💉 New pandemic? Ha, we have an agreement for that; Polio no, polio yes; A vaccine for gonorrhea
#563 | A vaccine for bovine bird flu; A new vaccine for cholera; No relief for the young
Hello, and welcome back to The Kable for one last time this May. Yes, we know there is a Friday to go still but what if?
Anyway, first things first. WHO Africa has a new head honcho. Tanzanian health policy expert Professor Mohamed Yakub Janabi was nominated as the new Regional Director for WHO's African region during a special session last weekend ahead of the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA).
Africa CDC had a productive week on the margins of the WHA too, signing a trio of partnerships with Unitaid to democratise access to health products in Africa, with Fiocruz to bolster continental health infrastructure, and with Texas Children’s Global Health Network to improve response to childhood illnesses.
Excellent news came from Gavi too this week in the form of a statement of accounts showing that lower income countries have pledged a record-breaking $250 million towards their immunisation programs, with nearly 85% of this funding coming from domestic sources.
The WHO declared the outbreak of Type 1 polio in Madagascar over but in an obvious rejoinder declared a new outbreak of vaccine-derived polio in Papua New Guinea.
In a country where human intelligence has been on the wane for a while now, the administration has, not surprisingly, launched an AI-driven drug manufacturing initiative called Equip-A-Pharma.
This same country launched another report this week which, among other claims, said over-medicalisation and pharma influence are to blame for the poor health of its children.
England saw 85,000 diagnoses of gonorrhea in 2023, a 300% increase from the number in 2012. In response, the government is launching the world's first gonorrhea vaccine, with immunisations for eligible people scheduled to begin in August this year.
Speaking of vaccines, researchers have developed the first mRNA bird-flu vaccine for cattle. And all indications are that it WORKS, even curbing infections in calves fed milk from infcected cows.
Surprise, surprise. Another Indian drugmaker receives yet another rebuke from the US FDA. Unrelated but Indian authorities this week released a report that says many pharma manufacturers are making sub-standard drugs.
And finally, good news from India where Bharat Biotech said its upcoming cholera vaccine has successfully completed Phase-III trials. A new cholera vaccine will be welcome relief, especially in the Global South where the illness continues to claim countless lives. One hopes that the two news items referenced immediately above do not affect this vaccine, when it does hit shelves.
Stories Of The Week
A new pact finally. The biggest news of the week, possibly the year, also came from the WHA. After what seems like forever in the making, the world now has a new Pandemic Pact. It didn't come about without some last minute drama though, with Slovakia insisting on a resolution by vote, instead of consensus. Happily, the vote was overwhelmingly in favour of the agreement with 124 countries voting in favour, zero objections, and 11 abstentions. However, the most contentious part of the centuries-long talks in getting to this point - a pathogen access and benefit-sharing (PABS) system – is still not resolved with an annex scheduled to arrive at some point before the next pandemic hopefully. In some more good news for the WHO, the agency secured a 20% funding increase at the WHA with member countries approving the agency's budget for 2026-27.
(WHO, WHO, who who)
Bottom line
Starving for solutions. Nearly 300 million people now face acute food insecurity—an all-time high and a sixth straight year of worsening hunger, according to the latest Global Report on Food Crises. It is the usual suspects behind this rise. Escalating conflicts, collapsing humanitarian aid, and the compounding impacts of climate shocks and economic instability. Unsurprisingly, Sudan and Gaza are the epicentres of catastrophe, with famine already declared in the former and looming in the latter.
(OCHA)
Plastics make pathogens meaner. Sure, we all know, even in our denial, that nanoplastics are cluttering up the environment. But hey, they might also be turning our foodborne pathogens into supervillains. New research from the University of Illinois reveals that positively charged nanoplastics, like those from polystyrene takeout boxes, stress out E. coli O157:H7, one of the key pathogens associated with outbreaks of foodborne illness. And this stress causes the E. coli to produce more Shiga-like toxin, the nasty stuff that makes people sick. Even inside protective biofilms, the bacteria ramp up their virulence when exposed to these tiny plastic fragments. But no, don't say no to plastic.
(Journal of Nanobiotechnology)
Generation SOS. Adolescents make up nearly a quarter of the world’s population, yet receive just 2.4% of global health and development funding, despite facing a perfect storm of rising mental illness, obesity, violence, climate stress, and digital harm. The 2025 Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing warns that by 2030, over half of young people will live in countries buckling under this burden. Urbanisation, reproductive inequality, post-Covid fallout, and a surprising lack of political will are compounding the crisis. Should we invest in young people’s wellbeing though? Aren't we looking to end the world anyway?
(The Lancet)
Long reads
Health is broke. Healthcare is breaking. Global health is at a tipping point. Gains in life expectancy and reduced mortality are slowing, while health systems reel under the combined pressure of climate change, ageing populations, rising NCDs, and geopolitical shocks. A nosedive in international health aid, mounting trade barriers, and splintering multilateralism are gutting resilience just when it's needed most. In this piece, a member of the Executive Committee of the World Economic Forum contends the post-Covid world needs more than new vaccines - it needs a rethink of how we fund, govern, and deliver care. We couldn't agree more but ah, change is hard, isn't it?
(CGTN)
Life in plastic... so fantastic. Since UN plastics treaty talks began two years ago, 35 million tons of plastic have hit the oceans and over a billion tons of unrecycled waste have been produced. As negotiators head to Geneva for a final attempt, health experts warn we're in the middle of a global toxic experiment: 16,000 chemicals are used in plastic, thousands are unregulated, and many are tied to cancer, infertility, and hormone disruption. This piece in Health Policy Watch explores how a plastics treaty might get derailed. If consensus fails again, the world may be left with a weak agreement and a stronger petrochemical lobby. Just like we all want.
(Health Policy Watch)
Oh, and Gopal Nair doesn't want you to see this.
Interesting