As the World Health Assembly opens on Monday in Geneva, it will have to grapple with shrinking global health budgets, new outbreak threats, including a new WHO declaration of a public health emergency in Africa over an Ebola virus strain that lacks any vaccine, and an increasingly fractured geopolitical space with deep disputes over Iran, […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization said Friday it is embarking on a plan to coordinate studies in more than 20 countries to “better understand the natural history of the disease” following an outbreak of the Andes strain of the hantavirus linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius. While stressing that the risks to the public remain […] Continue reading ->
As the World Health Organization (WHO) formally opens the nomination process for the next Director-General, Germany now appears likely to propose Helge Braun, Chief of Staff in former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government, according to Berlin insiders. But after slashing its global health budget, sources question whether a German candidate can win wide support from other […] Continue reading ->
In an era of big global health budget cuts that often demand tough choices, identifying vaccine needs and priorities at national level is increasingly important. As we observe World Immunization Week, it’s time to recognize the pivotal role that National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) can play in guiding effective, evidence-based decisions – alongside global […] Continue reading ->
As USAID programmes funding vital treatments for HIV/AIDS, malaria, maternal and child health, and other critical needs were imploding across Africa last year, a for-profit social enterprise startup geared up for its first real test. Using medicines procurement as its lever, the Swiss-based startup Axmed called for a radical reboot of national systems — to […] Continue reading ->
The United States has moved at speed to secure several new bilateral health Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) in the past week, including, for the first time, four in Latin America – with the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama. To date (2 March), the US has signed 24 bilateral health MOUs in terms of […] Continue reading ->
Financial innovation is a key, underused tool that can be mustered to strengthen humanitarian outreach in crisis settings, while also strengthening public health systems over the long term, according to a new report published by The Geneva Health Forum. “New sources of financing are developing, breaking with the traditional vision of charitable action financed by […] Continue reading ->
Israel has called for a “brave conceptual overhaul” of the World Health Organization (WHO) following the recent withdrawal of the United States, warning that it too is under pressure to leave the global body. Claiming that the WHO has become “too politicised”, Israel told the body’s Executive Board (EB) meeting on Monday that, “in Israel, […] Continue reading ->
A dispute over an American flag has become symbolic of the bitter public dispute between the US and the World Health Organization (WHO) after the US withdrew from the organization on 22 January. In a joint statement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr on […] Continue reading ->
Global pandemic preparedness is becoming “increasingly fragile at a time of growing biosecurity and geopolitical risk”, according to the International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat (IPPS), which launched its Fifth Implementation Report of the 100 Days Mission on Tuesday. IPPS is an independent entity that promotes the “100 Days Mission”, the global ambition to develop safe, effective […] Continue reading ->