Demands for equity gather steam: Global Health newsletter – 8

By Megha Kaveri  

Hello everyone, 

It is great to be back, bringing to you the best of global health news from around the world. A lot is happening in the global health sector and being in Geneva is just the icing on the cake to get the “vibe” of the policymaking process. 

There is a lot of chatter about a “pandemic treaty” and the “INB” and it all gets quite overwhelming too soon. This piece from ORF breaks it down into simpler concepts for us to understand better. 

In a bit of good news, Rwanda could become one of the first countries to eradicate cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is a growing concern across the world and there is increasing advocacy in this regard. Thankfully, the disease is completely preventable with vaccines. HUG, in Geneva, has a free HPV vaccination programme for those aged between 11 and 26 years of age and living in Geneva. Check out the details here. Rwanda has invested in a strong targeted vaccination programme and put a rigorous screening mechanism in place, which might bear them fruits soon. Read more about Rwanda’s HPV programme here. 

As young professionals in global health we need to be aware of the colonial nature of the discipline. The readings, the actions, the policymaking etc are all oriented towards the global north and this needs to change. Here’s a recent piece to break down the anti-Blackness that exists in global health. 

Lastly, onto our regular reminder that COVID-19 is not over, here’s a story about how the US government invested over 31.9 billion dollars, primarily taxpayers’ money, into mRNA vaccine research and how the pharma companies have reaped profits from this multiple times over. 

ICYMI Reads: 

WHO’s pandemic treaty: promises of equity should be kept (Lancet editorial)

Does Global Health Really Need Richard Horton? (Andrew Harmer)

Malawi battles deadliest cholera outbreak in its history (Devex)

Forthcoming genetic therapies raise serious ethical questions, experts warn (The Guardian)

Events: 

Corruption in healthcare: A global health blind spot – Panel discussion at the Geneva Graduate Institute and hybrid (International Geneva Global Health Platform, 23 March 2023) – Register here. 

People’s Health Movement has called for applications for volunteers to observe the World Health Assembly sessions in Geneva in May 2023. This could be an opportunity to witness WHA in person and write about it for civil society. For more details, click here. 

Podcasts: 

Science and diplomacy for global health – Dr Ilona Kickbusch and Dr Aída Mencía Ripley – Global health matters – Listen to the episode here.

The University of Sydney has a podcast called “SHE Research Podcast” with conversations coming out of the Sydney Health Ethics centre at the university. Already into its third season, the latest episode features Dr Hojjat Soofi, a lecturer at the Sydney Public University talking about the non-clinical use of antipsychotics. Listen to the episode here.

BBC Health Check’s latest episode is a nice little round-up of the unintended (positive) effects of vaccines and other health-related news from the world. Check it out here. 

We hope you liked our curation of selected news pieces for you. We aim to improve our choices in the coming days. Global Health Initiative is a student initiative at Geneva Graduate Institute where students passionate about global health policy meet and network. For more information about us, check us out on Instagram @graduateinstitute_ghi