Civil society organizations, pharmaceutical industries, and other stakeholders support the ratification of the AMA Treaty. On the two-year anniversary of the establishment of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) Treaty, over 40 patient and civil society organizations, health and pharmaceutical industries, and product development partnerships called upon African Union member states to ratify the Treaty.  Rapidly […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization’s suppression of an independent report that critically examined both the strengths and weaknesses of Italy’s COVID-19 pandemic response – sets a dangerous precedent that compromises the international organization’s credibility  at a time when WHO’s independence has been questioned – and the Italian national pandemic response is under intense scrutiny as well, […] Continue reading ->
‘Planetary health’ describes how the limits of natural resources like clean air, water and food production shape our long-term health, with climate change as a “threat-multiplier” for future COVID-19 like crises. Experts at the Geneva Health Forum explored the links, ahead of next week’s launch of the 2020 Lancet Countdown Report on Health and Climate […] Continue reading ->
The migration of health professionals to high-income countries should not lead to a dearth of healthcare workers and services low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has warned. Speaking at the World Health Assembly (WHA), the council flagged that the global shortage of six million nurses, in tandem with the burden […] Continue reading ->
At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of health systems – digital health technologies are playing a fast-expanding role – showing their revolutionary potential to address old and new needs and gaps, said participants on a Digital Health panel at the World Health Summit on Monday.  “COVID-19 is the first pandemic […] Continue reading ->
The World Bank will make available up to $12 billion in “fast-track financing” that low- and middle-income countries can access to procure vaccines against Covid-19 – as soon as one is approved, said the Bank’s president David Malpass, on Wednesday. The announcement at a United Nations high-level panel on the pandemic that also included commitments […] Continue reading ->
The ‘infodemic’ is one of the “most concerning” governance challenges of our time, undermining trust in science in the midst of the pandemic, and threatening people’s physical and mental health, warned United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Achim Steimer.  While the overabundance of misinformation – or ‘infodemic – is not new, it has blown out […] Continue reading ->