The African region is accelerating the implementation of the global roadmap for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), and 10 countries have eliminated at least one NTD since 2021, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Africa told the body’s executive board last week. Togo eliminated four NTD, while Egypt eliminated lymphatic filariasis and […] Continue reading ->
WHO Executive Board delegates on Thursday gave the green light to a draft proposal by Switzerland cementing the framework for a new WHO “Health for Peace” initiative. The move marked a bright spot in a day otherwise marked by heated debates over regional conflicts, including Gaza and  Ukraine.  The Health and Peace initiative was first […] Continue reading ->
Discussion about non-communicable diseases (NCDs) opened a Pandora’s Box of problems at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) executive board meeting on Wednesday. Not a single country is on track to achieve all nine voluntary global NCD targets for 2025, according to the Director-General’s report, which appealed to member countries for input on how they can […] Continue reading ->
WHO has released a novel set of guidelines on the ethics and governance of artificial intelligence (AI) in large multi-modal models (LMMs), a type of generative AI frequently used in healthcare. The guidelines include 40 recommendations for governments as well as other actors, such as technology companies and health care providers. Based on 2021 WHO […] Continue reading ->
“It’s not just about people with disabilities, this is about all of us,” stresses Pascal Bijleveld, the CEO of ATscale Global Partnership, an organization established in 2018 to advocate for assistive technologies (AT) access, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The first-ever global campaign to expand access, ‘Unlock the Everyday’, was launched on Tuesday at […] Continue reading ->
The first clinical trial of a vaccine for Nipah, a deadly communicable disease mostly found in South-East Asia, is about to start, the Oxford Vaccine Group announced. Despite 25 years of outbreaks and its WHO status of a priority disease, there is no treatment or vaccine for Nipah up to this date.  “This vaccine trial […] Continue reading ->
Pakistan Senator Dr Sania Nishtar  has been appointed new CEO of the global vaccine alliance, Gavi, and will take up the position on 18 March. This follows the previous appointee, Dr Muhammad Pate, pulling out last June – six weeks before he was due to take office, in order to serve as health minister of […] Continue reading ->
Cabo Verde was certified as malaria-free on Friday by the World Health Organization (WHO), only the third African country to have achieved this milestone. The country, an archipelago of 10 islands off the West African coast near Senegal, joins 43 countries including African countries Mauritius and Algeria in eliminating malaria.  Its last indigenous malaria case […] Continue reading ->