From stalled Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) negotiations to failing consensus in global climate policies, United Nations structures face a profound crisis. Diplomats are currently being forced to explore alternative governance models to bridge the disconnect between sluggish, power-driven diplomacy and the rapid, equitable action required in health and climate crises. This institutional rupture […] Continue reading ->
More than 60 countries now include refugees and migrants in their national health policies, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report tracking progress on commitments first set out by the World Health Assembly in 2019. The finding, drawn from a survey of 93 member states, is the first systematic count of how countries […] Continue reading ->
On a Saturday morning in Lagos, several volunteers in white “Run Lagos” t-shirts gathered for an air pollution awareness walk. They split into small groups and filed through the narrow streets, placards in hand. One read, “Air Is Free But Polluted Air Leads To Health And Climate Change Expenses.” The walk coordinators carried portable air […] Continue reading ->
Final talks on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) system, the last outstanding piece of the Pandemic Agreement, are being held in Geneva this week. The Pandemic Agreement, being negotiated in Geneva, emerged to address the unacceptable inequities that defined the COVID-19 global health disaster. During this pandemic, delayed and inequitable access to vaccines may […] Continue reading ->
The last 12 months have been an unpredictable rollercoaster for those of us working in global health, climate change and development: trade wars, real wars, job and finance cuts, cost of living pressures, attacks on science, the rise of far-right extremism, and the increasingly deadly impacts of climate change, to name but a few of […] Continue reading ->
A baby born today will turn 75 in 2100, and the world that child will inherit as an adult – if governments don’t act in the next five years – could be 3.9°C hotter, economically shattered, and ravaged by pollution. But there is still a choice, a new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report demonstrates. […] Continue reading ->
The United States, backed by Argentina, was reportedly blocking the G20 consensus on the final G20 Health Ministers’ statement – following their fourth and final working group meeting of the year Friday in Limpopo, South Africa, Health Policy Watch has learned. In a visible snub to the rest of the group, the US delegation also […] Continue reading ->
As the G-20 Health Ministers meeting takes place next week in Johannesburg, South Africa, a new global coalition is trying to put Alzheimer’s and dementia-related diseases on the priority list of the world’s major economies; and there’s one man who stands out as a driving force behind this movement. In his video “Leadership Lessons from […] Continue reading ->
World leaders are expected to commit to 150 million fewer tobacco users, 150 million more people under hypertension management, and 150 million more people with access to mental care by 2030 at the United Nations on Thursday. These targets are in the final draft of the political declaration set for adoption at the UN High-Level […] Continue reading ->
In a 4 September message, the WHO/HQ Staff Association called for an Extraordinary General Assembly (EGA), now due to take place on Monday, 22 September. The message acknowledged what many staff were feeling: profound change, deep uncertainty, and a heavy personal and professional toll. Their statement flagged key concerns raised by many WHO staff about […] Continue reading ->