United States President Joe Biden on Thusday unveiled a detailed strategy for sharing 80 million surplus US COVID-19 vaccine doses with other countries in need by the end of June. A detailed allocation plan for the first 25 million of those vaccine doses calls for sharing 75% through the WHO-cosponsored COVAX global vaccine facility – […] Continue reading ->
Despite the disruptions of the COVID pandemic, dozens of countries have met or exceeded the ambitious targets set by the UN General Assembly towards a goal of ending AIDS by 2030, with evidence indicating that targets were not just aspirational but achievable, according to a new report by UNAIDS. The report, released today, shows that […] Continue reading ->
The 74th World Health Assembly (WHA) closed on Monday with appeals for vaccine equity, more resources for the World Health Organization (WHO) and support for a “pandemic treaty” to combat future pathogens. WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus devoted much of his concluding speech to the global body’s dearth of finances and the importance […] Continue reading ->
Women-led sectors and nations have been at the forefront of the COVID-19 response – despite only a quarter of global leaders being women, speakers at a World Health Assembly side-event noted on Friday. “Women have been delivering good health pre-pandemic – and during the pandemic,” said Dr Farah Shroff, head of the Maternal and Infant […] Continue reading ->
Debate Over WHO Investigation of SARS-CoV2 Virus Origins Heads For Showdown in World Health Assembly
The debate over the future direction of WHO’s investigation into the origins of SARS-CoV2 appeared to be heading for a showdown in the closing days of the World Health Assembly – following another sharp statement from the United States on the issue – this time directed squarely at WHO and WHA member states. The terse […] Continue reading ->
Indonesia could manufacture 550 million COVID-19 vaccine doses a year if pharmaceutical companies were prepared to share the know-how, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told a World Health Organization event Friday. Sadikin was addressing the first anniversary of the WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), set up to encourage countries and manufacturers of COVID-19 products […] Continue reading ->
The US reaffirmed its support for COVID-19 vaccine intellectual property waivers Friday as World Health Assembly delegates and experts discussed how to promote local production of medicines in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). An Ethiopia-led resolution to stimulate local production of medicines and health technologies has the support of WHO’s African Region, the European Union, […] Continue reading ->
A paradigm shift towards health systems and societies that emphasize health promotion, disease prevention and environmental protection could prevent and reduce 50% of the global disease burden worldwide, experts at an informal session on the margins of the 74th World Health Assembly said on Thursday. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the inextricable relationships between environments […] Continue reading ->
In two decades of work on World Bank digital health initiatives, global health policy specialist Akiko Maeda found many fell short of their promises. She suggested these underperforming digital health initiatives focused too much on delivering hardware — but they failed to provide means to ensure stable electricity supplies, and similarly failed to provide adequate […] Continue reading ->
Amidst fresh calls from US President Joe Biden ordering the science and intelligence community to come up with a more detailed account of how the SARS-CoV2 virus emerged – it’s unclear how much action the World Health Assembly will really see on the issue. Language in the the final-agreed draft of a WHA resolution, Strengthening […] Continue reading ->