The international community’s recent failure to conclude a global pandemic agreement leaves large gaps in our capacity to deal with the next major infectious disease emergency. The risk of another pandemic like COVID – the worst in a century – is increasing. The World Health Organization (WHO) took an important step by
Tag: Pandemic
Outlook for 2023: Children in ‘Polycrisis’
The year 2022 was incredibly difficult for people around the world. We were confronted by a series of major crises, including a continuing pandemic, a major war in Europe, an energy crisis, rising inflation and food insecurity. These events hit children particularly hard, compounding the already severe impacts of the COVID-19
GDP growth recorded at 7.10pc in FY22:Per capita income reaches $2,793
China kicks off Lunar New Year as COVID fears loom
The Lunar New Year holiday kicks off in China this weekend, with hopes running high that it will kick-start economic growth stuck at four-decade lows, but fears of a COVID-19 explosion loom over the festivities. Many people are focused on reuniting with relatives they have not seen in years, rather than
WHO panel discusses Covid emergency status
The World Health Organization's emergency committee on Covid-19 had a meeting Friday to discuss whether the pandemic still merits the highest level of global alert. Before the meeting, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus suggested that the emergency phase of the pandemic is not over, pointing to the more than 170,000
PM urges WB to raise support to pandemic, war hit nations
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday urged the World Bank and other international organisations to boost their support for the countries hit by the Covid-19, the Russia-Ukraine war and climate changes.The premier made this call when World Bank Managing Director for Operations Axel van Trotsenburg paid a courtesy call on
The world is not prepared for the next health emergency
South Asia’s growth stunted by a combination of shocks: WB
Beset with Sri Lanka's economic crisis, Pakistan's catastrophic floods, a global slowdown, and the impacts of the war in Ukraine, South Asia faces an unprecedented combination of shocks on top of the lingering scars of the Covid, the World Bank said in its twice-a-year update. Released Thursday, the latest "South Asia
China broadens visa availability
China is easing its tight restrictions on visas after it largely suspended issuing them to foreign students and others more than two years ago at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The website of the Chinese Embassy in India said the updated procedures would take effect from Wednesday, without mentioning specific
Majority of WHO member states want legally binding pandemic instrument
World Health Organization member states have agreed to pursue a legally binding pandemic instrument that will contain “both legally binding as well as non-legally binding elements.” The majority of WHO member states were in favor of a legally binding instrument but there were differences on how they wanted to proceed. An