The World Health Organization (WHO) released its first-ever guidelines to address how clinicians should manage obesity in children and adolescents, which include conditional recommendations for obesity medications and even surgery for children over the age of 10. Since 1990, the number of children ages 5-9 years and adolescents 10-19 years living with obesity has quadrupled, […] Continue reading ->
China has nominated a prominent Chinese health official for WHO Director General in the 2027 elections, multiple diplomatic sources have confirmed to Health Policy Watch.  But there are mixed reports about who that candidate actually may be. Some high-level sources have cited Song Li, a senior Chinese Communist Party official who mounted a failed bid […] Continue reading ->
Nearly three in four maternal healthcare workers say extreme heat-related complications among pregnant women have increased over the past five years, according to a five-country survey released as climate ministers gathered in Fiji for the last major meeting before COP31. The poll of 1,001 obstetricians, midwives, nurses and other maternity staff in Australia, Brazil, India, […] Continue reading ->
HARARE – In March, 27-year-old Jemitius Gangata succumbed to malaria in Mahombokombe village in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland West Province, becoming part of the country’s growing malaria statistics.  By mid-April, the country had recorded over 65,000 malaria cases and 174 deaths, almost double the numbers from the same period last year, when 36,000 cases and 85 deaths […] Continue reading ->
The shortlist of five finalists to serve as the next Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was published on Wednesday (30 September), launching the final phase of its leadership search.  By narrowing the global applicant field to five candidates, the Global Fund’s Executive Director Nomination Committee (EDNC) has taken […] Continue reading ->
At the opening of the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO)’s annual meeting on Monday, officials celebrated progress made in tackling regional health challenges – despite political and economic challenges. However, the US warned PAHO’s 63rd Directing Council not to stray into “ideological” issues, as it continues to withhold millions in unpaid members’ dues. The opening […] Continue reading ->
The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) has signed sublicense agreements with 11 manufacturers across multiple regions to expand access to generic baloxavir marboxil, a single-dose antiviral treatment for influenza that was originally developed by Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche.  The announcement, made the night before last Friday’s UN High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, reignited […] Continue reading ->