An effort by Gambia’s parliament to reintroduce female genital mutilation (FGM) has been met with widespread condemnation by women’s and human rights organisations. Gambia’s Members of Parliament voted overwhelmingly this week to refer the Private Member’s Bill that seeks to repeal the Women’s (Amendment) Act of 2015 that banned FGM to parliament’s business committee for […] Continue reading ->
Discussion about disease outbreaks dominated the biannual meeting of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) – which its chairperson described as  “alarming” as the aim of the group is to ensure early vaccination to prevent outbreaks. “The outbreak-related recommendations is a sign that normalcy is starting to be living with outbreaks,” warned Dr Hanna […] Continue reading ->
Seven Indian pharmaceutical companies made donations to domestic political parties while they were under investigation for substandard drug production, according to an investigation published in Scroll. The companies named in the investigation included Hetero Labs and Hetero Healthcare, Torrent Pharma, Zydus Healthcare, Glenmark, Cipla, IPCA Laboratories Limited, and Intas Pharmaceutical. They were under investigation for […] Continue reading ->
WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus deplored renewed fighting Monday and Tuesday in and around northern Gaza’s Shifa Hospital, the largest medical compound in the besieged enclave, saying that “hospitals should never be battlegrounds.”  He also noted that the hospital, originally the largest and most advanced in Gaza, had only “recently restored minimal health […] Continue reading ->
World Health Organization (WHO) member states abandoned careful diplomatic language at the start of the final round of negotiations for a pandemic agreement on Monday (18 March), exposing deep divisions between countries from the global North and South. An unprecedented 11 African countries spoke during the two-hour opening session, largely expressing support for the latest […] Continue reading ->
Two final – and likely sleepless – weeks of negotiation on the pandemic agreement begin on Monday, and negotiators have been urged to bring in their principals to ensure speed up decision-making. The negotiations may well be extended but, for now, this ninth meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO) intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) is […] Continue reading ->