Development Health Advice 

Without access to vaccines, COVID will continue widening inequality everywhere 

“Without access to vaccines, the gap will widen further”, warned the UN multi-faceted agency, calling for “strong partnership and cooperation at the national, regional and global levels”.   Debt inequality  World Bank President David R. Malpass, pointed out that inequality runs deep, encompassing not only vaccinations but also median income, interest rate differentials, bankruptcy processes and access to credit – all… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Low-income countries have received just 0.2 per cent of all COVID-19 shots given

Although more than 700 million vaccine doses have been administered globally, richer countries have received more than 87 per cent, and low-income countries just 0.2 per cent.  On average in high-income countries 1 in 4 people has received a #COVID19 vaccine. In low-income countries it’s 1 in 500+. Scarcity of supply is driving vaccine nationalism and vaccine diplomacy. This is… Read More
Development Health Advice 

COVID-19 equitable vaccine scheme reaches more than 100 countries and economies

The first delivery of lifesaving jabs arrived in Ghana on 24 February. Announcing the news on Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that more than 38 million doses of AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Serum Institute of India-produced shots (one of the AstraZeneca vaccines known as COVISHIELD) have been transported globally so far. AstraZenica jabs have ‘saved millions’ The development comes… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Migrants left stranded and without assistance by COVID-19 lockdowns 

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the first year of the pandemic saw more than 111,000 travel restrictions and border closures around the world at their peak in December.   These measures “have thwarted many people’s ability to pursue migration as a tool to escape conflict, economic collapse, environmental disaster and other crises”, IOM maintained.  In mid-July, nearly three million people were stranded, sometimes without access to consular assistance, nor the means… Read More
Development Health Advice 

‘Plausible’ link between AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots, WHO committee says

The opinion by the subcommittee of WHO’s Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) follows a review of latest information from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the United Kingdom’s regulatory body MHRA, and other countries.  The EMA concluded that unusual blood clots with low blood platelets should be listed as very rare side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine, while the… Read More
Development Health Advice 

COVID-19: WHO chief outlines five ‘vital changes’ to address inequities

“While we have all undoubtedly been impacted by the pandemic, the poorest and most marginalized have been hit hardest – both in terms of lives and livelihoods lost,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, speaking in Geneva on Tuesday.  It’s #WorldHealthDay! For many people, health is the foundation to do the things in life they love;… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Dispelling misinformation, countering vaccine hesitancy vital to beat COVID-19, countries affirm

More than 181 Member States voiced support for the text entitled “The Political Declaration on Equitable Global Access to COVID-19 Vaccines”, which was unveiled at an informal meeting of the Assembly on Friday. “We strongly believe that ‘no one can be safe, until everyone is safe’, and that equitable and affordable access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines must be… Read More
Health Advice Lifestyle 

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: closing the gap to end neglected tropical diseases

Today, on World Water Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its strategy on water, sanitation and hygiene as part of  joint efforts by the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and the neglected tropical diseases (NTD) sectors towards ending these diseases over the next decade.   The ‘‘Global Strategy on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases –… Read More
Development Health Advice 

COVID-19: AstraZeneca vaccine benefits still ‘largely positive’

Dr Rogério  Pinto de Sá Gaspar, Director for Regulation and Prequalification, was responding to a journalist’s question regarding links between the vaccine and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, a rare blood clotting syndrome.  The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Tuesday denied that it had established any link, following reports that one of its experts stated there was a connection.   Expert… Read More
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