Some 4.6 billion people, or more than half the world’s population, still lacked access to a basic package of essential health services in 2023, a new World Health Organization-World Bank report notes. And around 2.1 billion people faced financial hardship in getting vital health services. And at current rates, the world will fall far short […] Continue reading ->
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has pared down its staff in its Geneva headquarters, Washington DC and New York by 33% – from 643 to 440 people, the agency confirmed today, following a June replenishment drive that fell about $2 billion short of a $11.9 billion fundraising goal for 2026-2030. Beginning in 2026, the agency will […] Continue reading ->
The post-pandemic decline in infection-prevention practices, along with the broader crash in global health finance, are undermining progress against antimicrobial resistance – one of the planet’s most urgent health threats. At a recent panel discussion co-hosted by the Geneva Health Forum (GHF), leading experts from WHO, academia, biotech, and patient advocacy warned that national AMR plans […] Continue reading ->
WHO will have terminated, retired or separated by agreement an estimated 2371 staff worldwide by mid-2026 – shedding about 25% of a workforce that numbered 9,457 in December 2024 – a 15-year peak. That’s according to a new report that is to be presented and discussed with WHO member states on Wednesday. Despite the huge […] Continue reading ->
The United States, backed by Argentina, was reportedly blocking the G20 consensus on the final G20 Health Ministers’ statement – following their fourth and final working group meeting of the year Friday in Limpopo, South Africa, Health Policy Watch has learned. In a visible snub to the rest of the group, the US delegation also […] Continue reading ->
There is an urgent need for a more comprehensive pandemic risk monitoring system that tracks threats and preparedness in real time, according to the WHO-hosted Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, in a report launched at the World Health Summit. This followed the release of a new World Health Organization data documenting the sharp global rise in […] Continue reading ->
BERLIN – Global life expectancy rose again in 2023 after a decline during the COVID pandemic with overall life expectancy 20 years higher as compared to 1950. But North America and Latin America are seeing higher death rates among adolescents and young adults due to a crisis in mental health – reflected in higher rates […] Continue reading ->
Beyond the rehabilitation of bodies, mind and critical Gaza health, housing, water and sanitation infrastructure, both Israelis and Palestinians need to confront the darks side of their respective narratives around the two-year war in Gaza in order to advance a cease-fire and, beyond that, a more durable peace. As hopes of a cease-fire between warring […] Continue reading ->
NEW YORK CITY – A painstakingly negotiated Political Declaration on Noncommunicable Diseases with overwhelming support from UN member states failed to win formal endorsement at a special High Level Session of the General Assembly (GA) Thursday – after the United States torpedoed its adoption by consensus. The last minute moves means that the draft declaration […] Continue reading ->
While deaths from malaria have fallen by 29% since over the past two decades, mortality could rise again this year due to the cuts in global health funding seen recently, says Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. “There has been a significant impact…and I suspect that we […] Continue reading ->