The World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), its highest alarm level, twice within two years, in 2022 and 2024. But “preventable health emergencies are a sign of failure”, said Helen Clark, co-chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response. “They happen when community health care […] Continue reading ->
This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. Switzerland’s federal government is freezing some funding to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) due to the agency’s handling of a sexual abuse scandal that saw staff victimise refugees in Chad. Officials from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, or SDC, appear to have been blindsided by […] Continue reading ->
Action is lagging far behind the milestone commitments of the 2024 UN High Level Declaration on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). But a Ministerial Meeting scheduled for 6-8 December in Abuja offers an opportunity to pick up the baton. Ahead of that, civil society gropus will convene in mid-November in Rome. Two years after the UN General […] Continue reading ->
The destruction of farmland, forests, wilderness and waterways is still outpacing restoration efforts worldwide, which lag far behind 2030 goals. Annual spending on restoration would need to rise more than fourfold, from $64 billion in 2022 to $296 billion by 2030, according to a report released in Yerevan, Armenia, a day before the close of […] Continue reading ->
A decade after the Paris Agreement took effect, climate-related heat, drought, floods, disease and dirty air are killing millions. The authors of a major annual report want the World Health Organization (WHO) to classify the crisis as a health emergency. Climate change has become a global health emergency that needs a new WHO instrument to […] Continue reading ->
Who will steer the World Health Organization through its next chapter? Explore Health Policy Watch’s daily series examining the platforms, records, and institutional hurdles facing each contender for WHO Director-General, continuing today with Gevorg Tamamyan. Access all candidate profiles on our dedicated election site. Dr Gevorg Tamamyan, an Armenian paediatric oncologist and professor at Yerevan […] Continue reading ->
Former Global Fund executive director Mark Dybul returns to the helm in Geneva, facing an unprecedented $5.32 billion funding gap, fraught domestic transitions, and mounting demands to overhaul the global health architecture. While experts welcome his track record, balancing transatlantic rivalries with rising country sovereignty will demand delicate diplomacy and an updated playbook. The board […] Continue reading ->
The UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) has rejected the proposal by the United Nations Secretary-General that it is “sunsetted” by the end of this year, opting instead to transform into a smaller “hub”. This emerged after the PCB’s special meeting on Monday, which considered a report by a working group on the body’s future. The […] Continue reading ->
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — The smell of burning garbage wafted into Ester Kayombo’s bedroom, jolting her awake with the fear that her house was on fire. Nearby, heaps of rubbish were burning at the Pugu Kinyamwezi dumpsite, sending plumes of smoke billowing across the neighbourhood. Kayombo, a mother of three, feared for her three-year-old […] Continue reading ->
The levels of major greenhouse gases reached record highs in 2025, locking in more long-term temperature rise for the planet, according to a new bulletin from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Among the greenhouse gases, the levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) continue to dominate. In its latest Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, the WMO […] Continue reading ->