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Oct32022 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Scientists race to test vaccines for Uganda’s Ebola outbreak

A multipronged international effort has begun to pull out all the stops to launch trials of experimental Ebola vaccines in Uganda, which declared an outbreak of the deadly disease on 20 September. According to the most recent World Health Organization (WHO) update, Uganda has had 18 confirmed and 18 suspected cases of Ebola, including 23 deaths—an unusually high case fatality rate of 64%. A trial of a vaccine candidate that’s farthest along in development could launch before the end of next month. Proven vaccines exist for Zaire ebolavirus, which has led to a dozen outbreaks in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and was responsible for the massive Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014. But those vaccines cannot control this outbreak because it’s being driven by a dis...

Oct12022 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Africa Calls for New Public Health Order

Global Health

Dr Ahmed Ogwell, Acting Director General, Africa CDC The African Union Commission and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have called on governments, multilateral organizations, philanthropies, the private sector, and civil society organizations to support the full implementation of Africa’s New Public Health Order to drive global health security. The request for support was made at a series of events leading up to the 77th United Nations General Assembly.The New Public Health Order for Africa is a roadmap to sustainable health outcomes and health security. It is defined by five pillars: Strong African Public Health Institutions that represent African priorities in global health governance and that drive progress on key health indicators;Expa...

Sep292022 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Qatar confirms COVID test requirements for World Cup fans

COVID19

Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar GHealth News - Fans attending the World Cup in Qatar must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test regardless of their vaccination status, organisers said in a statement on Thursday. All visitors aged six and over must present a negative result from a PCR test taken within 48 hours before their departure or from a rapid antigen test taken in the 24 hours before arriving, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy said. Results of the rapid antigen tests will only be accepted if they are from official medical centres and not self-administered. No further tests will be required in Qatar if visitors do not develop symptoms of COVID-19. Visitors aged 18 and above will also be required to download a government-run contact tracing ph...

Sep162022 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

JOHN NKENGASONG awarded the international 2022 VIRCHOW PRIZE for Global Health

Global Health

JOHN NKENGASONG awarded the international 2022 VIRCHOW PRIZE for Global Health Virchow Prize Committee has selected the inaugural laureate. The first Virchow Prize, held under the High Patronage of the German Federal President, is endowed with €500,000. Following a nomination phase and thorough selection process, the Virchow Prize Committee has reached a decision to award the 2022 Virchow Prize for Global Health to Dr John N. Nkengasong. The Virchow Prize for Global Health is a prestigious, international award which honours laureates for their lifetime achievements towards health for all. Most importantly, these accomplishments must align and uphold the United Nations 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Born in Cameroon, Dr Nkengasong has over thirty years ...

Sep112022 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

New malaria vaccine is world-changing, say scientists

Communicable Diseases

GHealth News - A malaria vaccine with "world-changing" potential has been developed by scientists at the University of Oxford. The team expect it to be rolled out next year after trials showed up to 80% protection against the deadly disease. Crucially, say the scientists, their vaccine is cheap and they already have a deal to manufacture more than 100 million doses a year. The charity Malaria No More said recent progress meant children dying from malaria could end "in our lifetimes". It has taken more than a century to develop effective vaccines as the malaria parasite, which is spread by mosquitoes, is spectacularly complex and elusive. It is a constantly moving target, shifting forms inside the body, which make it hard to immunise against. Last year, the World Health Organ...

Sep22022 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

China Locks Down 21 Million People in Chengdu After COVID Outbreak

COVID19

GHealth News - About 21 million people in the Chinese city of Chengdu have gone into lockdown as authorities raced to snuff out a new Covid-19 outbreak. China is the last major economy wedded to a zero-Covid policy, stamping out virus flare-ups with snap shutdowns, mass testing and lengthy quarantines. Chengdu, in the south-west, became the latest city to announce a shutdown, saying in an official notice that residents must “stay home in principle” from 6pm on Thursday to combat a new wave of infections. Each household will be allowed to send one person out to buy groceries and essential goods per day, provided they have tested negative in the previous 24 hours, the notice said. It said all residents would be tested for the virus between Thursday and Sunday, and urged them not ...

Aug212022 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

FDA authorizes emergency use for Novavax Covid-19 vaccine for ages 12 to 17

COVID19

GHealth News - Biotechnology company Novavax announced on Friday that its Covid-19 vaccine has been authorized for emergency use by the U.S Food and Drug Administration for adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17. In July, Novavax’s two-dose Covid-19 vaccine for adults ages 18 and over got its emergency approval from the FDA. Having more vaccine options for adults and children will “hopefully help increase vaccination rates, particularly as we prepare for ongoing surges of Covid-19 with the start of fall and the back-to-school season,” Stanley C. Erck, president and CEO of Novavax, said in a statement. Novavax was one of the original participants in the U.S. government’s race to develop a Covid vaccine in 2020, receiving $1.8 billion in taxpayer funding from Operation Warp Speed...

Aug202022 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Egypt to launch award for confronting climate change in Africa

Climate Change

Sharm El-Sheikh Ghealth News - Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad attended the signing of a trilateral MoU between the ministry’s Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), the Industrial Modernisation Centre (IMC), and the Association for Sustainable Quality of Living (Estidama) to launch the award, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday. The award is meant to encourage sectors and stakeholders to follow an ecofriendly approach and mitigate the effects of climate change, the ministry noted. It will also encourage stakeholders to apply innovation-based initiatives in science and technology to support the measures to combat climate change and achieve the sustainable development goals, the ministry added. The award will be presented to the winners during the C...

Aug92022 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Taking Insights To Action To Promote Global Health: Creating Successful Partnerships

Global Health

By: Malcolm Quigley Within the field of strategic partnerships, we come across multiple different ways in which we can deliver on our goals. Sometimes we can see a clear path forward, and other times the path is a lot more complex. It’s a bit like how we navigate city streets. In some cities, we can follow a numbered and alphabetized system, but streets in other cities are name-based. Indeed, some cities use both systems. On top of that, there are multiple ways to travel through the cities that are also based on the naming conventions. It can be very confusing and seem unstructured for anyone who is fully accustomed to one system or the other. It is certainly the case in strategic partnerships that we sometimes have a straightforward route to the end goal, but in others, the jour...

Jul242022 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

WHO declares global health emergency over monkeypox outbreak

Global Health

GHealth News - The rapidly spreading monkeypox outbreak represents a global health emergency, the World Health Organization's highest level of alert, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Saturday. The WHO label - a "public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)" - is designed to trigger a coordinated international response and could unlock funding to collaborate on sharing vaccines and treatments. Members of an expert committee that met on Thursday to discuss the potential recommendation were split on the decision, with nine members against and six in favour of the declaration, prompting Tedros himself to break the deadlock, he told reporters. "Although I am declaring a public health emergency of international concern, for the moment this is an outbre...