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Jun192025 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

FDA Approves Twice-Yearly HIV Prevention Shot, Marking Major Breakthrough

GHealth News - The FDA has approved a new long-acting HIV prevention drug called lenacapavir, branded as Yeztugo, which could significantly reduce new infections. Administered via injection just twice a year, it offers nearly complete protection based on clinical trials. This is a major advancement compared to existing daily pills or bimonthly injections like Apretude (cabotegravir). Lenacapavir, produced by Gilead Sciences, is already used to treat drug-resistant HIV and costs $42,000 annually, though most patients receive financial assistance or insurance coverage. By contrast, daily pills cost about $1 each, and Apretude costs $24,000 per year. Despite its potential to transform HIV prevention, experts warn that funding cuts, especially to Medicaid and PEPFAR, may limit global acc...

Jun52025 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Cholera Crisis Deepens: WHO Rolls Out Emergency Plan for Eastern Mediterranean

Communicable Diseases

GHealth News - The World Health Organization’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean has launched a new strategy (2025–2028) to reduce cholera in the region by addressing its root causes and preventing future outbreaks. The plan comes amid a significant rise in cholera and acute watery diarrhea cases, with the region currently accounting for 55% of global cholera cases and deaths in 2025. Key challenges include protracted conflict, poverty, poor health systems, weak water and sanitation infrastructure, displacement, and climate shocks. Countries like Sudan (65,291 cases, 1,721 deaths), Yemen (271,000 suspected cases, 884 deaths), and Syria face especially severe outbreaks. The strategy aligns with global frameworks and focuses on five key pillars: Multisectoral coordinati...

May302025 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Cholera Kills 172 in a Week as Sudan’s Health System Collapses Under War

May262025 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

The Unseen Enemy: Navigating Antimicrobial Resistance

AMR

Nobel Prize - As bacteria become resistant to existing antibiotics, we are running out of drugs to treat infectious diseases. This is a problem that Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, foresaw already in 1945. Today the hunt is on to find new antibiotics with the potential to save millions of lives. At a glance Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health crisis, with predictions that 10 million people per year could die from drug-resistant infections by 2050. Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin revolutionised medicine. Fleming warned in 1945 that improper use of antibiotics could lead to antibiotic resistance. Scientists are searching for new antibiotics in various environments, such as deserts, oceans, and even within the human body, to combat AMR. ...

May212025 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

FDA Grants Limited Approval to Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine for High-Risk Groups Only

COVID19

GHealth News - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted full approval to Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine, but with limited use: it's only approved for adults 65 and older, or for those 12 to 64 with underlying health conditions that raise their risk from COVID-19. Previously, Novavax’s vaccine had emergency use authorization for all individuals 12 and older. Unlike mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, which are fully approved for those 12+ and authorized for children as young as 6 months, Novavax uses a more traditional protein-based approach, making it unique among available options in the U.S. The FDA did not explain the reasoning behind the unusual restrictions, though the decision aligns with skepticism from Trump administration officials, including Health Secretary R...

May192025 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

WHO at World Health Assembly: Nations Spend on War, But Not on Health

Global Health

GHealth News - At the opening of the World Health Assembly in Geneva, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that millions are losing access to essential healthcare due to deep funding cuts affecting over 70 countries. Clinics are closing, health workers are being laid off, and patients are facing rising out-of-pocket costs. The WHO itself is facing a $600 million budget shortfall and expects a 21% funding reduction over the next two years. With the United States scaling back support, China is set to become the organization’s largest financial contributor. Dr. Tedros called on nations to realign their priorities, stressing that defense spending continues to eclipse investment in global health security. "Countries spend vast sums protecting themselves against attac...

May152025 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Germany Reaffirms Commitment to Global Health at Parliamentary Breakfast

Global Health

GHealth News - A new legislative period has begun, bringing with it both challenges and opportunities for Germany’s global health leadership. Against this backdrop, Global Health Hub Germany hosted a morning Parliamentary Breakfast on May 15, where parliamentarians and representatives from eight diverse stakeholder groups came together in Berlin. The goal: to discuss how Germany can actively shape and strengthen its role in global health governance. During the discussion, a central theme emerged, the value of sustained investment in global health. Over the past five decades, global health efforts have led to tangible improvements, including increased life expectancy and a decline in maternal and child mortality. One striking example: every dollar spent on vaccination yields an estimated...

May122025 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Novartis Ensures Continued Malaria Drug Production Despite Aid Challenges

Communicable Diseases

GHealth News - In a powerful commitment to global health, Novartis has announced it will continue producing life-saving malaria and leprosy medicines, even if orders stop due to global aid funding cuts. Speaking to Reuters, Dr. Lutz Hegemann, President of Global Health at Novartis, stressed that the company will not be the bottleneck in access to essential treatments. Despite the unstable future of key funding sources like the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative and broader donor pullbacks, Novartis will maintain its annual output of 28 million malaria treatments at not-for-profit pricing. It will also continue donating leprosy drugs through the WHO. Beyond supply, Novartis is ramping up its R&D investment in neglected tropical diseases, doubling its pledge to $490 million by 202...

May102025 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Bill Gates Will Close Gates Foundation by 2045, Give Fortune to Global Health

Global Health

by Alice Park - Time Magazine So far, 2025 has been a terrible year for global health. The Trump Administration is slashing funding to a number of international programs; closing down USAID, the government’s major aid development arm; and withdrawing U.S. membership from the World Health Organization. But a glimmer of hope arrived on May 8, when Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, announced that he will be infusing the struggling field with most of his fortune—$200 billion, which he built after creating Microsoft—to be spent by 2045. He also plans to close down the foundation at that time. Since Gates and his former wife, Melinda French Gates, created the foundation 25 years ago, the organization has contributed more than $100 billion to global causes, primar...

May42025 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

China Pushes Back on Lab Leak Claims, Suggests Covid-19 Originated in U.S.

COVID19

GHealth News - In response to renewed U.S. allegations that Covid-19 originated from a Chinese lab, China released a white paper asserting the virus may have emerged in the United States. The document, published by Xinhua, criticized the U.S. for politicizing the pandemic's origins and emphasized that a joint WHO-China study found a lab leak to be “extremely unlikely.” China also accused the U.S. of ignoring international concerns and cited claims that Covid-19 may have appeared in the U.S. before the official timeline. Meanwhile, the CIA recently assessed with “low confidence” that a lab origin in China is more likely, though it noted both lab and natural origins remain possible.