World Health Organization

Tomorrow, Wednesday, 31 May 2006 the Department of Health will join the World Health Organisation, (WHO) in its global campaign to raise public awareness about the harmful effects of the use of tobacco products.

Behind the Global Numbers: the Real Costs of Research for Health GENEVA, April 2006-The rich and the privileged enjoy much better health and live much longer than their poorer neighbours, especially those discriminated against because of their caste, class, ethnicity, race or religion, asserts Professor Stephen Matlin, Executive Director of the Geneva-based Global Forum for Health Research.

In a dramatic development, the Global Fund has terminated two HIV grants to Nigeria on the grounds that their performance has been inadequate. This action was recommended a few months ago by the Fund's Secretariat, but at first, when discussing the matter by email, some board members dissented.

African healthcare professionals working abroad could play a pivotal role in improving health care in Africa if they pooled their knowledge and commitment and harnessed both to support the development of nationally led health programmes.

Four million health workers are needed to combat the chronic shortage around the world, a report from the World Health Organization has warned.

GENEVA, March 30 (Reuters) - The agency spearheading the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria risks reneging on promises of help to millions of sufferers worldwide without a stable source of cash, its executive director said on Thursday.

CAPE TOWN World leaders and US software giant Bill Gates lent their voices to the global campaign against tuberculosis (TB) on Friday, unveiling at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a 56bn plan to fight the disease. The plan aims to treat 50-million patients and prevent 14-million deaths by 2015, and will be the work of the Stop Tuberculosis Partnership, an association of governments, health organisations, donors and grassroots bodies.

The long struggle to get women to protect themselves against the HI virus received a major boost this week, when two global pharmaceutical companies signed agreements enabling researchers to create a microbicide using their promising anti-AIDS compounds.

A Bethesda foundation developing vaccines for tuberculosis plans to announce a deal today with a large drug company to move forward with human tests of a promising new injection it hopes will prove useful in poor countries.

This review of the Stop TB Partnership in South Africa is part of a multi-country study funded by WEMOS. The review seeks to augment the existing body of knowledge on Global Public Private Initiatives (GPPIs) in health with the aim of generating a set of country-based evidence relating to the effect of GPPIs on health policies and health systems.