Latest news with #GlobalHealthImpact
The National
2 days ago
- Health
- The National
WHO chief to attend opening of Edinburgh hub for 900 researchers
These include an ageing population, widening health inequalities and childhood wellbeing – all against a backdrop of increasing pressure on services. WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will be joined at the opening by Scotland Secretary Ian Murray and Secretary for Drug and Alcohol Policy Maree Todd, alongside University of Edinburgh staff and students. READ MORE: UK Culture Secretary: BBC should not show Kneecap's Glastonbury set During the event Dr Tedros will be given the university's inaugural Edinburgh Prize for Global Health Impact, in recognition of the WHO's work to make life-saving vaccinations accessible to children across the world. Speaking ahead of the event Dr Tedros said: 'For hundreds of years, the University of Edinburgh has been a revered centre of learning and research. 'With the Usher Building's opening, the university is future-proofing that proud heritage by embracing the latest medical innovations, artificial intelligence and data analysis to contribute to making a healthier world.' The building came into use last year, and a number of 'pioneering' projects are already taking place within its walls. These include the DataLoch initiative, which brings together anonymised data from everyday use of health and social services, which researchers can use to investigate issues ranging from service improvement to health inequalities. DataLoch also supports researchers in accessing health and care data linked to other datasets, to build a clearer picture of the links between health and social factors. One such study, Health Homes, Healthy Kids, is combining data from prepayment smart meters and health records to explore, for the first time, the links between underheated homes and children's health. Meanwhile, genetic studies of populations in Shetland, Orkney and the Hebrides are yielding valuable insights into cancer genetics, while health data experts track population trends to enhance prevention, diagnosis and care delivery. Maree Todd said the opening marks a 'significant step forward in health innovation'. She said: 'The innovations by the Usher Institute will help renew the NHS in Scotland, and, as a WHO Collaborating Centre, transform healthcare around the globe. 'This development will drive growth across the region, which is why the Scottish Government is proud to support it through our Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal investment.' Professor Peter Mathieson, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, said: 'The opening of the Usher Building is a major step forward for the University of Edinburgh – and wider society – in reimagining how we improve health and social care. 'By bringing together researchers, clinicians and industry experts, we have created a dynamic hub that will drive innovation for the benefit of all. 'It is inspiring to shine a light on the outstanding work under way here and, together with the United Nations and many other key partners, we remain committed to advancing these critical efforts to improve lives.' The university received £49.2m capital funding for the building through the Edinburgh & South East Scotland City Region Deal, with £48.5m from the UK Government and £700,000 from the Scottish Government. READ MORE: John Swinney rejects Reform UK coalition but leaves door open for Scottish Labour It is one of six 'innovation hubs' to receive funding under the deal, and joins a growing health innovation ecosystem in Edinburgh. Murray said: 'I am very much looking forward to attending the opening of this fantastic state-of-the-art facility alongside so many eminent guests from the health and social care sectors. 'Backed by £48.5 million of UK Government funding, the Usher Institute provides an inspiring environment where academics, healthcare professionals and industry partners can collaborate on pioneering research and development to tackle challenges faced by our communities and improve wellbeing. 'This is our Plan for Change in action, working with partners to deliver economic growth and a decade of national renewal."
Edinburgh Reporter
2 days ago
- Health
- Edinburgh Reporter
Official opening of the Usher Building
At a ceremony on Thursday morning the £50 million Usher Building at Edinburgh's Bioquarter will be declared officially open. This is a new centre where space will be made available to students, staff, partners and the public to collaborate on health based projects. The co-location offered in the new building is regarded as key in dealing with healthcare challenges. The VIPs attending will include WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, will be joined by the Rt Hon Ian Murray MP, Secretary of State for Scotland, and Maree Todd MSP, Minister for Drug and Alcohol Policy and Sport, alongside University staff and students. During the ceremony, Dr Tedros will receive the University's inaugural Edinburgh Prize for Global Health Impact in recognition of the WHO's work to provide children across the world access to life-saving vaccinations. In this building more than 900 researchers, health and care providers and industry leaders will work together harnessing data to improve healthcare and address its urgent challenges. The work carried on there will speed up innovations in data to help solve problems of an ageing population and of childhood wellbeing. The pioneering research will use AI to improve surgical outcomes and will work on developing routine retina imaging for its diagnostic potential. One initiative called DataLoch is a partnership between University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian which uses anonymised data from patients' everyday use of the health and social care services to investigate many issues including service improvement. More recently, DataLoch is supporting researchers to access health and care data linked to other data sets to build a clearer picture of the links between health and social factors. Genetic studies of populations in Shetland, Orkney and the Hebrides are also yielding vital insights into cancer genetics, while health data experts track population trends to enhance prevention, diagnosis and care delivery across communities. A state-of-the-art hub for interdisciplinary research and innovation, it joins a growing health innovation ecosystem in Scotland's capital. Designed by architects Hassell, with key engineering by KJ Tait and Woolgar Hunter, the Usher Building was built by principal contractor McLaughlin & Harvey. The building was recently highly commended in the European Healthcare Design Awards and is the first new University of Edinburgh building to rely solely on efficient air source heat pump heating, avoiding direct use of fossil fuels. Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, said: 'The opening of the Usher Building is a major step forward for the University of Edinburgh – and wider society – in reimagining how we improve health and social care. By bringing together researchers, clinicians and industry experts, we have created a dynamic hub that will drive innovation for the benefit of all. It is inspiring to shine a light on the outstanding work underway here and, together with the United Nations and many other key partners, we remain committed to advancing these critical efforts to improve lives.' Rt Hon Ian Murray MP, Secretary of State for Scotland, said: 'I am very much looking forward to attending the opening of this fantastic state-of-the-art facility alongside so many eminent guests from the health and social care sectors. Backed by £48.5 million of UK Government funding, the Usher Institute provides an inspiring environment where academics, healthcare professionals and industry partners can collaborate on pioneering research and development to tackle challenges faced by our communities and improve well-being. This is our Plan for Change in action, working with partners to deliver economic growth and a decade of national renewal.' Maree Todd MSP, Minister for Drug and Alcohol Policy and Sport, said: 'The opening of the University of Edinburgh's new Usher Building marks a significant step forward in health innovation. The innovations by the Usher Institute will help renew the NHS in Scotland, and, as a WHO Collaborating Centre, transform healthcare around the globe. This development will drive growth across the region, which is why the Scottish Government is proud to support it through our Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal investment. 'I warmly welcome Dr Tedros to Scotland and congratulate him on his well-deserved Edinburgh Prize for Global Health Impact, awarded in recognition of the many children whose lives have been saved by the WHO vaccines programme.' This building is one of six university hubs which make up the Data Driven initiative which is an integral part of the £1.55 billion Edinburgh and East of Scotland City Region Deal signed in 2016. ©Hufton Crow Like this: Like Related
Fast Company
22-05-2025
- Health
- Fast Company
Why the U.S. won't sign the WHO's new pandemic response treaty
One contentious issue over the WHO's pandemic agreement involves how many vaccines manufacturers in each country must share in exchange for access to genetic sequences to emerging infectious diseases. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus delivers his report before delegates during the World Health Assembly in Geneva on May 19, 2025. [Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images] BY Listen to this Article More info 0:00 / 5:47 On March 20, 2025, members of the World Health Organization adopted the world's first pandemic agreement, following three years of 'intensive negotiations launched by governments in response to the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.' The U.S., however, did not participate, in part because of its intention to withdraw from the WHO. Global health experts are hailing the agreement as a historic moment. What does the agreement mean for the world, and how can it make everyone safer and more prepared for the next pandemic? The Conversation asked Nicole Hassoun, a professor at Binghamton University and executive director of Global Health Impact, to explain the pandemic accord, its prospects for advancing global health, and the significance of the U.S.'s absence from it. Subscribe to the Daily Company's trending stories delivered to you every day SIGN UP What will the pandemic agreement do? The accord will bolster pandemic preparation within individual countries and around the world. Countries signing onto the agreement are committing to improve their disease surveillance and grow their heath care workforces, strengthen their regulatory systems and invest in research and development. It encourages countries to strengthen their health regulations and infrastructure, improve communication with the public about pandemics and increase funding for preparation and response efforts. It also includes new mechanisms for producing and distributing vaccines and other essential countermeasures. Finally, it encourages countries to coordinate their responses and share information about infectious diseases and intellectual property so that vaccines and other essential countermeasures can be made available more quickly. The agreement will take effect once enough countries ratify it, which may take several years. Why isn't the US involved? The Biden administration was broadly supportive of a pandemic agreement and was an active participant in negotiations. Prior to Donald Trump 's reelection, however, Republican governors had signed a letter opposing the treaty, echoing a conservative think tank's concerns about U.S. sovereignty. The U.S. withdrew from negotiations when President Trump signed an executive order to withdraw from the WHO on the day he was inaugurated for his second term. Why could the lack of US involvement be beneficial for the world? The lack of U.S. involvement likely resulted in a much more equitable treaty, and it is not clear that countries could have reached an agreement had the U.S. continued to object to key provisions. It was only once the U.S. withdrew from the negotiations that an agreement was reached. The U.S. and several other wealthy countries were concerned with protecting their pharmaceutical industry's profits and resisted efforts aimed at convincing pharmaceutical companies to share the knowledge, data and intellectual property needed for producing new vaccines and other essential countermeasures. Other negotiators sought greater access to vaccines and other treatments during a pandemic for poorer countries, which often rely on patented technologies from global pharmaceutical companies. While most people in wealthy countries had access to COVID-19 vaccines as early as 2021, many people in developing countries had to wait years for vaccines. How could the agreement broaden access for treatments? One of the contentious issues in the pandemic agreement has to do with how many vaccines manufacturers in each country must share in exchange for access to genetic sequences to emerging infectious diseases. Countries are still negotiating a system for sharing the genetic information on pathogens in return for access to vaccines themselves. It is important that researchers can get these sequences to make vaccines. And, of course, people need access to the vaccines once they are developed. Still, there are many more promising aspects of the agreement for which no further negotiations are necessary. For instance, the agreement will increase global vaccine supply by increasing manufacturing around the world. The agreement also specifies that countries and the WHO should work together to create a mechanism for fairly sharing the intellectual property, data and knowledge needed to produce vaccines and other essential health products. If financing for new innovation requires equitable access to the new technologies that are developed, many people in poor countries may get access to vaccines much more quickly in the next pandemic. The agreement also encourages individual countries to offer sufficient incentives for pharmaceutical companies to extend access to developing countries. If countries implement these changes, that will benefit people in rich countries as well as poor ones. A more equitable distribution of vaccines can contain the spread of disease, saving millions of lives. What more should be done, and does the US have a role to play? In my view, the best way to protect public health moving forward is for countries to sign on to the agreement and devote more resources to global health initiatives. This is particularly important given declining investment and participation in the WHO and the contraction of other international health initiatives, such as USAID. Without international coordination, it will become harder to catch and address problems early enough to prevent epidemics from becoming pandemics. It will also be imperative for member countries to provide funding to support the agreement's goals and secure the innovation and access to new technologies. This requires building the basic health infrastructure to ensure shots can get into people's arms. The final deadline for Fast Company's Brands That Matter Awards is Friday, May 30, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
USAID's apparent demise and the US withdrawal from WHO put millions of lives worldwide at risk and imperil US national security
On his first day in office, Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump began a drastic reshaping of the United States' role in global health as part of the first 26 executive orders of his new term. He initiated the process of withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization, which works to promote and advance global health, following through on his first attempt in 2020. He also ordered staff members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to cut off all communications with WHO representatives. In his first week, Trump also issued a stop-work order pending a 90-day review on nearly all programs of the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID. Many experts view this as a first step in dismantling the organization, which facilitates global efforts to improve health and education and to alleviate poverty. The sweeping move left aid workers and the people who depend on them in a panic and interrupted dozens of clinical trials across the world. President Trump's executive order sparked legal action from international health care organizations, resulting in a federal judge ordering a temporary halt to the Trump administration's freeze on foreign aid. Ultimately, that legal action was unsuccessful. On Feb. 23, the Trump administration put nearly all of USAID's 4,700 workers on paid administrative leave globally and stated that it would be terminating 1,600 of those positions. Most recently, on Feb. 25, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to allow some USAID funding to resume and required that it pay all of its invoices for work completed before the foreign aid freeze went into effect. I am the executive director of the Global Health Impact project, an organization that aims to advance access to essential medicines in part by evaluating their health consequences around the world, and a researcher focusing on global health and development ethics and policy. In my view and that of many other public health scholars, closing down USAID will imperil our national security and put millions of lives at risk. USAID works with both nongovernmental organizations and private companies to help distribute medicines and vaccines around the world. The agency also helps improve government policies and invest in research and development to contain and address epidemics and pandemics. Starting in the late 1960s, for instance, USAID helped lead the effort to eliminate smallpox and has also helped fight polio and other devastating diseases over the past six decades. The smallpox pandemic was one of the worst of all time – it killed one-third of the people infected, causing an estimated 300 million to 500 million deaths worldwide in the 20th century. By contrast, COVID-19 killed less than 1% of those infected. These efforts have brought immense financial as well as health benefits to the U.S. and the rest of the world. Some economists estimate that the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, created in 1988, alone saved the world more than US$27 billion as of 2017, and that it will save a total of $40 billion to $50 billion by 2035. USAID also plays an important role in promoting global health equity. The agency works to increase access to primary health care, combat hunger and strengthen health systems – ultimately saving lives. In addition, USAID has provided a great deal of funding to fight infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV. For instance, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, provides treatment for 20 million people living with HIV in Africa. Trump's federal aid freeze has halted funding for PEPFAR projects. While the limited waiver under which the agency must now operate means some PEPFAR activities may eventually resume, many are now left without federal funding indefinitely. Unless another organization fills the gap, millions will die without USAID assistance. This is not to deny that USAID has made some grave errors in its history. For instance, USAID provided significant funding to the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) during the murderous regime of Mobutu Sese Seko, who was in power from 1965 to 1997. But USAID also has done an immense amount of good. For instance, it has helped contain the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2018. USAID's work in preventing epidemics from spreading helps people everywhere, including in the U.S. If anything, there is a strong argument for increasing USAID funding. China has invested heavily in Asia and Africa through its Belt and Road Initiative, which is an attempt to recreate ancient trade routes by investing in roads, trains and ports. Some researchers argue that this has shifted diplomatic relations in favor of China. They believe that if the U.S. does not make similar investments and instead cuts foreign aid, it will affect the United States' ability to achieve its foreign policy objectives. Similarly, there is a strong argument for increasing U.S. support for the WHO rather than withdrawing from the organization. Trump's withdrawal order cites what he sees as the organization's failures in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic as the rationale. But the WHO helped lead efforts to accelerate vaccine development and distribution, and retrospective reports claim that even more deaths could have been avoided with greater international cooperation. While dismantling USAID will cause irreparable harm to global health, these actions taken together are likely to deal a devastating blow to efforts to protect Americans and everyone else in the world from sickness and death. Alyssa Figueroa, an undergraduate student at Binghamton University, contributed to this article. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Nicole Hassoun, Binghamton University, State University of New York Read more: As Trump tries to slash US foreign aid, here are 3 common myths many Americans mistakenly believe about it How nonprofits abroad can fill gaps when the US government cuts off foreign aid Hunger rises as food aid falls – and those living under autocratic systems bear the brunt Nicole Hassoun has received funding for research from the World Health Organization and the United Nations. She is the executive director of Global Health Impact ( which participates in the Pandemic Action Network.
