Hantavirus has been confirmed in a French citizen evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship on Sunday, while two tests on a US citizen turned up one “weakly positive” and one negative result – but it is still unclear how the virus is being transmitted. The evacuation of passengers from the ship, now docked in […] Continue reading ->
This week’s announcement of BioNTech factory closures in Germany marks an end to the country’s pandemic-era COVID-19 vaccine production boom. The Mainz-based pioneer announced that it will manufacture its final batches of the vaccine domestically later this year, transferring all future production to its American partner, Pfizer. This strategic retreat from Germany – which includes […] Continue reading ->
Colombia has appealed for a new “method” to settle the outstanding annex of the Pandemic Agreement, after World Health Organization (WHO) member states failed to reach agreement last week after almost a year of talks. Talks on a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system were due to wrap up last Friday night, but have […] Continue reading ->
As the World Health Organization (WHO) formally opens the nomination process for the next Director-General, Germany now appears likely to propose Helge Braun, Chief of Staff in former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government, according to Berlin insiders. But after slashing its global health budget, sources question whether a German candidate can win wide support from other […] Continue reading ->
African leaders opened the World Health Summit Regional Meeting at the United Nations complex in Nairobi this week with a unified declaration that two decades of dependence on foreign aid for health is over. “The challenge that I see is that many of the leaders in our continent believe that it is somebody else’s responsibility. […] Continue reading ->
More than 50 countries are gathering this week on Colombia’s Caribbean coast to launch a coalition for phasing out fossil fuels, as a third month of war in Iran exposes the costs of a global economy run on the oil, gas and coal driving the climate crisis that decades of deadlocked UN climate talks have […] Continue reading ->
Yet another negotiating session on the outstanding annex of the Pandemic Agreement begins at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) headquarters on Monday (27 April) – and developed nations have presented a “hybrid” solution in an attempt to find consensus. The “hybrid” proposal consists of a mix of mandatory and voluntary measures for sharing pathogen information […] Continue reading ->
US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr offered contradictory responses that the country’s new leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would be able to make decisions independent of political interference, especially around vaccines. The White House announced late last week its fourth pick in a year for CDC director, […] Continue reading ->
The African Union and the European Commission have concluded three agreements worth €100 million aimed at strengthening Africa’s health systems. The first initiative supports the national public health institutes of 10 African countries to enhance disease surveillance, early warning systems, emergency response, research and laboratory services. The second, announced at the One Health Summit in […] Continue reading ->
Undermining vaccines, failing pregnant black women, threatening to remove black children with ADHD from their parents – these were some of the barrage of questions put to United States Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr when he appeared before the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday. Kennedy was testifying about […] Continue reading ->