In the aftermath of September celebrations of the United Nations General Assembly’s resolution adopting the objective of affordable Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for 2030, skeptical feelings crept in.   It was reported then:   “United Nations members today adopted a high-level political declaration raising the stakes in the global push to ...

Universal Health Coverage (UHC) – which simply means equitable access to needed quality healthcare services without the risk of financial catastrophe or impoverishment associated with obtaining care – is one of 169 targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), more in particular target 3.8.  While there is evidence that a strong Primary ...

As countries embark on their UHC journey, the need for evidence and strong national health research systems has become more critical than ever. Countries in the Africa Region have overall experienced significant improvements in the capacity, governance, utilization and financing of research yet their national health research systems are performi...

As its overall theme stated, the 60th ITM Colloquium hoped to “connect the dots” between some of the most pressing needs in tropical medicine and international health.  The venue, “de Zuiderkroon” in Antwerp, was certainly inviting. The main focus of the two-day conference (9-10 October), also labelled ‘One Health. One Future. One Pla...

Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs) ensure ethical measures are in place, and maintain the scientific quality of research involving human participants (Gelling, 1990). In order to fulfil these obligations, HRECs review all the aspects of the research, including the recruitment of humans as study participants. This is to ensure that the rese...

I had preconceived ideas of what to expect at the 60th Colloquium of the Institute of Tropical Medicine themed “Connecting the Dots – One Planet, One Health, One Future” in Antwerp (9-10 October). I was ready for stately speeches from the Queen of the Belgians and seasoned global health experts expounding hot-button global health issues like...

Nearly all African countries have endorsed the continental free trade agreement. Trading is scheduled to commence in 2020 after key negotiations are concluded. Implementation of the agreement is likely to impact health in at least five areas: human capital investments, health innovations, trade for social impact, health security and universal he...

(crossposted from Medium ‘Health for All’ where it was first published) There was once a dream. A dream that led to the establishment of the United Nations (UN) in 1946 whereby an idealistic view of international cooperation was regarded as a key mechanism to prevent war and free humanity from widespread misery. Chapter I of the UN charter ...

The Mexico City policy was reinstated and broadened by Trump in his first week in office, January 2017, and renamed in May (when the implementation plan of the policy was announced) as Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance (PLGHA). The Mexico City policy, better known as the ‘Global Gag Rule’ (GGR), was first implemented by Reagan, a R...