A coalition of American non-profit, legal and small business groups welcomed a federal judge’s temporary restraining order (TRO) halting the Trump Administration’s executive order freezing virtually all USAID activities – followed by a “stop work” order on the agency by new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The ruling Thursday evening in a Washington DC […] Continue reading ->
Civil society groups have urged World Health Organization (WHO) member states to “continue to advance a pandemic agreement that can lay the essential groundwork for equitable, collective preparedness and response” ahead of the 13th meeting of the negotiating forum on Monday (17 February). Only 10 negotiating days are left until the World Health Assembly in […] Continue reading ->
From the deadly mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo to the composition of the next seasonal flu vaccine, the collapse of USAID and the US CDC communications blackout are creating new challenges for WHO and its partners to respond in disease emergency hotspots – well beyond the direct loss of financial support. That […] Continue reading ->
Parties embroiled in the conflict around Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are discussing a humanitarian corridor to enable supplies and staff to address the mpox outbreak, according to Dr Yap Boum, Africa CDC’s deputy incident manager for Africa. Last week, the M-23 militia, reportedly supported by Rwanda, took over the […] Continue reading ->
Responding to health emergencies is at the heart of the work of the World Health Organization (WHO), which assisted almost 90 million people with humanitarian health support in the first nine months of 2024. But the loss of United States funding, which has included the immediate freezing of funds already committed, means that this essential […] Continue reading ->
Despite Waiver, Many US-Funded HIV Programmes Remain Paralysed; Trump Orders Face Protests, Lawsuits
Many HIV programmes worldwide remain paralysed despite being exempted from the United States’ 90-day freeze on foreign aid and “stop work order”. This is largely because the axe Elon Musk has taken to US agencies has resulted in there being too few staff members left to support their work, including processing payments and ensuring that […] Continue reading ->
The world remains unprepared for another pandemic, according to the International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat (IPPS) which published its Fourth Implementation Report of the 100 Days Mission (100DM) last Friday. The IPPS is an initiative aimed at ensuring global access to diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines (DTVs) within 100 days of a public health emergency of international […] Continue reading ->
Ebola in Uganda. Marburg in Tanzania. Cholera in Angola. War in Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that escalated the risk of multiple disease outbreaks – and then the United States decision to halt foreign aid for 90 days and order grantees to stop all work. “This is not the kind of week […] Continue reading ->
Tanzania has confirmed an outbreak of Marburg virus disease in the northwestern Kagera region after one case tested positive for the virus following investigations and laboratory analysis of suspected cases of the disease. Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced this during a press briefing on Monday with World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom […] Continue reading ->
WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebryesus urged a ‘wait and see’ attitude Tuesday in his first public comments on US President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F Kennedy Jr as Secretary of Health and Human Services – despite a flurry of fresh criticism by 77 Nobel Laureates over the controversial appointment. “It’s a transition […] Continue reading ->