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New HIV prevention drug could reach poorest countries by 2025, says health official

London, UK Reuters A new long-acting preventive HIV drug could reach the world’s poorest countries by the end of 2025 or early 2026, a global health official told Reuters on Tuesday. The ambition is to start deliveries of Gilead Sciences’ lenacapavir on that timeline, said Hui Yang, head of supply operations at the Global Fund […]

Pope calls for global push to tackle poor nations’ debt crises

Vatican City Reuters The world must do more to reduce the debt burden faced by low income countries to avoid them entering a cycle of poverty and despair, Pope Francis said on Wednesday. Global debt levels hit a record high of $US313 trillion in 2023, with developing economies scaling a fresh peak for the ratio […]

Poor states use food crisis fight to get big power attention at UN

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York City, on 19th September, 2023.

United Nations Reuters In his speech opening the annual United Nations gathering of world leaders this week, Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres vowed – to applause – that he would “not give up” trying to get food and fertiliser from Russia and Ukraine to global markets.  After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, 2022, the United Nations blamed […]

Davos 2023: Climate change leads to more malaria, tuberculosis up in a recession

Switzerland Davos WEF participants

Davos, Switzerland Reuters Climate change is increasing malaria infections, the executive director of the world’s biggest health fund said in Davos on Monday. Huge surges in malaria infections followed recent floods in Pakistan and cyclones in Mozambique in 2021, said Peter Sands, the executive director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. […]

COP27: Polluters must pay for climate change, poor nations tell rich

Egypt Sharm El Sheikh COP27 3

Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt Reuters Leaders from poor countries criticised wealthy governments and oil companies for driving global warming, using their speeches on Tuesday at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt to demand that they pay up for damages being inflicted on their economies. Small island states already buffeted by increasingly violent ocean storms and sea-level […]

COP27 kicks off with deal to discuss climate compensation

Egypt Sharm El Sheikh COP27

Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt Reuters Delegates from nearly 200 countries kicked off the UN climate summit in Egypt on Sunday with an agreement to discuss compensating poor nations for mounting damage linked to global warming, placing the controversial topic on the agenda for the first time since climate talks began decades ago. The agreement set […]

COVID-19 vaccine scheme for world’s poorest pushes for delivery slowdown

COVID 19 vaccine vials

London, UK Reuters Leaders of the global scheme aiming to get COVID-19 vaccines to the world’s poorest are pushing manufacturers including Pfizer and Moderna to cut or slow deliveries of about half a billion shots so doses are not wasted.  COVAX, the World Health Organization-led scheme, wants between 400 and 600 million fewer vaccines doses […]