World Health Organization (WHO) / Press Release

Source: World Health Organization (WHO) | Sep 28, 2020

Coronavirus: Global partnership to make available 120 million affordable, quality COVID-19 rapid tests for low- and middle-income countries

The Global Fund commits an initial US$50 million to enable countries to purchase the new tests

A full access package includes WHO policy guidance on the use of antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests, manufacturer volume guarantees for low and middle-income countries, catalytic funding to assist governments to deploy the tests and an initial US$50 million procurement fund; several rapid, point-of-care antigen tests are being assessed by WHO for…

Source: World Health Organization (WHO) | Sep 22, 2020

Coronavirus: Boost for global response to COVID-19 as economies worldwide formally sign up to COVAX facility

156 economies, representing roughly 64% of the global population in total, are now either committed to or eligible for the COVAX Facility

64 higher income economies have now joined the COVAX Facility, with a further 38 economies expected to sign in the coming days; these self-financing economies, which include 29 from ‘Team Europe’ participating as part of an agreement with the European Commission, join 92 lower income economies eligible for financial support…

Source: World Health Organization (WHO) | Sep 02, 2020

Coronavirus: WHO Guidance on the use of corticosteroids in patients with COVID-19

Corticosteroids are listed in the WHO model list of essential medicines, readily available globally at a low cost

WHO has published guidance for clinicians and health care decision-makers on the use of corticosteroids in patients with COVID-19. We recommend systemic corticosteroids for the treatment of patients with severe and critical COVID-19. We suggest not to use corticosteroids in the treatment of patients with non-severe COVID-19 as the treatment. Corticosteroids…

Source: World Health Organization (WHO) | Aug 24, 2020

Coronavirus - Africa: 172 Countries & Multiple Candidate Vaccines engaged in COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility

Goal of bringing the pandemic under control via equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines needs urgent, broadscale commitment and investment from countries

Nine CEPI-supported candidate vaccines are part of the COVAX initiative, with a further nine candidates under evaluation, and procurement conversations on-going with additional producers not currently receiving research and development (R&D) funding through COVAX – giving COVAX the largest and most diverse COVID-19 vaccine portfolio in the world; 80 potentially…

Source: World Health Organization (WHO) | Aug 14, 2020

Coronavirus - Africa: International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), WHO and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) statement on access to internationally controlled medicines during COVID-19 pandemic

There is a need to ensure access to controlled medicines such as sedatives and analgesics for intubation protocols for the treatment of patients with COVID-19

Scope (COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients affected by the pandemic) The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) call on governments to ensure that the procurement and supply of controlled medicines in countries meet the needs of patients,…

Source: World Health Organization (WHO) | Aug 09, 2020

Coronavirus: Somalia responds swiftly to measles outbreak in Jubaland State

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on Somalia’s fragile health care system and immunization services

The health system of any country needs a surveillance system that can collect information on and detect alerts of epidemic-prone diseases. When a number of cases threatens to turn into an outbreak or epidemic, the surveillance system sounds an alarm that triggers a chain of immediate public health interventions. Somalia's…

Source: World Health Organization (WHO) | Jul 15, 2020

Coronavirus - Africa: More than 150 countries engaged in COVID-19 vaccine global access facility

The COVAX Facility, and the Advance Market Commitment (AMC) within it, is designed to guarantee rapid, fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for every country in the world

Seventy-five countries submit expressions of interest to COVAX Facility, joining up to 90 further countries which could be supported by the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC); the COVAX Facility, and the AMC within it, is designed to guarantee rapid, fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for every country in…

Source: World Health Organization (WHO) | Jun 17, 2020

WHO welcomes preliminary results about dexamethasone use in treating critically ill COVID-19 patients

The benefit was only seen in patients seriously ill with COVID-19, and was not observed in patients with milder disease

The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomes the initial clinical trial results from the United Kingdom (UK) that show dexamethasone, a corticosteroid, can be lifesaving for patients who are critically ill with COVID-19. For patients on ventilators, the treatment was shown to reduce mortality by about one third, and for patients…

Source: World Health Organization (WHO) | Jun 01, 2020

Coronavirus - Africa: Record number of countries contribute data revealing disturbing rates of antimicrobial resistance

Evidence shows that only small proportion of COVID-19 patients need antibiotics to treat subsequent bacterial infections

A record number of countries are now monitoring and reporting on antibiotic resistance - marking a major step forward in the global fight against drug resistance. But the data they provide reveals that a worrying number of bacterial infections are increasingly resistant to the medicines at hand to treat them.…

Source: World Health Organization (WHO) | May 13, 2020

Coronavirus - Africa: People living longer and healthier lives but COVID-19 threatens to throw progress off track

Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy have increased, but unequally

All over the world, the COVID-19 pandemic is causing significant loss of life, disrupting livelihoods, and threatening the recent advances in health and progress towards global development goals highlighted in the 2020 World Health Statistics published by the World Health Organization (WHO) today “The good news is that people around…

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