Global Health

GHealth News - Bill Gates has outlined proposals for a new global pandemic surveillance unit, claiming the World Health Organization currently has "less than 10 full-time people" on the lookout for deadly new viruses.  The Microsoft cofounder was pushing countries to take the threat of a global pandemic more seriously long before COVID-19 arrived, warning viewers of a 2015 TED Talk the world was "not ready" for a deadly outbreak.  Speaking to the FT ahead of the release of his upcoming book, "How to Prevent the Next Pandemic", Gates said his proposed "Global Epidemic Response and Mobilization" initiative should fall under the WHO's management.  The billionaire philanthropist suggested the task force be put together to monitor global hea...

GHealth News - Health officials in the UK have released new details in their ongoing investigation of an unusual series of hepatitis cases in children. The new report helps explain why they have zeroed in on a possible link to the adenovirus family, the UK Health Security Agency announced Monday. Since the beginning of the year, at least 111 children have been identified in the UK with acute liver inflammation that does not appear to be caused by the group of hepatitis viruses that would've been a more likely culprit. Many more cases have been announced in the US and other countries around the world. Roughly three-quarters of the 53 children who were tested for adenovirus in the UK came back positive. The virus that causes Covid-19, on the other hand, was found in only a sixth of childr...

GHealth News - Public health officials in Europe and the United States are investigating dozens of puzzling cases of severe hepatitis in young children. Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. The cause is often a virus, but the viruses that commonly cause the illness — hepatitis A, B, C, D and E — have been ruled out in the cases in question, leaving doctors searching for the culprit. In several cases, the illness was so severe that the children needed a liver transplant. No deaths have been reported. The World Health Organization on Friday said it was investigating 74 cases of severe acute hepatitis in children under age 13 in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Three cases were also reported in Spain, the WHO said. It's not clear when symptoms for most of the ...

At the 2021 World Health Summit (WHS) in Berlin, Professor Detlev Ganten, Co-Founder of the Virchow Foundation for Global Health, publicly announced the establishment of the Virchow Prize for Global Health. GHealth News - The nomination phase of the newly established Virchow Prize for Global Health has begun. This major international award honours outstanding achievements towards addressing today's complex health challenges. The Prize is awarded annually in Berlin, with the inaugural ceremony held 15 October 2022, on the eve of the World Health Summit. The Virchow Prize for Global Health aims to incentivize and spur great minds in their commitment to global health. Laureates will be awarded an endowment of €500,000 for their longstanding contributions towards improving...

GHealth News - On 23 March 2022, Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, met in Geneva to deliberate on the EU - WHO partnership in global health and the ongoing preparations for a global accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. The two senior representatives of the partner organizations signed a letter of intent for a € 24.5 million EU contribution to the World Health Organization, to support the local manufacturing of and access to vaccines, medicines and health technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Thanking Commissioner Urpilainen, Dr Tedros commented: ‘’One of the most obvious lessons of the pandemic is the urgent need to increase local production of vaccines, especially in low- and m...

By: Madhukar Pai Young demonstrators hold placards as they attend a climate change protest organised by "Youth Strike 4 Climate", opposite the Houses of Parliament in central London on February 15, 2019. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP) (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images) How do you think the world is tackling crises like pandemics and climate change? Poorly, irresponsibly, recklessly, inequitably, and lacking in urgency and global solidarity, were the responses I got from 24 young people in global health from around the world. In fact, their responses were stunningly consistent and crystal clear. These young people are outraged with the short-sightedness and self-centeredness of leaders and governments. They are tired of waiting for grown-ups to grow up and do something. In...

A patient rests under a mosquito net at the dengue ward at Benazir Bhutto Hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on Oct. 13. Without more action, a report found, billions more people worldwide could be at risk of contracting diseases like dengue fever, which is spread by mosquitoes that are expanding their range as temperatures warm. Muhammad Reza / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images By Evan Bush As temperatures warm, the health risks of climate change are expected to intensify in the U.S. and worldwide. The effects of climate change have already left millions of people hungry, caused deaths during heat waves and strained some people’s mental health as they are forced to leave their homes because of extreme weather, according to a major report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Pa...

By: Madhukar Pai Global health is a field that was born out of colonialism and white supremacy. Even today, it is neither diverse nor truly global. Every aspect of global health is dominated by individuals and institutions in high-income countries (HIC). This includes funding, authorship of publications, leadership of agencies, composition of boards, editorial positions, awards, and even participation in conferences. So, if global health has to be reimagined, people that typically hold power and privilege must master the art of allyship, where they see their primary role as allies or accomplices rather than leaders. Data show that two-thirds of global health agencies are headquartered in just three countries: Switzerland, UK and USA. More than 80% of CEOs and ...

GHealth News - The World Health Organization advised Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens housed in the country's public health laboratories to prevent "any potential spills" that would spread disease among the population, the agency told Reuters. Like many other countries, Ukraine has public health laboratories researching how to mitigate the threats of dangerous diseases affecting both animals and humans including, most recently, COVID-19. Its labs have received support from the United States, the European Union and the WHO. Biosecurity experts say Russia's movement of troops into Ukraine and bombardment of its cities have raised the risk of an escape of disease-causing pathogens, should any of those facilities be damaged. In response to questions from Reuters about its work...