Two decades ago, global health partnerships proliferated as an alternative governance model to the World Health Organization (WHO), deemed overtly political, bureaucratic and inefficient. Partnerships were designed instead as lean and efficient “networks” or “alliances” bringing together public and private partners to achieve a clearly ...

There has been much hype recently around the potential of digital technologies to curb the Covid-19 pandemic, save lives and help societies return to normality. At the same time, critics voice concerns about how the digital response to the pandemic may extend state surveillance and exacerbate inequalities through the exclusion of vulnerable gro...

Following the announcement that BioNTech and Pfizer’s co-developed Covid-19 vaccine candidate is over 90 percent effective,  Morgenbladet, a leading Norwegian weekly, interviewed us about the implications. While celebrating the news, we pointed out that access will be a major challenge for poor countries, and questioned the ethics of the comp...

Managing an epidemic requires tackling the health consequences of the outbreak, as well as its social, political, security, and economic dimensions. This implies setting priorities and making trade-offs between various interests and goals – in short, a lot of politics. The biomedical angle: science versus politics in epidemic response? ...

Digital technologies are often embraced as the solution to global challenges within health and development, but rampant commercialisation and weak regulation challenge the ideal of digital public goods capable of reducing inequalities. Techno-optimism Many express confidence that digital technologies available through mobile phone, tablets and ...

Norway plays a leadership role in the global pandemic response as co-lead of the Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) and chair of the World Trade Organization TRIPS Council. The country is also a key negotiator in discussions on new financing instruments for pandemic preparedness and response. In addition, Norway is one of the five cou...

As co-chair of the ACT-A Facilitation Council, Norway has been a leading proponent of the need for global solidarity to achieve equity in access to Covid-19 vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics. By contrast, domestic debates about Norway’s ongoing vaccine roll-out have taken a distinctly populist and nationalist tone in recent weeks. While ...