The Committee discussed the implications for preparedness for smallpox-like events reflected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee noted how quickly diagnostics and vaccines could be developed and deployed when resources and political will were abundant. This rapidity was also due to the f...act that the genetic sequence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) had been shared worldwide. It was noted that in one country SARS-CoV-2 had been reconstructed in a laboratory from the viral genome sequence before the first case of COVID-19 had been reported, highlighting the benefits of synthetic biology technologies for accelerated development of diagnostics as well as the oft-described potential risks. Lessons learned about clinical care during the COVID-19 pandemic were also discussed.
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Irresponsible pharmaceutical companies fuel the proliferation of superbugs through supply chain pollution, the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) reports. The advocacy group uncovered lapses such as dirty production and inadequate waste disposal in the production of antimicrobials in China and I...ndia, which supplies most of the antimicrobials consumed in Europe. In a briefing detailing the pollution, the EPHA urges major purchasers of antibiotics to blacklist irresponsible pharmaceutical companies, demand that the industry clean up its supply chain, introduce greater transparency on the origin of antibiotics, and review and revise procurement policies from an ethics perspective.
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In reviewing State Parties report on the implementation of the Charter, the Committee has identified children on the move as an emerging child protection issue in African, and therefore commissioned a study in view of making recommendations to tackle the problem in Member States. The Committee obse...rved that there were challenges with regard to upholding the rights and welfare of children on the move and that there are gaps on the type of protection measures and treatment that is be accorded to such children within our beloved Continent.
The study presents key drivers of the children on the move, migration routes, challenges faced by children on the move, policy and institutionalized content protecting children on the move and finally the way forward.
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As part of the UN’s data strategy—which seeks to nurture data as a strategic asset for insight, impact and integrity—UNAIDS plays an indispensable role in generating data for effective action against the AIDS pandemic. It leads the
world’s most extensive data collection on HIV epidemiology,... programme coverage, policy and finance, and it publishes the most authoritative and up-to-date information on the HIV pandemic and response. The UNAIDS database of countryreported data is a foundational pillar for global and regional AIDS programmes, research, advocacy and resource mobilization
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Communities can play a critical role in suicide prevention. Facilitating community engagement in suicide prevention is an important task. The toolkit is a step-by-step guide for communities to engage in suicide prevention activities and have ownership of the process and keep efforts sustained. It is... hoped that the pilot version will be used, after necessary adaptation, in many countries and contexts, so that the final product can be strengthened and become more effective and user-friendly.
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Report of an intensive legal training and capacity-building workshop on law and noncommunicable diseases (Moscow, 30 May–3 June 2016)
The report summarizes important issues, themes and topics discussed during the meeting in Moscow, ranging from the design and implementation of legislation, reconc...iling public health objectives with international trade and investment law commitments, to examples of regional integration, such as the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union.
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The Global Strategy for Tuberculosis Research and Innovation will support the efforts of governments and other stakeholders to accelerate TB research and innovation, and improve equitable access to the benefits of research.
Availabl in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian
UN, international agencies and experts released a groundbreaking report demanding immediate, coordinated and ambitious action to avert a potentially disastrous drug-resistance crisis.
If no action is taken - warns the UN Ad hoc Interagency Coordinating Group on Antimicrobial Resistance who release...d the report – drug-resistant diseases could cause 10 million deaths each year by 2050 and damage to the economy as catastrophic as the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. By 2030, antimicrobial resistance could force up to 24 million people into extreme poverty.
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The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for major societal transformations that will require significant fiscal outlays as well as private investments. The fiscal outlays cover public investments, the public provision of social services, and social protection for vulnerable populations. The ke...y message of this paper, building on recent reports by the IMF and SDSN (IMF, 2019b; SDSN, 2018) is that the governments of Low-Income Developing Countries (LIDCs) will require a substantial increase in fiscal (budget) revenues, far beyond what they can achieve by their own fiscal reforms. For this reason, SDG financing will require substantial international cooperation to enable the LIDCs to finance their SDG fiscal outlays. One important source of increased revenues should be the globally coordinated taxation of ultra-high-net worth assets. Today’s ultra-rich should help to pay for the survival and basic needs of the world’s poorest people.
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March - December 2018
The Government of Bangladesh has kept its borders open to Rohingya refugees and leads the humanitarian response. The people of Bangladesh continue to show tremendous generosity and hospitality in the face of a massive influx. In keeping with its policies, the Government of Ban...gladesh refers to the Rohingya as “Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals”, in the present context. The UN system refers to this population as refugees, in line with the applicable international framework for protection and solutions, and the resulting accountabilities for the country of origin and asylum as well as the international community as a whole. In support of these efforts, the humanitarian community has rapidly scaled up its operations as well. Over a two-month period, the refugee population in Cox’s Bazar more than quadrupled.
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Background paper 11
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response
May 2021
Lateral-flow rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) continue to play a vital role in global health in the management and diagnosis of infectious diseases, including malaria, HIV and COVID-19. Visually interpreted RDTs, more than any other class of diagnostics, fulfil WHO’s ASSURED criteria,1 enabling their... use at the lowest levels of health care and in self-testing.2 Their utility is, however, compromised every time a test is incorrectly performed or interpreted or its result is not available in a timely manner for clinical decisionmaking and surveillance.
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A lot has happened this year. While we continued to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, we were hit by disease outbreaks and
humanitarian crises. Yet, despite these challenges, we marched on, resolute in resolving critical health systems issues to increase
access to quality healthcare services. To furth...er our vision and bring concrete actions to reality, under
the leadership of the Government of South Sudan, we developed the Health Sector Strategic Plan to define the strategic
approaches, key interventions, mapping resource needs, and the implementation framework to strengthen the health system
to deliver essential quality health services equitably for 2023 to 2027. For WHO, this Plan will usher in a new reality -- access
to lifesaving or health-promoting interventions is doable and possible, making the health sector fairer, especially for those
unable to pay
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Adolescence, defined as the period between 10 and 19 years of age, is a developmental stage during which many psychosocial and mental health challenges emerge. There is a well-established link between mental health and HIV outcomes. Adolescents and young adults living with HIV typically have additio...nal mental health needs linked to their experiences of living with and managing a chronic illness, along with prevailing stigma and discrimination. Mental health promotion and prevention is thus a critical priority for this group.
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This paper provides information to assist World Bank and GFDRR staff in affecting disability-inclusive DRM. It is based upon desk reviews of existing practice, as well as consultations with experts in the field of disability-inclusive DRM. The paper:
- Illustrates promising practices related to... disability-inclusive DRM;
- Identifies key gaps in knowledge and practices;
- Identifies value-added areas for GFDRR and the World Bank, including specific actions they can take to advance the disability and social inclusion agenda in DRM;
It includess:
- Relevant guiding international policy frameworks;
- Disability inclusion in the priorities of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction;
- Illustrations of promising practices in disability-inclusive DRM;
- An annex of resources related to disability and DRM.
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