Fall in child mortality rate slows
9/1/2023: An estimated 5 million children died before their fifth birthday and 1.9 million babies were stillborn during 2021. The UN reports that 54 countries will fall short of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals target for under-five mortality.
Source: Unicef
Why the world isn’t ready for the next pandemic
21/12/2022: Several initiatives to prepare the world for the next pandemic have been put in place over the past two years. But many of them remain a work in progress, leaving the world unprepared for another global health threat in 2023.
Source: Devex
Malaria cases and deaths remained stable in 2021
8/12/2022: According to this year’s World malaria report, the global tally of cases reached 247 million in 2021, a modest increase over the previous two years. Total funding in 2021 was $3.5 billion, well below the estimated $7.3 billion required globally to stay on track to defeat malaria.
Source: World Health Organization
Countries agree to develop legally binding pandemic accord
7/12/2022: Member States of the World Health Organization have agreed to prepare a legally binding agreement designed to protect the world from future pandemics. The move represents a milestone in the global process to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: World Health Organization
Proven solutions must be put in place to end AIDS by 2030
30/11/2022: The UN Secretary-General has warned that the world is off track to end AIDS by 2030. In 2021, more than 38 million people globally were living with HIV, 1.5 million people were newly infected and 650,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses.
Source: UN News
Africa’s advances in maternal, infant mortality face setbacks
1/12/2022: A new Atlas of African Health Statistics 2022, published by the World Health Organization, predicts that 2030 rates of infant and maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa will fall far short of the Sustainable Development Goal targets. The slowdown has been exacerbated by the disruptive effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: UN News
Global Fund to Fight AIDS hits $15.7 billion in fundraising
18/11/2022: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has obtained funding pledges that bring the total close to its target of $18 billion for the next three years. Last minute contributions from the UK and Italy were vital.
Source: Devex
Global disparity in access to essential vaccines
9/11/2022: Limited supply and unequal vaccine distribution means that lower-income countries consistently struggle to access essential inoculations, according to the latest Global Vaccine Market Report, released by the World Health Organization. Ten manufacturers alone provide 70 per cent of vaccine doses, excluding those for COVID-19.
Source: UN News
Global leaders commit $2.6 billion to end polio
18/10/2022: Global leaders have confirmed $2.6 billion in funding toward the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s 2022-2026 Strategy. There is concern about recent detections of polio in previously polio-free countries.
Source: World Health Organization
Let’s fight to end AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria
15/9/2022: New data reveals a global faltering response to HIV. In 2021 there were 1.5 million new infections—over one million more than the global target. A successful replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is vital.
Source: Inter Press Service