After months of protesting about the lack of space for civil society in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) pandemic agreement negotiations, the Pandemic Action Network (PAN) is hosting two community meetings next week – and it expects member states to show up and listen. The meetings take place next Wednesday and Thursday (21 and 22 […] Continue reading ->
The working group negotiating amendments to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Health Regulations (WGIHR) has extended its seventh meeting, which was supposed to end last Friday, to include a special session on equity. The resumed WGIHR 7 will be held within the first two weeks of March, finally acceding to member state’s requests – […] Continue reading ->
 Evergreening patents on medical products – extending the lifespan of patents that are about to expire – is an “abuse of the intellectual property system”, an HIV activist told the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Fair Pricing Forum on Thursday. Meanwhile, an industry representative laid out her company’s value-based, country-specific approach to improving access to medicines, […] Continue reading ->
Over 50 civil society groups have written to the leaders of the world’s biggest medicine procurement programmes urging them to reject “secrecy clauses” in their agreements with pharmaceutical companies.  The letter, which has been shared exclusively with Health Policy Watch, was sent to the heads of UNICEF, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), vaccine alliance […] Continue reading ->
The high price of medicines in many high- and middle-income countries and ensuring medical supply chains during crises were  some of the issues discussed at the Fair Pricing Forum, which opened on Monday. The three-day forum, hosted by the World Health Organization’s (WHO), brings member states and stakeholders together to  discuss how to ensure “optimal access […] Continue reading ->
      A milestone World Health Organization (WHO) decision to recognise noma (cancrum oris or gangrenous stomatitis) as a neglected tropical disease (NTD) is the result of a longstanding campaign waged for over a decade by global health researchers and advocates in Geneva and beyond. Proponents believe that inclusion can offer noma’s victims the […] Continue reading ->
WHO’s director general says the battle against maternal mortality has stalled; Somalia calls for a new WHA resolution committing to stepped-up action on maternal and child deaths, a leading global health inequality.  The battle against maternal mortality has stagnated and high rates of deaths continue to plague sub-Saharan Africa, as well as other low- and […] Continue reading ->