Internal documents show the World Health Organization paid sexual abuse victims in Congo $250 each
Internal documents obtained by The Associated Press show that the World Health Organization has paid $250 each to at least 104 women in Congo who say they were sexually abused or exploited by Ebola outbreak responders.
WHO: Travel bans hurting global cooperation
The World Health Organization says travel bans by countries are having an impact on global cooperation against the new omicron variant by causing โchallengesโ to the sharing of laboratory samples from South Africa that can help get better grips on the new variant.
Countries urge drug companies to share vaccine know-how
But that knowledge belongs to the large pharmaceutical companies who have produced the first three vaccines authorized by countries including Britain, the European Union and the U.S. โ Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca. AdThe deal-by-deal approach also means that some poorer countries end up paying more for the same vaccine than richer countries. AstraZeneca said the price of the vaccine will differ depending on local production costs and how much countries order. Pharmaceutical companies say instead of lifting IP restrictions, rich countries should simply give more vaccines to poorer countries through COVAX, the public-private initiative WHO helped create for more equitable vaccine distribution. โPeople are literally dying because we cannot agree on intellectual property rights,โ said Mustaqeem De Gama, a South African diplomat involved in the WTO discussions.
EXPLAINER: Scientists trying to understand new virus variant
Scientists say there is reason for concern and more to learn but that the new variants should not cause alarm. Worry has been growing since before Christmas, when Britainโs prime minister said the coronavirus variant seemed to spread more easily than earlier ones and was moving rapidly through England. A: New variants have been seen almost since the virus was first detected in China nearly a year ago. Scientists are still working to confirm whether the variant in England spreads more easily, but they are finding some evidence that it does. A: Scientists believe current vaccines will still be effective against the variant, but they are working to confirm that.
Lesson not learned: Europe unprepared as 2nd virus wave hits
Europes second wave of coronavirus infections has struck well before flu season even started. Spain this week declared a state of emergency for Madrid amid increasing tensions between local and national authorities over virus containment measures. โI have to say clearly that the situation is not good," the Czech interior minister, Jan Hamacek, acknowledged this week. โWe are in the fall wave without having resolved the summer wave,โ she told an online forum this week. Half of Campaniaโs 100 ICU virus beds are now in use.
WHO experts to visit China to plan COVID-19 investigation
BEIJING โ Two World Health Organization experts were heading to the Chinese capital on Friday to lay the groundwork for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. โChina took the lead in inviting WHO experts to investigate and discuss scientific virus tracing,โ Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Friday. China has insisted that WHO lead the investigation and for it to wait until the pandemic is brought under control. The last WHO coronavirus-specific mission to China was in February, after which the teamโs leader, Canadian doctor Bruce Aylward, praised Chinaโs containment efforts and information sharing. An Associated Press investigation showed that in January, WHO officials were privately frustrated over the lack of transparency and access in China, according to internal audio recordings.
Experts: Trumps threats to WHO could undercut global health
Outbreak experts say the increasing attacks from U.S. President Donald Trump on the World Health Organization for its handling of the coronavirus demonstrates a profound misunderstanding of the U.N. health agency's role and could ultimately serve to weaken global health. Lawrence Gostin, director of the WHO Collaborating Center on Health and Human Rights at Georgetown University, said the withdrawal of the U.S. from the global health world would mark a seismic political shift. A U.S. exit would likely weaken the global health agency and leave the U.S. and China to each fund their own projects, Gostin said. Watching the World Health Assembly today was observing the post-American world, tweeted former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations. And a disruptive U.S. more keen on fighting China than fighting COVID19."
World Health Organization weighs in on facts, myths about COVID-19
There is a lot of information coming out each day about the novel coronavirus COVID-19, but amid the pandemic, there are also a lot of myths. The World Health Organization is setting straight some invalid things you might have seen or heard about COVID-19. There are no specific medicines to prevent or treat the COVID-19 virus. COVID-19 virus can be transmitted in hot and humid climates. This specific virus, because itโs so new and different, will need its own vaccine.
What does COVID-19 stand for, anyway? A complete coronavirus glossary
Does anyone else feel like weโre in the midst of some pretty unsettling times? Even if youโre trying to keep a level head about where things stand with the coronavirus pandemic, itโs easy to turn on the TV or open social media and start to feel pretty overwhelmed, pretty quickly. For some, you canโt go out to eat, youโre now working from home and your kids arenโt even going to school. And with that, we thought weโd provide the following playbook. Yes, there is some science jargon involved here, but we tried to break it down for you in a way thatโs easy to read and digestible.