The United States federal government’s response to the rapidly spreading measles outbreak has faced steep criticism after Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr (RFK Jr) falsely claimed the vaccine’s protection “waned quickly” and hasn’t been “safely tested.”  While Kennedy endorsed the measles vaccine as the most effective way to protect against […] Continue reading ->
The number of WHO programme divisions would be reduced from 10 to just five and the number of directors in headquarters would shrink from nearly 80 to around 30 in an emergency reorganisation plan reviewed by the agency’s executive management group at a closed-door retreat on Saturday.    The plan, to be presented to member […] Continue reading ->
The federal agency responsible for protecting the environment in the United States will stop requiring most polluters to report their emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases that cause climate change. The upcoming policy shift by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), first reported by ProPublica on Thursday, will effectively render the second-largest greenhouse […] Continue reading ->
Amid bleak global economic and development aid trends, Africa’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is piloting innovative financing solutions and doubling down on efforts to get member states to invest more domestic funds in health. A week ago, Africa CDC launched a new financing guide for member states and on Friday the […] Continue reading ->
Health services worldwide have been “severely disrupted” by the United States slashing aid, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) is radically reducing its operations following the US withdrawal from the global body – but there has been no formal engagement between the WHO and the White House. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyessus revealed this […] Continue reading ->
Patients will face costlier medicine and European and Indian drug companies face billion-dollar losses if US President Donald Trump’s threat issued late Tuesday of “a major tariff on pharmaceuticals” produced outside his country is realised. However, amid chaos on the financial markets, Trump back-pedalled on Wednesday and announced a 90-day pause on all tariffs except […] Continue reading ->
Heads of six UN agencies including the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the World Food Programme issued a desperate warning that blockades of aid, food, medicine and life-saving supplies to Gaza since Israel resumed its attack on the enclave show “utter disregard for human life.” “For over a month, no commercial or humanitarian supplies have […] Continue reading ->