Greenland, breaking the silence: The scandal of Denmark's forced contraception campaign
Europe
36:03
In 1960s Greenland, thousands of young Inuit girls – some barely teenagers – were sent to hospital. Without giving an explanation or obtaining their consent, Danish doctors fitted them with IUDs, a painful procedure that left lifelong scars. In total, more than 4,500 Greenlandic women were victims of this mass forced contraception campaign, orchestrated by the Danish authorities. FRANCE 24's Sarah Andersen has been to meet victims who are now demanding justice.
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France 24
8 hours ago
- France 24
Greenland, breaking the silence: The scandal of Denmark's forced contraception campaign
Europe 36:03 In 1960s Greenland, thousands of young Inuit girls – some barely teenagers – were sent to hospital. Without giving an explanation or obtaining their consent, Danish doctors fitted them with IUDs, a painful procedure that left lifelong scars. In total, more than 4,500 Greenlandic women were victims of this mass forced contraception campaign, orchestrated by the Danish authorities. FRANCE 24's Sarah Andersen has been to meet victims who are now demanding justice.
Euronews
9 hours ago
- Euronews
Why Spain thinks Novo Nordisk may be illegally advertising Ozempic
Spain is investigating the drugmaker Novo Nordisk over concerns that it may be illegally advertising its blockbuster weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. It is the latest in a string of inquiries into the Danish pharmaceutical giant, with authorities in at least two other European countries accusing Novo Nordisk of unlawfully promoting its medications in recent years. The drugs, which were created to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes, work by mimicking a hormone in the body that makes people feel full for longer. They have surged in popularity because they help people lose weight quickly. But health officials worry that drugmakers are seeking to boost already sky-high demand, possibly in violation of a European Union ban on consumer advertising for drugs that can only be obtained via prescription. Pharmaceutical companies are both 'creating awareness of the disease [and] selling the drug' to treat it, Javier Padilla , Spain's secretary of state for health, told Euronews Health. The latest kerfuffle involves a campaign that Novo Nordisk launched in Spain earlier this month to raise public awareness about the health risks of obesity with the tagline 'Obesidad Sin Filtros,' or 'Obesity Without Filters'. The company also launched a website – which has since been taken down – on obesity's health risks that cited endorsements from key scientific societies, recommended questions for people to ask their doctors, and offered weight loss tips. Notably, these tips included a healthy diet, exercise, and sleep, and did not explicitly mention any medicines. Even so, the Spanish health ministry said the campaign could serve as 'covert advertising' for Novo Nordisk's weight loss drugs. 'It's widely known that if Novo Nordisk is talking about obesity, it is because it is talking about Ozempic,' Padilla said, calling the campaign 'very obvious'. Padilla said the health ministry asked Novo Nordisk to provide more details on how the campaign came together, including what the professional societies knew about the materials beforehand. If it finds the company has violated EU law, he said the Spanish government may slap it with a fine. A Novo Nordisk spokesperson defended the initiative, telling Euronews Health the company worked with medical societies to develop the campaign and that it is in 'good active dialogue with the authorities' in Spain. 'Obesity is not a character flaw, but a chronic disease… [and] we continue to confront the stigma and bias associated with it and advocate for access to support and care,' the spokesperson added. Which other countries have taken aim at Novo Nordisk? Other countries have also scrutinised Novo Nordisk's tactics in recent years. Last month, the Irish Times reported that Ireland's medicines watchdog found the company had broken rules around marketing to healthcare workers over a three-year period. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom's pharmaceutical lobby reinstated Novo Nordisk's membership in March after a two-year suspension for engaging in misleading marketing practices. Novo Nordisk is not the only drugmaker under scrutiny. According to Padilla, the Spanish health ministry is also probing Eli Lilly, which makes rival weight loss jab Mounjaro. Padilla called on other European countries to crack down on pharmaceutical companies that appear to toe the line between health promotion and drug advertising – particularly those selling weight loss drugs, which are expected to strain national budgets in the coming years. 'If more governments were more proactive in these situations, it would result in companies being less brave' about pushing the limits on marketing rules, Padilla said.
Euronews
a day ago
- Euronews
US halts funding to group offering vaccines to low-income countries
The United States will halt funding for a global organisation that provides vaccines to millions of children in lower-income countries, which comes after the most senior US health official said the group has 'ignored the science' on safety issues. US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a longtime vaccine sceptic and activist, said the country will not deliver on a $1.58 billion (€1.39 billion) pledge made by the previous Biden administration until GAVI – which procures and distributes jabs around the world – changes its approach to vaccine safety research and assessment. 'There is much that I admire about GAVI,' Kennedy said in video remarks. 'Unfortunately, in its zeal to promote universal vaccination, it has neglected the key issue of vaccine safety'. He raised concerns about the safety of a vaccine used to protect infants against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, also known as whooping cough (DTP), which is a routine childhood immunisation. Kennedy cited a 2017 study from Danish researchers that found infants who received the type of DTP vaccine offered by GAVI were 10 times more likely to die from any cause than unvaccinated babies in their first six months of life – though other experts have since identified flaws in those findings. GAVI hit back at some of Kennedy's comments, saying it had 'full confidence' in the DTP vaccine. GAVI said it offers the jab in lower-income countries because they have a much higher disease burden and are less well-equipped to offer regular booster doses than wealthy countries, which commonly use another version of the DTP vaccine that offers less long-lasting protection. The vaccine group had aimed to raise $9 billion (€7.9 billion) to fund its work over the next five years from international donors as part of its summit in Brussels this week, but reportedly fell short of that target. In an interview with Euronews ahead of the event – and Kennedy's announcement – GAVI chair and former European Commission President José Manuel Barroso had struck a more optimistic tone about the group's partnership with the US. 'We are working constructively with this administration,' Barroso told Euronews. But he is also toeing a difficult line, navigating US leadership that has embraced vaccine conspiracy theories and slashed funding for global health programmes. Speaking broadly, Barroso said 'there are campaigns of disinformation' related to vaccines, particularly on social media. 'What we have to do is to work with science and to give the facts,' he said.
