STRASBOURG – Amid a global backlash against sexual and reproductive rights, the European Parliament has taken a decisive stand by voting for a unified, human rights-based standard for sexual offences. This Europe-wide legislative push aims to overhaul the fragmented national laws that currently leave many survivors without access to justice or essential health support. The […] Continue reading ->
NEW DELHI – India faces thousands of medical negligence cases every year, but structural problems make it extremely difficult for patients’ families to find out what has happened to their loved ones – let alone win compensation when treatment has been botched. “A shadow of death is looming over us,” Ashwini Bajaj, a Haryana-based businessman, […] Continue reading ->
African leaders opened the World Health Summit Regional Meeting at the United Nations complex in Nairobi this week with a unified declaration that two decades of dependence on foreign aid for health is over. “The challenge that I see is that many of the leaders in our continent believe that it is somebody else’s responsibility. […] Continue reading ->
Ghana has become the latest African country to reject the United States’ terms for bilateral health assistance, particularly the requirement to share sensitive health data, according to Reuters. Late last year, Zimbabwe rejected US terms for health assistance, particularly the demand to share pathogen data without any “corresponding guarantee of access to any medical innovations […] Continue reading ->
The White House has fired all 24 members of the National Science Board (NSB), the group that advises the National Science Foundation (NSF), in what some observers described as another example of the Trump Administration’s ‘blunt force approach’ to reshaping the nation’s science-based institutions.  As of Monday evening, the White House still had not provided […] Continue reading ->
In an era of big global health budget cuts that often demand tough choices, identifying vaccine needs and priorities at national level is increasingly important. As we observe World Immunization Week, it’s time to recognize the pivotal role that National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) can play in guiding effective, evidence-based decisions – alongside global […] Continue reading ->
Yet another negotiating session on the outstanding annex of the Pandemic Agreement begins at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) headquarters on Monday (27 April) – and developed nations have presented a “hybrid” solution in an attempt to find consensus. The “hybrid” proposal consists of a mix of mandatory and voluntary measures for sharing pathogen information […] Continue reading ->