For the indigenous people of New Zealand, the Māori, cancer statistics are bleak, as they are 20% more likely to develop cancer, and twice as likely as non-Māori to die from it. But New Zealand-based Cancer Control Agency, Te Aho o Te Kahu, is trying to beat back against this inequity and close the gap […] Continue reading ->
Cancer services remain backlogged in many parts of the world due to the effects of the two-year-long COVID pandemic – even as Europe hopes a pandemic “ceasefire that could bring us enduring peace” , said WHO’s European Regional Director Hans Kluge Thursday on the eve of World Cancer Day. Meanwhile, in Latin America, routine childhood […] Continue reading ->
Moderna and the nonprofit science research organization IAVI have administered the first doses in a Phase I clinical trial of an experimental HIV vaccine, delivered by messenger RNA (mRNA) – the technology that revolutionized vaccines against COVID-19. The trial kicked off last week at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, […] Continue reading ->
An innovative WHO “Health for Peace Initiative” that aims to build bridges in conflict zone and humanitarian settings through global health initiatives ran into some rough waters at last week’s Executive Board meeting – with the United States saying that it should include a human rights element – while Russia warned WHO against “politicizing” its […] Continue reading ->
As the world enters the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of important efforts are underway to strengthen global health security. However, it is vital that, while strengthening our global health architecture, we do not lose sight of the fundamental role played by national level health systems in tackling global health threats. […] Continue reading ->
Following reports of an unusually large number of cases in January 2022 across some 12 states, Nigeria is stepping up its surveillance of Lassa fever, the deadly viral hemorrhagic illness transmitted by infected rodents, or through other infected people or tainted food. This year marks the fourth year in a row in which large outbreaks […] Continue reading ->
Despite the strains of COVID-19, global funding for poverty-related infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria, remains virtually unchanged at US $3.937 billion, with investment dropping only 4% in 2020, according to the fourteenth annual G-FINDER Report. The report, released by Australia-based Policy Cures Research group on Thursday, showed a drop of only US […] Continue reading ->
In a long and winding discussion Thursday at The World Health Organization’s Executive Board, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) pledged to redouble their efforts against noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes and obesity, which are having increasing impacts on health and well-being – in addition to infectious diseases that have been at the forefront of […] Continue reading ->
Despite a severe lack of COVID test and serological data in Africa, most people on the continent have probably already been exposed to SARS-CoV2, said the director of the influential Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation on Thursday. And in light of that, and the fact that COVID vaccines do not prevent infection, but rather […] Continue reading ->
Only 14 countries are on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by one third by 2030, the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed at its executive board meeting on Wednesday. After listening for over three hours to countries’ views on the WHO roadmap 2023–2030 to prevent and […] Continue reading ->