Berlin, Germany – From antimicrobial resistance to drug access, climate change and emerging trends such as growing obesity in Africa alongside under-nutrition, this year’s World Health Summit’s is packed with an imposing agenda, dwarfed only by the staggering dimensions of the real-world challenges. “Polio has almost been eradicated, HIV/AIDS has been driven back and we […] Continue reading ->
In August, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) passed a milestone—surpassing 3,000 cases of Ebola since the outbreak began over a year ago. While the number of new infections has since slowed, there continue to be cases in hard to reach areas, posing challenges to response teams. The outbreak response has been complex, with […] Continue reading ->
Measles is undergoing a worrisome worldwide resurgence, and it has killed more people in the Democratic Republic of Congo than the current Ebola outbreak – which is finally showing signs of decline, said a panel of vaccine experts in a WHO press briefing on Thursday. Meanwhile, a worldwide shortage of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which […] Continue reading ->
A sweeping collaboration among 12 major global health organizations launched today at the United Nations General Assembly, promising to elevate and speed up work to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 3, Good Health and Well-Being, by 2030. The event featured remarks by the leaders of Germany, Norway and Ghana, the original initiators of the project. […] Continue reading ->
NEW YORK CITY – United Nations members today quickly adopted a high-level political declaration raising the stakes in the global push to ensure everyone in the world has affordable access to health a decade from now. The political declaration is “the most comprehensive agreement ever reached on global health,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told […] Continue reading ->
Trauma surgeon and veteran field worker, Christos Christou, has taken over the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reins as International President, following his election by the organization’s International General Assembly last June. Christou, former president of the MSF Greece Board of Directors, will be faced with the leadership challenges of an organization that has grown from […] Continue reading ->
At a first-ever Global Vaccination Summit, health leaders worldwide ramped up efforts to tackle “vaccine hesitancy”, which has prompted the recent resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles. “After many years of progress, we are at a critical turning point. Measles is resurging, and 1 in 10 children continues to miss out on essential childhood […] Continue reading ->
Heads of state from the world’s largest economies concluded this year’s G20 Summit in Japan with a general declaration committing to advance global health priorities – but the statement still left much to be desired in terms of concrete goals and targets. In the G20 Osaka Leaders’ Declaration, issued on Saturday at the close of […] Continue reading ->
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, just finalised its new strategic plan for 2021-2025, which aims to reach communities missed by previous immunisation efforts, including those most marginalised by poverty, geography and conflict. It also prioritises sustainability of vaccine programmes through co-financing arrangements with countries to build domestic investment in health and reduce reliance on Gavi funding. […] Continue reading ->
A medical doctor and epidemiologist, Dr Seth Berkley joined Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, as its CEO in August 2011. Under his leadership, Gavi reached the milestone in 2015 of more than half a billion children vaccinated in the world’s 73 poorest countries. In the same year, Berkley led Gavi to its second successful replenishment, raising […] Continue reading ->