Health Policy Watch: WHO Board Skeptical On Changes To Global Flu Framework, Sends Issue To WHA “The World Health Organization Executive Board last week remained uncertain on the way forward on questions of access to influenza viruses as countries are increasingly implementing an international protocol regulating the sharing of genetic…

Devex: WHO’s controversial next steps to improve access to medicines “A majority of countries cheered the World Health Organization’s draft roadmap on access to medicines presented this week, applauding its relevance in the struggle to achieve universal health coverage. But several stakeholders think the draft requires continued consultations on key…

IDSA’s “Science Speaks”: What We’re Reading: In HIV and TB treatment, science supports human rights Antigone Barton, senior editor and writer of “Science Speaks,” discusses several global health-related articles addressing various topics, including a blog post on HIV criminalization, an opinion piece on the value of providing rights-based interventions to…

Devex: At anti-tobacco conference, a race to beat industry tactics “When they take their seats at the World Health Organization’s tobacco-control meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, this week, delegates [to the eighth session of the Conference of the Parties] should keep a keen eye out for unsavory tactics by the tobacco…

Devex: ‘Tax for TRIPS’ deal altered U.N. declarations on NCDs, TB “Last week, a crucial high-level political declaration on tuberculosis passed at the United Nations General Assembly secured a partial victory for advocates of affordable medicines. At the same time, a high-level declaration on noncommunicable diseases also passed at UNGA…

FT Health: Time for action on NCDs The latest issue of the Financial Times’ weekly global health newsletter discusses takeaways from the U.N. High-Level Meetings on TB and NCDs and features an interview with Francis Gurry, director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization, “which this week launched Pat-Informed, the…

Intellectual Property Watch: WHO Head Highlights Tobacco Plain Packaging Victory At WTO; Vaping Lobbyists Hit Geneva “World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Dr. Tedros) [Monday] hailed a dispute settlement decision at the neighboring World Trade Organization upholding laws requiring tobacco products to be packaged without logos or designs as…

Washington Examiner: The U.N. can boost global health by simply protecting IP rights Philip Thompson, policy analyst for intellectual property and international trade with the Property Rights Alliance “…Member states writing [the U.N. Political Declaration to End Tuberculosis] refused to accept U.S. language affirming intellectual property rights as an important…

Reuters: Regulate: ex-world leaders’ solution to ‘failed’ drug war “More governments should turn away from a repressive war on drugs that has ‘failed’ and look to proven strategies to implement regulated markets for risky substances, a group of former presidents and leaders said in a report published Monday. … The…

The Lancet Global Health: A new era for tuberculosis? Editorial Board “…Earlier drafts of the political declaration — the key outcome document of the [first-ever U.N. High-Level Meeting (HLM) on Tuberculosis] — contained reference to the full use of flexibilities in intellectual property rules geared towards maximizing access. Yet, under…