Despite the big success this year in the eradication of wild poliovirus in the African region, the COVID-19 crisis has seen a temporary interruption of polio vaccine programmes. This has led to a rise in vaccine-derived polio cases which, are more likely to occur when vaccine coverage is weaker, WHO and African Region health officials […] Continue reading ->
What if every household in the world could diagnose coronavirus-triggered pneumonia from their home with a cheap handheld device? We are not at this stage yet. But the Swiss-made Pneumoscope, an intelligent stethoscope that can diagnose pneumonia in seven minutes, is bringing this dream closer to reality, says Benissa Mohamed-Rida from the Pneumoscope initiative. The […] Continue reading ->
A series of new COVID-19 drug and vaccine funding commitments worth just over US$300 million were announced on Thursday by the Gates Foundation, France and the European Commission – amidst a quickening pace of anticipation that at least one, if not two, COVID-19 vaccines may soon become available.  Appearing at the Paris Peace Forum, Melinda […] Continue reading ->
Breast milk substitutes, long decried by global health specialists, are making new inroads into the markets of poor countries during the COVID-19 pandemic – including through new and more effective modes of digital marketing. Guidelines for distributing and donating such substitutes to households facing hunger and malnourishment due to the economic fallout of COVID-19 lockdowns, […] Continue reading ->
World Health Assembly members set aside the contentious issue of restoring Taiwan’s observer status at the member state forum – to focus on the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and linked to that WHO reform.  That was despite a growing push by the United States, backed by Europe and their western Pacific allies for […] Continue reading ->
A WHO co-sponsored partnership is laying the groundwork for a worldwide distribution plan of $US 6 billion worth of the most effective COVID-19 drugs, including cutting-edge monoclonal antibodies treatments if proven effective – so as to ensure that high-income countries do not snap up all available new therapies as they arrive on the market. The […] Continue reading ->
There is so far no evidence that the outbreak of mutant SARS-CoV-2 virus strains exploding in Danish mink farms threaten the development of a successful COVID-19 vaccine, said top World Health Organization (WHO) officials on Friday. More than 200 mink farms in Denmark have reported cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections, prompting Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, […] Continue reading ->