Geneva, Switzerland | THE INDEPENDENT | An additional USD 2 billion is required in 2021 to finance and secure up to a total of 1.8 billion donor-funded doses of COVID-19 vaccines, according to the COVAX facility, an initiative led by UNICEF, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organization …
Read More »Vaccine distribution exposes glaring global health inequity
COVID-19 vaccines have not yet arrived in up to 10 African countries as of March 25, according to the WHO Nairobi, Kenya | COMMENT – XINHUA | World Health Day, which falls on April 8, should be a time where we strive to build a fairer and healthier world. But …
Read More »Cuba boosts housing program despite COVID-19 pandemic
Havana, Cuba | XINHUA | Dianelis Chavero, a 43-year-old public transport employee living in Havana’s 10 de Octubre district, is eager to move into a brand-new apartment the government has allocated to her family. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the tightening U.S. economic sanctions against the Caribbean nation, thousands of …
Read More »Mental health problems to be next pandemic after COVID-19
Many people with mental disorders are not receiving treatment in poor and middle-income countries, causing an unprecedented global crisis Madrid, Spain | Xinhua | Mental health problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will be the next pandemic, said a study issued by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) on Monday. …
Read More »Quarantine-free travel between COVID-free New Zealand and Australia starts April 19
Wellington, New Zealand | XINHUA | New Zealand’s successful management of COVID-19 pandemic means quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia will start on April 19, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Tuesday. The conditions for starting to open up quarantine free travel with Australia have been met, Ardern told a …
Read More »COVID-19: Ketchup packs shortage hits market
Washington, US | THE INDEPENDENT | The COVID-19 pandemic has created a new normal, seeing greater demand for takeaway meals, and ketchup packets to go with french fries in particular. The Wall Street Journal has reported a shortage in the US, with Kraft Heinz, which makes most of the …
Read More »George Floyd case underscores thorny issue of U.S. police reform
Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The ongoing murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin who last year killed unarmed black man George Floyd underscores the issue of police reform, which U.S. President Joe Biden has said he wants to address. The full video of Floyd’s arrest played by prosecutors in …
Read More »Global trade frictions severe in 2020: report
Beijing, China | Xinhua | Global trade frictions were severe last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and also the consequent economic decline, said a report from China’s trade promotion body. The global economic and trade measures index, introduced by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, was on …
Read More »Baby born in Spain with COVID-19 antibodies
Madrid, Spain | XINHUA | A boy born last week on the Spanish island of Ibiza has become the first newborn in Spain with COVID-19 antibodies, after his mother received the vaccine in the third trimester of her pregnancy, according to local media reports. A sample from the baby’s umbilical …
Read More »UN chief welcomes revocation of U.S. sanctions against ICC officials
Under Donald Trump, the United States imposed sanctions on the ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, after she launched a war crimes investigation targeting US military personnel in Afghanistan United Nations | Xinhua | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday welcomed the revocation by the United States of former President Donald Trump’s executive …
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