The Political Declaration on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response was not approved by consensus by the United Nations General Assembly, and is likely to be put to a vote at a later stage on the UN calendar. Objections by the United States and a few other states appeared to block a consensus agreement on the […] Continue reading ->
It’s been barely three years since the COVID-19 pandemic ended, yet many world leaders appear to have little appetite for pandemic-proofing. Ahead of the UN High-Level Meeting on Pandemics, a major 20-country research project offers a blueprint for the future that could save millions more lives. The United Nations hosts a High-Level Meeting on Pandemics […] Continue reading ->
The world has ridden fast to rescue DRC from Ebola. But four months on, nobody can say for sure how many agencies are responding, how many people they employ, how much money has arrived, or what it bought. There are, however, coordinators galore. But the virus is still outwitting them. Time and again, we learn […] Continue reading ->
As countries continue negotiating the unfinished WHO Pandemic Agreement, one of the original accord’s architects warns that delays could put the process itself at risk. “I think it’s quite risky to have a too-long negotiation because that means that we will lose diplomats and public health experts who were involved at the very beginning,” said […] Continue reading ->
The Ebola Bundibugyo virus outbreak is showing early signs of containment in the Ituri province in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where it first surfaced in April. But in North Kivu province, to the south, cases are still rising fast, with weekly cases nearly doubling over the past two weeks, […] Continue reading ->
EU negotiator Americo Zampetti warns that ideological polarisation over pathogen access threatens to derail the WHO Pandemic Agreement. On the eve of the eighth round of talks on an annex to the Pandemic Agreement, the European Union’s (EU) chief negotiator has warned that “ideology” is blocking consensus. Negotiators meet at the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) […] Continue reading ->
Under Germany’s tightly constrained draft budget proposal for 2027, the government is set to reduce global health funding substantially. While mandatory assessed contributions to the World Health Organization (WHO) will rise slightly, flexible budgets for pandemic preparedness are planned to be cut by 15.3%. As part of a broader budget overhaul, the German government is […] Continue reading ->
United Nations member states are almost certain to break the silence on the final draft of the Political Declaration on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPPR) that was sent to them recently– but likely for all the wrong reasons. Armenia and Rwanda, the co-facilitators of the declaration negotiations, put the “final” text of the declaration […] Continue reading ->
As the WHO Intergovernmental Working Group reconvenes in Geneva in the quest to nail down an accord on Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS), the former President of Botswana and the President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation argue that this critical annex to the 2025 Pandemic Agreement needs to ensure benefit-sharing commitments are just as mandatory and […] Continue reading ->
The election of the new executive director for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will move forward on schedule, according to a statement released by the organisation on Tuesday, 7 July. This announcement follows rumours that the nomination process might be restarted after the names of several US candidates who were reportedly […] Continue reading ->