Kenya’s High Court suspended the implementation of the country’s Memorandum of Understanding with the United States on Thursday after two separate court challenges by the Consumer Federation of Kenya (COFEK) and local Senator Okiya Omtatah. COFEK argues that the agreement contravenes Kenya’s Data Protection Act, Digital Health Act, Health Act, and new data regulations that […] Continue reading ->
A new WHO review has reaffirmed that childhood vaccines don’t cause autism, based on an examination of more than 25 years of studies scoping for possible linkages. There is no causal link, either, between vaccines containing preservatives such as thimerosal or aluminium and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the review by the Global Advisory Committee on […] Continue reading ->
The movie “Belén”, Argentina’s submission for the 2026 Oscars, tells the story of a 26-year-old woman who suffered a miscarriage in a hospital in Tucuman province in 2014 and was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2016 after being convicted of procuring an illegal abortion. Her case sparked a nationwide campaign to decriminalize abortion, […] Continue reading ->
Global leaders pledged US$ 1.9 billion to advance polio eradication on Monday, including a new $1.2 billion commitment by the Gates Foundation. The pledges, made on the margins of Abu Dhabi Finance Week, reduce the remaining budget gap for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s (GPEI) to just $440 million through 2029. That’s in comparison by […] Continue reading ->
A baby born today will turn 75 in 2100, and the world that child will inherit as an adult – if governments don’t act in the next five years – could be 3.9°C hotter, economically shattered, and ravaged by pollution. But there is still a choice, a new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report demonstrates. […] Continue reading ->
Why the collapse of the wall between science and ideology at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) threatens national health security, and vulnerable communities. I have spent most of my professional life in public health, from my work in HIV and meningitis prevention in commercial sex venues in New York City to […] Continue reading ->
As World Health Organization (WHO) member states decided to hold a new round of talks in January on establishing a global pathogen access and benefit sharing (PABS) system, the US signed its first bilateral health agreements, which include pathogen-sharing arrangements, with Kenya and Rwanda late last week. The WHO talks on PABS, the last remaining […] Continue reading ->
Some 4.6 billion people, or more than half the world’s population, still lacked access to a basic package of essential health services in 2023, a new World Health Organization-World Bank report notes. And around 2.1 billion people faced financial hardship in getting vital health services. And at current rates, the world will fall far short […] Continue reading ->
A United States vaccine advisory panel, recently reformed to include known vaccine skeptics, voted to eliminate a three-decade-long recommendation that all newborns in the US receive a vaccine to protect against hepatitis B (Hep B) at birth – a change that was denounced immediately by medical groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the […] Continue reading ->
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has pared down its staff in its Geneva headquarters, Washington DC and New York by 33% – from 643 to 440 people, the agency confirmed today, following a June replenishment drive that fell about $2 billion short of a $11.9 billion fundraising goal for 2026-2030. Beginning in 2026, the agency will […] Continue reading ->