The United States will support Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a second term as head of the World Health Organization – a move that is largely symbolic insofar as Tedros is running unopposed in the elections, scheduled for the 75th World Health Assembly, 22-28 May.  Although over a dozen countries in Europe and elsewhere lined […] Continue reading ->
As an official partner of the COVAX Facility, UNICEF is responsible for procurement, logistics and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines. PRITI PATNAIK spoke with Gian Gandhi, who coordinates COVAX operations for UNICEF, to get a sense of the challenges faced by the organization during the pandemic in the context of production shortages and realities at the […] Continue reading ->
South Africa is campaigning for the World Trade Organization (WTO) to waiver intellectual property rights on all products related to COVID-19 for the duration of the pandemic. Mustaqeem De Gama, Counsellor at the South African Permanent Mission in Geneva, is leading the campaign. Kerry Cullinan and Elaine Fletcher spoke to him about the reasons why […] Continue reading ->
“We all have a vested interest to stop this epidemic,” says Thomas Cueni, Director General of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA). As WHO on Tuesday convenes a Global Research & Innovation Forum to rapidly ramp up R&D, Cueni spoke with Health Policy Watch  about what he describes as  “the extraordinary willingness […] Continue reading ->
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) can lead to physical disfiguration, stress and stigmatization, which leave lifelong impacts on the mental health of many of those infected, even after the disease itself is cured.  As the health community prepares to mark the first-ever World NTD Day on 30 January, Nathalie Strub-Wourgaft, director of Neglected Tropical Diseases at […] Continue reading ->
The 2019 European Health Forum (Gastein) opens Wednesday under this year’s theme: “A Healthy Dose of Disruption.” The three-day Forum will explore ways in which Europe can transform health systems into levers of good health and well-being, guided by the aspirations of the recent UN declaration on Universal Health Coverage. Since its foundation in 1998, […] Continue reading ->
Fifa Rahman, Unitaid NGO Delegation board member and PhD Candidate at the University of Leeds, moderated a panel at the recent IAS Conference on HIV Science in Mexico entitled “How To Fix Our Medical R&D Model: A Spotlight On TB Treatment.” The panel featured speakers from Médecins Sans Frontières’ (MSF/Doctors Without Borders) Access Campaign, Drugs […] Continue reading ->