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One case of clade 2 mpox detected in Pakistan, new strain not detected

Islamabad, Pakistan Reuters One case of the mpox virus has been detected in Pakistan of the clade 2 variety, the country’s ministry of health said on Monday, adding that no cases of the clade 1b strain of the disease have been diagnosed. Clade 1b has triggered global concern because it seems to spread more easily […]

Vaccine group Gavi seeks $US11.9 billion to immunise world’s poorest children

London, UK Reuters The global vaccine organisation Gavi is likely to seek around $US11.9 billion from governments and foundations on Thursday to fund immunisation efforts in the world’s poorest countries over five years, board documents reviewed by Reuters showed. The amount will be finalised at a meeting on Thursday in Paris, where donors will make […]

Pandemic treaty talks will go on after missed deadline, some progress, WHO says

London, UK Reuters Talks to draw up a global pact to help fight future pandemics have ended without a draft agreement by the expected deadline, but progress has been made, the World Health Organization said on Friday. Negotiators from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 194 member states were hoping to have a final draft agreement […]

UK refuses to sign global vaccine treaty, The Telegraph reports

Reuters Britain is refusing to sign the World Health Organization’s (WHO) pandemic accord because the country says it would have to give away a fifth of its vaccines, the Telegraph reported on Wednesday. According to a draft of the pandemic accord being negotiated at the WHO, richer countries should be asked to pull their weight […]

COVID-19 vaccine scheme for poorest has $US2.6 billion left to spend as pandemic recedes

Boxes of AstraZeneca/Oxford coronavirus vaccines, redeployed from the Democratic Republic of Congo, arrive at a cold storage facility in Accra, Ghana, on 7th May, 2021.

London, UK Reuters Several billions of dollars left in a scheme to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to the world’s poorest could be diverted to prepare for other pandemics or to support vaccine manufacturing in Africa, the scheme’s partners said. The COVAX initiative, run by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization, and the Coalition for […]

Malawi cholera death toll crosses 1,300: health official

Eliza Tangwe, 18, takes a dose of oral cholera vaccine at a health centre in response to the latest cholera outbreak in Blantyre, Malawi, November 16, 2022.

Johannesburg, South Africa Reuters The death toll from a cholera outbreak in Malawi has crossed 1,300, a senior Malawian health official said on Thursday, as the southern African country battles its deadliest outbreak yet. As of Wednesday, Malawi had recorded 40,284 cholera cases and 1,316 deaths in an outbreak that started in March, 2022, with […]