The drug Bulevirtide can successfully treat and even potentially cure Hepatitis D – the most acute diseases of the hepatitis family and hardest to treat until now, according to the results of a Phase III trial of the drug announced on Thursday, the opening day of the International Liver Congress 2022 (ILC 2022). An estimated 12 […] Continue reading ->
The Global Health Matters podcast with host Garry Aslanyan. It was 11 November 2022 when Dr Sikhulile Moyo and his team of scientists in Botswana discovered Omicron in a sample of SARS-CoV2 that looked different from the rest. “We sent it back to the lab to have it re-sequenced,” Moyo recalled. But by 19 November, […] Continue reading ->
In the largest review of the world’s mental health services since 2001, the World Health Organization Friday called for far greater investments in mental health as part of primary health care systems and a transformation of attitudes and approaches to protect mental health and provide care for people in need. The report’s executive summary, ‘Transforming […] Continue reading ->
Rich countries are rushing to get doses – but African countries say they should get the vaccines first for a disease endemic to the continent. A plan by the World Health Organization (WHO) to create a vaccine sharing mechanism that will attempt to provide equitable access to vaccines effective against monkeypox disease will only be […] Continue reading ->
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is extending its 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) for a fifth day, buying time for delegates to negotiate some tough deals in five main areas: the pandemic response, COVID-19 vaccines, fishing subsidies, food shortages and agriculture. The long-delayed ministerial conference, which opened on Sunday and was originally planned to close on […] Continue reading ->
The first report by the new WHO-convened expert group, Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) has fanned the flames of controversy over evidence about whether a lab leak or a natural “spillover” of the virus from animals to humans was the most likely source from which the COVID pandemic emerged – […] Continue reading ->
Africa has the scientific and intellectual capital to develop new interventions to tackle global health challenges. Particularly when local problems emerge, surely local research is the best path towards a solution. But pursuing this path requires funding that will support and promote the growth and expertise of Africa’s scientists. Africa is plagued by many epidemics […] Continue reading ->
As the World Hepatitis Summit 2022 takes place this week, some 354 million people are still living with viral hepatitis, despite the fact that vaccines, treatments and even cures are now available, says Finn Jarle Rode is Executive Director at the Hepatitis Fund. Until now, viral hepatitis elimination has been the neglected child of global […] Continue reading ->
World Trade Organization (WTO) leaders are hopeful that an agreement could be reached on a waiver on intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines at the Ministerial Council starting on Sunday – but the People’s Vaccine Alliance has organised global protests to demand “a real TRIPS waiver” ahead of the meeting. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has […] Continue reading ->
Moderna announced Tuesday that the first participants have been vaccinated in a Phase 3 study of its influenza (flu) vaccine, which is based on mRNA technology used in its COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine, mRNA-1010, encodes for hemagglutinin (HA) glycoproteins of the four influenza strains recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the prevention of […] Continue reading ->