GLP-1 Drugs? Surgery? WHO Issues Guidelines for Obesity in Children 07/10/2026 Sophia Samantaroy 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 -> BREAKING: China Has Nominated Candidate for WHO Director General Whose Name Remains Undisclosed 06/10/2026 Elaine Ruth Fletcher & Felix Sassmannshausen 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 -> Health Crisis Looms for Zimbabwe Following US Withdrawal of Aid 05/10/2026 Jeffrey Moyo 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 -> Northern India Braces for Toxic Winter Pollution, Despite Improved Delhi Plan 02/10/2026 Jyoti Pande Lavakare Rural farm fires and Diwali fireworks likely to trigger pollution emergencies in northern India during late autumn and early winter, despite the rollout of new pollution control measures in the capital city territory. DELHI, India – As India braces for the winter smog season, Delhi has announced a pollution mitigation plan for the expected peak […] Continue reading -> West Bank Healthcare: Closed Roads, Empty Treasury & Doctors Detained 02/10/2026 Aseel Mafarjeh ISRAELI-OCCUPIED WEST BANK – The oxygen mask slipped from three-month-old Ahmad Zaid’s face. He was in his father’s arms, in front of a closed Israeli military gate blocking the road between Deir Ammar refugee camp, northwest of Ramallah, where the family lives, and the city of Ramallah, with a hospital the family was desperate to […] Continue reading -> Despite the Deadline, US Bilateral Health Deals Are Not Ready for Implementation 30/09/2026 Kerry Cullinan Although the United States’ bilateral health memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with 35 countries are due to come into effect on Thursday (1 October), the start of the US fiscal year, the money will not flow yet – as countries have until Friday to submit their final 2027 budgets. And while US officials have hailed the […] Continue reading -> After US Embassy Monitors Went Offline, Air Pollution Spiked in Parts of Africa and Asia 24/09/2026 Sophia Samantaroy New research found that after the US administration suspended its embassy air pollution monitoring initiative, air pollution increased by 23-33%, particularly in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where reliable monitoring data is scarce. The US’s abrupt shutdown of its embassy air pollution monitoring program in 2025 hit regions with little publicly available data the hardest, […] Continue reading -> DRC’s Ebola Outbreak: The Vast Mobilisation That Doesn’t Measure Itself (Part II) 21/09/2026 Mukesh Kapila 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 -> US Medicare Pricing Policies Could Drive Global Costs and Hinder Access Worldwide 18/09/2026 Sophia Samantaroy A new modelling study suggests that US Medicare “Most-Favored-Nation” policies on drug prices would cut Medicare spending on brand-name drugs, but potentially incentivize companies to increase prices or delay new drug launches elsewhere. Efforts to control the cost of government spending on drugs culminated in a Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) policy, a Trump administration initiative which ties […] Continue reading -> Controversy, Secrecy and Suffering after Year One of the America First Global Health Strategy 18/09/2026 Kerry Cullinan Country controversies, secret terms, opaque procurement, and massive unspent Congressional funds have characterised the first year of the America First Global Health Strategy. “Services are weaker than they were a year ago, HIV testing is down, treatment of children living with HIV is down, and community-based prevention is gutted,” said Emily Bass, expert consultant for […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
BREAKING: China Has Nominated Candidate for WHO Director General Whose Name Remains Undisclosed 06/10/2026 Elaine Ruth Fletcher & Felix Sassmannshausen 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 -> Health Crisis Looms for Zimbabwe Following US Withdrawal of Aid 05/10/2026 Jeffrey Moyo 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 -> Northern India Braces for Toxic Winter Pollution, Despite Improved Delhi Plan 02/10/2026 Jyoti Pande Lavakare Rural farm fires and Diwali fireworks likely to trigger pollution emergencies in northern India during late autumn and early winter, despite the rollout of new pollution control measures in the capital city territory. DELHI, India – As India braces for the winter smog season, Delhi has announced a pollution mitigation plan for the expected peak […] Continue reading -> West Bank Healthcare: Closed Roads, Empty Treasury & Doctors Detained 02/10/2026 Aseel Mafarjeh ISRAELI-OCCUPIED WEST BANK – The oxygen mask slipped from three-month-old Ahmad Zaid’s face. He was in his father’s arms, in front of a closed Israeli military gate blocking the road between Deir Ammar refugee camp, northwest of Ramallah, where the family lives, and the city of Ramallah, with a hospital the family was desperate to […] Continue reading -> Despite the Deadline, US Bilateral Health Deals Are Not Ready for Implementation 30/09/2026 Kerry Cullinan Although the United States’ bilateral health memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with 35 countries are due to come into effect on Thursday (1 October), the start of the US fiscal year, the money will not flow yet – as countries have until Friday to submit their final 2027 budgets. And while US officials have hailed the […] Continue reading -> After US Embassy Monitors Went Offline, Air Pollution Spiked in Parts of Africa and Asia 24/09/2026 Sophia Samantaroy New research found that after the US administration suspended its embassy air pollution monitoring initiative, air pollution increased by 23-33%, particularly in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where reliable monitoring data is scarce. The US’s abrupt shutdown of its embassy air pollution monitoring program in 2025 hit regions with little publicly available data the hardest, […] Continue reading -> DRC’s Ebola Outbreak: The Vast Mobilisation That Doesn’t Measure Itself (Part II) 21/09/2026 Mukesh Kapila 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 -> US Medicare Pricing Policies Could Drive Global Costs and Hinder Access Worldwide 18/09/2026 Sophia Samantaroy A new modelling study suggests that US Medicare “Most-Favored-Nation” policies on drug prices would cut Medicare spending on brand-name drugs, but potentially incentivize companies to increase prices or delay new drug launches elsewhere. Efforts to control the cost of government spending on drugs culminated in a Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) policy, a Trump administration initiative which ties […] Continue reading -> Controversy, Secrecy and Suffering after Year One of the America First Global Health Strategy 18/09/2026 Kerry Cullinan Country controversies, secret terms, opaque procurement, and massive unspent Congressional funds have characterised the first year of the America First Global Health Strategy. “Services are weaker than they were a year ago, HIV testing is down, treatment of children living with HIV is down, and community-based prevention is gutted,” said Emily Bass, expert consultant for […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
Health Crisis Looms for Zimbabwe Following US Withdrawal of Aid 05/10/2026 Jeffrey Moyo 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 -> Northern India Braces for Toxic Winter Pollution, Despite Improved Delhi Plan 02/10/2026 Jyoti Pande Lavakare Rural farm fires and Diwali fireworks likely to trigger pollution emergencies in northern India during late autumn and early winter, despite the rollout of new pollution control measures in the capital city territory. DELHI, India – As India braces for the winter smog season, Delhi has announced a pollution mitigation plan for the expected peak […] Continue reading -> West Bank Healthcare: Closed Roads, Empty Treasury & Doctors Detained 02/10/2026 Aseel Mafarjeh ISRAELI-OCCUPIED WEST BANK – The oxygen mask slipped from three-month-old Ahmad Zaid’s face. He was in his father’s arms, in front of a closed Israeli military gate blocking the road between Deir Ammar refugee camp, northwest of Ramallah, where the family lives, and the city of Ramallah, with a hospital the family was desperate to […] Continue reading -> Despite the Deadline, US Bilateral Health Deals Are Not Ready for Implementation 30/09/2026 Kerry Cullinan Although the United States’ bilateral health memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with 35 countries are due to come into effect on Thursday (1 October), the start of the US fiscal year, the money will not flow yet – as countries have until Friday to submit their final 2027 budgets. And while US officials have hailed the […] Continue reading -> After US Embassy Monitors Went Offline, Air Pollution Spiked in Parts of Africa and Asia 24/09/2026 Sophia Samantaroy New research found that after the US administration suspended its embassy air pollution monitoring initiative, air pollution increased by 23-33%, particularly in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where reliable monitoring data is scarce. The US’s abrupt shutdown of its embassy air pollution monitoring program in 2025 hit regions with little publicly available data the hardest, […] Continue reading -> DRC’s Ebola Outbreak: The Vast Mobilisation That Doesn’t Measure Itself (Part II) 21/09/2026 Mukesh Kapila 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 -> US Medicare Pricing Policies Could Drive Global Costs and Hinder Access Worldwide 18/09/2026 Sophia Samantaroy A new modelling study suggests that US Medicare “Most-Favored-Nation” policies on drug prices would cut Medicare spending on brand-name drugs, but potentially incentivize companies to increase prices or delay new drug launches elsewhere. Efforts to control the cost of government spending on drugs culminated in a Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) policy, a Trump administration initiative which ties […] Continue reading -> Controversy, Secrecy and Suffering after Year One of the America First Global Health Strategy 18/09/2026 Kerry Cullinan Country controversies, secret terms, opaque procurement, and massive unspent Congressional funds have characterised the first year of the America First Global Health Strategy. “Services are weaker than they were a year ago, HIV testing is down, treatment of children living with HIV is down, and community-based prevention is gutted,” said Emily Bass, expert consultant for […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
Northern India Braces for Toxic Winter Pollution, Despite Improved Delhi Plan 02/10/2026 Jyoti Pande Lavakare Rural farm fires and Diwali fireworks likely to trigger pollution emergencies in northern India during late autumn and early winter, despite the rollout of new pollution control measures in the capital city territory. DELHI, India – As India braces for the winter smog season, Delhi has announced a pollution mitigation plan for the expected peak […] Continue reading -> West Bank Healthcare: Closed Roads, Empty Treasury & Doctors Detained 02/10/2026 Aseel Mafarjeh ISRAELI-OCCUPIED WEST BANK – The oxygen mask slipped from three-month-old Ahmad Zaid’s face. He was in his father’s arms, in front of a closed Israeli military gate blocking the road between Deir Ammar refugee camp, northwest of Ramallah, where the family lives, and the city of Ramallah, with a hospital the family was desperate to […] Continue reading -> Despite the Deadline, US Bilateral Health Deals Are Not Ready for Implementation 30/09/2026 Kerry Cullinan Although the United States’ bilateral health memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with 35 countries are due to come into effect on Thursday (1 October), the start of the US fiscal year, the money will not flow yet – as countries have until Friday to submit their final 2027 budgets. And while US officials have hailed the […] Continue reading -> After US Embassy Monitors Went Offline, Air Pollution Spiked in Parts of Africa and Asia 24/09/2026 Sophia Samantaroy New research found that after the US administration suspended its embassy air pollution monitoring initiative, air pollution increased by 23-33%, particularly in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where reliable monitoring data is scarce. The US’s abrupt shutdown of its embassy air pollution monitoring program in 2025 hit regions with little publicly available data the hardest, […] Continue reading -> DRC’s Ebola Outbreak: The Vast Mobilisation That Doesn’t Measure Itself (Part II) 21/09/2026 Mukesh Kapila 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 -> US Medicare Pricing Policies Could Drive Global Costs and Hinder Access Worldwide 18/09/2026 Sophia Samantaroy A new modelling study suggests that US Medicare “Most-Favored-Nation” policies on drug prices would cut Medicare spending on brand-name drugs, but potentially incentivize companies to increase prices or delay new drug launches elsewhere. Efforts to control the cost of government spending on drugs culminated in a Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) policy, a Trump administration initiative which ties […] Continue reading -> Controversy, Secrecy and Suffering after Year One of the America First Global Health Strategy 18/09/2026 Kerry Cullinan Country controversies, secret terms, opaque procurement, and massive unspent Congressional funds have characterised the first year of the America First Global Health Strategy. “Services are weaker than they were a year ago, HIV testing is down, treatment of children living with HIV is down, and community-based prevention is gutted,” said Emily Bass, expert consultant for […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
West Bank Healthcare: Closed Roads, Empty Treasury & Doctors Detained 02/10/2026 Aseel Mafarjeh ISRAELI-OCCUPIED WEST BANK – The oxygen mask slipped from three-month-old Ahmad Zaid’s face. He was in his father’s arms, in front of a closed Israeli military gate blocking the road between Deir Ammar refugee camp, northwest of Ramallah, where the family lives, and the city of Ramallah, with a hospital the family was desperate to […] Continue reading -> Despite the Deadline, US Bilateral Health Deals Are Not Ready for Implementation 30/09/2026 Kerry Cullinan Although the United States’ bilateral health memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with 35 countries are due to come into effect on Thursday (1 October), the start of the US fiscal year, the money will not flow yet – as countries have until Friday to submit their final 2027 budgets. And while US officials have hailed the […] Continue reading -> After US Embassy Monitors Went Offline, Air Pollution Spiked in Parts of Africa and Asia 24/09/2026 Sophia Samantaroy New research found that after the US administration suspended its embassy air pollution monitoring initiative, air pollution increased by 23-33%, particularly in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where reliable monitoring data is scarce. The US’s abrupt shutdown of its embassy air pollution monitoring program in 2025 hit regions with little publicly available data the hardest, […] Continue reading -> DRC’s Ebola Outbreak: The Vast Mobilisation That Doesn’t Measure Itself (Part II) 21/09/2026 Mukesh Kapila 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 -> US Medicare Pricing Policies Could Drive Global Costs and Hinder Access Worldwide 18/09/2026 Sophia Samantaroy A new modelling study suggests that US Medicare “Most-Favored-Nation” policies on drug prices would cut Medicare spending on brand-name drugs, but potentially incentivize companies to increase prices or delay new drug launches elsewhere. Efforts to control the cost of government spending on drugs culminated in a Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) policy, a Trump administration initiative which ties […] Continue reading -> Controversy, Secrecy and Suffering after Year One of the America First Global Health Strategy 18/09/2026 Kerry Cullinan Country controversies, secret terms, opaque procurement, and massive unspent Congressional funds have characterised the first year of the America First Global Health Strategy. “Services are weaker than they were a year ago, HIV testing is down, treatment of children living with HIV is down, and community-based prevention is gutted,” said Emily Bass, expert consultant for […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
Despite the Deadline, US Bilateral Health Deals Are Not Ready for Implementation 30/09/2026 Kerry Cullinan Although the United States’ bilateral health memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with 35 countries are due to come into effect on Thursday (1 October), the start of the US fiscal year, the money will not flow yet – as countries have until Friday to submit their final 2027 budgets. And while US officials have hailed the […] Continue reading -> After US Embassy Monitors Went Offline, Air Pollution Spiked in Parts of Africa and Asia 24/09/2026 Sophia Samantaroy New research found that after the US administration suspended its embassy air pollution monitoring initiative, air pollution increased by 23-33%, particularly in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where reliable monitoring data is scarce. The US’s abrupt shutdown of its embassy air pollution monitoring program in 2025 hit regions with little publicly available data the hardest, […] Continue reading -> DRC’s Ebola Outbreak: The Vast Mobilisation That Doesn’t Measure Itself (Part II) 21/09/2026 Mukesh Kapila 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 -> US Medicare Pricing Policies Could Drive Global Costs and Hinder Access Worldwide 18/09/2026 Sophia Samantaroy A new modelling study suggests that US Medicare “Most-Favored-Nation” policies on drug prices would cut Medicare spending on brand-name drugs, but potentially incentivize companies to increase prices or delay new drug launches elsewhere. Efforts to control the cost of government spending on drugs culminated in a Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) policy, a Trump administration initiative which ties […] Continue reading -> Controversy, Secrecy and Suffering after Year One of the America First Global Health Strategy 18/09/2026 Kerry Cullinan Country controversies, secret terms, opaque procurement, and massive unspent Congressional funds have characterised the first year of the America First Global Health Strategy. “Services are weaker than they were a year ago, HIV testing is down, treatment of children living with HIV is down, and community-based prevention is gutted,” said Emily Bass, expert consultant for […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
After US Embassy Monitors Went Offline, Air Pollution Spiked in Parts of Africa and Asia 24/09/2026 Sophia Samantaroy New research found that after the US administration suspended its embassy air pollution monitoring initiative, air pollution increased by 23-33%, particularly in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where reliable monitoring data is scarce. The US’s abrupt shutdown of its embassy air pollution monitoring program in 2025 hit regions with little publicly available data the hardest, […] Continue reading -> DRC’s Ebola Outbreak: The Vast Mobilisation That Doesn’t Measure Itself (Part II) 21/09/2026 Mukesh Kapila 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 -> US Medicare Pricing Policies Could Drive Global Costs and Hinder Access Worldwide 18/09/2026 Sophia Samantaroy A new modelling study suggests that US Medicare “Most-Favored-Nation” policies on drug prices would cut Medicare spending on brand-name drugs, but potentially incentivize companies to increase prices or delay new drug launches elsewhere. Efforts to control the cost of government spending on drugs culminated in a Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) policy, a Trump administration initiative which ties […] Continue reading -> Controversy, Secrecy and Suffering after Year One of the America First Global Health Strategy 18/09/2026 Kerry Cullinan Country controversies, secret terms, opaque procurement, and massive unspent Congressional funds have characterised the first year of the America First Global Health Strategy. “Services are weaker than they were a year ago, HIV testing is down, treatment of children living with HIV is down, and community-based prevention is gutted,” said Emily Bass, expert consultant for […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
DRC’s Ebola Outbreak: The Vast Mobilisation That Doesn’t Measure Itself (Part II) 21/09/2026 Mukesh Kapila 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 -> US Medicare Pricing Policies Could Drive Global Costs and Hinder Access Worldwide 18/09/2026 Sophia Samantaroy A new modelling study suggests that US Medicare “Most-Favored-Nation” policies on drug prices would cut Medicare spending on brand-name drugs, but potentially incentivize companies to increase prices or delay new drug launches elsewhere. Efforts to control the cost of government spending on drugs culminated in a Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) policy, a Trump administration initiative which ties […] Continue reading -> Controversy, Secrecy and Suffering after Year One of the America First Global Health Strategy 18/09/2026 Kerry Cullinan Country controversies, secret terms, opaque procurement, and massive unspent Congressional funds have characterised the first year of the America First Global Health Strategy. “Services are weaker than they were a year ago, HIV testing is down, treatment of children living with HIV is down, and community-based prevention is gutted,” said Emily Bass, expert consultant for […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
US Medicare Pricing Policies Could Drive Global Costs and Hinder Access Worldwide 18/09/2026 Sophia Samantaroy A new modelling study suggests that US Medicare “Most-Favored-Nation” policies on drug prices would cut Medicare spending on brand-name drugs, but potentially incentivize companies to increase prices or delay new drug launches elsewhere. Efforts to control the cost of government spending on drugs culminated in a Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) policy, a Trump administration initiative which ties […] Continue reading -> Controversy, Secrecy and Suffering after Year One of the America First Global Health Strategy 18/09/2026 Kerry Cullinan Country controversies, secret terms, opaque procurement, and massive unspent Congressional funds have characterised the first year of the America First Global Health Strategy. “Services are weaker than they were a year ago, HIV testing is down, treatment of children living with HIV is down, and community-based prevention is gutted,” said Emily Bass, expert consultant for […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
Controversy, Secrecy and Suffering after Year One of the America First Global Health Strategy 18/09/2026 Kerry Cullinan Country controversies, secret terms, opaque procurement, and massive unspent Congressional funds have characterised the first year of the America First Global Health Strategy. “Services are weaker than they were a year ago, HIV testing is down, treatment of children living with HIV is down, and community-based prevention is gutted,” said Emily Bass, expert consultant for […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts