Vaccinations have saved the lives of an estimated 17 million people between 2021 and 2024 – but global immunisation programmes face several challenges, according to an assessment by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunisation. Dr Kate O’Brien, WHO director of Immunisation, Vaccines and Biologicals, acknowledged the “deep commitment […] Continue reading ->
CHHATTISGARH, India — Nearly 16,000 staff employed under India’s National Health Mission (NHM) have been on an indefinite strike since 8 August. In early September, the dispute escalated dramatically when the state government dismissed 25 union leaders, prompting the mass resignation of  more than 14,000 health workers. The mass resignations have raised alarm about the stability […] Continue reading ->
For every $1 invested in cost-effective “best buys” to prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) over the next five years, there would be a four-fold return in social and economic benefits, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO’s 29 “best buys” focus on reducing tobacco and alcohol consumption, addressing unhealthy diets and lack of exercise, […] Continue reading ->
SRINAGAR, INDIA – When record-breaking rains, landslides and cloudbursts lashed northern India in late August — across Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh — highways turned into rivers, homes collapsed and death tolls mounted. But beneath the visible destruction lies a quieter emergency: public health systems buckling under the strain. In Kashmir, the Jhelum […] Continue reading ->
Regulating pharmaceutical companies that manufacture essential health products during a public health emergency is a key flashpoint between developed and developing countries ahead of the final round of talks on the pandemic agreement. This is evident in some of the 17 submissions made to the Intergovernmental Negotiating Working Group (IGWG), which is coordinating the final […] Continue reading ->