Philip Kenol

The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated just how crucial multilateral conveners like WHO are to our collective health, prosperity, and security and the need for enhanced international cooperation and worldwide solidarity.

With the global health emergency of the novel coronavirus looming large, last week the global health community gathered in Geneva to kick off the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board (EB) meeting. GHTC was on the scene following the official agenda and delivering statements. Here are our top three takeaways from this year’s EB.

The World Health Organization recently announced that at its upcoming Executive Board meeting in February member states will discuss challenges and issues in implementing the Nagoya Protocol—a legal framework that governs the access to and benefits gained through the sharing of genetic resources including human and animal DNA, plants, and pathogens. As these discussions heat up, GHTC is taking a brief look at what the Nagoya Protocol is, how it impacts global health R&D, and what’s next for the future of this framework.

United Nations members unanimously adopted a high-level political declaration on universal health coverage (UHC), but while the adoption of the declaration is welcome news, in many ways it represents a starting point for the next phase of UHC, in which the thornier issues of financing, follow through, and accountability will rise to the forefront.

Last week, the Australian government and the Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security convened practitioners, researchers, educators, and decision-makers across the fields of public health, medicine, veterinary science, agriculture, government, defense, and anthropology for the first Global Health Security Conference in Sydney to examine the progress made to date in strengthening health systems and to identify gaps and opportunities for enhancing the international community’s ability to respond more efficiently and effectively to future health crises.

Against a backdrop of mounting global health challenges, the 72nd World Health Assembly (WHA) convened last week, with politicians, philanthropists, business executives, and civil society leaders all descending upon Geneva. GHTC was on the scene—attending side events, technical briefings, and following the official agenda. Here are our top four takeaways from this year’s assembly.

Universal health coverage (UHC) will take center stage at the World Health Assembly later this month. While there are many building blocks to achieve UHC, one integral pillar that is too often overlooked is innovation—the creation of new and improved drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic tools. Global health research and development is indispensable in delivering on the vision of quality health for all.