Kilifi County, Kenya – Elyne Kaingu, a 33-year old mother from the beautiful Mnarani area of Kilifi County, overlooking the Indian Ocean, was extremely wary during her first pregnancy about the silent killer in her midst – malaria. She knew some other first time mothers had fallen ill with the disease, and had even lost […] Continue reading ->
In the strongest and most direct rebuttal yet to United States’ allegations of misconduct by the World Health Organization, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphatically told reporters on Thursday that claims that he was ‘bought off’ by China are “untrue, without any foundation, and unacceptable.” Dr Tedros called the allegations a “distraction,” saying politicization […] Continue reading ->
The race for the leadership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) gained traction this week as eight competing nominees presented their pitches to fill Azevêdo’s role to the WTO General Council, and later to the press and public. The nominees include: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and former finance minister of […] Continue reading ->
Just as the nearly 2 year long Ebola outbreak that ravaged the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has drawn to a close, a new cluster of cases is growing in the Mbandaka area of Equateur province, an area in the DRCs northwest region. Some 56 cases have been reported since the first case in […] Continue reading ->
In an unusually frank statement, the United States’ embattled top infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, expressed hopes that the US would resolve its conflicts with the World Health Organization. Fauci, an expert on the White House Coronavirus taskforce and director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in an interview with […] Continue reading ->
On Monday, the Geneva-based NCD Alliance launched the first-ever fund to bolster the efforts of NGOs worldwide fighting chronic diseases alongside the COVID-19 pandemic with some $US 300,000 in initial seed capital. The effort is unique in that it links major pharma interests that develop and produce drugs for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to the support […] Continue reading ->
Rome, Italy – More people are going hungry, an annual study by the United Nations has found. Tens of millions have joined the ranks of the chronically undernourished over the past five years, and countries around the world continue to struggle with multiple forms of malnutrition. The latest edition of the State of Food […] Continue reading ->
Just three days after almost 240 scientists criticized WHO for downplaying the risks of airborne transmission of tiny SARS-CoV-2 particles, or aerosols, the Organization edged closer to its critics point of view. WHO’s latest scientific brief, published Thursday, acknowledges that “short-range aerosol transmission cannot be ruled out”. The tiny virus particles floating through the air […] Continue reading ->
A new Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Action Fund will inject nearly US $1 billion into the collapsing antibiotic development pipeline, aiming to bring two to four new antibiotics to patients by 2030. The investment, organized by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations and 23 different pharma companies, is the biggest single investment in antibiotic […] Continue reading ->
BREAKING – The United States on Tuesday gave formal notice to the United Nations and the US Congress that it intends to withdraw from the World Health Organization as of 6 July 2021, following President Donald Trump’s announcement after the World Health Assembly on 18 May. The administration first notified the United Nations, and sent […] Continue reading ->