As a political appointee, Ambassador John Nkengasong, head of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), said that he will be obliged to resign when President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on 20 January. “The rules that govern a transition are that all the political appointees have to resign on the 20th and then […] Continue reading ->
At the opening of the final pandemic agreement negotations for 2024 on Monday, a group of long-time observers urged countries to “get it done” after three years of negotiations. “The finishing line to the pandemic agreement is in sight, and we urge all member states to keep up the momentum and negotiate a final agreement […] Continue reading ->
“Much stronger surveillance” of deadly H5N1 and other avian influenza strains in both domestic and wild animals is needed both in The United States as well as globally so as to head off pandemic risks from variants that could mutate to infect humans more directly. A senior World Health Organization official, Dr Maria Van Kerkkove, […] Continue reading ->
Despite having the second biggest mpox outbreak in Africa, Burundi has no immediate plans to vaccinate those at risk. Donated vaccine doses are available to Burundi for free but “vaccine hesitancy” might be playing a part in the government’s reluctance to vaccinate people, according to Dr Ngashi Ngongo, mpox lead for the Africa Centres for […] Continue reading ->
Dr Anu Kumar, CEO of the global reproductive justice organisation Ipas, outlines the impact of a global clampdown on abortion “Unsafe abortion remains a leading cause of maternal mortality, and it is entirely preventable,” says Dr Anu Kumar, CEO of Ipas, an international reproductive justice organisation. “So there is something we can do about it. […] Continue reading ->
Dr Faustine Ndugulile, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional director-elect for Africa, has died while receiving medical treatment in India, Tanzania’s parliament speaker announced on Wednesday. Ndugulile, aged 55, was due to assume his position as the next leader of WHO Africa in February No reasons were given for his death, which has been met […] Continue reading ->
Baku’s Olympic stadium was always an unlikely arena for the world to strike a landmark climate agreement. As the world’s first oil town, the Azerbaijani capital’s history is steeped in the fossil fuels driving the climate crisis. Its port launched the maiden voyage of the world’s first oil tanker, and Azerbaijan’s name, derived from ‘Azar,’ […] Continue reading ->
A method that first developed around polio elimination and matured during the COVID pandemic, is now being tested and used to track a much wider array of emerging disease threats. A unique symposium of scientists and public health experts at the Paris Sorbonne University last week looked at its promise and potential. In April 2020, […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) received $1.7 billion in new pledges of financial support at the G20 meeting this week, taking the total of voluntary pledges so far to $3.8 billion for the coming four years. With this, the WHO has met 53% of its investment requirement for its 2025–2028 strategy, in WHO parlance, the 14th […] Continue reading ->
CAPE TOWN – Warning that the process of negotiating a pandemic agreement has days not months left, talks co-chair Precious Matsoso hopes that a deal will finally be clinched at the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) in early December. “We don’t have six months left to finish negotiations. We only have a […] Continue reading ->