UNAIDS urges leaders to ‘act now’ to ensure human rights for people affected by HIV ANALYSIS | AGENCIES | At the 25th International AIDS Conference (#AIDS2024), UNAIDS urged all participants to stay committed because the end of AIDS is within grasp. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) called on …
Read More »‘Antiretrovirals Alone Will Not End the HIV Pandemic’
4 key takeaways from 5th HIV Research for Prevention Conference ANALYSIS | SETHI NCUBE | The 5th HIV Research for Prevention Conference (HIVR4P 2024) held in Lima, Peru from 6 to 10 October, marked a significant milestone in the global fight against HIV, bringing together more than 1,300 scientists, advocates, community …
Read More »The slow Mpox response is another pandemic wake-up call
The response to the current mpox outbreak in Central Africa suggests that we have not learned the lessons of COVID-19 COMMENT | NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA | It feels like a movie we have already seen. A new viral strain is killing people in some of the world’s poorest countries, and although vaccines against …
Read More »WHO chief: New pandemic may strike at any time
GENEVA | TASS | A new pandemic may strike at any time, World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned, addressing a session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) working on a draft agreement to prevent pandemics. “As the current outbreak of H5N1 reminds us, the next pandemic …
Read More »World remains ill-prepared for the next pandemic
But earlier this month, the 194 members of the WHO World Health Assembly passed several International Health Regulations COMMENT | MICHAEL BAKER & ALEXANDER GILLESPIE | The international community’s recent failure to conclude a global pandemic agreement leaves large gaps in our capacity to deal with the next major infectious disease …
Read More »CSOs punch holes in WHO pandemic agreement proposals
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Civil society Organizations (CSOs) have expressed concern over the latest proposal for the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement. In a statement released on Thursday, CSO officials expressed grave concerns over the inequities embedded in the current draft of the World’s first accord meant …
Read More »World nears first pandemic agreement
Historic move makes world better prepared for, and ready to respond to, future public health emergencies ANALYSIS | AGENCIES | Government that are state parties to the International Health Regulations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) have inched closer to signing the world’s first agreement to strengthen global collaboration among governments …
Read More »To prevent the next pandemic, follow the science
This requires a multi-faceted approach that bridges the gap between science , policy and stakeholders COMMENT | MARISA PEYRE, JUSTIN VAISSE, PETER SANDS | Science is crucial to improving pandemic preparedness and prevention. It not only deepens our understanding of pathogen transmission and containment but also provides us with the flexibility …
Read More »Africa’s tourism industry on the rebound
UNWTO data shows international arrivals across Africa are back to 88% of pre-pandemic levels Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE |Following the COVID-19 pandemic crisis that left the tourism industry across the continent on the brink of collapse, the sector is said to be on the rebound, according to the United …
Read More »UNICEF report finds declining confidence in childhood vaccines during pandemic
United Nations, USA | Xinhua | A new report of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) finds that public perception of the importance of vaccines for children declined during the COVID-19 pandemic in 52 out of 55 countries studied. The State of the World’s Children 2023 report, which, for the first time, …
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