Category WHO

Indigenous Groups Allege Canadian Obstructionism To Biodiversity ABS Protocol

NAGOYA, JAPAN - With the clock ticking and less than a day to go before a draft of a legally binding instrument to prevent biopiracy is due to be presented to the assembly of a major United Nations meeting on biodiversity, delegations kept trying to find acceptable language, with different echoes coming from the negotiating room. Meanwhile, Canadian indigenous people convened a press briefing today (21 October) to charge that Canada was trying to block the negotiations and deny their human rights.

WHO Report: Progress On Neglected Tropical Diseases

A new report released today by the World Health Organization found that 17 neglected tropical diseases can be controlled. If strategies set out in the report are implemented widely, “they can substantially reduce the disease burden, breaking a cycle of infection, disability and lost opportunities that keep people in poverty, WHO Director General Margaret Chan said in a press release.

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Special Report: Geneva, Public Health Capital Of The World

International public health in Geneva is no longer just the province of the World Health Organization. Dozens of intergovernmental and non-governmental agencies, along with financing organisations and partnerships, have headquartered their operations in Geneva, making the mid-sized Swiss city a public health capital of the world. Many of these organisations are engaged in addressing the critical interface between public health, development and innovation, including intellectual property rights. The following is a backgrounder and guide to many of the organisations working on these issues in town.

Coverage Of Anti-Counterfeit Policy Debate Varies Widely Across Global Media

Are counterfeit products first and foremost a threat to human health and safety or is provoking anxiety just a clever way for wealthy nations to create sympathy for increased protection of their intellectual property rights? In Geneva the debate is raging, but a look at a sample of coverage of this issue in the world’s news media shows it can vary greatly.

Experts, Policymakers Debate Solutions For Counterfeit Products

A group of policymakers and other experts met this month in Geneva to discuss counterfeit and unsafe products and wrestled with possible balanced solutions to the problem. The event was hosted by the United States mission and supported by the US Chamber of Commerce. It included US Ambassador to the UN Betty E. King, among dozens of others.

Agencies Talk Cooperation On Medicines Access; Stakeholders Cautious

Key international agencies for health, trade and intellectual property on Friday jointly organised a symposium on access to medicines in an effort to gather information and expertise as a basis of a collaborative response to the challenges of public health.

WHO Flu Misconduct Debate Polarising As Independent Review Advances

“Exactly a year ago, a very bad decision was taken” by the World Health Organization that now seems “unscientific and irrational,” said Council of Europe parliamentarian Paul Flynn in a late June presentation of a new report on the WHO's actions during the 2009 influenza pandemic.

But opinions heard at an ongoing review of the WHO’s pandemic response were mixed, with some praising the organisation’s work to protect public health and others critiquing what they say is suspicious secrecy.