World Health Assembly opens amid high-stakes pandemic treaty vote, global funding crisis

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, urged Member States to remain focused on shared goals even amid global instability. “We are here to serve not our own interests, but the eight billion people of our world,” he said in his keynote address at the Palais des Nations. “To leave a heritage for […]

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Biopharma Modalities VC Funding Consolidates in Q1, But Annual Investment Surges Past $31 Billion

Venture capital activity in the biopharma modalities sector continued to consolidate in the first quarter of 2025, according to PitchBook’s latest Emerging Tech Research. Deal volume declined by more than 18% compared to the previous quarter, reflecting growing investor selectivity and ongoing macroeconomic pressures. Despite the dip in activity, total deal value remained stable, indicating […]

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Countries set to adopt ‘vital’ pandemic preparedness accord

The stakes are high for this year’s World Health Assembly, the UN’s premier health forum, where officials will tackle a sweeping agenda – from pandemic readiness and climate-related health risks to mental health, maternal care, and environmental justice. But with geopolitical tensions running high, international collaboration on these and other vital issues will be tested. Here […]

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Pandemic heroes stepped up in 2020 – now they’re asking world leaders to do the same

A defining moment for global health is about to unfold in Geneva. The United Nations is playing a central role in efforts to prevent future pandemics, as the World Health Assembly works to finalise the text of the Pandemic Preparedness Treaty — a document born from the catastrophic failures and fragile victories of COVID-19. The […]

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Pandemic accord can be a ‘gamechanger’ for marginalised communities, says youth advocate

Mr. Hassan and his fellow Youth Councillors advise and actively engage with the WHO Director-General and the agency’s senior leadership, designing and expanding the agency’s programmes and strategies. In an interview with UN News ahead of the 2025 World Health Assembly – the UN’s highest forum for global health – Mr. Hassan, who was born and raised […]

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Gazans ‘in terror’ after another night of deadly strikes and siege

Updating journalists in Geneva, World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris described another night of terror in the war-torn enclave. She said that some of those injured in the attacks had sought help from the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza, even though it was now “just a shell” after 19 months of war.   […]

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Infant with Rare, Fatal Genetic Disorder Becomes First to Receive Personalized CRISPR-Based Gene Therapy

In a historic first for precision medicine, a research team supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has successfully delivered a personalized CRISPR-based gene-editing therapy to treat an infant diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening genetic condition—carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) deficiency. The groundbreaking treatment marks the first known use of patient-specific CRISPR gene […]

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‘The world is failing its health checkup,’ says WHO

“Behind every data point is a person – a child who didn’t reach their fifth birthday, a mother lost in childbirth, a life cut short by a preventable disease,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as the organization’s latest statistics report revealed the pandemic’s deeper health impacts. Warning that overall progress is under threat today, […]

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AI Tool Shows Promise in Identifying Opioid Use Disorder and Reducing Hospital Readmissions

At a Glance: A novel artificial intelligence (AI) screening tool has shown significant potential in identifying hospitalized patients at risk for opioid use disorder (OUD) and reducing their likelihood of readmission, according to a new NIH-supported study led by Dr. Majid Afshar at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. OUD continues to be a critical public health […]

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Funding cuts in Afghanistan mean ‘lives lost and lives less lived’

Many women came to the clinic who had walked multiple hours to receive maternal care – some of them with their newborns and some heavily pregnant. And then there were the health workers themselves, committed to serving those in need in hard-to-reach areas of the impoverished Taliban-controlled nation. ‘Off the radar’ These were some of […]

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