The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is not related to the lack of means or experience to fight the epidemic, but the difficulty to reach communities, the World Health Organization Director-General told the World Health Assembly today. The DRC Minister of Health illustrated the complexity of the response, linked […] Continue reading ->
The Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is enduring despite efforts deployed and progress achieved, mainly because of the difficulty to reach communities. The complexity of the response to this epidemic prompts actors to rethink their strategy, as explained by the head of Wellcome Trust yesterday on the side of the World […] Continue reading ->
Raised in the digital era and fluent in the innovations of technology, youth are the driving force behind many advancements in global health, even spearheading a campaign against falsified and substandard medicines. Fight the Fakes, a campaign to raise public awareness about the dangers of falsified medicines, joined forces with the 72nd World Health Assembly […] Continue reading ->
Thomas Cueni, director general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, shared his view on fair pricing with Health Policy Watch: “Most of us can probably agree that innovation is meaningless if it does not reach patients. At the same time, a Fair Price must strike a balance between a price that is […] Continue reading ->
A number of developed countries are working to delay a landmark proposal at the World Health Organization by Italy to increase transparency of drug prices and R&D costs in an effort to make medicines more affordable, according to sources. The Italian proposal has garnered a number of supporters, including within Europe; but at an informal WHO consultation today and last week at the European Union, countries such as Germany, France, and the United Kingdom have begun pushing for postponement of discussions, sources said. [Now updated with new version of proposal!] Continue reading ->
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) this week launched its new five-year strategy that aims to overcome final hurdles in eradicating polio transmission. However, remaining pockets of transmission in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria pose challenges of geographic isolation, migration and insecurity, leading to “missing children” in polio vaccination efforts. Image Credits: Jean-Marc Giboux, GPEI. Continue reading ->