While aid is rushed to India, WHO’s Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has called out rich countries to donate more “desperately needed” coronavirus vaccines to Latin America and the Caribbean – in the face of persistently high levels of COVID-19 infections in that region, which has consistently been one of the hardest hit by the […] Continue reading ->
JOHANNESBURG – A new agreement to slash the price of HIV self-tests in half could ultimately assist eight million people estimated to be unaware of their HIV status to know they are infected – and get them on treatment. The agreement announced on Wednesday between the Geneva-based international health agency, Unitaid, and the US-based global […] Continue reading ->
As India restricts COVID-19 vaccine exports to address its domestic surge, the World Health Organization (WHO) is poised to give the Chinese vaccine, Sinopharm, emergency use listing (EUL) this week – potentially catapulting China into becoming the biggest global supplier of COVID-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). However, Sinopharm is reported to be […] Continue reading ->
The European Union (EU) is suing coronavirus vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca over an alleged breach of its vaccine supply contract and for not having a “reliable” plan to ensure timely deliveries. The European Commission – the EU’s executive branch – said the legal action emanates from a longstanding dispute over shortfall in vaccine deliveries. The 27 […] Continue reading ->
Amid a huge global push for the World Trade Organization (WTO) to waive intellectual property (IP) rights on products related to COVID-19 for the duration of the pandemic, the pharmaceutical industry launched a document on Monday – World IP Day – asserting that a “strong IP system advances public health” . According to the 10-point […] Continue reading ->
Fifty countries have not yet resumed routine immunisations disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting 228 million people – mainly children – and there have already been serious measles outbreaks in Yemen, Pakistan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to World Health Organization (WHO) director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyusus. To address this, the […] Continue reading ->
India recorded the world’s highest daily toll of new infections for the second consecutive day on Friday, while Japan plans to impose its third state of emergency, just three months before the Tokyo Olympics are set to begin. India is currently facing its worst outbreak of SARS-CoV2 since the pandemic began, with over 330,000 new […] Continue reading ->
Despite rising calls for a pandemic treaty, including from 25 world leaders in an open letter last month, some global health experts doubt that a treaty would be the most efficient way to quickly strengthen the world’s capacity to beat COVID – and prevent future pandemics. “I don’t think we have time to negotiate another […] Continue reading ->
Progress towards global malaria targets has stalled in recent years, and the COVID-19 pandemic has posed a serious threat to malaria responses worldwide, but a number of countries are nearing the goal of zero cases of malaria, said WHO, in a forum convened just ahead of World Malaria Day on 25 April. The forum Reaching Zero: […] Continue reading ->
Islamabad, Pakistan: Even as Pakistan faced an intense third wave of COVID-19, health authorities ‘silently’ suspended vaccination registration for its frontline Healthcare Workers (HCWs) for more than a month – ostensibly because of low registration and concerns about fake registrations. But following queries by Health Policy Watch on Monday, Ministry of Health officials suddenly did […] Continue reading ->