ISLAMABAD – Pakistan was once considered a low-prevalence country for HIV, but a series of outbreaks has infected hundreds of children and exposed fundamental weaknesses in its healthcare system. Southern Pakistan has been particularly affected, with HIV outbreaks linked to healthcare facilities documented at Taunsa in Punjab, Karachi’s Kulsim Bai Valika (KBV) Hospital, and […] Continue reading ->
Eighteen months into the dismantling of the global AIDS response, how many have died? The honest answer is that nobody knows. Rio’s numbers are inferences, its assumptions and projections disputable. But 30 years and tens of billions of dollars into the HIV/AIDS pandemic, we should not still be guessing. The week’s Vital Signs came from […] Continue reading ->
Luis Pizarro, Unitaid’s newly-appointed Executive Director comes to the organization with sizeable depth and breadth of experience – as the leader of Geneva’s Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) and before that, leadership of ventures in Africa, Asia and the Americas. However, his main challenge at Unitaid will be steadying the financially troubled organization, which […] Continue reading ->
When the African Medicines Agency became operational in Kigali in October 2025, it inherited one of the continent’s most difficult health-policy problems: how to make medicines regulation faster, more trusted and less fragmented across 55 African Union member states. For years, African countries have relied on a patchwork of national regulators, regional harmonisation initiatives, WHO […] Continue reading ->
The African Union held a special health summit this week, primarily aimed at mobilising high-level political support for more domestic health spending – particularly on HIV, tuberculosis and maternal health. The summit coincided with the release of two new studies reporting on the huge disruptions to HIV treatment throughout the world following the Trump administration’s […] Continue reading ->
Last week, one phrase — “self-reliance” — did more work in global health than any medicine, as global agencies continue operationalising donor retreats they can no longer disguise. The strategy’s real-world test is unfolding in eastern Congo, where the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record is outrunning a struggling response. The institutions of global health spent […] Continue reading ->
Unitaid is quietly searching for its next leader behind closed doors amidst growing demands for transparency. Whoever takes the helm of the market-shaping agency will inherit an organisation that faces acute financial shortfalls and mounting pressure for institutional reform. As Unitaid celebrates its 20th anniversary, severe cuts to the agency’s funding threaten to disrupt the […] Continue reading ->
As artificial intelligence drives rapid health innovations, global guardrails, equitable data, and local capacity are needed to ensure equitable progress. To address this, a landmark framework launched by three United Nations agencies lays out a strategic roadmap for innovators. Meanwhile, health leaders emphasise that lower-income regions must become co-creators of future innovations. New guidelines for […] Continue reading ->