On her first visit back to Geneva since leaving her post as WHO Director-General in 2017, Dr Margaret Chan urged public health students to recognize “the power of collaboration” and to “use their voice” to hold policymakers accountable for the changes that the promises that they make. “When I was in WHO, there were a […] Continue reading ->
The global health landscape is marked by paradoxes. The last several decades have been shaped by progress and setbacks – new medicines and emerging diseases, technological advancements and entrenched inequities. The Ebola outbreaks and COVID-19 pandemic exposed many of the already existing inequities in our global health ecosystem, from unequal access to vaccines to restrictive […] Continue reading ->
BERLIN, Germany — Hours before the release of the second draft of the Pandemic Accord on Monday, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told the World Health Summit that a pandemic agreement with “major limitations” on intellectual property (IP) rights protection will “not fly” for Germany and most of its fellow European Union (EU) members. “For […] Continue reading ->
In the wake of an abuse scandal that led to the removal of its regional director, WHO’s Western Pacific Regional Office on Friday announced a series of new measures to combat abusive behaviour and sexual exploitation among the region’s over 600 staff. Last March, in an unprecedented move, some countries in the 37-member region voted […] Continue reading ->
Norway’s Ambassador for Global Health, Dr John-Arne Røttingen, has been appointed CEO of the charitable foundation Wellcome, one of the world’s largest funders of science aimed at solving urgent health issues, the body announced on Wednesday. Røttingen, who will assume the position in January 2024, has had a versatile and varied career. He started out […] Continue reading ->
The failure of the US Congress to reauthorise a five-year budget for the world’s largest aid programme for global health, the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), by its 30 September deadline doesn’t mean that it will automatically end – but without broad bipartisan support, it limps into an uncertain future. “In the […] Continue reading ->
NEW YORK – Despite the weaknesses of the political declaration on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPPR) expected to be adopted by the United Nations (UN) High-Level Meeting (HLM) on Wednesday, some world leaders believe that the UN is a more appropriate forum to thrash out the global pandemic response than the World Health Organization […] Continue reading ->
Health systems in Africa are under considerable strain: rapid demographic change, rising non-communicable diseases, and emerging and re-emerging threats such as COVID-19 and Ebola are increasing demands on limited health services. Africa, however, faces a challenging period in health financing to meet these increasing needs. Health spending in most countries remains far short of what is […] Continue reading ->
Election fever is sweeping through the World Health Organization (WHO) in three of its six regions – Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO), South-East Asia (SEARO), and Western Pacific (WPRO). It matters who becomes their regional directors because they have considerable decentralised authority to influence the health chances of billions. Its regions also make or break WHO globally. […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) has dismissed Dr Maurizio Barbeschi, former head of its Health Security Unit, for sexual misconduct after a three-year investigation that started in January 2020, according to The Telegraph. Barbeschi had been on administrative leave since late 2021 as the global body investigated complaints against him, including that he removed his […] Continue reading ->