Global health

Vaccine coalition launched to tackle emerging global health threats

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations — which will fund the research and development of vaccines to prevent emerging infectious diseases — was launched at the World Economic Forum 2017 annual general meeting in Davos, Switzerland.…

Q&A: WHO director-general candidates’ views on global health

Six candidates in the race to be director-general of the World Health Organization outline their priorities and vision for global health.…

Blood pressure increasing globally, review finds

Blood pressure across the global population increased substantially between 1990 and 2015, according to research looking at the burden of hypertension on populations and its associated mortality and impact on quality of life.…

Global spend on medicines to reach US$1.5 trillion by 2020, analysts project

The global spend on medicines is predicted to reach US$1.5 trillion by 2020 — a rise of 33% from 2016 figures, according to a financial forecast by the QuintilesIMS Institute.…

Access to HIV drugs rises across the world, says UNAIDS

The number of people in the world with HIV who gained access to antiretroviral treatment in the past six months has risen by one million, according to a report published by the international charity UNAIDS on 21 November 2016. There are now 18.2 million people receiving the therapy – dou…

Access to Medicine Index says industry is making ‘moderate progress’

A total of 2 billion people worldwide cannot get the medicines they need despite “moderate progress” by industry to improve access over the past two years, according to the latest Access to Medicine Index.…

Q&A: World Bank warns that inaction on antimicrobial resistance could increase healthcare costs in developing countries

Tim Evans from the World Bank Group talks about new research that shows how inaction on antimicrobial resistance could wipe out decades of healthcare gains and dramatically increase healthcare costs in developing countries.…

Access to essential drugs achievable for up to US$2 per person per month

It would cost between US$1 and US$2 per person per month to ensure those living in a low-to-middle income country have access to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) list of 201 essential medicines, according to a landmark report.…

World Health Organization to send 1 million doses of cholera vaccine to Haiti to avert new cases

The World Health Organization will send 1 million doses of oral cholera vaccine to Haiti because of concerns that the hurricane-devastated country will experience a spike in new cholera cases.…

Global declaration to fight antimicrobial resistance

A declaration to tackle drug-resistant infections is due to be signed by 193 countries at the United Nations General Assembly on 21 September 2016.…