Speaking at a flagship World Health Summit panel global health officials and pharmaceutical executives urged governments to reframe pandemic preparedness as ‘biodefence’ – a core national security asset and not a discretionary health expenditure. BERLIN – That strategic pivot is becoming urgent as both global health and aid budgets shrink and multilateral diplomacy on pandemic […] Continue reading ->
“When you aim to deliver zero, and that is the goal of eradication, what it means is every person, every community, every village is equally important.” That is how Dr. Jamal Ahmed, WHO Director for Polio Eradication, explains why eliminating a disease requires a fundamentally different level of ambition than simply controlling it. Speaking on […] Continue reading ->
GENEVA – As global health leaders gathered in Geneva on Monday to commemorate this year’s World Malaria Day, an advocacy forum featuring high-level diplomats addressed the rising threat of antimalarial drug resistance. Celebrations of medical progress and clinical discussions quickly gave way to discussion about a rapidly escalating malaria funding crisis, with more funding cuts […] Continue reading ->
Resistance to a key drug used to treat malaria in Africa is spreading. Experts warn action is now urgent and any delay will cost lives and create economic misery. Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is the main first-line malaria treatment used in Africa and the best available option, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). ACT […] 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 ->
Malaria affects millions worldwide, and progress against the disease is stalling. Emerging drug resistance threatens to reverse hard-won gains, putting many more lives at risk. Public–private partnerships are racing to close the treatment gap before the current drugs begin to fail. “We believe that the eradication of malaria is in sight, but it’s an ongoing […] Continue reading ->
The President of the Republic of Botswana and Chair of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), writes about the urgency of mobilising funding to defend the gains and further progress in the fight against malaria. Despite decades of progress, we are not on track to defeat malaria in Africa. Without more resolve, innovation, financing, and […] 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 ->
There is a “critical lack” of medicines and diagnostic tools for invasive fungal diseases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which released its first analysis of antifungals on Tuesday. Invasive fungal diseases are on the rise, particularly in immune-compromised people – yet they get little attention or resources, asserts the global body. Common infections […] Continue reading ->
The US Congress’s one-year reauthorisation of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) expires on Tuesday (25 March) and there is no clarity about its future – other than that it is likely to be slashed. The only Bill up for discussion on this date that has any connection to PEPFAR is the Reorganizing […] Continue reading ->