Monkey Pox, Lassa Fever, Yellow Fever, Cerebrospinal Meningitis, and COVID-19 are some of the epidemics that Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu has addressed as head of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Now, however, Ihekweazu’s repertoire of disease experience is about to expand exponentially, following his appointment as the head of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) […] Continue reading ->
More than 700 healthcare workers and patients have died, and more than 2000 have been injured in attacks on health facilities across 17 emergency-affected countries and fragile settings since December 2017, according to a new WHO report released on Tuesday.  Countries at risk included Ethiopia, Yemen, Syria, Mozambique, Nigeria, occupied Palestinian territory, Myanmar and the […] Continue reading ->
The World Food Program (WFP) and World Health Organization (WHO) launched a health emergencies project, INITIATE2, on Monday. The joint INITIATE2 project will gather health emergency actors, research and academic institutions, and international and national partners to facilitate knowledge sharing and skills transfer to improve emergency health responses.  The project will develop innovative solutions to […] Continue reading ->
Shortcomings and failures in the World Health Organization’s internal justice system  –  laid bare during revelations of sexual abuse and exploitation in DR Congo –  require more systematic reform to make the system transparent, fair and equitable, the head of WHO’s Staff Association told WHO’s Executive Board governing body on Wednesday.   “Delays in responding to […] Continue reading ->
A special strategic meeting at the 74th World Health Assembly on Friday discussed how the World Health Organization (WHO) is scaling up powers to investigate sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment in emergency situations. WHO officials said this effort involves a “mass of inspectors” to prioritise investigations in at least eight countries. The intervention comes in […] Continue reading ->
China told the World Health Assembly on Wednesday it will continue to support developing countries’ access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines – but it stopped short of any commitment to supplying its recently-approved Sinopharm vaccine to the WHO co-sponsored Global COVAX vaccine facility.  WHO officials had said they hoped China would join the COVAX facility, following […] Continue reading ->
Although gender is increasingly factored into health research, much remains to be done, experts reported at a Tuesday event co-organised by the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Global Health Centre. But despite growing awareness, health research continues to conceptualize gender in binary terms. Very little research concerns those who identify as LGBTQ+, according to speakers at the […] Continue reading ->
Bold decisions are required to strengthen the World Health Organization and equip it with authority and resources it needs to address glaring shortcomings in pandemic preparedness and response, the 74th World Health Assembly was told on Tuesday. Recommendations emerging out of a report by the Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee (IOAC) for the WHO Health […] Continue reading ->