“Finish What We Started”: WHO and Brazil Urge Leaders to Finalise Pandemic Agreement
By Michael Gwarisa The World Health Organization and the Government of Brazil have issued a joint appeal to global leaders, urging them to “finish what we started” by finalising the remaining piece of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, warning that the world remains dangerously exposed to the next health emergency. In an open letter addressed to
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Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda – where are the vaccines?
Published First on https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/ LSHTM Vaccine Centre Co-Director Dr Muhammed Afolabi discusses the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, the challenges of developing a vaccine against it and how to prepare for future outbreaks. On 17 May 2026 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of Ebola disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda
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World Health Summit Regional Meeting 2026 Opens in Nairobi with Strong Call for Action on Resilient Health Systems
Michael Gwarisa NAIROBI, Kenya — The World Health Summit Regional Meeting 2026 officially opened in Nairobi on Sunday, bringing together more than 2,000 global health leaders, policymakers, researchers, and development partners to push for stronger and more resilient health systems across Africa and beyond. The high-level gathering is being held under the theme, Reimagining Africa’s
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AU, EU Deepen Health Partnership with €100 Million Investment in Africa’s Health Systems
Michael Gwarisa The African Union and the European Commission have strengthened their health partnership with the launch of three new initiatives valued at more than €100 million under the Global Gateway strategy, in a move aimed at boosting health security, pandemic preparedness, and digital health systems across Africa. Working through the Africa Centres for Disease
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Global South Pressures EU to Finalise Equity Clause in Pandemic Agreement
Michael Gwarisa With critical negotiations set to resume, countries in the Global South are ramping up pressure on the World Health Organization and the European Union to resolve a key gap in the Pandemic Agreement, the equitable sharing of vaccines, technologies and scientific benefits. The agreement, adopted in 2025 by the World Health Assembly following
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WHO Member States Advance Key Annex to Pandemic Agreement
Michael Gwarisa After a week of intensive discussions on the draft annex for Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS), countries around the world have outlined a clear roadmap to implement the pandemic agreement effectively. The PABS framework is an essential part of the WHO Pandemic Agreement. It is designed to ensure fair and timely access
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African Heads of State Commit to Advance Local Manufacturing of Health Products
Michael Gwarisa African Heads of State and Government have pledged to accelerate local manufacturing of health products as part of a continent wide push to strengthen health security, reduce import dependence, and improve preparedness for future pandemics. Leaders from all 54 member states of the African Union made the commitment during high level engagements held
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WHO Rejects US Claims of COVID-19 Failures After Withdrawal Notice
Michael Gwarisa The World Health Organization (WHO) has strongly rejected claims by the United States that it failed during the COVID-19 pandemic, describing the accusations as untrue and misleading following Washington’s formal notification of withdrawal from the global health body. The response comes days after the United States became the first country to exit the
Read MoreZimbabwe Excels in Global Health Security Assessment on Immunization, Surveillance, Labs, and Emergency Response
By Kuda Pembere Zimbabwe received a fifty-four percent score in the second Joint External Evaluation (JEE), performing strongly in laboratory systems, surveillance, emergency response, and immunization indicators. This was revealed by Dr. Mohammed Ali Mohammed, the lead of the visiting JEE team, which spent five days in the country. So in summary you can see
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