show panicked residents behind chained gates, shouting to be let out. In one, a man swears at a security guard, rattling what appears to be his apartment gates and trying to open it, then shouts: “Hurry up, open the door, it’s an earthquake!” In response, the guards say: “It’s over, the earthquake’s already over.” Another video claims to be an audio recording of a loudspeaker message: “Go back home and do not gather here, it’s just an earthquake. We [here in Sichuan] have a lot of experience [when it comes to earthquakes]. The 6.8-magnitude earthquake on Monday was the strongest Sichuan has seen since 2017. Provincial authorities said at least 66 people were dead, 253 people were injured and 15 others were missing as of Tuesday afternoon. Chengdu lockdown most severe since Shanghai Citizens in Chengdu, China, rush to gather necessities before city-wide lockdown. Chengdu’s lockdown is the most severe since China’s largest city of Shanghai was placed in isolation over the spring and summer. Starting last week, 1 September, residents were no longer allowed to leave their homes without special permission. Authorities also began citywide testing. Nationwide, China reported 1,499 new cases of local infection, most of them asymptomatic, on Tuesday. Sichuan province accounted for 138 of those cases. In all, 65 million people across China in 33 cities are grappling with partial or full lockdowns, according to Chinese media, from Chengdu to the southern economic powerhouse of Shenzhen to the oil-producing city of Daqing, near Russia. Chengdu, which reported 121 cases, is showing signs of tightening restrictions. At least one district in Chengdu has banned even the ordering of takeout meals and coffee, according to a notice posted on the internet. Business owners are preparing for the worst. Eli Sweet, an American who runs a chain of dance studios in Chengdu, told Bloomberg his business was already hit by power cuts across Sichuan province in recent weeks before the COVID lockdown. “We’re definitely teetering on the brink of dying,” he said of his chain of dance studios, “which is pretty sad considering we built this business from scratch to a pretty significant scale.” The atmosphere in Chengdu, he added, has become one of “fatigue, annoyance and general compliance.” Chinese president Xi Jinping’s “zero-COVID” strategy tested before October re-election China’s Xi Jinping in 18 May address before the World Health Assembly China has stuck to its “zero-COVID” policy of compulsory testing, lockdowns, quarantines and masking despite moves from the rest of the world to open up again since the virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019. World Health Organization Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called this strategy unsustainable in the face of the more infectious but less lethal Omicron variant that emerged in May. For China’s President Xi Jinping, his nation’s strategy may seem like evidence that the Communist Party’s system of governance has distinct advantages over Western democracy. But for George Magnus, a research associate at Oxford University, the situation may be masking a hard truth: China still isn’t in a position to handle a COVID-19 outbreak. “Its hospital system is not up to it, mRNA vaccines are not yet widely available, and the elderly vaccination rate is still low,” Magnus told Bloomberg. “This is a problem for the 2020s and for Xi, whose opponents in the party, sensing all this, and also Xi’s risky foreign policies, may not be as docile in the future as now,” he said. With the Communist Party’s twice-a-decade leadership summit coming up in October, in which Jinping is expected to be re-elected as China’s top leader for another five years, the evolving situation in Chengdu, alongside the outbreaks in other cities, may in fact undermine Jinping’s proclamation that the “zero-COVID” strategy is a winning one. “The more cities get locked down, the more Chinese will turn against COVID-zero,” said Frank Tsai, founder of consulting firm China Crossroads. “The party knows that there is a tipping point,” he said, “and it would be smart to get ahead of this tipping point and declare victory before it comes.” Image Credits: Global News/Twitter , Manya Koetse/Twitter. WHO Warns Against ‘Complacency’ over COVID-19 and Monkeypox 07/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Maria van Kerkhove Although COVID-19 and monkeypox cases are declining globally, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned against complacency on Wednesday. Although COVID-19 cases were down by 80% since February, “last week, one person died with COVID-19 every 44 seconds and most of those those those deaths are avoidable,” said Tedros. “There is no guarantee these trends will persist. The most dangerous thing is to assume they will,” he added. “You might be tired of hearing me say the pandemic is not over. But I will keep saying it until it is. This virus will not just fade away.” On monkeypox, Tedros said that there was a downward trend in Europe and although cases in the Americas also appeared to decline, it was “harder to draw firm conclusions about the epidemic in that region”. “Some countries in the Americas continue to report increasing number of cases and in some, there is likely to be under-reporting due to stigma and discrimination or a lack of information for those who need it most. “But as I said earlier, a downward trend can be the most dangerous time if it opens the door to complacency,” stressed Tedros. “WHO continues to recommend that all countries persist with a tailored combination of public health measures: Testing, research and targeted vaccination where vaccines are available.” He added that community engagement is vital, and that the WHO had consulted with community leaders from all over the world to listen to their views and concerns and to “emphasise the informed importance of responding to monkeypox using existing services and infrastructure, including those for HIV and sexual health”. Tedros also stressed the importance of the global negotiations on an appropriate global instrument to address future pandemics, adding that more public hearings on this would be held by the WHO’s intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) later this month. COVID vaccine schedule? Meanwhile, WHO Executive Director of Health Emergencies, Dr Mike Ryan said that he hoped that it would be possible for the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) to develop a vaccination schedule for COVID-19. “Many countries now are offering people third and fourth doses of vaccine and we will have to come to a point where there’s some kind of schedule created that’s beyond the idea of a primary schedule,” said Ryan. ‘Obviously, it’s tough for countries to deal with ad hoc policy where you’re adding an extra booster on for certain people after so many months, and it’s very easy to become incoherent,” he added. “I think governments are making the best decisions they can, based on the data that they have, but ultimately we need to settle down into some acceptable pattern of vaccination boosting.” However, WHO technical lead on COVID-19, Maria van Kerkhove, said that while many people were hoping that SARS CoV2 would “fall into some kind of a seasonal pattern like we see with influenza, right now we don’t have that predictability”. “The reason for that is because we’re seeing this virus continue to evolve quite rapidly.” New Initiative Will Enable Speedy Introduction of COVID-19 Antivirals in Africa and Southeast Asia 07/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Pfizer’s Paxlovid, an oral antiviral against COVID-19. A new initiative to introduce COVID-19 oral antivirals and national test-and-treat programmes in 10 countries in Africa and Southeast Asia was launched on Wednesday by the COVID Treatment Quick Start Consortium. The consortium will support governments to introduce and scale up access to antivirals, starting with Pfizer’s Paxlovid, in high-risk populations in Ghana, Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In Africa just over 20% of the population is fully vaccinated and vulnerable people, particularly the elderly and immune-compromised, are at risk of developing severe illness or dying from COVID-19. Paxlovid has been shown to reduce deaths in elderly people by over 80% if it is taken within five days of infection, which is why early COVID-19 testing is particularly important. However, access to Paxlovid is presently limited and it is largely available in high-income countries only. In addition, of three billion COVID-19 tests administered worldwide since the pandemic, only 0.4% took place in a low-income country. Operational research on test-and-treat The initiative will combine the antiviral roll-out with operational research on how best to develop and scale up COVID-19 test-and-treat programmes in low- and middle-income countries. Pfizer will donate 100,000 courses of Paxlovid to start, but the programme will shift to using low-cost generics as soon as they become available, according to the consortium. The consortium is made up of Duke University, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), COVID Collaborative, and Americares as implementing partners, with support from the Open Society Foundations, Pfizer and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. “We have seen throughout the global COVID-19 response that new life-saving interventions like vaccines and treatments are not quickly reaching those most in need around the world,” said Dr Krishna Udayakumar, founding director of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center. “The Quick Start Consortium is partnering with governments to bring urgently needed medicines to high-risk populations in countries that do not have easy access to such innovations.” COVID Collaborative president Gary Edson described the 18-month programme as “the first concerted effort to bring new highly effective COVID oral antiviral treatments to low and middle income countries”, adding that it will complement the efforts of the US government and multilateral organisations with whom we’ve been closely coordinating Professor Lloyd Mulenga, director of infectious diseases for the Zambian Ministry of Health, said that his government had wanted access to oral antivirals to treat those with COVID-19 “and we are thus excited to be part of an initiative accelerating Paxlovid for use for COVID management”. “With this new milestone, we expect less [hospital] admissions and also fewer COVID-related deaths leading to a reduced burden on our health system,” added Mulenga. “The Quick Start Consortium will help us to continue to build and strengthen a resilient healthcare system, quickly find the patients who need treatment, and make sure they get needed medicines, regardless of socio-economic status,” said Professor Claude Muvunyi, Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Center. “Like so many other diseases, COVID-19 won’t go away if you just ignore it.” Correct injustice of access CHAI CEO Dr Neil Buddy Shah said that the programme aimed to correct the injustice of disproportionate access to life-saving COVID-19 tools, but added that this goal could not be met by Quick Start alone. “We welcome additional partners to join our consortium’s efforts,” said Shah. CHAI has been instrumental in assisting African countries to get access to cheaper antiretroviral medication to treat HIV. Meanwhile, Christine Squires, President and CEO of Americares, one of the world’s leading non-profit providers of donated medicine and medical supplies, said that the COVID-19 pandemic had claimed over six million lives and impacted the health of hundreds of millions of people over the past two and a half years. “By expanding access to testing and treatment in low- and middle-income countries, we will be taking a more equitable approach to reduce hospitalisations and severe disease and, ultimately, save lives,” she stressed. Image Credits: Pfizer . Ethiopian Ambassador Slams WHO Director General Tedros over Tigray Conflict 06/09/2022 Editorial team Hirut Zemene Kassa, Ethiopian ambassador to the European Union The Ethiopian ambassador to the European Union has spoken sharply against World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, calling his criticisms against the Ethiopian government and its role in the Tigray conflict in northern Ethiopia “unprofessional” and that he was using his position “degrading” and “abusing”. “The way he’s handling the matter is completely unprofessional to me,” Hirut Zemene said in an interview in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon. “He is a United Nations figure … The role he is playing right now … is very, very much degrading his position. I would think he would think about global health — like he says ‘global health for all’ — around the world, around Ethiopia, not only in one particular area.” Tedros, an ethnic Tigrayan, has publicly denounced the Ethiopian government in the past for its blockade in the Tigray region, calling it a “complete blockade” on health and humanitarian aid. Zemene once worked under Tedros when the latter was foreign minister of Ethiopia under the previous government, and she helped celebrate Tedros’ election as WHO Director General in May 2017. On Wednesday, however, she said he has been “abusing his position” at the WHO by commenting “about only one area” in northern Ethiopia — “a very shameful thing to do.” “Financially, the government has supported him, invested resources in him, to be a representation of the world in the WHO, coming from Ethiopia,” Zemene said. Read more on Devex Image Credits: UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré. Unitaid Invests in New TB Tests, as South Africa Study Reports Importance of Better Screening 06/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Many children with tuberculosis don’t receive the necessary treatment because of challenges with diagnosis. Two-fifths of people with tuberculosis are unaware that they are infected because their diagnosis relies on outdated tests – something Unitaid and partners aim to change with a $30 million investment in new diagnostic technologies to enable same-day results. Announcing the investment on Tuesday, the global health agency explained that the current diagnosis in low and middle-income countries relies on sputum tests that have low sensitivity, especially in the presence of HIV coinfection, require patients to make multiple visits to health centres and are “largely ineffective in diagnosing children or people in advanced stages of disease who have difficulty producing sputum”. New US$30 million investment will improve access to same-day test results to enable more people to quickly access appropriate treatment. Find out more: https://t.co/QYvznt0aDl pic.twitter.com/OEJ1Djy1Rw — Unitaid (@UNITAID) September 6, 2022 The announcement comes shortly after the publication in this month’s International Journal of Infectious Diseases of a massive 29-year study of TB in South Africa, which found that incidence and mortality were substantially reduced by the introduction of antiretroviral HIV therapy and increased screening. South Africa has one of the highest TB rates in the world and the researchers, from the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, found that 8.8 million people had developed TB, and 2.1 million died during the study period from 1990 to 2019. HIV, which weakens a person’s immunity, was responsible for 4.8 million of the cases and 1.4 million deaths. Testing doubled The study also estimated the impact on TB incidence of various treatment interventions, finding that antiretroviral therapy (ART) and increased TB screening, were the most effective. “Between 2005 and 2012, South Africa scaled-up efforts to identify TB cases and testing rates doubled. As a result, there were rapid reductions in TB incidence owing to increased TB screening during this period. In 2019, increased screening led to a 28% reduction in TB incidence,” according to lead author, Mmamapudi Kubjane, a researcher in the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town. The study also found that the provision of ART led to a 20% reduction in TB incidence by 2019. “The benefits of ART in reducing incidence depend on CD4 count and duration of ART. HIV-positive individuals who initiate ART earlier at higher CD4 counts and stay on ART for longer experience the greatest benefits of ART,” said Kubjane. The impact of the other treatment interventions – directly observed therapy (DOTS), isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT), and Xpert MTB/RIF – were “modest” single-figure percentages. Xpert MTB/RIF is a highly sensitive test that can simultaneously detect TB and resistance to the TB drug rifampin (RIF) in less than two hours. When South Africa introduced this new Xpert MTB/RIF test in 2011 to replace sputum testing, it was expected to bring substantial health benefits – yet clinical trials have found little or no impact on TB mortality, according to recent analyses. “To understand these dynamics better, modelling studies with detailed diagnostic algorithms that account for empirical treatment are required,” the study recommends. Combination approaches to diagnosis This is something that Untaid and its partners could tackle. Unitaid has partnered with FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), to evaluate alternative TB sampling approaches, and develop and evaluate combination approaches to diagnosis. More than 10 million people each year fall ill with tuberculosis (TB), and an estimated four million people with TB – two out of every five – go undiagnosed, according to Unitaid. “Efforts to reduce the TB burden are greatly hampered by the large number of people who never receive a diagnosis and therefore do not access treatment,” it adds. “For those who do receive a positive diagnosis, the process can be lengthy and sometimes means patients do not start on the correct treatment from the outset, which can lead to drug resistance.” Image Credits: University of Cape Town Lung Institute. Argentina Now Requires Big Food to Add Warning Labels to Ultra-Processed Foods 06/09/2022 Raisa Santos Big food companies in Argentina now need to add warning labels to their ultra-processed products. Consumers in Argentina are getting help to identify unhealthy food, thanks to new food promotion laws that mandate front-of-package warning labels, the first phase of which started recently. Last year, Argentina’s president signed one of the world’s strongest and most comprehensive food policy laws, requiring ultra-processed products with excess levels of sodium, sugar, fats and calories to include black octagonal warnings on the front of the package. Big food companies were given until 20 August to add the warnings, while small and medium food and beverage companies have until 20 February 2023 to do so. Companies that produce products that are high in sugar, calories, sodium and fat are prohibited from advertising these to children or selling them at schools. Argentinian civil society groups applauded the start of the new law, emphasizing it was a step in the right direction after years of advocacy. “This moment is the time when people in Argentina will start to have the chance to know what they are eating,” said Luciana Castronuovo of Fundacion InterAmerica del Corazon (FIC) Argentina, speaking to the Global Health Advocacy Incubator. The law is comprehensive as it also includes the regulation of food marketing and school environments, guaranteeing the rights to health and healthy food of children and youth, Victoria Tiscornia, nutritionist and researcher at FIC Argentina, told Health Policy Watch. “This comprehensive law is evidence-based and includes the best public health standards to tackle the double burden of malnutrition in Argentina.” ‘Major step’ to ensuring the right to healthy food Argentina’s accomplishment comes at a time when advocates are pushing for healthy food policies across Latin America in response to high rates of diet-related diseases like diabetes, obesity and heart disease and an increase in the availability of ultra-processed food and drinks. For the past five years, civil society organizations in Argentina fought for a package of policies that include front-of-package warning labels (FOPL), marketing restrictions and the removal of unhealthy food and drinks from schools. “This law is a major step towards guaranteeing both the population’s right to healthy food and the right to information.,” said Tiscornia. “It seeks to provide clear and truthful information to consumers about the products they buy so that they can make informed decisions and choose the healthiest consumption options.” The new law in Argentina is based on the experiences of other countries in the region, such as Chile, Mexico, and Peru, which have also implemented FOPL in their packaging. Chile was the first country to implement front-of-package labelling in 2016. Research has shown favourable significant positive changes in food choices as a result of labelling. Some 68% of people changed their eating habits and 20% of industries reformulated their products to comply with the established profile and thus avoid warning seals on the packaging. In addition, the purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages showed a significant decrease of almost 24% since the implementation of labelling. Other parts of the world have also been working towards changing food policy with highly processed foods. Nigeria recently introduced a new tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in June in an effort to curb the growing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related non-communicable diseases in the country. Challenges in implementation and communication in months to come Supermarket in Argentina with processed sugary food products. However, the new law in Argentina includes an article that allows companies to request a time extension for including the front of package warning labels (FOPL), Tiscornia added. FIC Argentina and other civil society organizations have been monitoring this process and conducting information requests but no official response explaining the number and reason for extensions has been yet provided. “This situation, although legal, affects the transparency of the policy process and the proper implementation of the law.” she said FIC Argentina and other civil society groups will be facing many challenges in the coming months in regards to the new law, such as implementation and communication to the public, said Maga Ailén Merlo Vijarra from Argentinian human rights nonprofit FUNDEPS. “In the coming months we will be working on disseminating key information about the law and the need for this public health strategy and we will also focus on the human right to healthy food.” Products that were manufactured and packaged before the law came into force are not required to add labels. Additionally, rice, dry noodles and legumes, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables and milk, amongst other unprocessed or minimally processed foods are exempted from the labels. Table sugar and salt, vegetable oils, dried fruits and nuts, will also be exempted from labelling. Vijarra noted that the challenges with implementation include understanding which products have labels and which companies will have extensions approved. “In the coming months we expect to better protect Argentinean children and adolescents from abusive marketing strategies employed by the food industry, leading to a safer and healthier environment to develop and grow,” she concluded. Image Credits: Global Health Policy Incubator , Vera and Jean-Christophe/Flickr . Africa Pushes Gas as Transitional Energy Source, Insisting Climate Goals Cannot Hamper Economic Progress 05/09/2022 Paul Adepoju Solar panels in the Egyptian desert. The US government committed itself to supporting Nigeria’s transition away from fossil fuels during a meeting between US vice-president Kamala Harris and Nigeria’s vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, last Friday. However, despite global commitments to reduce fossil fuel reliance to address climate change, a number of African countries have recently committed to expanding their oil and coal production, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. African leaders have also asserted that achieving global climate goals cannot come at the price of economic development on the continent – and they intend to invest in gas as a transitional form of energy on the continent’s path to renewable energy. Nigeria launched its Energy Transition Plan on 24 August, mapping out how the country intends to achieve carbon emission neutrality by 2060, including by transitioning from petrol to gas – but the continent’s most populous nation needs over $400 billion to implement the plan and many western countries have moratoriums on financing hydrocarbon projects. It was truly a pleasure to meet with Vice-President Kamala Harris to discuss Nigeria's #EnergyTransition Plan and other interests between our Governments. pic.twitter.com/8qJnhTOQRf — Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (@ProfOsinbajo) September 2, 2022 During last week’s meeting, Harris welcomed Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan and applauded Osinbajo’s leadership for just energy transitions in Africa and “the two leaders committed to working closely to support Nigeria’s energy access and energy security goals, as well as our shared global climate goals”, according to a White House statement. Continued investment in oil But some African countries’ actions are not in line with the globally set climate goals. The Democratic Republic of Congo is planning to issue 30 new licenses for oil rigs that could threaten some parts of the country’s rainforest. “We had concerns about the announcement of the auction of these oil and gas exploration blocks, some of the blocks infringe on sensitive rainforest and peatland areas, including in the Virunga National Park and Salonga National Park,” said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken during a recent visit to the DRC. Meanwhile in Kenya, in early August President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned the Kipevu terminal, a large new oil storage facility at the Mombasa port intended to store large volumes of oil for the country’s development. In August 2021, the government of Ghana revealed plans to invest $1.65 billion to accelerate oil and gas exploration via the acquisition and development of oil and gas assets. Following an EU ban on coal importation from Russia, South Africa’s coal sales to Europe rose eight-fold during the first half of 2022 compared with last year. ‘Moral and economic madness’ After the 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report reported that the expansion of coal, oil and gas production is a great risk to global climate goals, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, described the expansion as “moral and economic madness”. But many African governments are getting behind the gas transition, arguing that moving immediately to renewable energy will hamper the continent’s economy and development. In May, 10 countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, and Zimbabwe – adopted a seven-point communique urging the international community to support gas “as a transition fuel and the long-term displacement of gas by renewable energy and green hydrogen for industrial development, if financially and technically sustainable”. In Senegal, $5 billion is projected to be spent on the second phase of the country’s liquefied natural gas project. President Macky Sall is a firm critic of what he described as the hypocrisy of western governments that guzzle gas at home but have declared a virtual moratorium on financing hydrocarbon projects abroad. “You cannot tell us that renewables alone can develop a continent — it has never been the case anywhere else and it cannot be the case in Africa,” Sall said. Egypt to host COP27 In November, Egypt’s “green city” of Sharm El Sheikh will host the 27th United Nations climate change conference, COP27, and this will offer an opportunity to show what the continent is doing to align with global climate goals including net zero carbon emissions by 2060 and mainstreaming renewable energies. Egypt has described the provision, mobilization and delivery of climate finance for developing countries as an urgent priority — particularly in light of current financial crises, debt challenges and increasing interest rates. “It is imperative to make appropriate financial flows that are based on needs identified through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other vehicles, with a focus on concessional finance instruments, and grants as appropriate, while providing a clear revision of the definition of bankable projects that takes into consideration climate benefits and not only risks, and achieving cross-cutting impacts,” Egypt said on its website for COP27. At COP26, a major talking point among African delegates and climate activists was the need for richer countries, who are also the world’s majornpolluters, to provide sufficient funds for developing countries to fight the crisis. During COP26, South Africa, the European Union, France, Germany, the UK and the US launched an ambitious long-term Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to support the South Africa’s decarbonisation efforts in order to move its economy towards more reliance on renewable energy resources. The JETP aims to mobilise $8.5 billion for South Africa, and Nigeria hopes to achieve similar support for its energy transition plan. Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts This site uses cookies to help give you the best experience on our website. Cookies enable us to collect information that helps us personalise your experience and improve the functionality and performance of our site. By continuing to read our website, we assume you agree to this, otherwise you can adjust your browser settings. Please read our cookie and Privacy Policy. Our Cookies and Privacy Policy Loading Comments... You must be logged in to post a comment.
China Maintains “zero-COVID” Policy in Chengdu Despite Fatal 6.8 Magnitude Earthquake 07/09/2022 Raisa Santos China’s Chengdu enforces strict lockdown despite earthquake Authorities in China’s southwestern city of Chengdu are sticking to the nation’s “zero-COVID” policy demanding a lockdown on the city’s 21 million inhabitants even in the face of a major earthquake that has killed at least 66 people in the region. Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province, has been beset by a heatwave and drought this summer and last week was plunged into a lockdown after an increase in COVID cases. Some in Chengdu say they were ordered to stay inside while the 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck a mountainous area in Luding County, about 200 km (125 miles) from Chengdu, while those that ran outside say their movements were severely restricted due to the pandemic. Videos shared on Douyin, China’s TikTok platform, show panicked residents behind chained gates, shouting to be let out. In one, a man swears at a security guard, rattling what appears to be his apartment gates and trying to open it, then shouts: “Hurry up, open the door, it’s an earthquake!” In response, the guards say: “It’s over, the earthquake’s already over.” Another video claims to be an audio recording of a loudspeaker message: “Go back home and do not gather here, it’s just an earthquake. We [here in Sichuan] have a lot of experience [when it comes to earthquakes]. The 6.8-magnitude earthquake on Monday was the strongest Sichuan has seen since 2017. Provincial authorities said at least 66 people were dead, 253 people were injured and 15 others were missing as of Tuesday afternoon. Chengdu lockdown most severe since Shanghai Citizens in Chengdu, China, rush to gather necessities before city-wide lockdown. Chengdu’s lockdown is the most severe since China’s largest city of Shanghai was placed in isolation over the spring and summer. Starting last week, 1 September, residents were no longer allowed to leave their homes without special permission. Authorities also began citywide testing. Nationwide, China reported 1,499 new cases of local infection, most of them asymptomatic, on Tuesday. Sichuan province accounted for 138 of those cases. In all, 65 million people across China in 33 cities are grappling with partial or full lockdowns, according to Chinese media, from Chengdu to the southern economic powerhouse of Shenzhen to the oil-producing city of Daqing, near Russia. Chengdu, which reported 121 cases, is showing signs of tightening restrictions. At least one district in Chengdu has banned even the ordering of takeout meals and coffee, according to a notice posted on the internet. Business owners are preparing for the worst. Eli Sweet, an American who runs a chain of dance studios in Chengdu, told Bloomberg his business was already hit by power cuts across Sichuan province in recent weeks before the COVID lockdown. “We’re definitely teetering on the brink of dying,” he said of his chain of dance studios, “which is pretty sad considering we built this business from scratch to a pretty significant scale.” The atmosphere in Chengdu, he added, has become one of “fatigue, annoyance and general compliance.” Chinese president Xi Jinping’s “zero-COVID” strategy tested before October re-election China’s Xi Jinping in 18 May address before the World Health Assembly China has stuck to its “zero-COVID” policy of compulsory testing, lockdowns, quarantines and masking despite moves from the rest of the world to open up again since the virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019. World Health Organization Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called this strategy unsustainable in the face of the more infectious but less lethal Omicron variant that emerged in May. For China’s President Xi Jinping, his nation’s strategy may seem like evidence that the Communist Party’s system of governance has distinct advantages over Western democracy. But for George Magnus, a research associate at Oxford University, the situation may be masking a hard truth: China still isn’t in a position to handle a COVID-19 outbreak. “Its hospital system is not up to it, mRNA vaccines are not yet widely available, and the elderly vaccination rate is still low,” Magnus told Bloomberg. “This is a problem for the 2020s and for Xi, whose opponents in the party, sensing all this, and also Xi’s risky foreign policies, may not be as docile in the future as now,” he said. With the Communist Party’s twice-a-decade leadership summit coming up in October, in which Jinping is expected to be re-elected as China’s top leader for another five years, the evolving situation in Chengdu, alongside the outbreaks in other cities, may in fact undermine Jinping’s proclamation that the “zero-COVID” strategy is a winning one. “The more cities get locked down, the more Chinese will turn against COVID-zero,” said Frank Tsai, founder of consulting firm China Crossroads. “The party knows that there is a tipping point,” he said, “and it would be smart to get ahead of this tipping point and declare victory before it comes.” Image Credits: Global News/Twitter , Manya Koetse/Twitter. WHO Warns Against ‘Complacency’ over COVID-19 and Monkeypox 07/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Maria van Kerkhove Although COVID-19 and monkeypox cases are declining globally, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned against complacency on Wednesday. Although COVID-19 cases were down by 80% since February, “last week, one person died with COVID-19 every 44 seconds and most of those those those deaths are avoidable,” said Tedros. “There is no guarantee these trends will persist. The most dangerous thing is to assume they will,” he added. “You might be tired of hearing me say the pandemic is not over. But I will keep saying it until it is. This virus will not just fade away.” On monkeypox, Tedros said that there was a downward trend in Europe and although cases in the Americas also appeared to decline, it was “harder to draw firm conclusions about the epidemic in that region”. “Some countries in the Americas continue to report increasing number of cases and in some, there is likely to be under-reporting due to stigma and discrimination or a lack of information for those who need it most. “But as I said earlier, a downward trend can be the most dangerous time if it opens the door to complacency,” stressed Tedros. “WHO continues to recommend that all countries persist with a tailored combination of public health measures: Testing, research and targeted vaccination where vaccines are available.” He added that community engagement is vital, and that the WHO had consulted with community leaders from all over the world to listen to their views and concerns and to “emphasise the informed importance of responding to monkeypox using existing services and infrastructure, including those for HIV and sexual health”. Tedros also stressed the importance of the global negotiations on an appropriate global instrument to address future pandemics, adding that more public hearings on this would be held by the WHO’s intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) later this month. COVID vaccine schedule? Meanwhile, WHO Executive Director of Health Emergencies, Dr Mike Ryan said that he hoped that it would be possible for the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) to develop a vaccination schedule for COVID-19. “Many countries now are offering people third and fourth doses of vaccine and we will have to come to a point where there’s some kind of schedule created that’s beyond the idea of a primary schedule,” said Ryan. ‘Obviously, it’s tough for countries to deal with ad hoc policy where you’re adding an extra booster on for certain people after so many months, and it’s very easy to become incoherent,” he added. “I think governments are making the best decisions they can, based on the data that they have, but ultimately we need to settle down into some acceptable pattern of vaccination boosting.” However, WHO technical lead on COVID-19, Maria van Kerkhove, said that while many people were hoping that SARS CoV2 would “fall into some kind of a seasonal pattern like we see with influenza, right now we don’t have that predictability”. “The reason for that is because we’re seeing this virus continue to evolve quite rapidly.” New Initiative Will Enable Speedy Introduction of COVID-19 Antivirals in Africa and Southeast Asia 07/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Pfizer’s Paxlovid, an oral antiviral against COVID-19. A new initiative to introduce COVID-19 oral antivirals and national test-and-treat programmes in 10 countries in Africa and Southeast Asia was launched on Wednesday by the COVID Treatment Quick Start Consortium. The consortium will support governments to introduce and scale up access to antivirals, starting with Pfizer’s Paxlovid, in high-risk populations in Ghana, Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In Africa just over 20% of the population is fully vaccinated and vulnerable people, particularly the elderly and immune-compromised, are at risk of developing severe illness or dying from COVID-19. Paxlovid has been shown to reduce deaths in elderly people by over 80% if it is taken within five days of infection, which is why early COVID-19 testing is particularly important. However, access to Paxlovid is presently limited and it is largely available in high-income countries only. In addition, of three billion COVID-19 tests administered worldwide since the pandemic, only 0.4% took place in a low-income country. Operational research on test-and-treat The initiative will combine the antiviral roll-out with operational research on how best to develop and scale up COVID-19 test-and-treat programmes in low- and middle-income countries. Pfizer will donate 100,000 courses of Paxlovid to start, but the programme will shift to using low-cost generics as soon as they become available, according to the consortium. The consortium is made up of Duke University, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), COVID Collaborative, and Americares as implementing partners, with support from the Open Society Foundations, Pfizer and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. “We have seen throughout the global COVID-19 response that new life-saving interventions like vaccines and treatments are not quickly reaching those most in need around the world,” said Dr Krishna Udayakumar, founding director of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center. “The Quick Start Consortium is partnering with governments to bring urgently needed medicines to high-risk populations in countries that do not have easy access to such innovations.” COVID Collaborative president Gary Edson described the 18-month programme as “the first concerted effort to bring new highly effective COVID oral antiviral treatments to low and middle income countries”, adding that it will complement the efforts of the US government and multilateral organisations with whom we’ve been closely coordinating Professor Lloyd Mulenga, director of infectious diseases for the Zambian Ministry of Health, said that his government had wanted access to oral antivirals to treat those with COVID-19 “and we are thus excited to be part of an initiative accelerating Paxlovid for use for COVID management”. “With this new milestone, we expect less [hospital] admissions and also fewer COVID-related deaths leading to a reduced burden on our health system,” added Mulenga. “The Quick Start Consortium will help us to continue to build and strengthen a resilient healthcare system, quickly find the patients who need treatment, and make sure they get needed medicines, regardless of socio-economic status,” said Professor Claude Muvunyi, Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Center. “Like so many other diseases, COVID-19 won’t go away if you just ignore it.” Correct injustice of access CHAI CEO Dr Neil Buddy Shah said that the programme aimed to correct the injustice of disproportionate access to life-saving COVID-19 tools, but added that this goal could not be met by Quick Start alone. “We welcome additional partners to join our consortium’s efforts,” said Shah. CHAI has been instrumental in assisting African countries to get access to cheaper antiretroviral medication to treat HIV. Meanwhile, Christine Squires, President and CEO of Americares, one of the world’s leading non-profit providers of donated medicine and medical supplies, said that the COVID-19 pandemic had claimed over six million lives and impacted the health of hundreds of millions of people over the past two and a half years. “By expanding access to testing and treatment in low- and middle-income countries, we will be taking a more equitable approach to reduce hospitalisations and severe disease and, ultimately, save lives,” she stressed. Image Credits: Pfizer . Ethiopian Ambassador Slams WHO Director General Tedros over Tigray Conflict 06/09/2022 Editorial team Hirut Zemene Kassa, Ethiopian ambassador to the European Union The Ethiopian ambassador to the European Union has spoken sharply against World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, calling his criticisms against the Ethiopian government and its role in the Tigray conflict in northern Ethiopia “unprofessional” and that he was using his position “degrading” and “abusing”. “The way he’s handling the matter is completely unprofessional to me,” Hirut Zemene said in an interview in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon. “He is a United Nations figure … The role he is playing right now … is very, very much degrading his position. I would think he would think about global health — like he says ‘global health for all’ — around the world, around Ethiopia, not only in one particular area.” Tedros, an ethnic Tigrayan, has publicly denounced the Ethiopian government in the past for its blockade in the Tigray region, calling it a “complete blockade” on health and humanitarian aid. Zemene once worked under Tedros when the latter was foreign minister of Ethiopia under the previous government, and she helped celebrate Tedros’ election as WHO Director General in May 2017. On Wednesday, however, she said he has been “abusing his position” at the WHO by commenting “about only one area” in northern Ethiopia — “a very shameful thing to do.” “Financially, the government has supported him, invested resources in him, to be a representation of the world in the WHO, coming from Ethiopia,” Zemene said. Read more on Devex Image Credits: UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré. Unitaid Invests in New TB Tests, as South Africa Study Reports Importance of Better Screening 06/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Many children with tuberculosis don’t receive the necessary treatment because of challenges with diagnosis. Two-fifths of people with tuberculosis are unaware that they are infected because their diagnosis relies on outdated tests – something Unitaid and partners aim to change with a $30 million investment in new diagnostic technologies to enable same-day results. Announcing the investment on Tuesday, the global health agency explained that the current diagnosis in low and middle-income countries relies on sputum tests that have low sensitivity, especially in the presence of HIV coinfection, require patients to make multiple visits to health centres and are “largely ineffective in diagnosing children or people in advanced stages of disease who have difficulty producing sputum”. New US$30 million investment will improve access to same-day test results to enable more people to quickly access appropriate treatment. Find out more: https://t.co/QYvznt0aDl pic.twitter.com/OEJ1Djy1Rw — Unitaid (@UNITAID) September 6, 2022 The announcement comes shortly after the publication in this month’s International Journal of Infectious Diseases of a massive 29-year study of TB in South Africa, which found that incidence and mortality were substantially reduced by the introduction of antiretroviral HIV therapy and increased screening. South Africa has one of the highest TB rates in the world and the researchers, from the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, found that 8.8 million people had developed TB, and 2.1 million died during the study period from 1990 to 2019. HIV, which weakens a person’s immunity, was responsible for 4.8 million of the cases and 1.4 million deaths. Testing doubled The study also estimated the impact on TB incidence of various treatment interventions, finding that antiretroviral therapy (ART) and increased TB screening, were the most effective. “Between 2005 and 2012, South Africa scaled-up efforts to identify TB cases and testing rates doubled. As a result, there were rapid reductions in TB incidence owing to increased TB screening during this period. In 2019, increased screening led to a 28% reduction in TB incidence,” according to lead author, Mmamapudi Kubjane, a researcher in the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town. The study also found that the provision of ART led to a 20% reduction in TB incidence by 2019. “The benefits of ART in reducing incidence depend on CD4 count and duration of ART. HIV-positive individuals who initiate ART earlier at higher CD4 counts and stay on ART for longer experience the greatest benefits of ART,” said Kubjane. The impact of the other treatment interventions – directly observed therapy (DOTS), isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT), and Xpert MTB/RIF – were “modest” single-figure percentages. Xpert MTB/RIF is a highly sensitive test that can simultaneously detect TB and resistance to the TB drug rifampin (RIF) in less than two hours. When South Africa introduced this new Xpert MTB/RIF test in 2011 to replace sputum testing, it was expected to bring substantial health benefits – yet clinical trials have found little or no impact on TB mortality, according to recent analyses. “To understand these dynamics better, modelling studies with detailed diagnostic algorithms that account for empirical treatment are required,” the study recommends. Combination approaches to diagnosis This is something that Untaid and its partners could tackle. Unitaid has partnered with FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), to evaluate alternative TB sampling approaches, and develop and evaluate combination approaches to diagnosis. More than 10 million people each year fall ill with tuberculosis (TB), and an estimated four million people with TB – two out of every five – go undiagnosed, according to Unitaid. “Efforts to reduce the TB burden are greatly hampered by the large number of people who never receive a diagnosis and therefore do not access treatment,” it adds. “For those who do receive a positive diagnosis, the process can be lengthy and sometimes means patients do not start on the correct treatment from the outset, which can lead to drug resistance.” Image Credits: University of Cape Town Lung Institute. Argentina Now Requires Big Food to Add Warning Labels to Ultra-Processed Foods 06/09/2022 Raisa Santos Big food companies in Argentina now need to add warning labels to their ultra-processed products. Consumers in Argentina are getting help to identify unhealthy food, thanks to new food promotion laws that mandate front-of-package warning labels, the first phase of which started recently. Last year, Argentina’s president signed one of the world’s strongest and most comprehensive food policy laws, requiring ultra-processed products with excess levels of sodium, sugar, fats and calories to include black octagonal warnings on the front of the package. Big food companies were given until 20 August to add the warnings, while small and medium food and beverage companies have until 20 February 2023 to do so. Companies that produce products that are high in sugar, calories, sodium and fat are prohibited from advertising these to children or selling them at schools. Argentinian civil society groups applauded the start of the new law, emphasizing it was a step in the right direction after years of advocacy. “This moment is the time when people in Argentina will start to have the chance to know what they are eating,” said Luciana Castronuovo of Fundacion InterAmerica del Corazon (FIC) Argentina, speaking to the Global Health Advocacy Incubator. The law is comprehensive as it also includes the regulation of food marketing and school environments, guaranteeing the rights to health and healthy food of children and youth, Victoria Tiscornia, nutritionist and researcher at FIC Argentina, told Health Policy Watch. “This comprehensive law is evidence-based and includes the best public health standards to tackle the double burden of malnutrition in Argentina.” ‘Major step’ to ensuring the right to healthy food Argentina’s accomplishment comes at a time when advocates are pushing for healthy food policies across Latin America in response to high rates of diet-related diseases like diabetes, obesity and heart disease and an increase in the availability of ultra-processed food and drinks. For the past five years, civil society organizations in Argentina fought for a package of policies that include front-of-package warning labels (FOPL), marketing restrictions and the removal of unhealthy food and drinks from schools. “This law is a major step towards guaranteeing both the population’s right to healthy food and the right to information.,” said Tiscornia. “It seeks to provide clear and truthful information to consumers about the products they buy so that they can make informed decisions and choose the healthiest consumption options.” The new law in Argentina is based on the experiences of other countries in the region, such as Chile, Mexico, and Peru, which have also implemented FOPL in their packaging. Chile was the first country to implement front-of-package labelling in 2016. Research has shown favourable significant positive changes in food choices as a result of labelling. Some 68% of people changed their eating habits and 20% of industries reformulated their products to comply with the established profile and thus avoid warning seals on the packaging. In addition, the purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages showed a significant decrease of almost 24% since the implementation of labelling. Other parts of the world have also been working towards changing food policy with highly processed foods. Nigeria recently introduced a new tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in June in an effort to curb the growing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related non-communicable diseases in the country. Challenges in implementation and communication in months to come Supermarket in Argentina with processed sugary food products. However, the new law in Argentina includes an article that allows companies to request a time extension for including the front of package warning labels (FOPL), Tiscornia added. FIC Argentina and other civil society organizations have been monitoring this process and conducting information requests but no official response explaining the number and reason for extensions has been yet provided. “This situation, although legal, affects the transparency of the policy process and the proper implementation of the law.” she said FIC Argentina and other civil society groups will be facing many challenges in the coming months in regards to the new law, such as implementation and communication to the public, said Maga Ailén Merlo Vijarra from Argentinian human rights nonprofit FUNDEPS. “In the coming months we will be working on disseminating key information about the law and the need for this public health strategy and we will also focus on the human right to healthy food.” Products that were manufactured and packaged before the law came into force are not required to add labels. Additionally, rice, dry noodles and legumes, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables and milk, amongst other unprocessed or minimally processed foods are exempted from the labels. Table sugar and salt, vegetable oils, dried fruits and nuts, will also be exempted from labelling. Vijarra noted that the challenges with implementation include understanding which products have labels and which companies will have extensions approved. “In the coming months we expect to better protect Argentinean children and adolescents from abusive marketing strategies employed by the food industry, leading to a safer and healthier environment to develop and grow,” she concluded. Image Credits: Global Health Policy Incubator , Vera and Jean-Christophe/Flickr . Africa Pushes Gas as Transitional Energy Source, Insisting Climate Goals Cannot Hamper Economic Progress 05/09/2022 Paul Adepoju Solar panels in the Egyptian desert. The US government committed itself to supporting Nigeria’s transition away from fossil fuels during a meeting between US vice-president Kamala Harris and Nigeria’s vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, last Friday. However, despite global commitments to reduce fossil fuel reliance to address climate change, a number of African countries have recently committed to expanding their oil and coal production, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. African leaders have also asserted that achieving global climate goals cannot come at the price of economic development on the continent – and they intend to invest in gas as a transitional form of energy on the continent’s path to renewable energy. Nigeria launched its Energy Transition Plan on 24 August, mapping out how the country intends to achieve carbon emission neutrality by 2060, including by transitioning from petrol to gas – but the continent’s most populous nation needs over $400 billion to implement the plan and many western countries have moratoriums on financing hydrocarbon projects. It was truly a pleasure to meet with Vice-President Kamala Harris to discuss Nigeria's #EnergyTransition Plan and other interests between our Governments. pic.twitter.com/8qJnhTOQRf — Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (@ProfOsinbajo) September 2, 2022 During last week’s meeting, Harris welcomed Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan and applauded Osinbajo’s leadership for just energy transitions in Africa and “the two leaders committed to working closely to support Nigeria’s energy access and energy security goals, as well as our shared global climate goals”, according to a White House statement. Continued investment in oil But some African countries’ actions are not in line with the globally set climate goals. The Democratic Republic of Congo is planning to issue 30 new licenses for oil rigs that could threaten some parts of the country’s rainforest. “We had concerns about the announcement of the auction of these oil and gas exploration blocks, some of the blocks infringe on sensitive rainforest and peatland areas, including in the Virunga National Park and Salonga National Park,” said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken during a recent visit to the DRC. Meanwhile in Kenya, in early August President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned the Kipevu terminal, a large new oil storage facility at the Mombasa port intended to store large volumes of oil for the country’s development. In August 2021, the government of Ghana revealed plans to invest $1.65 billion to accelerate oil and gas exploration via the acquisition and development of oil and gas assets. Following an EU ban on coal importation from Russia, South Africa’s coal sales to Europe rose eight-fold during the first half of 2022 compared with last year. ‘Moral and economic madness’ After the 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report reported that the expansion of coal, oil and gas production is a great risk to global climate goals, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, described the expansion as “moral and economic madness”. But many African governments are getting behind the gas transition, arguing that moving immediately to renewable energy will hamper the continent’s economy and development. In May, 10 countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, and Zimbabwe – adopted a seven-point communique urging the international community to support gas “as a transition fuel and the long-term displacement of gas by renewable energy and green hydrogen for industrial development, if financially and technically sustainable”. In Senegal, $5 billion is projected to be spent on the second phase of the country’s liquefied natural gas project. President Macky Sall is a firm critic of what he described as the hypocrisy of western governments that guzzle gas at home but have declared a virtual moratorium on financing hydrocarbon projects abroad. “You cannot tell us that renewables alone can develop a continent — it has never been the case anywhere else and it cannot be the case in Africa,” Sall said. Egypt to host COP27 In November, Egypt’s “green city” of Sharm El Sheikh will host the 27th United Nations climate change conference, COP27, and this will offer an opportunity to show what the continent is doing to align with global climate goals including net zero carbon emissions by 2060 and mainstreaming renewable energies. Egypt has described the provision, mobilization and delivery of climate finance for developing countries as an urgent priority — particularly in light of current financial crises, debt challenges and increasing interest rates. “It is imperative to make appropriate financial flows that are based on needs identified through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other vehicles, with a focus on concessional finance instruments, and grants as appropriate, while providing a clear revision of the definition of bankable projects that takes into consideration climate benefits and not only risks, and achieving cross-cutting impacts,” Egypt said on its website for COP27. At COP26, a major talking point among African delegates and climate activists was the need for richer countries, who are also the world’s majornpolluters, to provide sufficient funds for developing countries to fight the crisis. During COP26, South Africa, the European Union, France, Germany, the UK and the US launched an ambitious long-term Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to support the South Africa’s decarbonisation efforts in order to move its economy towards more reliance on renewable energy resources. The JETP aims to mobilise $8.5 billion for South Africa, and Nigeria hopes to achieve similar support for its energy transition plan. Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts This site uses cookies to help give you the best experience on our website. Cookies enable us to collect information that helps us personalise your experience and improve the functionality and performance of our site. By continuing to read our website, we assume you agree to this, otherwise you can adjust your browser settings. Please read our cookie and Privacy Policy. Our Cookies and Privacy Policy Loading Comments... You must be logged in to post a comment.
WHO Warns Against ‘Complacency’ over COVID-19 and Monkeypox 07/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Maria van Kerkhove Although COVID-19 and monkeypox cases are declining globally, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned against complacency on Wednesday. Although COVID-19 cases were down by 80% since February, “last week, one person died with COVID-19 every 44 seconds and most of those those those deaths are avoidable,” said Tedros. “There is no guarantee these trends will persist. The most dangerous thing is to assume they will,” he added. “You might be tired of hearing me say the pandemic is not over. But I will keep saying it until it is. This virus will not just fade away.” On monkeypox, Tedros said that there was a downward trend in Europe and although cases in the Americas also appeared to decline, it was “harder to draw firm conclusions about the epidemic in that region”. “Some countries in the Americas continue to report increasing number of cases and in some, there is likely to be under-reporting due to stigma and discrimination or a lack of information for those who need it most. “But as I said earlier, a downward trend can be the most dangerous time if it opens the door to complacency,” stressed Tedros. “WHO continues to recommend that all countries persist with a tailored combination of public health measures: Testing, research and targeted vaccination where vaccines are available.” He added that community engagement is vital, and that the WHO had consulted with community leaders from all over the world to listen to their views and concerns and to “emphasise the informed importance of responding to monkeypox using existing services and infrastructure, including those for HIV and sexual health”. Tedros also stressed the importance of the global negotiations on an appropriate global instrument to address future pandemics, adding that more public hearings on this would be held by the WHO’s intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) later this month. COVID vaccine schedule? Meanwhile, WHO Executive Director of Health Emergencies, Dr Mike Ryan said that he hoped that it would be possible for the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) to develop a vaccination schedule for COVID-19. “Many countries now are offering people third and fourth doses of vaccine and we will have to come to a point where there’s some kind of schedule created that’s beyond the idea of a primary schedule,” said Ryan. ‘Obviously, it’s tough for countries to deal with ad hoc policy where you’re adding an extra booster on for certain people after so many months, and it’s very easy to become incoherent,” he added. “I think governments are making the best decisions they can, based on the data that they have, but ultimately we need to settle down into some acceptable pattern of vaccination boosting.” However, WHO technical lead on COVID-19, Maria van Kerkhove, said that while many people were hoping that SARS CoV2 would “fall into some kind of a seasonal pattern like we see with influenza, right now we don’t have that predictability”. “The reason for that is because we’re seeing this virus continue to evolve quite rapidly.” New Initiative Will Enable Speedy Introduction of COVID-19 Antivirals in Africa and Southeast Asia 07/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Pfizer’s Paxlovid, an oral antiviral against COVID-19. A new initiative to introduce COVID-19 oral antivirals and national test-and-treat programmes in 10 countries in Africa and Southeast Asia was launched on Wednesday by the COVID Treatment Quick Start Consortium. The consortium will support governments to introduce and scale up access to antivirals, starting with Pfizer’s Paxlovid, in high-risk populations in Ghana, Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In Africa just over 20% of the population is fully vaccinated and vulnerable people, particularly the elderly and immune-compromised, are at risk of developing severe illness or dying from COVID-19. Paxlovid has been shown to reduce deaths in elderly people by over 80% if it is taken within five days of infection, which is why early COVID-19 testing is particularly important. However, access to Paxlovid is presently limited and it is largely available in high-income countries only. In addition, of three billion COVID-19 tests administered worldwide since the pandemic, only 0.4% took place in a low-income country. Operational research on test-and-treat The initiative will combine the antiviral roll-out with operational research on how best to develop and scale up COVID-19 test-and-treat programmes in low- and middle-income countries. Pfizer will donate 100,000 courses of Paxlovid to start, but the programme will shift to using low-cost generics as soon as they become available, according to the consortium. The consortium is made up of Duke University, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), COVID Collaborative, and Americares as implementing partners, with support from the Open Society Foundations, Pfizer and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. “We have seen throughout the global COVID-19 response that new life-saving interventions like vaccines and treatments are not quickly reaching those most in need around the world,” said Dr Krishna Udayakumar, founding director of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center. “The Quick Start Consortium is partnering with governments to bring urgently needed medicines to high-risk populations in countries that do not have easy access to such innovations.” COVID Collaborative president Gary Edson described the 18-month programme as “the first concerted effort to bring new highly effective COVID oral antiviral treatments to low and middle income countries”, adding that it will complement the efforts of the US government and multilateral organisations with whom we’ve been closely coordinating Professor Lloyd Mulenga, director of infectious diseases for the Zambian Ministry of Health, said that his government had wanted access to oral antivirals to treat those with COVID-19 “and we are thus excited to be part of an initiative accelerating Paxlovid for use for COVID management”. “With this new milestone, we expect less [hospital] admissions and also fewer COVID-related deaths leading to a reduced burden on our health system,” added Mulenga. “The Quick Start Consortium will help us to continue to build and strengthen a resilient healthcare system, quickly find the patients who need treatment, and make sure they get needed medicines, regardless of socio-economic status,” said Professor Claude Muvunyi, Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Center. “Like so many other diseases, COVID-19 won’t go away if you just ignore it.” Correct injustice of access CHAI CEO Dr Neil Buddy Shah said that the programme aimed to correct the injustice of disproportionate access to life-saving COVID-19 tools, but added that this goal could not be met by Quick Start alone. “We welcome additional partners to join our consortium’s efforts,” said Shah. CHAI has been instrumental in assisting African countries to get access to cheaper antiretroviral medication to treat HIV. Meanwhile, Christine Squires, President and CEO of Americares, one of the world’s leading non-profit providers of donated medicine and medical supplies, said that the COVID-19 pandemic had claimed over six million lives and impacted the health of hundreds of millions of people over the past two and a half years. “By expanding access to testing and treatment in low- and middle-income countries, we will be taking a more equitable approach to reduce hospitalisations and severe disease and, ultimately, save lives,” she stressed. Image Credits: Pfizer . Ethiopian Ambassador Slams WHO Director General Tedros over Tigray Conflict 06/09/2022 Editorial team Hirut Zemene Kassa, Ethiopian ambassador to the European Union The Ethiopian ambassador to the European Union has spoken sharply against World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, calling his criticisms against the Ethiopian government and its role in the Tigray conflict in northern Ethiopia “unprofessional” and that he was using his position “degrading” and “abusing”. “The way he’s handling the matter is completely unprofessional to me,” Hirut Zemene said in an interview in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon. “He is a United Nations figure … The role he is playing right now … is very, very much degrading his position. I would think he would think about global health — like he says ‘global health for all’ — around the world, around Ethiopia, not only in one particular area.” Tedros, an ethnic Tigrayan, has publicly denounced the Ethiopian government in the past for its blockade in the Tigray region, calling it a “complete blockade” on health and humanitarian aid. Zemene once worked under Tedros when the latter was foreign minister of Ethiopia under the previous government, and she helped celebrate Tedros’ election as WHO Director General in May 2017. On Wednesday, however, she said he has been “abusing his position” at the WHO by commenting “about only one area” in northern Ethiopia — “a very shameful thing to do.” “Financially, the government has supported him, invested resources in him, to be a representation of the world in the WHO, coming from Ethiopia,” Zemene said. Read more on Devex Image Credits: UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré. Unitaid Invests in New TB Tests, as South Africa Study Reports Importance of Better Screening 06/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Many children with tuberculosis don’t receive the necessary treatment because of challenges with diagnosis. Two-fifths of people with tuberculosis are unaware that they are infected because their diagnosis relies on outdated tests – something Unitaid and partners aim to change with a $30 million investment in new diagnostic technologies to enable same-day results. Announcing the investment on Tuesday, the global health agency explained that the current diagnosis in low and middle-income countries relies on sputum tests that have low sensitivity, especially in the presence of HIV coinfection, require patients to make multiple visits to health centres and are “largely ineffective in diagnosing children or people in advanced stages of disease who have difficulty producing sputum”. New US$30 million investment will improve access to same-day test results to enable more people to quickly access appropriate treatment. Find out more: https://t.co/QYvznt0aDl pic.twitter.com/OEJ1Djy1Rw — Unitaid (@UNITAID) September 6, 2022 The announcement comes shortly after the publication in this month’s International Journal of Infectious Diseases of a massive 29-year study of TB in South Africa, which found that incidence and mortality were substantially reduced by the introduction of antiretroviral HIV therapy and increased screening. South Africa has one of the highest TB rates in the world and the researchers, from the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, found that 8.8 million people had developed TB, and 2.1 million died during the study period from 1990 to 2019. HIV, which weakens a person’s immunity, was responsible for 4.8 million of the cases and 1.4 million deaths. Testing doubled The study also estimated the impact on TB incidence of various treatment interventions, finding that antiretroviral therapy (ART) and increased TB screening, were the most effective. “Between 2005 and 2012, South Africa scaled-up efforts to identify TB cases and testing rates doubled. As a result, there were rapid reductions in TB incidence owing to increased TB screening during this period. In 2019, increased screening led to a 28% reduction in TB incidence,” according to lead author, Mmamapudi Kubjane, a researcher in the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town. The study also found that the provision of ART led to a 20% reduction in TB incidence by 2019. “The benefits of ART in reducing incidence depend on CD4 count and duration of ART. HIV-positive individuals who initiate ART earlier at higher CD4 counts and stay on ART for longer experience the greatest benefits of ART,” said Kubjane. The impact of the other treatment interventions – directly observed therapy (DOTS), isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT), and Xpert MTB/RIF – were “modest” single-figure percentages. Xpert MTB/RIF is a highly sensitive test that can simultaneously detect TB and resistance to the TB drug rifampin (RIF) in less than two hours. When South Africa introduced this new Xpert MTB/RIF test in 2011 to replace sputum testing, it was expected to bring substantial health benefits – yet clinical trials have found little or no impact on TB mortality, according to recent analyses. “To understand these dynamics better, modelling studies with detailed diagnostic algorithms that account for empirical treatment are required,” the study recommends. Combination approaches to diagnosis This is something that Untaid and its partners could tackle. Unitaid has partnered with FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), to evaluate alternative TB sampling approaches, and develop and evaluate combination approaches to diagnosis. More than 10 million people each year fall ill with tuberculosis (TB), and an estimated four million people with TB – two out of every five – go undiagnosed, according to Unitaid. “Efforts to reduce the TB burden are greatly hampered by the large number of people who never receive a diagnosis and therefore do not access treatment,” it adds. “For those who do receive a positive diagnosis, the process can be lengthy and sometimes means patients do not start on the correct treatment from the outset, which can lead to drug resistance.” Image Credits: University of Cape Town Lung Institute. Argentina Now Requires Big Food to Add Warning Labels to Ultra-Processed Foods 06/09/2022 Raisa Santos Big food companies in Argentina now need to add warning labels to their ultra-processed products. Consumers in Argentina are getting help to identify unhealthy food, thanks to new food promotion laws that mandate front-of-package warning labels, the first phase of which started recently. Last year, Argentina’s president signed one of the world’s strongest and most comprehensive food policy laws, requiring ultra-processed products with excess levels of sodium, sugar, fats and calories to include black octagonal warnings on the front of the package. Big food companies were given until 20 August to add the warnings, while small and medium food and beverage companies have until 20 February 2023 to do so. Companies that produce products that are high in sugar, calories, sodium and fat are prohibited from advertising these to children or selling them at schools. Argentinian civil society groups applauded the start of the new law, emphasizing it was a step in the right direction after years of advocacy. “This moment is the time when people in Argentina will start to have the chance to know what they are eating,” said Luciana Castronuovo of Fundacion InterAmerica del Corazon (FIC) Argentina, speaking to the Global Health Advocacy Incubator. The law is comprehensive as it also includes the regulation of food marketing and school environments, guaranteeing the rights to health and healthy food of children and youth, Victoria Tiscornia, nutritionist and researcher at FIC Argentina, told Health Policy Watch. “This comprehensive law is evidence-based and includes the best public health standards to tackle the double burden of malnutrition in Argentina.” ‘Major step’ to ensuring the right to healthy food Argentina’s accomplishment comes at a time when advocates are pushing for healthy food policies across Latin America in response to high rates of diet-related diseases like diabetes, obesity and heart disease and an increase in the availability of ultra-processed food and drinks. For the past five years, civil society organizations in Argentina fought for a package of policies that include front-of-package warning labels (FOPL), marketing restrictions and the removal of unhealthy food and drinks from schools. “This law is a major step towards guaranteeing both the population’s right to healthy food and the right to information.,” said Tiscornia. “It seeks to provide clear and truthful information to consumers about the products they buy so that they can make informed decisions and choose the healthiest consumption options.” The new law in Argentina is based on the experiences of other countries in the region, such as Chile, Mexico, and Peru, which have also implemented FOPL in their packaging. Chile was the first country to implement front-of-package labelling in 2016. Research has shown favourable significant positive changes in food choices as a result of labelling. Some 68% of people changed their eating habits and 20% of industries reformulated their products to comply with the established profile and thus avoid warning seals on the packaging. In addition, the purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages showed a significant decrease of almost 24% since the implementation of labelling. Other parts of the world have also been working towards changing food policy with highly processed foods. Nigeria recently introduced a new tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in June in an effort to curb the growing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related non-communicable diseases in the country. Challenges in implementation and communication in months to come Supermarket in Argentina with processed sugary food products. However, the new law in Argentina includes an article that allows companies to request a time extension for including the front of package warning labels (FOPL), Tiscornia added. FIC Argentina and other civil society organizations have been monitoring this process and conducting information requests but no official response explaining the number and reason for extensions has been yet provided. “This situation, although legal, affects the transparency of the policy process and the proper implementation of the law.” she said FIC Argentina and other civil society groups will be facing many challenges in the coming months in regards to the new law, such as implementation and communication to the public, said Maga Ailén Merlo Vijarra from Argentinian human rights nonprofit FUNDEPS. “In the coming months we will be working on disseminating key information about the law and the need for this public health strategy and we will also focus on the human right to healthy food.” Products that were manufactured and packaged before the law came into force are not required to add labels. Additionally, rice, dry noodles and legumes, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables and milk, amongst other unprocessed or minimally processed foods are exempted from the labels. Table sugar and salt, vegetable oils, dried fruits and nuts, will also be exempted from labelling. Vijarra noted that the challenges with implementation include understanding which products have labels and which companies will have extensions approved. “In the coming months we expect to better protect Argentinean children and adolescents from abusive marketing strategies employed by the food industry, leading to a safer and healthier environment to develop and grow,” she concluded. Image Credits: Global Health Policy Incubator , Vera and Jean-Christophe/Flickr . Africa Pushes Gas as Transitional Energy Source, Insisting Climate Goals Cannot Hamper Economic Progress 05/09/2022 Paul Adepoju Solar panels in the Egyptian desert. The US government committed itself to supporting Nigeria’s transition away from fossil fuels during a meeting between US vice-president Kamala Harris and Nigeria’s vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, last Friday. However, despite global commitments to reduce fossil fuel reliance to address climate change, a number of African countries have recently committed to expanding their oil and coal production, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. African leaders have also asserted that achieving global climate goals cannot come at the price of economic development on the continent – and they intend to invest in gas as a transitional form of energy on the continent’s path to renewable energy. Nigeria launched its Energy Transition Plan on 24 August, mapping out how the country intends to achieve carbon emission neutrality by 2060, including by transitioning from petrol to gas – but the continent’s most populous nation needs over $400 billion to implement the plan and many western countries have moratoriums on financing hydrocarbon projects. It was truly a pleasure to meet with Vice-President Kamala Harris to discuss Nigeria's #EnergyTransition Plan and other interests between our Governments. pic.twitter.com/8qJnhTOQRf — Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (@ProfOsinbajo) September 2, 2022 During last week’s meeting, Harris welcomed Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan and applauded Osinbajo’s leadership for just energy transitions in Africa and “the two leaders committed to working closely to support Nigeria’s energy access and energy security goals, as well as our shared global climate goals”, according to a White House statement. Continued investment in oil But some African countries’ actions are not in line with the globally set climate goals. The Democratic Republic of Congo is planning to issue 30 new licenses for oil rigs that could threaten some parts of the country’s rainforest. “We had concerns about the announcement of the auction of these oil and gas exploration blocks, some of the blocks infringe on sensitive rainforest and peatland areas, including in the Virunga National Park and Salonga National Park,” said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken during a recent visit to the DRC. Meanwhile in Kenya, in early August President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned the Kipevu terminal, a large new oil storage facility at the Mombasa port intended to store large volumes of oil for the country’s development. In August 2021, the government of Ghana revealed plans to invest $1.65 billion to accelerate oil and gas exploration via the acquisition and development of oil and gas assets. Following an EU ban on coal importation from Russia, South Africa’s coal sales to Europe rose eight-fold during the first half of 2022 compared with last year. ‘Moral and economic madness’ After the 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report reported that the expansion of coal, oil and gas production is a great risk to global climate goals, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, described the expansion as “moral and economic madness”. But many African governments are getting behind the gas transition, arguing that moving immediately to renewable energy will hamper the continent’s economy and development. In May, 10 countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, and Zimbabwe – adopted a seven-point communique urging the international community to support gas “as a transition fuel and the long-term displacement of gas by renewable energy and green hydrogen for industrial development, if financially and technically sustainable”. In Senegal, $5 billion is projected to be spent on the second phase of the country’s liquefied natural gas project. President Macky Sall is a firm critic of what he described as the hypocrisy of western governments that guzzle gas at home but have declared a virtual moratorium on financing hydrocarbon projects abroad. “You cannot tell us that renewables alone can develop a continent — it has never been the case anywhere else and it cannot be the case in Africa,” Sall said. Egypt to host COP27 In November, Egypt’s “green city” of Sharm El Sheikh will host the 27th United Nations climate change conference, COP27, and this will offer an opportunity to show what the continent is doing to align with global climate goals including net zero carbon emissions by 2060 and mainstreaming renewable energies. Egypt has described the provision, mobilization and delivery of climate finance for developing countries as an urgent priority — particularly in light of current financial crises, debt challenges and increasing interest rates. “It is imperative to make appropriate financial flows that are based on needs identified through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other vehicles, with a focus on concessional finance instruments, and grants as appropriate, while providing a clear revision of the definition of bankable projects that takes into consideration climate benefits and not only risks, and achieving cross-cutting impacts,” Egypt said on its website for COP27. At COP26, a major talking point among African delegates and climate activists was the need for richer countries, who are also the world’s majornpolluters, to provide sufficient funds for developing countries to fight the crisis. During COP26, South Africa, the European Union, France, Germany, the UK and the US launched an ambitious long-term Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to support the South Africa’s decarbonisation efforts in order to move its economy towards more reliance on renewable energy resources. The JETP aims to mobilise $8.5 billion for South Africa, and Nigeria hopes to achieve similar support for its energy transition plan. Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts This site uses cookies to help give you the best experience on our website. Cookies enable us to collect information that helps us personalise your experience and improve the functionality and performance of our site. By continuing to read our website, we assume you agree to this, otherwise you can adjust your browser settings. Please read our cookie and Privacy Policy. Our Cookies and Privacy Policy Loading Comments... You must be logged in to post a comment.
New Initiative Will Enable Speedy Introduction of COVID-19 Antivirals in Africa and Southeast Asia 07/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Pfizer’s Paxlovid, an oral antiviral against COVID-19. A new initiative to introduce COVID-19 oral antivirals and national test-and-treat programmes in 10 countries in Africa and Southeast Asia was launched on Wednesday by the COVID Treatment Quick Start Consortium. The consortium will support governments to introduce and scale up access to antivirals, starting with Pfizer’s Paxlovid, in high-risk populations in Ghana, Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In Africa just over 20% of the population is fully vaccinated and vulnerable people, particularly the elderly and immune-compromised, are at risk of developing severe illness or dying from COVID-19. Paxlovid has been shown to reduce deaths in elderly people by over 80% if it is taken within five days of infection, which is why early COVID-19 testing is particularly important. However, access to Paxlovid is presently limited and it is largely available in high-income countries only. In addition, of three billion COVID-19 tests administered worldwide since the pandemic, only 0.4% took place in a low-income country. Operational research on test-and-treat The initiative will combine the antiviral roll-out with operational research on how best to develop and scale up COVID-19 test-and-treat programmes in low- and middle-income countries. Pfizer will donate 100,000 courses of Paxlovid to start, but the programme will shift to using low-cost generics as soon as they become available, according to the consortium. The consortium is made up of Duke University, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), COVID Collaborative, and Americares as implementing partners, with support from the Open Society Foundations, Pfizer and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. “We have seen throughout the global COVID-19 response that new life-saving interventions like vaccines and treatments are not quickly reaching those most in need around the world,” said Dr Krishna Udayakumar, founding director of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center. “The Quick Start Consortium is partnering with governments to bring urgently needed medicines to high-risk populations in countries that do not have easy access to such innovations.” COVID Collaborative president Gary Edson described the 18-month programme as “the first concerted effort to bring new highly effective COVID oral antiviral treatments to low and middle income countries”, adding that it will complement the efforts of the US government and multilateral organisations with whom we’ve been closely coordinating Professor Lloyd Mulenga, director of infectious diseases for the Zambian Ministry of Health, said that his government had wanted access to oral antivirals to treat those with COVID-19 “and we are thus excited to be part of an initiative accelerating Paxlovid for use for COVID management”. “With this new milestone, we expect less [hospital] admissions and also fewer COVID-related deaths leading to a reduced burden on our health system,” added Mulenga. “The Quick Start Consortium will help us to continue to build and strengthen a resilient healthcare system, quickly find the patients who need treatment, and make sure they get needed medicines, regardless of socio-economic status,” said Professor Claude Muvunyi, Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Center. “Like so many other diseases, COVID-19 won’t go away if you just ignore it.” Correct injustice of access CHAI CEO Dr Neil Buddy Shah said that the programme aimed to correct the injustice of disproportionate access to life-saving COVID-19 tools, but added that this goal could not be met by Quick Start alone. “We welcome additional partners to join our consortium’s efforts,” said Shah. CHAI has been instrumental in assisting African countries to get access to cheaper antiretroviral medication to treat HIV. Meanwhile, Christine Squires, President and CEO of Americares, one of the world’s leading non-profit providers of donated medicine and medical supplies, said that the COVID-19 pandemic had claimed over six million lives and impacted the health of hundreds of millions of people over the past two and a half years. “By expanding access to testing and treatment in low- and middle-income countries, we will be taking a more equitable approach to reduce hospitalisations and severe disease and, ultimately, save lives,” she stressed. Image Credits: Pfizer . Ethiopian Ambassador Slams WHO Director General Tedros over Tigray Conflict 06/09/2022 Editorial team Hirut Zemene Kassa, Ethiopian ambassador to the European Union The Ethiopian ambassador to the European Union has spoken sharply against World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, calling his criticisms against the Ethiopian government and its role in the Tigray conflict in northern Ethiopia “unprofessional” and that he was using his position “degrading” and “abusing”. “The way he’s handling the matter is completely unprofessional to me,” Hirut Zemene said in an interview in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon. “He is a United Nations figure … The role he is playing right now … is very, very much degrading his position. I would think he would think about global health — like he says ‘global health for all’ — around the world, around Ethiopia, not only in one particular area.” Tedros, an ethnic Tigrayan, has publicly denounced the Ethiopian government in the past for its blockade in the Tigray region, calling it a “complete blockade” on health and humanitarian aid. Zemene once worked under Tedros when the latter was foreign minister of Ethiopia under the previous government, and she helped celebrate Tedros’ election as WHO Director General in May 2017. On Wednesday, however, she said he has been “abusing his position” at the WHO by commenting “about only one area” in northern Ethiopia — “a very shameful thing to do.” “Financially, the government has supported him, invested resources in him, to be a representation of the world in the WHO, coming from Ethiopia,” Zemene said. Read more on Devex Image Credits: UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré. Unitaid Invests in New TB Tests, as South Africa Study Reports Importance of Better Screening 06/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Many children with tuberculosis don’t receive the necessary treatment because of challenges with diagnosis. Two-fifths of people with tuberculosis are unaware that they are infected because their diagnosis relies on outdated tests – something Unitaid and partners aim to change with a $30 million investment in new diagnostic technologies to enable same-day results. Announcing the investment on Tuesday, the global health agency explained that the current diagnosis in low and middle-income countries relies on sputum tests that have low sensitivity, especially in the presence of HIV coinfection, require patients to make multiple visits to health centres and are “largely ineffective in diagnosing children or people in advanced stages of disease who have difficulty producing sputum”. New US$30 million investment will improve access to same-day test results to enable more people to quickly access appropriate treatment. Find out more: https://t.co/QYvznt0aDl pic.twitter.com/OEJ1Djy1Rw — Unitaid (@UNITAID) September 6, 2022 The announcement comes shortly after the publication in this month’s International Journal of Infectious Diseases of a massive 29-year study of TB in South Africa, which found that incidence and mortality were substantially reduced by the introduction of antiretroviral HIV therapy and increased screening. South Africa has one of the highest TB rates in the world and the researchers, from the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, found that 8.8 million people had developed TB, and 2.1 million died during the study period from 1990 to 2019. HIV, which weakens a person’s immunity, was responsible for 4.8 million of the cases and 1.4 million deaths. Testing doubled The study also estimated the impact on TB incidence of various treatment interventions, finding that antiretroviral therapy (ART) and increased TB screening, were the most effective. “Between 2005 and 2012, South Africa scaled-up efforts to identify TB cases and testing rates doubled. As a result, there were rapid reductions in TB incidence owing to increased TB screening during this period. In 2019, increased screening led to a 28% reduction in TB incidence,” according to lead author, Mmamapudi Kubjane, a researcher in the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town. The study also found that the provision of ART led to a 20% reduction in TB incidence by 2019. “The benefits of ART in reducing incidence depend on CD4 count and duration of ART. HIV-positive individuals who initiate ART earlier at higher CD4 counts and stay on ART for longer experience the greatest benefits of ART,” said Kubjane. The impact of the other treatment interventions – directly observed therapy (DOTS), isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT), and Xpert MTB/RIF – were “modest” single-figure percentages. Xpert MTB/RIF is a highly sensitive test that can simultaneously detect TB and resistance to the TB drug rifampin (RIF) in less than two hours. When South Africa introduced this new Xpert MTB/RIF test in 2011 to replace sputum testing, it was expected to bring substantial health benefits – yet clinical trials have found little or no impact on TB mortality, according to recent analyses. “To understand these dynamics better, modelling studies with detailed diagnostic algorithms that account for empirical treatment are required,” the study recommends. Combination approaches to diagnosis This is something that Untaid and its partners could tackle. Unitaid has partnered with FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), to evaluate alternative TB sampling approaches, and develop and evaluate combination approaches to diagnosis. More than 10 million people each year fall ill with tuberculosis (TB), and an estimated four million people with TB – two out of every five – go undiagnosed, according to Unitaid. “Efforts to reduce the TB burden are greatly hampered by the large number of people who never receive a diagnosis and therefore do not access treatment,” it adds. “For those who do receive a positive diagnosis, the process can be lengthy and sometimes means patients do not start on the correct treatment from the outset, which can lead to drug resistance.” Image Credits: University of Cape Town Lung Institute. Argentina Now Requires Big Food to Add Warning Labels to Ultra-Processed Foods 06/09/2022 Raisa Santos Big food companies in Argentina now need to add warning labels to their ultra-processed products. Consumers in Argentina are getting help to identify unhealthy food, thanks to new food promotion laws that mandate front-of-package warning labels, the first phase of which started recently. Last year, Argentina’s president signed one of the world’s strongest and most comprehensive food policy laws, requiring ultra-processed products with excess levels of sodium, sugar, fats and calories to include black octagonal warnings on the front of the package. Big food companies were given until 20 August to add the warnings, while small and medium food and beverage companies have until 20 February 2023 to do so. Companies that produce products that are high in sugar, calories, sodium and fat are prohibited from advertising these to children or selling them at schools. Argentinian civil society groups applauded the start of the new law, emphasizing it was a step in the right direction after years of advocacy. “This moment is the time when people in Argentina will start to have the chance to know what they are eating,” said Luciana Castronuovo of Fundacion InterAmerica del Corazon (FIC) Argentina, speaking to the Global Health Advocacy Incubator. The law is comprehensive as it also includes the regulation of food marketing and school environments, guaranteeing the rights to health and healthy food of children and youth, Victoria Tiscornia, nutritionist and researcher at FIC Argentina, told Health Policy Watch. “This comprehensive law is evidence-based and includes the best public health standards to tackle the double burden of malnutrition in Argentina.” ‘Major step’ to ensuring the right to healthy food Argentina’s accomplishment comes at a time when advocates are pushing for healthy food policies across Latin America in response to high rates of diet-related diseases like diabetes, obesity and heart disease and an increase in the availability of ultra-processed food and drinks. For the past five years, civil society organizations in Argentina fought for a package of policies that include front-of-package warning labels (FOPL), marketing restrictions and the removal of unhealthy food and drinks from schools. “This law is a major step towards guaranteeing both the population’s right to healthy food and the right to information.,” said Tiscornia. “It seeks to provide clear and truthful information to consumers about the products they buy so that they can make informed decisions and choose the healthiest consumption options.” The new law in Argentina is based on the experiences of other countries in the region, such as Chile, Mexico, and Peru, which have also implemented FOPL in their packaging. Chile was the first country to implement front-of-package labelling in 2016. Research has shown favourable significant positive changes in food choices as a result of labelling. Some 68% of people changed their eating habits and 20% of industries reformulated their products to comply with the established profile and thus avoid warning seals on the packaging. In addition, the purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages showed a significant decrease of almost 24% since the implementation of labelling. Other parts of the world have also been working towards changing food policy with highly processed foods. Nigeria recently introduced a new tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in June in an effort to curb the growing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related non-communicable diseases in the country. Challenges in implementation and communication in months to come Supermarket in Argentina with processed sugary food products. However, the new law in Argentina includes an article that allows companies to request a time extension for including the front of package warning labels (FOPL), Tiscornia added. FIC Argentina and other civil society organizations have been monitoring this process and conducting information requests but no official response explaining the number and reason for extensions has been yet provided. “This situation, although legal, affects the transparency of the policy process and the proper implementation of the law.” she said FIC Argentina and other civil society groups will be facing many challenges in the coming months in regards to the new law, such as implementation and communication to the public, said Maga Ailén Merlo Vijarra from Argentinian human rights nonprofit FUNDEPS. “In the coming months we will be working on disseminating key information about the law and the need for this public health strategy and we will also focus on the human right to healthy food.” Products that were manufactured and packaged before the law came into force are not required to add labels. Additionally, rice, dry noodles and legumes, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables and milk, amongst other unprocessed or minimally processed foods are exempted from the labels. Table sugar and salt, vegetable oils, dried fruits and nuts, will also be exempted from labelling. Vijarra noted that the challenges with implementation include understanding which products have labels and which companies will have extensions approved. “In the coming months we expect to better protect Argentinean children and adolescents from abusive marketing strategies employed by the food industry, leading to a safer and healthier environment to develop and grow,” she concluded. Image Credits: Global Health Policy Incubator , Vera and Jean-Christophe/Flickr . Africa Pushes Gas as Transitional Energy Source, Insisting Climate Goals Cannot Hamper Economic Progress 05/09/2022 Paul Adepoju Solar panels in the Egyptian desert. The US government committed itself to supporting Nigeria’s transition away from fossil fuels during a meeting between US vice-president Kamala Harris and Nigeria’s vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, last Friday. However, despite global commitments to reduce fossil fuel reliance to address climate change, a number of African countries have recently committed to expanding their oil and coal production, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. African leaders have also asserted that achieving global climate goals cannot come at the price of economic development on the continent – and they intend to invest in gas as a transitional form of energy on the continent’s path to renewable energy. Nigeria launched its Energy Transition Plan on 24 August, mapping out how the country intends to achieve carbon emission neutrality by 2060, including by transitioning from petrol to gas – but the continent’s most populous nation needs over $400 billion to implement the plan and many western countries have moratoriums on financing hydrocarbon projects. It was truly a pleasure to meet with Vice-President Kamala Harris to discuss Nigeria's #EnergyTransition Plan and other interests between our Governments. pic.twitter.com/8qJnhTOQRf — Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (@ProfOsinbajo) September 2, 2022 During last week’s meeting, Harris welcomed Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan and applauded Osinbajo’s leadership for just energy transitions in Africa and “the two leaders committed to working closely to support Nigeria’s energy access and energy security goals, as well as our shared global climate goals”, according to a White House statement. Continued investment in oil But some African countries’ actions are not in line with the globally set climate goals. The Democratic Republic of Congo is planning to issue 30 new licenses for oil rigs that could threaten some parts of the country’s rainforest. “We had concerns about the announcement of the auction of these oil and gas exploration blocks, some of the blocks infringe on sensitive rainforest and peatland areas, including in the Virunga National Park and Salonga National Park,” said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken during a recent visit to the DRC. Meanwhile in Kenya, in early August President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned the Kipevu terminal, a large new oil storage facility at the Mombasa port intended to store large volumes of oil for the country’s development. In August 2021, the government of Ghana revealed plans to invest $1.65 billion to accelerate oil and gas exploration via the acquisition and development of oil and gas assets. Following an EU ban on coal importation from Russia, South Africa’s coal sales to Europe rose eight-fold during the first half of 2022 compared with last year. ‘Moral and economic madness’ After the 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report reported that the expansion of coal, oil and gas production is a great risk to global climate goals, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, described the expansion as “moral and economic madness”. But many African governments are getting behind the gas transition, arguing that moving immediately to renewable energy will hamper the continent’s economy and development. In May, 10 countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, and Zimbabwe – adopted a seven-point communique urging the international community to support gas “as a transition fuel and the long-term displacement of gas by renewable energy and green hydrogen for industrial development, if financially and technically sustainable”. In Senegal, $5 billion is projected to be spent on the second phase of the country’s liquefied natural gas project. President Macky Sall is a firm critic of what he described as the hypocrisy of western governments that guzzle gas at home but have declared a virtual moratorium on financing hydrocarbon projects abroad. “You cannot tell us that renewables alone can develop a continent — it has never been the case anywhere else and it cannot be the case in Africa,” Sall said. Egypt to host COP27 In November, Egypt’s “green city” of Sharm El Sheikh will host the 27th United Nations climate change conference, COP27, and this will offer an opportunity to show what the continent is doing to align with global climate goals including net zero carbon emissions by 2060 and mainstreaming renewable energies. Egypt has described the provision, mobilization and delivery of climate finance for developing countries as an urgent priority — particularly in light of current financial crises, debt challenges and increasing interest rates. “It is imperative to make appropriate financial flows that are based on needs identified through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other vehicles, with a focus on concessional finance instruments, and grants as appropriate, while providing a clear revision of the definition of bankable projects that takes into consideration climate benefits and not only risks, and achieving cross-cutting impacts,” Egypt said on its website for COP27. At COP26, a major talking point among African delegates and climate activists was the need for richer countries, who are also the world’s majornpolluters, to provide sufficient funds for developing countries to fight the crisis. During COP26, South Africa, the European Union, France, Germany, the UK and the US launched an ambitious long-term Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to support the South Africa’s decarbonisation efforts in order to move its economy towards more reliance on renewable energy resources. The JETP aims to mobilise $8.5 billion for South Africa, and Nigeria hopes to achieve similar support for its energy transition plan. Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts This site uses cookies to help give you the best experience on our website. Cookies enable us to collect information that helps us personalise your experience and improve the functionality and performance of our site. By continuing to read our website, we assume you agree to this, otherwise you can adjust your browser settings. Please read our cookie and Privacy Policy. Our Cookies and Privacy Policy Loading Comments... You must be logged in to post a comment.
Ethiopian Ambassador Slams WHO Director General Tedros over Tigray Conflict 06/09/2022 Editorial team Hirut Zemene Kassa, Ethiopian ambassador to the European Union The Ethiopian ambassador to the European Union has spoken sharply against World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, calling his criticisms against the Ethiopian government and its role in the Tigray conflict in northern Ethiopia “unprofessional” and that he was using his position “degrading” and “abusing”. “The way he’s handling the matter is completely unprofessional to me,” Hirut Zemene said in an interview in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon. “He is a United Nations figure … The role he is playing right now … is very, very much degrading his position. I would think he would think about global health — like he says ‘global health for all’ — around the world, around Ethiopia, not only in one particular area.” Tedros, an ethnic Tigrayan, has publicly denounced the Ethiopian government in the past for its blockade in the Tigray region, calling it a “complete blockade” on health and humanitarian aid. Zemene once worked under Tedros when the latter was foreign minister of Ethiopia under the previous government, and she helped celebrate Tedros’ election as WHO Director General in May 2017. On Wednesday, however, she said he has been “abusing his position” at the WHO by commenting “about only one area” in northern Ethiopia — “a very shameful thing to do.” “Financially, the government has supported him, invested resources in him, to be a representation of the world in the WHO, coming from Ethiopia,” Zemene said. Read more on Devex Image Credits: UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré. Unitaid Invests in New TB Tests, as South Africa Study Reports Importance of Better Screening 06/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Many children with tuberculosis don’t receive the necessary treatment because of challenges with diagnosis. Two-fifths of people with tuberculosis are unaware that they are infected because their diagnosis relies on outdated tests – something Unitaid and partners aim to change with a $30 million investment in new diagnostic technologies to enable same-day results. Announcing the investment on Tuesday, the global health agency explained that the current diagnosis in low and middle-income countries relies on sputum tests that have low sensitivity, especially in the presence of HIV coinfection, require patients to make multiple visits to health centres and are “largely ineffective in diagnosing children or people in advanced stages of disease who have difficulty producing sputum”. New US$30 million investment will improve access to same-day test results to enable more people to quickly access appropriate treatment. Find out more: https://t.co/QYvznt0aDl pic.twitter.com/OEJ1Djy1Rw — Unitaid (@UNITAID) September 6, 2022 The announcement comes shortly after the publication in this month’s International Journal of Infectious Diseases of a massive 29-year study of TB in South Africa, which found that incidence and mortality were substantially reduced by the introduction of antiretroviral HIV therapy and increased screening. South Africa has one of the highest TB rates in the world and the researchers, from the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, found that 8.8 million people had developed TB, and 2.1 million died during the study period from 1990 to 2019. HIV, which weakens a person’s immunity, was responsible for 4.8 million of the cases and 1.4 million deaths. Testing doubled The study also estimated the impact on TB incidence of various treatment interventions, finding that antiretroviral therapy (ART) and increased TB screening, were the most effective. “Between 2005 and 2012, South Africa scaled-up efforts to identify TB cases and testing rates doubled. As a result, there were rapid reductions in TB incidence owing to increased TB screening during this period. In 2019, increased screening led to a 28% reduction in TB incidence,” according to lead author, Mmamapudi Kubjane, a researcher in the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town. The study also found that the provision of ART led to a 20% reduction in TB incidence by 2019. “The benefits of ART in reducing incidence depend on CD4 count and duration of ART. HIV-positive individuals who initiate ART earlier at higher CD4 counts and stay on ART for longer experience the greatest benefits of ART,” said Kubjane. The impact of the other treatment interventions – directly observed therapy (DOTS), isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT), and Xpert MTB/RIF – were “modest” single-figure percentages. Xpert MTB/RIF is a highly sensitive test that can simultaneously detect TB and resistance to the TB drug rifampin (RIF) in less than two hours. When South Africa introduced this new Xpert MTB/RIF test in 2011 to replace sputum testing, it was expected to bring substantial health benefits – yet clinical trials have found little or no impact on TB mortality, according to recent analyses. “To understand these dynamics better, modelling studies with detailed diagnostic algorithms that account for empirical treatment are required,” the study recommends. Combination approaches to diagnosis This is something that Untaid and its partners could tackle. Unitaid has partnered with FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), to evaluate alternative TB sampling approaches, and develop and evaluate combination approaches to diagnosis. More than 10 million people each year fall ill with tuberculosis (TB), and an estimated four million people with TB – two out of every five – go undiagnosed, according to Unitaid. “Efforts to reduce the TB burden are greatly hampered by the large number of people who never receive a diagnosis and therefore do not access treatment,” it adds. “For those who do receive a positive diagnosis, the process can be lengthy and sometimes means patients do not start on the correct treatment from the outset, which can lead to drug resistance.” Image Credits: University of Cape Town Lung Institute. Argentina Now Requires Big Food to Add Warning Labels to Ultra-Processed Foods 06/09/2022 Raisa Santos Big food companies in Argentina now need to add warning labels to their ultra-processed products. Consumers in Argentina are getting help to identify unhealthy food, thanks to new food promotion laws that mandate front-of-package warning labels, the first phase of which started recently. Last year, Argentina’s president signed one of the world’s strongest and most comprehensive food policy laws, requiring ultra-processed products with excess levels of sodium, sugar, fats and calories to include black octagonal warnings on the front of the package. Big food companies were given until 20 August to add the warnings, while small and medium food and beverage companies have until 20 February 2023 to do so. Companies that produce products that are high in sugar, calories, sodium and fat are prohibited from advertising these to children or selling them at schools. Argentinian civil society groups applauded the start of the new law, emphasizing it was a step in the right direction after years of advocacy. “This moment is the time when people in Argentina will start to have the chance to know what they are eating,” said Luciana Castronuovo of Fundacion InterAmerica del Corazon (FIC) Argentina, speaking to the Global Health Advocacy Incubator. The law is comprehensive as it also includes the regulation of food marketing and school environments, guaranteeing the rights to health and healthy food of children and youth, Victoria Tiscornia, nutritionist and researcher at FIC Argentina, told Health Policy Watch. “This comprehensive law is evidence-based and includes the best public health standards to tackle the double burden of malnutrition in Argentina.” ‘Major step’ to ensuring the right to healthy food Argentina’s accomplishment comes at a time when advocates are pushing for healthy food policies across Latin America in response to high rates of diet-related diseases like diabetes, obesity and heart disease and an increase in the availability of ultra-processed food and drinks. For the past five years, civil society organizations in Argentina fought for a package of policies that include front-of-package warning labels (FOPL), marketing restrictions and the removal of unhealthy food and drinks from schools. “This law is a major step towards guaranteeing both the population’s right to healthy food and the right to information.,” said Tiscornia. “It seeks to provide clear and truthful information to consumers about the products they buy so that they can make informed decisions and choose the healthiest consumption options.” The new law in Argentina is based on the experiences of other countries in the region, such as Chile, Mexico, and Peru, which have also implemented FOPL in their packaging. Chile was the first country to implement front-of-package labelling in 2016. Research has shown favourable significant positive changes in food choices as a result of labelling. Some 68% of people changed their eating habits and 20% of industries reformulated their products to comply with the established profile and thus avoid warning seals on the packaging. In addition, the purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages showed a significant decrease of almost 24% since the implementation of labelling. Other parts of the world have also been working towards changing food policy with highly processed foods. Nigeria recently introduced a new tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in June in an effort to curb the growing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related non-communicable diseases in the country. Challenges in implementation and communication in months to come Supermarket in Argentina with processed sugary food products. However, the new law in Argentina includes an article that allows companies to request a time extension for including the front of package warning labels (FOPL), Tiscornia added. FIC Argentina and other civil society organizations have been monitoring this process and conducting information requests but no official response explaining the number and reason for extensions has been yet provided. “This situation, although legal, affects the transparency of the policy process and the proper implementation of the law.” she said FIC Argentina and other civil society groups will be facing many challenges in the coming months in regards to the new law, such as implementation and communication to the public, said Maga Ailén Merlo Vijarra from Argentinian human rights nonprofit FUNDEPS. “In the coming months we will be working on disseminating key information about the law and the need for this public health strategy and we will also focus on the human right to healthy food.” Products that were manufactured and packaged before the law came into force are not required to add labels. Additionally, rice, dry noodles and legumes, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables and milk, amongst other unprocessed or minimally processed foods are exempted from the labels. Table sugar and salt, vegetable oils, dried fruits and nuts, will also be exempted from labelling. Vijarra noted that the challenges with implementation include understanding which products have labels and which companies will have extensions approved. “In the coming months we expect to better protect Argentinean children and adolescents from abusive marketing strategies employed by the food industry, leading to a safer and healthier environment to develop and grow,” she concluded. Image Credits: Global Health Policy Incubator , Vera and Jean-Christophe/Flickr . Africa Pushes Gas as Transitional Energy Source, Insisting Climate Goals Cannot Hamper Economic Progress 05/09/2022 Paul Adepoju Solar panels in the Egyptian desert. The US government committed itself to supporting Nigeria’s transition away from fossil fuels during a meeting between US vice-president Kamala Harris and Nigeria’s vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, last Friday. However, despite global commitments to reduce fossil fuel reliance to address climate change, a number of African countries have recently committed to expanding their oil and coal production, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. African leaders have also asserted that achieving global climate goals cannot come at the price of economic development on the continent – and they intend to invest in gas as a transitional form of energy on the continent’s path to renewable energy. Nigeria launched its Energy Transition Plan on 24 August, mapping out how the country intends to achieve carbon emission neutrality by 2060, including by transitioning from petrol to gas – but the continent’s most populous nation needs over $400 billion to implement the plan and many western countries have moratoriums on financing hydrocarbon projects. It was truly a pleasure to meet with Vice-President Kamala Harris to discuss Nigeria's #EnergyTransition Plan and other interests between our Governments. pic.twitter.com/8qJnhTOQRf — Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (@ProfOsinbajo) September 2, 2022 During last week’s meeting, Harris welcomed Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan and applauded Osinbajo’s leadership for just energy transitions in Africa and “the two leaders committed to working closely to support Nigeria’s energy access and energy security goals, as well as our shared global climate goals”, according to a White House statement. Continued investment in oil But some African countries’ actions are not in line with the globally set climate goals. The Democratic Republic of Congo is planning to issue 30 new licenses for oil rigs that could threaten some parts of the country’s rainforest. “We had concerns about the announcement of the auction of these oil and gas exploration blocks, some of the blocks infringe on sensitive rainforest and peatland areas, including in the Virunga National Park and Salonga National Park,” said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken during a recent visit to the DRC. Meanwhile in Kenya, in early August President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned the Kipevu terminal, a large new oil storage facility at the Mombasa port intended to store large volumes of oil for the country’s development. In August 2021, the government of Ghana revealed plans to invest $1.65 billion to accelerate oil and gas exploration via the acquisition and development of oil and gas assets. Following an EU ban on coal importation from Russia, South Africa’s coal sales to Europe rose eight-fold during the first half of 2022 compared with last year. ‘Moral and economic madness’ After the 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report reported that the expansion of coal, oil and gas production is a great risk to global climate goals, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, described the expansion as “moral and economic madness”. But many African governments are getting behind the gas transition, arguing that moving immediately to renewable energy will hamper the continent’s economy and development. In May, 10 countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, and Zimbabwe – adopted a seven-point communique urging the international community to support gas “as a transition fuel and the long-term displacement of gas by renewable energy and green hydrogen for industrial development, if financially and technically sustainable”. In Senegal, $5 billion is projected to be spent on the second phase of the country’s liquefied natural gas project. President Macky Sall is a firm critic of what he described as the hypocrisy of western governments that guzzle gas at home but have declared a virtual moratorium on financing hydrocarbon projects abroad. “You cannot tell us that renewables alone can develop a continent — it has never been the case anywhere else and it cannot be the case in Africa,” Sall said. Egypt to host COP27 In November, Egypt’s “green city” of Sharm El Sheikh will host the 27th United Nations climate change conference, COP27, and this will offer an opportunity to show what the continent is doing to align with global climate goals including net zero carbon emissions by 2060 and mainstreaming renewable energies. Egypt has described the provision, mobilization and delivery of climate finance for developing countries as an urgent priority — particularly in light of current financial crises, debt challenges and increasing interest rates. “It is imperative to make appropriate financial flows that are based on needs identified through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other vehicles, with a focus on concessional finance instruments, and grants as appropriate, while providing a clear revision of the definition of bankable projects that takes into consideration climate benefits and not only risks, and achieving cross-cutting impacts,” Egypt said on its website for COP27. At COP26, a major talking point among African delegates and climate activists was the need for richer countries, who are also the world’s majornpolluters, to provide sufficient funds for developing countries to fight the crisis. During COP26, South Africa, the European Union, France, Germany, the UK and the US launched an ambitious long-term Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to support the South Africa’s decarbonisation efforts in order to move its economy towards more reliance on renewable energy resources. The JETP aims to mobilise $8.5 billion for South Africa, and Nigeria hopes to achieve similar support for its energy transition plan. Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts This site uses cookies to help give you the best experience on our website. Cookies enable us to collect information that helps us personalise your experience and improve the functionality and performance of our site. By continuing to read our website, we assume you agree to this, otherwise you can adjust your browser settings. Please read our cookie and Privacy Policy. Our Cookies and Privacy Policy Loading Comments... You must be logged in to post a comment.
Unitaid Invests in New TB Tests, as South Africa Study Reports Importance of Better Screening 06/09/2022 Kerry Cullinan Many children with tuberculosis don’t receive the necessary treatment because of challenges with diagnosis. Two-fifths of people with tuberculosis are unaware that they are infected because their diagnosis relies on outdated tests – something Unitaid and partners aim to change with a $30 million investment in new diagnostic technologies to enable same-day results. Announcing the investment on Tuesday, the global health agency explained that the current diagnosis in low and middle-income countries relies on sputum tests that have low sensitivity, especially in the presence of HIV coinfection, require patients to make multiple visits to health centres and are “largely ineffective in diagnosing children or people in advanced stages of disease who have difficulty producing sputum”. New US$30 million investment will improve access to same-day test results to enable more people to quickly access appropriate treatment. Find out more: https://t.co/QYvznt0aDl pic.twitter.com/OEJ1Djy1Rw — Unitaid (@UNITAID) September 6, 2022 The announcement comes shortly after the publication in this month’s International Journal of Infectious Diseases of a massive 29-year study of TB in South Africa, which found that incidence and mortality were substantially reduced by the introduction of antiretroviral HIV therapy and increased screening. South Africa has one of the highest TB rates in the world and the researchers, from the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, found that 8.8 million people had developed TB, and 2.1 million died during the study period from 1990 to 2019. HIV, which weakens a person’s immunity, was responsible for 4.8 million of the cases and 1.4 million deaths. Testing doubled The study also estimated the impact on TB incidence of various treatment interventions, finding that antiretroviral therapy (ART) and increased TB screening, were the most effective. “Between 2005 and 2012, South Africa scaled-up efforts to identify TB cases and testing rates doubled. As a result, there were rapid reductions in TB incidence owing to increased TB screening during this period. In 2019, increased screening led to a 28% reduction in TB incidence,” according to lead author, Mmamapudi Kubjane, a researcher in the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town. The study also found that the provision of ART led to a 20% reduction in TB incidence by 2019. “The benefits of ART in reducing incidence depend on CD4 count and duration of ART. HIV-positive individuals who initiate ART earlier at higher CD4 counts and stay on ART for longer experience the greatest benefits of ART,” said Kubjane. The impact of the other treatment interventions – directly observed therapy (DOTS), isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT), and Xpert MTB/RIF – were “modest” single-figure percentages. Xpert MTB/RIF is a highly sensitive test that can simultaneously detect TB and resistance to the TB drug rifampin (RIF) in less than two hours. When South Africa introduced this new Xpert MTB/RIF test in 2011 to replace sputum testing, it was expected to bring substantial health benefits – yet clinical trials have found little or no impact on TB mortality, according to recent analyses. “To understand these dynamics better, modelling studies with detailed diagnostic algorithms that account for empirical treatment are required,” the study recommends. Combination approaches to diagnosis This is something that Untaid and its partners could tackle. Unitaid has partnered with FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), to evaluate alternative TB sampling approaches, and develop and evaluate combination approaches to diagnosis. More than 10 million people each year fall ill with tuberculosis (TB), and an estimated four million people with TB – two out of every five – go undiagnosed, according to Unitaid. “Efforts to reduce the TB burden are greatly hampered by the large number of people who never receive a diagnosis and therefore do not access treatment,” it adds. “For those who do receive a positive diagnosis, the process can be lengthy and sometimes means patients do not start on the correct treatment from the outset, which can lead to drug resistance.” Image Credits: University of Cape Town Lung Institute. Argentina Now Requires Big Food to Add Warning Labels to Ultra-Processed Foods 06/09/2022 Raisa Santos Big food companies in Argentina now need to add warning labels to their ultra-processed products. Consumers in Argentina are getting help to identify unhealthy food, thanks to new food promotion laws that mandate front-of-package warning labels, the first phase of which started recently. Last year, Argentina’s president signed one of the world’s strongest and most comprehensive food policy laws, requiring ultra-processed products with excess levels of sodium, sugar, fats and calories to include black octagonal warnings on the front of the package. Big food companies were given until 20 August to add the warnings, while small and medium food and beverage companies have until 20 February 2023 to do so. Companies that produce products that are high in sugar, calories, sodium and fat are prohibited from advertising these to children or selling them at schools. Argentinian civil society groups applauded the start of the new law, emphasizing it was a step in the right direction after years of advocacy. “This moment is the time when people in Argentina will start to have the chance to know what they are eating,” said Luciana Castronuovo of Fundacion InterAmerica del Corazon (FIC) Argentina, speaking to the Global Health Advocacy Incubator. The law is comprehensive as it also includes the regulation of food marketing and school environments, guaranteeing the rights to health and healthy food of children and youth, Victoria Tiscornia, nutritionist and researcher at FIC Argentina, told Health Policy Watch. “This comprehensive law is evidence-based and includes the best public health standards to tackle the double burden of malnutrition in Argentina.” ‘Major step’ to ensuring the right to healthy food Argentina’s accomplishment comes at a time when advocates are pushing for healthy food policies across Latin America in response to high rates of diet-related diseases like diabetes, obesity and heart disease and an increase in the availability of ultra-processed food and drinks. For the past five years, civil society organizations in Argentina fought for a package of policies that include front-of-package warning labels (FOPL), marketing restrictions and the removal of unhealthy food and drinks from schools. “This law is a major step towards guaranteeing both the population’s right to healthy food and the right to information.,” said Tiscornia. “It seeks to provide clear and truthful information to consumers about the products they buy so that they can make informed decisions and choose the healthiest consumption options.” The new law in Argentina is based on the experiences of other countries in the region, such as Chile, Mexico, and Peru, which have also implemented FOPL in their packaging. Chile was the first country to implement front-of-package labelling in 2016. Research has shown favourable significant positive changes in food choices as a result of labelling. Some 68% of people changed their eating habits and 20% of industries reformulated their products to comply with the established profile and thus avoid warning seals on the packaging. In addition, the purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages showed a significant decrease of almost 24% since the implementation of labelling. Other parts of the world have also been working towards changing food policy with highly processed foods. Nigeria recently introduced a new tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in June in an effort to curb the growing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related non-communicable diseases in the country. Challenges in implementation and communication in months to come Supermarket in Argentina with processed sugary food products. However, the new law in Argentina includes an article that allows companies to request a time extension for including the front of package warning labels (FOPL), Tiscornia added. FIC Argentina and other civil society organizations have been monitoring this process and conducting information requests but no official response explaining the number and reason for extensions has been yet provided. “This situation, although legal, affects the transparency of the policy process and the proper implementation of the law.” she said FIC Argentina and other civil society groups will be facing many challenges in the coming months in regards to the new law, such as implementation and communication to the public, said Maga Ailén Merlo Vijarra from Argentinian human rights nonprofit FUNDEPS. “In the coming months we will be working on disseminating key information about the law and the need for this public health strategy and we will also focus on the human right to healthy food.” Products that were manufactured and packaged before the law came into force are not required to add labels. Additionally, rice, dry noodles and legumes, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables and milk, amongst other unprocessed or minimally processed foods are exempted from the labels. Table sugar and salt, vegetable oils, dried fruits and nuts, will also be exempted from labelling. Vijarra noted that the challenges with implementation include understanding which products have labels and which companies will have extensions approved. “In the coming months we expect to better protect Argentinean children and adolescents from abusive marketing strategies employed by the food industry, leading to a safer and healthier environment to develop and grow,” she concluded. Image Credits: Global Health Policy Incubator , Vera and Jean-Christophe/Flickr . Africa Pushes Gas as Transitional Energy Source, Insisting Climate Goals Cannot Hamper Economic Progress 05/09/2022 Paul Adepoju Solar panels in the Egyptian desert. The US government committed itself to supporting Nigeria’s transition away from fossil fuels during a meeting between US vice-president Kamala Harris and Nigeria’s vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, last Friday. However, despite global commitments to reduce fossil fuel reliance to address climate change, a number of African countries have recently committed to expanding their oil and coal production, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. African leaders have also asserted that achieving global climate goals cannot come at the price of economic development on the continent – and they intend to invest in gas as a transitional form of energy on the continent’s path to renewable energy. Nigeria launched its Energy Transition Plan on 24 August, mapping out how the country intends to achieve carbon emission neutrality by 2060, including by transitioning from petrol to gas – but the continent’s most populous nation needs over $400 billion to implement the plan and many western countries have moratoriums on financing hydrocarbon projects. It was truly a pleasure to meet with Vice-President Kamala Harris to discuss Nigeria's #EnergyTransition Plan and other interests between our Governments. pic.twitter.com/8qJnhTOQRf — Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (@ProfOsinbajo) September 2, 2022 During last week’s meeting, Harris welcomed Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan and applauded Osinbajo’s leadership for just energy transitions in Africa and “the two leaders committed to working closely to support Nigeria’s energy access and energy security goals, as well as our shared global climate goals”, according to a White House statement. Continued investment in oil But some African countries’ actions are not in line with the globally set climate goals. The Democratic Republic of Congo is planning to issue 30 new licenses for oil rigs that could threaten some parts of the country’s rainforest. “We had concerns about the announcement of the auction of these oil and gas exploration blocks, some of the blocks infringe on sensitive rainforest and peatland areas, including in the Virunga National Park and Salonga National Park,” said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken during a recent visit to the DRC. Meanwhile in Kenya, in early August President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned the Kipevu terminal, a large new oil storage facility at the Mombasa port intended to store large volumes of oil for the country’s development. In August 2021, the government of Ghana revealed plans to invest $1.65 billion to accelerate oil and gas exploration via the acquisition and development of oil and gas assets. Following an EU ban on coal importation from Russia, South Africa’s coal sales to Europe rose eight-fold during the first half of 2022 compared with last year. ‘Moral and economic madness’ After the 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report reported that the expansion of coal, oil and gas production is a great risk to global climate goals, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, described the expansion as “moral and economic madness”. But many African governments are getting behind the gas transition, arguing that moving immediately to renewable energy will hamper the continent’s economy and development. In May, 10 countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, and Zimbabwe – adopted a seven-point communique urging the international community to support gas “as a transition fuel and the long-term displacement of gas by renewable energy and green hydrogen for industrial development, if financially and technically sustainable”. In Senegal, $5 billion is projected to be spent on the second phase of the country’s liquefied natural gas project. President Macky Sall is a firm critic of what he described as the hypocrisy of western governments that guzzle gas at home but have declared a virtual moratorium on financing hydrocarbon projects abroad. “You cannot tell us that renewables alone can develop a continent — it has never been the case anywhere else and it cannot be the case in Africa,” Sall said. Egypt to host COP27 In November, Egypt’s “green city” of Sharm El Sheikh will host the 27th United Nations climate change conference, COP27, and this will offer an opportunity to show what the continent is doing to align with global climate goals including net zero carbon emissions by 2060 and mainstreaming renewable energies. Egypt has described the provision, mobilization and delivery of climate finance for developing countries as an urgent priority — particularly in light of current financial crises, debt challenges and increasing interest rates. “It is imperative to make appropriate financial flows that are based on needs identified through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other vehicles, with a focus on concessional finance instruments, and grants as appropriate, while providing a clear revision of the definition of bankable projects that takes into consideration climate benefits and not only risks, and achieving cross-cutting impacts,” Egypt said on its website for COP27. At COP26, a major talking point among African delegates and climate activists was the need for richer countries, who are also the world’s majornpolluters, to provide sufficient funds for developing countries to fight the crisis. During COP26, South Africa, the European Union, France, Germany, the UK and the US launched an ambitious long-term Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to support the South Africa’s decarbonisation efforts in order to move its economy towards more reliance on renewable energy resources. The JETP aims to mobilise $8.5 billion for South Africa, and Nigeria hopes to achieve similar support for its energy transition plan. Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts This site uses cookies to help give you the best experience on our website. Cookies enable us to collect information that helps us personalise your experience and improve the functionality and performance of our site. By continuing to read our website, we assume you agree to this, otherwise you can adjust your browser settings. Please read our cookie and Privacy Policy. Our Cookies and Privacy Policy Loading Comments... You must be logged in to post a comment.
Argentina Now Requires Big Food to Add Warning Labels to Ultra-Processed Foods 06/09/2022 Raisa Santos Big food companies in Argentina now need to add warning labels to their ultra-processed products. Consumers in Argentina are getting help to identify unhealthy food, thanks to new food promotion laws that mandate front-of-package warning labels, the first phase of which started recently. Last year, Argentina’s president signed one of the world’s strongest and most comprehensive food policy laws, requiring ultra-processed products with excess levels of sodium, sugar, fats and calories to include black octagonal warnings on the front of the package. Big food companies were given until 20 August to add the warnings, while small and medium food and beverage companies have until 20 February 2023 to do so. Companies that produce products that are high in sugar, calories, sodium and fat are prohibited from advertising these to children or selling them at schools. Argentinian civil society groups applauded the start of the new law, emphasizing it was a step in the right direction after years of advocacy. “This moment is the time when people in Argentina will start to have the chance to know what they are eating,” said Luciana Castronuovo of Fundacion InterAmerica del Corazon (FIC) Argentina, speaking to the Global Health Advocacy Incubator. The law is comprehensive as it also includes the regulation of food marketing and school environments, guaranteeing the rights to health and healthy food of children and youth, Victoria Tiscornia, nutritionist and researcher at FIC Argentina, told Health Policy Watch. “This comprehensive law is evidence-based and includes the best public health standards to tackle the double burden of malnutrition in Argentina.” ‘Major step’ to ensuring the right to healthy food Argentina’s accomplishment comes at a time when advocates are pushing for healthy food policies across Latin America in response to high rates of diet-related diseases like diabetes, obesity and heart disease and an increase in the availability of ultra-processed food and drinks. For the past five years, civil society organizations in Argentina fought for a package of policies that include front-of-package warning labels (FOPL), marketing restrictions and the removal of unhealthy food and drinks from schools. “This law is a major step towards guaranteeing both the population’s right to healthy food and the right to information.,” said Tiscornia. “It seeks to provide clear and truthful information to consumers about the products they buy so that they can make informed decisions and choose the healthiest consumption options.” The new law in Argentina is based on the experiences of other countries in the region, such as Chile, Mexico, and Peru, which have also implemented FOPL in their packaging. Chile was the first country to implement front-of-package labelling in 2016. Research has shown favourable significant positive changes in food choices as a result of labelling. Some 68% of people changed their eating habits and 20% of industries reformulated their products to comply with the established profile and thus avoid warning seals on the packaging. In addition, the purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages showed a significant decrease of almost 24% since the implementation of labelling. Other parts of the world have also been working towards changing food policy with highly processed foods. Nigeria recently introduced a new tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in June in an effort to curb the growing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related non-communicable diseases in the country. Challenges in implementation and communication in months to come Supermarket in Argentina with processed sugary food products. However, the new law in Argentina includes an article that allows companies to request a time extension for including the front of package warning labels (FOPL), Tiscornia added. FIC Argentina and other civil society organizations have been monitoring this process and conducting information requests but no official response explaining the number and reason for extensions has been yet provided. “This situation, although legal, affects the transparency of the policy process and the proper implementation of the law.” she said FIC Argentina and other civil society groups will be facing many challenges in the coming months in regards to the new law, such as implementation and communication to the public, said Maga Ailén Merlo Vijarra from Argentinian human rights nonprofit FUNDEPS. “In the coming months we will be working on disseminating key information about the law and the need for this public health strategy and we will also focus on the human right to healthy food.” Products that were manufactured and packaged before the law came into force are not required to add labels. Additionally, rice, dry noodles and legumes, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables and milk, amongst other unprocessed or minimally processed foods are exempted from the labels. Table sugar and salt, vegetable oils, dried fruits and nuts, will also be exempted from labelling. Vijarra noted that the challenges with implementation include understanding which products have labels and which companies will have extensions approved. “In the coming months we expect to better protect Argentinean children and adolescents from abusive marketing strategies employed by the food industry, leading to a safer and healthier environment to develop and grow,” she concluded. Image Credits: Global Health Policy Incubator , Vera and Jean-Christophe/Flickr . Africa Pushes Gas as Transitional Energy Source, Insisting Climate Goals Cannot Hamper Economic Progress 05/09/2022 Paul Adepoju Solar panels in the Egyptian desert. The US government committed itself to supporting Nigeria’s transition away from fossil fuels during a meeting between US vice-president Kamala Harris and Nigeria’s vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, last Friday. However, despite global commitments to reduce fossil fuel reliance to address climate change, a number of African countries have recently committed to expanding their oil and coal production, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. African leaders have also asserted that achieving global climate goals cannot come at the price of economic development on the continent – and they intend to invest in gas as a transitional form of energy on the continent’s path to renewable energy. Nigeria launched its Energy Transition Plan on 24 August, mapping out how the country intends to achieve carbon emission neutrality by 2060, including by transitioning from petrol to gas – but the continent’s most populous nation needs over $400 billion to implement the plan and many western countries have moratoriums on financing hydrocarbon projects. It was truly a pleasure to meet with Vice-President Kamala Harris to discuss Nigeria's #EnergyTransition Plan and other interests between our Governments. pic.twitter.com/8qJnhTOQRf — Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (@ProfOsinbajo) September 2, 2022 During last week’s meeting, Harris welcomed Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan and applauded Osinbajo’s leadership for just energy transitions in Africa and “the two leaders committed to working closely to support Nigeria’s energy access and energy security goals, as well as our shared global climate goals”, according to a White House statement. Continued investment in oil But some African countries’ actions are not in line with the globally set climate goals. The Democratic Republic of Congo is planning to issue 30 new licenses for oil rigs that could threaten some parts of the country’s rainforest. “We had concerns about the announcement of the auction of these oil and gas exploration blocks, some of the blocks infringe on sensitive rainforest and peatland areas, including in the Virunga National Park and Salonga National Park,” said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken during a recent visit to the DRC. Meanwhile in Kenya, in early August President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned the Kipevu terminal, a large new oil storage facility at the Mombasa port intended to store large volumes of oil for the country’s development. In August 2021, the government of Ghana revealed plans to invest $1.65 billion to accelerate oil and gas exploration via the acquisition and development of oil and gas assets. Following an EU ban on coal importation from Russia, South Africa’s coal sales to Europe rose eight-fold during the first half of 2022 compared with last year. ‘Moral and economic madness’ After the 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report reported that the expansion of coal, oil and gas production is a great risk to global climate goals, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, described the expansion as “moral and economic madness”. But many African governments are getting behind the gas transition, arguing that moving immediately to renewable energy will hamper the continent’s economy and development. In May, 10 countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, and Zimbabwe – adopted a seven-point communique urging the international community to support gas “as a transition fuel and the long-term displacement of gas by renewable energy and green hydrogen for industrial development, if financially and technically sustainable”. In Senegal, $5 billion is projected to be spent on the second phase of the country’s liquefied natural gas project. President Macky Sall is a firm critic of what he described as the hypocrisy of western governments that guzzle gas at home but have declared a virtual moratorium on financing hydrocarbon projects abroad. “You cannot tell us that renewables alone can develop a continent — it has never been the case anywhere else and it cannot be the case in Africa,” Sall said. Egypt to host COP27 In November, Egypt’s “green city” of Sharm El Sheikh will host the 27th United Nations climate change conference, COP27, and this will offer an opportunity to show what the continent is doing to align with global climate goals including net zero carbon emissions by 2060 and mainstreaming renewable energies. Egypt has described the provision, mobilization and delivery of climate finance for developing countries as an urgent priority — particularly in light of current financial crises, debt challenges and increasing interest rates. “It is imperative to make appropriate financial flows that are based on needs identified through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other vehicles, with a focus on concessional finance instruments, and grants as appropriate, while providing a clear revision of the definition of bankable projects that takes into consideration climate benefits and not only risks, and achieving cross-cutting impacts,” Egypt said on its website for COP27. At COP26, a major talking point among African delegates and climate activists was the need for richer countries, who are also the world’s majornpolluters, to provide sufficient funds for developing countries to fight the crisis. During COP26, South Africa, the European Union, France, Germany, the UK and the US launched an ambitious long-term Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to support the South Africa’s decarbonisation efforts in order to move its economy towards more reliance on renewable energy resources. The JETP aims to mobilise $8.5 billion for South Africa, and Nigeria hopes to achieve similar support for its energy transition plan. Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts This site uses cookies to help give you the best experience on our website. Cookies enable us to collect information that helps us personalise your experience and improve the functionality and performance of our site. By continuing to read our website, we assume you agree to this, otherwise you can adjust your browser settings. Please read our cookie and Privacy Policy. Our Cookies and Privacy Policy
Africa Pushes Gas as Transitional Energy Source, Insisting Climate Goals Cannot Hamper Economic Progress 05/09/2022 Paul Adepoju Solar panels in the Egyptian desert. The US government committed itself to supporting Nigeria’s transition away from fossil fuels during a meeting between US vice-president Kamala Harris and Nigeria’s vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, last Friday. However, despite global commitments to reduce fossil fuel reliance to address climate change, a number of African countries have recently committed to expanding their oil and coal production, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. African leaders have also asserted that achieving global climate goals cannot come at the price of economic development on the continent – and they intend to invest in gas as a transitional form of energy on the continent’s path to renewable energy. Nigeria launched its Energy Transition Plan on 24 August, mapping out how the country intends to achieve carbon emission neutrality by 2060, including by transitioning from petrol to gas – but the continent’s most populous nation needs over $400 billion to implement the plan and many western countries have moratoriums on financing hydrocarbon projects. It was truly a pleasure to meet with Vice-President Kamala Harris to discuss Nigeria's #EnergyTransition Plan and other interests between our Governments. pic.twitter.com/8qJnhTOQRf — Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (@ProfOsinbajo) September 2, 2022 During last week’s meeting, Harris welcomed Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan and applauded Osinbajo’s leadership for just energy transitions in Africa and “the two leaders committed to working closely to support Nigeria’s energy access and energy security goals, as well as our shared global climate goals”, according to a White House statement. Continued investment in oil But some African countries’ actions are not in line with the globally set climate goals. The Democratic Republic of Congo is planning to issue 30 new licenses for oil rigs that could threaten some parts of the country’s rainforest. “We had concerns about the announcement of the auction of these oil and gas exploration blocks, some of the blocks infringe on sensitive rainforest and peatland areas, including in the Virunga National Park and Salonga National Park,” said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken during a recent visit to the DRC. Meanwhile in Kenya, in early August President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned the Kipevu terminal, a large new oil storage facility at the Mombasa port intended to store large volumes of oil for the country’s development. In August 2021, the government of Ghana revealed plans to invest $1.65 billion to accelerate oil and gas exploration via the acquisition and development of oil and gas assets. Following an EU ban on coal importation from Russia, South Africa’s coal sales to Europe rose eight-fold during the first half of 2022 compared with last year. ‘Moral and economic madness’ After the 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report reported that the expansion of coal, oil and gas production is a great risk to global climate goals, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, described the expansion as “moral and economic madness”. But many African governments are getting behind the gas transition, arguing that moving immediately to renewable energy will hamper the continent’s economy and development. In May, 10 countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, and Zimbabwe – adopted a seven-point communique urging the international community to support gas “as a transition fuel and the long-term displacement of gas by renewable energy and green hydrogen for industrial development, if financially and technically sustainable”. In Senegal, $5 billion is projected to be spent on the second phase of the country’s liquefied natural gas project. President Macky Sall is a firm critic of what he described as the hypocrisy of western governments that guzzle gas at home but have declared a virtual moratorium on financing hydrocarbon projects abroad. “You cannot tell us that renewables alone can develop a continent — it has never been the case anywhere else and it cannot be the case in Africa,” Sall said. Egypt to host COP27 In November, Egypt’s “green city” of Sharm El Sheikh will host the 27th United Nations climate change conference, COP27, and this will offer an opportunity to show what the continent is doing to align with global climate goals including net zero carbon emissions by 2060 and mainstreaming renewable energies. Egypt has described the provision, mobilization and delivery of climate finance for developing countries as an urgent priority — particularly in light of current financial crises, debt challenges and increasing interest rates. “It is imperative to make appropriate financial flows that are based on needs identified through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other vehicles, with a focus on concessional finance instruments, and grants as appropriate, while providing a clear revision of the definition of bankable projects that takes into consideration climate benefits and not only risks, and achieving cross-cutting impacts,” Egypt said on its website for COP27. At COP26, a major talking point among African delegates and climate activists was the need for richer countries, who are also the world’s majornpolluters, to provide sufficient funds for developing countries to fight the crisis. During COP26, South Africa, the European Union, France, Germany, the UK and the US launched an ambitious long-term Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to support the South Africa’s decarbonisation efforts in order to move its economy towards more reliance on renewable energy resources. The JETP aims to mobilise $8.5 billion for South Africa, and Nigeria hopes to achieve similar support for its energy transition plan. Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts