The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the second largest ever, occurring in a “perfect storm” of a densely-populated conflict zone. Yet thanks in large part to a strong collaboration between the World Health Organization and the pharmaceutical industry, the outbreak has so far remained confined to two DRC provinces, says Peter Salama, WHO deputy director general for emergency preparedness and response. Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) in a report last week released the funding situation regarding the response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The amount of funding needed for the Ebola Strategic Response Plan has increased to US$56.8 million, WHO said. Continue reading ->
At the World Health Assembly yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted challenges and concerns around the current outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Continue reading ->
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 ->
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 ->
The World Health Assembly (WHA) will choose WHO’s ninth Director-General next May without having defined the job. Part I of this analysis sought to learn from the experiences of eight previous incumbents. Part II goes back to the WHO constitution, takes stock of the world’s health and that of the organization safeguarding it, before asking […] Continue reading ->
Speaking at a flagship World Health Summit panel global health officials and pharmaceutical executives urged governments to reframe pandemic preparedness as ‘biodefence’ – a core national security asset and not a discretionary health expenditure. BERLIN – That strategic pivot is becoming urgent as both global health and aid budgets shrink and multilateral diplomacy on pandemic […] Continue reading ->
A polio-free Africa is within reach, but only if we make it a priority. Ending the disease will not only protect our children, but it will also strengthen our health systems and safeguard us against future threats. The Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, with several cases of polio lurking in the shadows, remains an instructive […] Continue reading ->
In the face of dwindling health budgets, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) expert committee on immunisation has made several suggestions to enable countries to optimise existing vaccine supplies. Countries can continue giving a single dose of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to girls aged 9-14 years to prevent cervical cancer – instead of two doses, […] Continue reading ->