An independent evaluation of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, including steps taken by the World Health Organization, will be led by former Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark and former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The former world leaders will co-chair and Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPR), the […] Continue reading ->
BREAKING – The United States on Tuesday gave formal notice to the United Nations and the US Congress that it intends to withdraw from the World Health Organization as of  6 July 2021, following President Donald Trump’s announcement after the World Health Assembly on 18 May. The administration first notified the United Nations, and sent […] Continue reading ->
China stalled for ‘at least’ two weeks in providing the World Health Organization with detailed data on COVID-19 cases, frustrating WHO’s top echelons –  even as they tried to put on a positive public face, according to an investigative report by the Associated Press of exchanges that occured in January. China also withheld the genome […] Continue reading ->
Even as Eastern Africa and the Horn of Africa are facing unprecedented flooding and locust swarms, a cyclone that has hit Southeast Asia, is presenting new challenges there in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Torrential rain, fierce winds of up to 180 km per hour, and a 16-foot tall storm surge cut off road […] Continue reading ->
Low and middle-income countries urgently need affordable personal protective equipment, diagnostics, treatments and vaccines to ward off even bigger waves of COVID-19 infection and mortality – and global production capacity is failing to ensure timely supply even of those products now on the market. Now, more than ever, producers in poor countries need to be […] Continue reading ->
With overwhelming support, the World Health Assembly (WHA) on Tuesday approved a resolution to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, which represents the strongest commitment yet from the global community to international cooperation in fighting the pandemic as well as ensuring access to COVID-19 treatments and future vaccines. The final text also called for an independent evaluation […] Continue reading ->
Now, more than ever, the pharma industry has been thrust into the limelight – as the world races to find new drugs and a hoped-for vaccine to beat COVID-19 and ensure universal access to critical treatment. Thomas Cueni, director general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), talks about the old-new tensions […] Continue reading ->
Unlike China’s President Xi Jinping, United States President Donald Trump didn’t appear on camera yesterday at the opening of the first-ever virtual World Health Assembly. Instead he used Twitter to get his message across about China’s alledged coverup of early news about the novel coronavirus and WHO’s failure to act assertively vis a vis Beijing. […] Continue reading ->