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Dear Colleagues,
As the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) was taking place in Seville (30 June- 3 July) under a scorching heat, it felt like more than just a coincidence that elsewhere, in Exeter (UK), the Global Tipping Points conference focused on the latest science on Earth System risks. And so, as I was compiling the newsletter this week mostly from my (unfortunately rather hot) work room in ‘Casa Kortrijk’, it’s possible some quotes feel more like a Trump rant on Truth Social (I’ll stay away from using capital letters, though 😊).
Fortunately, in spite of the dire planetary times, we continue to look for a silver lining – in sync with the conference in Exeter where they also explored “Positive Tipping Points”. And so, as much of Europe was baking under a ‘heat dome’ of sorts, I suddenly realized that if one just waits long enough, even the name of my institute (Institute of Tropical Medicine) might become “trendy” again 😊.
Anyway. It might be early summer over here, but it’s still a fairly heavy newsletter content-wise, including also two short Featured articles today. “Global health’s summer” hasn’t started yet.
This issue obviously features plenty of coverage & analysis of FfD4 (including a co-editorial from my colleague Nicola Deghaye). From afar, buzzwords increasingly in vogue are among others: “blended finance” & “de-risking” (well, these ones are not exactly new 🙂 ); a shift to ‘investment partnerships’; “coalitions of the willing” “with like-minded partner countries” ( no surprises why ) ( with among others a neat joint initiative by Spain and Brazil to promote higher tax contributions from the super-rich worldwide); “purpose-driven multilateralism”; Global Public Investment; “fossil fuel phase-out” (at least in some corners they realize that this is our only chance, even if arguably, prospects for COP30 don’t look good… ps: I personally also like the sound of “defossilization” of our economies ); “solidarity levies” ( eg. “Eight countries including France, Spain and Kenya push(ed) for increased taxation on premium air tickets and private jet travel to fund climate action and development” ); “country platforms”; the ‘new normal’ (which for some reason invariably sounds rather dystopian ). And finally, even more ominously (though still a bit fringe), “global survival”. Don’t remember that one from 10 years ago, at the start of the SDG agenda…
In addition to everything related to FfD4 (which also featured the launch by WHO of the “3 by 35” Initiative on health taxes), we have our common subsections in the Highlights section of this newsletter. “Trump 2.0” was his usual bullying and despicable self this week ( and sadly, the G7 gave in, exempting the US from applying a 15 % minimum corporate tax rate). His Big Terrible Bill just seems to have landed on his desk too. Earlier this week, Bono Vox came up with some poetry at the closure of USAID, while Obama & Bush jr called the closure, rightly though belatedly, “a travesty”.
Finally, wecertainlyalready want to draw your attention to the global report released by the WHO Commission on Social Connection. The report included among others a daunting and very sad stat: “Every hour, 100 people die of loneliness-related causes. “
The stat says a lot about our world, I’m afraid.
Enjoy your reading.
Kristof Decoster
We start with a more or less chronological overview, starting with the (Devex) primer (ahead of FfD4). In general, Devex had great coverage & analysis from FfD4, so we’ll largely refer to their content below.
In a next section, we feature then some more reports, analyses, advocacy, ….
https://www.devex.com/news/defining-a-decade-what-to-expect-from-financing-for-development-110349
Devex Primer, published on Monday morning. “As FfD4 begins in Sevilla, a hard-won agreement sets the stage — but questions over financing and follow-through linger.”
“Negotiators will arrive with an agreement in hand, so rather than hash out the details, the next four days will be dedicated to figuring out how to implement the promises made.”
On the agenda, among others: debt, climate, taxes, MDB reform, ….
“As negotiators shift focus to implementation, Sevilla becomes the launchpad for the Sevilla Platform for Action, a collaborative effort among governments, banks, and stakeholders to turn promises into progress…..
“The Sevilla Platform for Action is a collection of initiatives that aims to mobilize specific, concrete actions related to the FfD4 outcome document before the week ends. ….. The platform has no fewer than 130 initiatives, including a global hub for debt swaps, a debt-pause alliance, a blended finance platform, and a new tool for multilateral development banks to manage currency risks. ….”
(via UN News) - The Seville Platform for Action is “turbocharging voluntary actions to help reach the SDGs – currently way off track for the 2030 deadline.”
PS: the 130 initiatives (full list here ) include for example, “Accelerating Health Taxes: The 3 by 35 Initiative” World Health Organization (WHO). (for more on that, see below)
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1165091
“We’re here in Sevilla to change course,” the UN chief told world leaders on Monday, calling on them to grasp a once-in-a-decade opportunity to close a $4 trillion financing gap facing developing countries to meet sustainable development goals – and build a better world for all.”
“… Addressing the opening session of the 4th Financing for Development Conference (FFD4) in baking hot Sevilla, Spain – basking in record high June temperatures – the Secretary-General noted multilateralism itself is also feeling the heat, while trust between nations and institutions fray….”
“… The UN chief outlined three key action areas: First, get resources flowing fast at home to spur sustainable growth, and for richer countries to honour their pledge under the accord to double aid to poorer countries to boost development. This includes tripling the lending capacity of Multilateral Development Banks and innovative solutions to unlock private cash. Second, fix the “unsustainable, unfair and unaffordable” global debt system. Right now, poorer countries are spending around $1.4 trillion just servicing their vast debts in the form of interest payments. Among the innovations, a new borrowers’ forum will ensure fairer debt resolution and action. Third, reform the global financial architecture, with major shareholders playing their part, so that it empowers every country. “We need a fairer global tax system shaped by all, not just a few.”…”
Also featuring some other speeches, among others from WTO & IMF leaders.
https://www.devex.com/news/sevilla-reporter-s-notebook-day-1-ffd4-kicks-off-110383
“Sevilla hosts high-stakes talks on development finance — and rising tensions.”
https://www.devex.com/news/sevilla-reporter-s-notebook-day-2-compromiso-adopted-but-what-next-110394
“So far at FfD4, global leaders adopted the pre-written Compromiso de Sevilla, launched a new global tax coalition, and debated how the public and private sectors will truly collaborate.”
“... Spain, Brazil, and South Africa announced a new global coalition to tax the wealthy — specifically referencing a line in the outcome document that says: “We will promote progressivity and efficiency across fiscal systems to address inequality and increase revenue.” The countries reiterated the fact that the world’s richest 1% own more wealth than 95% of humanity, arguing that higher taxes are vital to addressing inequality. ….” (see also below)
By way of example, some other initiatives from the Seville Platform for Action: “ On Monday, a group of organizations announced the Coalition for Tax Expenditure Reform, which would combine researchers, NGOs, and experts to reform ineffective tax systems, increase transparency and approve oversight. • The Addis Tax Initiative’s Seville Declaration on Domestic Revenue Mobilisation was officially unveiled during a press briefing at FfD4 on Monday, and is co-led by Gambia, Germany, Madagascar, Norway, and the European Union. … • The Financing Social Protection Initiative was formally announced by top leaders from the International Labour Organization, UNICEF, and the World Bank Group. The goal is to help improve access to social protection systems such as unemployment benefits, pensions, and health care.”
Vince Chadwick; https://www.devex.com/news/devex-invested-global-development-s-sevilla-fever-dream-110064
“An early look at what we’re seeing and hearing at the fourth Financing for Development conference in Sevilla, Spain.”
With some interesting observations. Among others: “… is the private sector even here?”
“Global leaders exhale as a borrowers’ club takes shape and pause clauses gain traction — but civil society says progress falls short and access to the real conversations is even worse.”
“…. Debt — and what to do about it — has become the defining topic at FfD4. “ (with some info on the new Borrowers’ Club- see also below)
“… Climate, a big topic of discussion at the preparatory meetings for the outcome document, is another major theme across the conference. … There's a push among negotiators to say that FfD4 is not the place to discuss climate change — that’s for the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change to deal with, Neto of UNDP told us. But we’re seeing delegates and representatives tie climate to other aspects of the debate, specifically empowering local leadership….”
“… Other segments of the FfD4 crowd are feeling more optimistic — especially those that for years have been pushing the type of development that’s all the rage at FfD: programs backed by blended finance…..”
https://www.devex.com/news/sevilla-reporter-s-notebook-day-4-sevilla-is-about-what-comes-next-110434
“On the final day of the Financing for Development conference in Sevilla, negotiators laid the groundwork for long-term tax reform and new public-private cooperation — while calls for deep systemic change grew louder.”
With “a little more detail on what negotiators, country leaders, and experts have on the horizon.”
Dwelling on: The long road to tax reform; need to reform the international financial system; …
Re new public-private cooperation: “…. many public-private partnerships were established in Sevilla, with conversations centering around the argument that the developing world isn’t as risky as investors often perceive it to be….. “
“While public finance remains necessary, some experts are framing this as the silver lining of plummeting ODA. It’s pushing the development community to show the potential of investing in low-income countries, especially considering that developing and emerging economies account for almost 60% of global gross domestic product, according to the International Monetary Fund….”
PS: among the Sevilla Platform for Action initiatives worth noting: “ • The Pact for Prosperity, People and the Planet, known as 4P, is a coalition of over 70 countries. They launched an initiative to integrate country vulnerability measurements into the global financial architecture. It specifically uses the Multilateral Vulnerability Index, or MVI, which is a tool to measure a country’s vulnerability and ability to respond to shocks. The 4P initiative will push to use the MVI as a tool to inform financial decisions…. “
“The “3 by 35” Initiative targets tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks to cut deaths and boost health and development funding.”
“The World Health Organization (WHO) today has launched a major new initiative urging countries to raise real prices on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks by at least 50% by 2035 through health taxes in a move designed to curb chronic diseases and generate critical public revenue. The “3 by 35” Initiative comes at a time when health systems are under enormous strain from rising noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), shrinking development aid and growing public debt. … … The Initiative has an ambitious but achievable goal of raising US$1 trillion over the next 10 years….”
“… Strong collaboration is at the heart of the “3 by 35” Initiative’s success. Led by WHO, the Initiative brings together a powerful group of global partners to help countries put health taxes into action. These organizations offer a mix of technical know-how, policy advice, and real-world experience. By working together, they aim to raise awareness about the benefits of health taxes and support efforts at the national level….”” Many countries have expressed interest in transitioning toward more self-reliant, domestically funded health systems and are turning to WHO for guidance.”
“The “3 by 35” Initiative introduces key action areas to help countries, pairing proven health policies with best practices on implementation. These include direct support for country-led reforms with the following goals in mind: Cutting harmful consumption by reducing affordability ….. Raising revenue to fund health and development; Building broad political support across ministries, civil society, and academia. Strengthen multisectoral alliances by engaging ministries of finance and health, parliamentarians, civil society, and researchers to design and implement effective policies….”
· See also Devex - WHO pushes for 50% price hike on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks
PS: “WHO has long called for an increase in taxes for alcohol, tobacco, and sugary drinks, but with this initiative, they’re working with a coalition of partners to bring the case to the fore, said Jeremias Paul Jr., WHO unit head on fiscal policies for health. “One of the things that you find, for example, in malaria control, mosquitoes don't have lobbyists. But when you're trying to raise health taxes, you always expect a lot of industry pushback. So that's why this [work] really requires a coalition among civil society, governments, technical agencies, to move this forward,” Paul told Devex…..”
“Low-income countries could confront the massive health finance crisis they are facing after the withdrawal of most US-based aid through a 50% increase in the price of tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks – saving 50 million lives and raising some $1 trillion dollars in vital revenue for strapped health systems, says WHO.” “The ambitious WHO initiative “3×35 initiative” to increase by at least 50% the price of all three health-harmful products and avoid 50 million premature deaths over the next 50 years was launched at the Fourth International Financing for Development Conference in Seville, Spain, which ends today.
PS: “WHO’s claim that the tax initiative could raise $1 trillion for countries by 2035 is an extrapolation, based on revenue-raising experiences with health taxes in countries such as Colombia and South Africa. Still, experiences in countries suggests that the taxes are not only beneficial to health but also financially lucrative. ….”
“… As for the new 3×35 initiative, backing from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also involves support for countries who want to take action…..”
And a link:
· UN News - summary of key commitments going forward from Sevilla (scroll to the bottom)
Not really chronologically, this section.
“Spain, once a World Bank recipient country, proves cooperation works with FfD4 deal while bucking donor trend of slashing aid budget.”
Interview with Spain's Ambassador-at-Large for Financing for Development, Mónica Colomer.
“… Kumar said he's been tracking a theme throughout the conference: the shift from aid to investment partnerships. Rather than viewing this as evolution, it may be a necessity — a way to make development cooperation politically palatable as traditional aid loses public support.”
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1165051
From end of last week. “On Friday, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed launched a new report, Confronting the Debt Crisis: 11 Actions to Unlock Sustainable Financing…..
PS: “The (debt) crisis is accelerating, Ms. Grynspan (head of UNCTAD) warned. More than 3.4 billion people now live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on health or education – 100 million more than last year. Debt service payments by developing countries have soared by $74 billion in a single year, from $847 billion to $921 billion. “The nature of this crisis is mostly connected to the increase of debt servicing costs,” Mr. Gentiloni explained. “Practically, the debt services costs doubled in the last ten years.”….”
“… The report outlines 11 actions that are both technically feasible and politically viable.” At three levels.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/07/1165196
“A new mechanism offering debt-distressed countries a way to coordinate action and amplify their voice in the global financial system, has been launched at the UN’s pivotal sustainable development conference in Sevilla. The Borrowers’ Forum is being hailed as a milestone in efforts to reform the international debt architecture, supported by the UN and emerging as a key part of the Sevilla Agreement outcome document….”
“…. The forum – one of 11 recommendations by the UN Secretary-General’s Expert Group on Debt – will allow countries to share experiences, receive technical and legal advice, promote responsible lending and borrowing standards, and build collective negotiating strength….”
PS: “To help close gaps in access to public services and policies, and to address healthcare cuts that could cost thousands of lives, Spain on Wednesday launched the Global Health Action Initiative aimed at revitalising the entire global health ecosystem. The initiative, which will channel €315 million into the global health system between 2025 and 2027, is supported by leading multilateral health organisations and more than 10 countries…..”
“Across Africa, schools and hospitals are under pressure. Debt repayments are eating into national budgets, leaving classrooms overcrowded and clinics underfunded. »
« A silent crisis is eroding the foundations of public health care and education systems in Africa. The relentless grip of International Monetary Fund-driven austerity measures, which compel governments to slash expenditure on vital public services in favor of servicing foreign debt, is devastating the health care and education systems on the continent, according to a recent ActionAid report. …. The report criticizes IMF policies that force low-income countries to prioritize debt repayments over essential services in six African countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, and Nigeria. The IMF says these austerity measures, which include “social spending floors” — minimum government spending targets for education, health care, and social protection — are intended to help struggling countries stabilize their economies. However, the report finds these measures have still taken a heavy toll on public services…..”
“… A report by Oxfam and Development Finance International found that 94% of African countries with World Bank and IMF loans have cut vital investments in education, health, and social protection. The report also noted that 79% of these countries have weakened their tax systems' ability to reduce inequality, while labor rights and minimum wages have worsened in 89%. …. “Austerity policies borrowed from a 1980s playbook have set us years back in the fight against inequality in nearly every African country. These disastrous and anti-development policies are pushing governments to make the torturous choice between investing in education and health or paying ballooning debt,” said Fati N’Zi-Hassane, director of Oxfam in Africa.”
PS: “Meanwhile, as the global community convenes at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Sevilla, Spain, African civil society organizations that organized a tribunal on Africa’s debt cancellation last month in the Malawi capital Lilongwe are calling for a reform of the IMF and the World Bank which they claim have policies which favor the west. Their debt justice proposals, mostly centered on debt cancellation, increased grants, and concessional financing, aim to provide low-income countries with the necessary support to tackle poverty effectively….”
“Investing in health sector development is not just a moral imperative — it is smart policy. But without meaningful reform, the health ecosystem will struggle to meet the evolving health and economic needs of today’s world.”
He lists four reasons why “the case for sustained — and smarter — investment in health has never been clearer.”
And then applies the new model on Nigeria.
“A new model in practice: Nigeria’s pivot: Nigeria offers a promising example of what this transformation could look like. Under President Bola Tinubu, the country has begun aligning all three levels of its federal system (national, state, and local governments) around a coherent health investment agenda, the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative. Promisingly, this includes renewed strategic collaboration with key GHIs such as the Global Fund, Gavi, and GFF, and is rooted firmly in country ownership, increasing use of national systems, and greater domestic financing…..”
“A new aviation solidarity coalition on premium flyers (first- and business- class tickets, and private jets) has been launched today at FFD4 by France, Kenya, Barbados, Spain, Somalia, Benin, Sierra Leone and Antigua & Barbuda. It will be supported by the European Commission, and the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force as part of the Pact for Prosperity, People and the Planet (4P). The coalition will work towards COP30 on a better contribution of the aviation sector to fair transitions and resilience, with a special focus on premium flyers…..”
· Related (via Pandemic Action Network): “The Global Solidarity Levies Task Force laid out A Roadmap for Solidarity Levies from FfD4 to COP30 to advance an innovative source of finance to support the delivery of climate and development goals….”
“Since COP29, the Task Force has made significant strides at a technical level to advance concrete proposals for solidarity levies. With a polluter pays approach now adopted for shipping at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in April 2025, attention is now turning towards other sectors. A focus has been placed on options for aviation, fossil fuels and a financial transactions levy as these are viable to move forwards as a coalition of the willing in the short-term. The Task Force commissioned independent studies across these areas to look at the potential impacts on households and distributional effects. These studies will help inform the design of levies in an equitable and progressive manner. The Task Force is also launching a group of experts on a cryptocurrency levy who will deliver final recommendations by COP30.”
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/07/1165146
…… The initiative prioritises information sharing - between governments and tax authorities – to help expose gaps in tax systems, close loopholes and combat evasion and avoidance…. … Spain and Brazil are even considering steps toward a global wealth registry – acknowledging that this would take time, political will and major national efforts….”
M Mazzucato et al; https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/publications/2025/jun/mind-mission-not-gap-rethinking-blended-finance-public-purpose
“….this paper interrogates the conceptual foundations of blended finance and its viability as a scalable development instrument. It challenges three core assumptions: first, that development is primarily constrained by a financing gap, rather than by the absence of mission-oriented investment pipelines; second, that public finance is inherently insufficient to meet development needs, rather than recognising that existing public wealth remains underutilised; and third, that modest de-risking interventions are sufficient to mobilise private capital at scale, overlooking the structural constraints that shape private capital allocation. The paper concludes by arguing for a strategic reframing of blended finance as a targeted tool within a broader mission-oriented approach to development finance—one that prioritises structural transformation, builds productive capacities, and generates long-term public value. Realising this potential requires a shift from market-fixing to market-shaping: blended finance must move beyond filling financial gaps to actively directing and aligning capital with public purpose….”
C Cuerpo (Minister Spain) & J Stiglitz ; https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/financing-for-development-seville-conference-how-to-fix-global-debt-architecture-by-carlos-cuerpo-and-joseph-e-stiglitz-2025-07
“As the global gap between rich and poor countries continues to widen, one out of every three countries in the world is spending more repaying creditors than on health or education. Overhauling the global financial and sovereign-debt architecture has become an urgent priority – both morally and economically.”
“…. We believe that finance for development is too important not to involve every stakeholder. As the late Pope Francis emphasized, doing so is a moral obligation. That is the message of the Vatican’s new Jubilee Report on debt, reflecting the work of a global commission of experts – which one of us (Stiglitz) chaired. …. … But fixing development finance is also a matter of self-interest for most advanced economies. After all, poverty and inequality give rise to social tension, diseases, and conflicts, with spillovers that do not respect national boundaries. Moreover, a lack of finance in developing countries implies a lack of investment in climate-change mitigation, a global public good that is necessary for everyone’s future prosperity.”
After listing a number of initiatives that will probably launched in Seville, they conclude: “We remain optimistic, because we believe in the power of pragmatism. By focusing on workable solutions that go beyond the text of whatever agreement emerges, we can finally put development back on track.”
· For a similar read, see J Stiglitz & W Byanyima in El Pais - The challenge at UN aid conference: Governments cannot paper over the cracks in development funding
Including: “Austerity is not an option. Already, countries are barely covering the basic needs of their citizens…..”
M Jacobs; https://odi.org/en/insights/the-debt-debate/
“… Unsurprisingly, debt has featured prominently in the discussions in Sevilla this week. The key message has been simple. Not many countries today default on their debts, because it is so painful to do so, with no quick resolution available. So, around half of low and lower middle-income countries are now defaulting on their development instead. 3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt interest payments than they do on health or education….”
Jacobs concludes on a fairly upbeat note: “… within the FfD4 itself, a series of initiatives on debt have been launched under the ‘Sevilla Platform for Action’. There will be a new push on debt ‘pause clauses’, which suspend interest payments when a disaster hits. Spain announced a new hub for ‘debt for development swaps’, which release spending for development by refinancing old debt more cheaply. And an ‘Implementation Pathway’ for the Expert Review on Debt, Nature and Climate was announced under the auspices of the 4P, the Pact for Prosperity, People and the Planet, a 72-country coalition for reform of the international financial architecture. If debt reports have felt a bit like London buses in the last few months, it does at least feel like the issue is finally on the move.”
https://www.devex.com/news/why-tax-is-the-only-exit-strategy-from-aid-in-the-long-term-110425
“In a conversation at Casa Devex, Giulia Mascagni, executive director of the International Centre for Tax and Development, explains why smarter, more equitable taxation is key to sustainable development and the future of development finance.”
She makes lots of good points.
Including: “Looking ahead, Mascagni welcomed the inclusion of a commitment in the Sevilla conference outcome document to double aid for tax capacity-building. This is a smart investment, she said, emphasizing that tax is not a short-term replacement for aid, but “tax is the only exit strategy from aid in the long term.” She also stressed the importance of building administrative capacity — from staff numbers to digital skills — as a prerequisite for successful reforms, but warned that all this will take time.”
“We do know that increases in tax don’t happen quickly, so that is a bit of an illusion to think that you know tax is going to fill the gap left by aid, or that revenue mobilization can happen quickly,” she said. “History shows us that really a half percentage point increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio per year is already incredibly ambitious.”
“Amitabh Behar says $33.9 trillion is sitting in the pockets of the superrich — and should be taxed.”
“ A running theme at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development is that resources today are scarce, and the world needs to get creative and make the most of them to tackle crises such as poverty. Amitabh Behar, executive director of Oxfam International, argued that there’s no shortage of resources. It’s simply a question of political will as to whether those resources will be directed to fight inequality.”
“He cited what he referred to as “startling” statistics to back him up. Oxfam recently calculated that the wealth of the world’s richest 1% has surged $33.9 trillion since 2015, enough to end annual poverty 22 times over, yet billionaires only pay around 0.3% in real taxes.”
“…. And those political choices come down to taxing the superrich — a conversation that has become more central at this FfD than the iteration held 10 years ago in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.”
“It is not just Oxfam saying this — look at the G20. The G20 has clearly signaled the desire to tax the superrich. You have the U.N. tax convention at the moment, and now you have the FfD talking about it,” he said. “So there's growing traction around [progressive] taxation, because I think it's the obvious choice — that until you tax the superrich, you do not have the resources to invest in public services.”….”
https://www.devex.com/news/the-investment-shift-that-could-reshape-african-health-care-110420
“From Indonesia's vaccine success to Africa's HIV prevention plans, financing "demand creation" promises jobs and sustainability — if partnerships can move beyond traditional aid models.”
“Speaking at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, or FfD4, in Sevilla, Spain, Priya Agrawal, vice president for health equity and partnerships at Merck, challenged global development’s fundamental assumptions about what needs financing. The secret isn't transferring technology or setting up factories, she said. It’s making sure there’s a market for what those factories produce. This kind of “demand creation” often involves public procurement or donor programs that commit to purchasing from local manufacturers. Her company’s work in Indonesia, she said, proves this can create jobs quickly and open the door to long-term market growth….”
“The real test, she explained, will be scaling this approach to Africa, where market dynamics and manufacturing capabilities present different challenges…..”
“Agrawal sees potential for testing the model in Africa, pointing to HIV prevention drug manufacturing as a possible application. A PrEP product — an oral pill that's "easy to make" with low production costs — represents what she called "the perfect product for the continent of Africa."…”
“As climate change impacts worsen and aid budgets fall, leaders gathered in Spain for a UN conference on funding sustainable development this week threw their weight behind innovative tools such as taxes on extreme wealth, levies on polluting transport and debt swaps to raise more money to tackle the climate crisis.”
“More and more of what's happening in our planet is going to be happening in cities,” says Anna Claudia Rosso, the executive director of UN-Habitat.”
“Cities are where the future is unfolding — and they need money to match their moment. That was the message from Anacláudia Rossbach, executive director of UN-Habitat, during a lively discussion at Casa Devex, on the sidelines of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development…..”
“… At the top of her list: the global housing crisis. “We cannot achieve the SDGs in housing if people don't have shelter, a roof over their heads,” she said, pointing to 1 billion people living in informal settlements and 300 million experiencing homelessness. She called housing the “common denominator” in both the global north and south.”
“UN-Habitat’s new four-year plan, backed by 105 countries, puts housing, land access, basic services, and informal settlement upgrades front and center. But financing remains a huge barrier. “This is very expensive, and this is very complex — so that’s why I’m here,” Rosso said.”
“She made a strong case for getting funding directly to cities and not just through national governments. “… …. Rosso also wants to see cities have a bigger seat at the global table. “More and more U.N. agencies … are understanding that the change is local,” she said, highlighting growing city engagement at the United Nations, climate COPs, and development banks….”
And some links:
· Brookings - From aid-driven to investment-driven models of sustainable development (by Amar Bhattacharya, Homi Kharas et al)
· Brookings - Expanding fiscal space for priority investments (by Homi Kharas)
· Global Health Advocates (+ Doctors without Borders & Alima)- A Soda Tax to Fund the Global Fight Against Malnutrition A Fiscal Lever for Public Health
Joseph E. Stiglitz, José Antonio Ocampo, and Jayati Ghosh; https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/g7-caved-to-us-on-global-minimum-corporate-tax-by-joseph-e-stiglitz-et-al-2025-06
On the setback from this week. “Once again, G7 governments have decided to put the interests of multinationals ahead of the interests of developing countries, small and medium-size businesses, and their own citizens, this time by exempting US multinationals from the global minimum corporate tax agreed in 2021. The US must not be allowed to dictate global policy…..”
“The US Treasury just made a deal with the other G7 countries that global minimum taxes that were already agreed upon will not apply to American companies. The G7 governments caved under intense pressure from President Donald Trump and lobbying from multinationals in Washington, London, Brussels, and beyond – just as India, and now, sadly, Canada have caved on digital taxation….”
They conclude: “ The members of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework should reject the deal made at the G7. The US must not be allowed to dictate global policy. It is powerful, but still represents less than 20% of global GDP. Countries meeting in Seville for FfD4 can either accept the US undermining every effort to ensure multinationals pay their fair share, or redouble efforts to create a new international tax system at the UN that works for all. For the sake of the world economy and people everywhere, they should do the latter.”
“World Health Organization Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced his new team of 36 directors at headquarters on Tuesday, according to internal staff messages shared exclusively with Health Policy Watch. Nine of the appointments, including key positions heading the Departments of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, and the newly combined Department of Climate, Environment, Health; One Health; Urban Health; and Migration, are “acting” with permanent appointees to be named at some point in the future. …”
“The appointment of the directors completes the latest phase of WHO’s reorganisation following a budget crisis triggered by the withdrawal of the United States…”
This HPW analysis makes a few critical points.
· See also Devex - WHO names new directors in ongoing restructure
“Several positions remain vacant and will be led by acting heads.”
Excerpt: “…Several departments have been combined and, therefore, will have directors with expanded roles. Dr. Etienne Krug will take on an expanded role as director of both health promotion and social determinants; Kalipso Chalkidou as director of governance, financing, economics, primary health care, and universal health coverage; Gaudenz Silberschmidt as director of partnerships, resource mobilization, and envoy for multilateral affairs….”
“…. Several positions remain vacant and will be led by acting heads. This includes key director positions for internal oversight services and evaluation, communications, financial management, governing bodies, environmental health, health systems, malaria and neglected tropical diseases, noncommunicable diseases, or NCDs, and mental health.”
E A Maciel, A Pabloz-Mendez et al ; https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01328-5/fulltext
Must-read. Laying out the two dimensions of the crisis (both domestically and at global level).
Then they argue: “….In the context of this increasingly challenging landscape, it is imperative to focus on five critical priorities to ensure the continuity of the tuberculosis response and to protect those affected from avoidable suffering and loss of life…..”
T B Hallett et al ; https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00831-1/fulltext
“The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include ending the epidemics of HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria by 2030. With 5 years remaining to meet this goal, and with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria seeking funding for programmes in 2027–29, establishing what can be achieved through continued investment in combatting these diseases is crucial. We aimed to estimate the potential for impact by analysing the funding landscape and epidemiological situations of these three diseases, the costs of key programmes, and the extent of possible future progress in the countries eligible for Global Fund support….”
Check out the findings.
(recommended) “In a new policy brief, Stephan Klingebiel and Andy Sumner discuss how and why the very foundations of international aid and development are being shaken by geopolitical shifts, contested norms, and institutional upheaval. The brief argues that the crisis is not a mere cyclical downturn, or nor is it only about money, but a fundamental reordering of the global development landscape. In short, a "tipping point" in the sense of a dramatic moment when incremental changes coalesce into a transformative shift, for better or worse, is in the offing. We ask what might come next.”
Their brief outlines four plausible futures for the global development cooperation system: Global Solidarity 2.0, Strategic multilateralism, pluralist development cooperation & aid retrenchment and nationalist conditionality.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) warmly welcomes the renewed and increased commitments from Spain and Luxembourg to end the three epidemics as public health threats, strengthen health and community systems, and bolster global health security. Spain and Luxembourg came together at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, Spain, to jointly announce increased commitments to the Global Fund’s Eighth Replenishment. Spain pledged €145 million, and Luxembourg pledged €13.8 million – both marking an increase over their respective commitments at the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment in 2022……”
https://aidspan.org/Blog/view/32542
With lots of interesting articles in the latest GFO issue.
“In this new issue of GFO, we examine the widening gap between high-level global health commitments and the fragile realities confronting community-led responses on the ground. This issue highlights the consequences of funding delays, the marginalization of civil society in accelerated reprioritization processes, and the urgent need for inclusive governance, financial accountability, and health system leadership rooted in local contexts—particularly across Africa.”
In this issue, we specifically want to flag among others:
Good summary. And in case you missed this in last week’s coverage: “… The summit facilitated commitments to lower vaccine prices and introduced over $4.5 billion in innovative financing instruments. Furthermore, there was a pronounced emphasis on bolstering vaccine manufacturing capacity within Africa, primarily through the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator.”
“The African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA) received a major boost, with €800 million pledged from Team Europe. Key highlights included: A new technology transfer partnership between Biovac (South Africa) and Biological E (India) to produce pneumococcal vaccines on the continent. UNICEF announced a target for African manufacturers to supply 20% of the continent’s demand for eight essential vaccines by 2035. Gavi and MedAccess will develop a $50 million financial guarantee for African vaccine manufacturing initiatives…..”
· Grant Cycle 7 Reprioritization: How can communities prepare?
“This article describes the "GC7 reprioritization" process currently taking place, which will involve deferring certain activities and revising country grants to fit lower funding envelopes. While the Global Fund has emphasized the need for community engagement and to protect community-focused programs, there are risks of community priorities being disproportionately impacted and that civil society will face difficulties engaging in the rapid decision-making process. “
“this article looks at the strong call from African civil society organizations to be fully involved in planning for future pandemics, after the global approval of the Pandemic Agreement …. … In a rapidly evolving global health landscape, civil society across Africa is calling for a fundamental realignment of power and participation in pandemic preparedness and response. At the heart of this discourse lies the recently adopted Pandemic Agreement - a global milestone approved by 124 World Health Organization (WHO) member states in May 2025. African countries voted unanimously in favor, signaling strong political will, yet civil society actors are demanding more: implementation, inclusion, and influence.”
· What if Africa is finally opening a new era in health financing?
“At the 78th World Health Assembly, Africa's leaders charted a new course for health financing with the event entitled: "The Future of Domestic Financing for Health is Now: Africa’s Pathway to Sustainable Health Systems." Initiated by the Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare and the Global Fund, the dialogue centered on transitioning from donor reliance to self-sustaining health systems. Thanks to the contributions of figures such as Dr. Donald Kaberuka and the proactive strategies of countries like Ethiopia and Zimbabwe, the conference highlighted innovative and inspiring financing solutions.”
Tom Drake et al; https://www.cgdev.org/publication/new-compact-health-financing-donor-priority-setting
“In 2025, dramatic cuts to global health financing, including the USAID shutdown, have prompted a wave of articles seeking to “reimagine” global development and global health. Our contribution to this literature expands on our existing proposal—the New Compact for health financing between donors and recipient countries (see Box 1). To date, we have considered the New Compact from the perspective of a recipient country (Ethiopia) and of a single global health initiative (Gavi). In light of the rapidly evolving context, we now consider the perspective of “upstream” donors. In a model where recipient countries are setting priorities that donors align with – what decisions must donors still make? We argue that by moving beyond priority-setting by diseases and interventions, donors can instead focus on how best to prioritise common goods and country partnerships.”
Do read more in detail about ‘common goods’ and ‘country partnerships’ - on which, according to the authors, donors could focus their priority-setting.
M Gavas et al ; https://www.cgdev.org/blog/eus-ambition-tie-its-development-aid-will-undermine-economic-development
“The EU is preparing to tie its development spending more directly to its own domestic priorities, according to recent reports. The European Commission wants to extract greater strategic value from the aid it provides to low-income countries, potentially making financing conditional on measures such as curbing migration or favouring European industry. This would mark a significant departure from the EU’s current model, where aid is largely provided without strings attached.”
“The Commission argues this approach, which could be likened to a Trumpian, “America-first” foreign policy, would make aid more politically defensible—but it risks undermining development goals, as well as the credibility of the EU as a partner…..”
“The evidence is clear: tied aid is ineffective and undermines long-term development. Here, we argue that the EU’s return on investment would be higher if it focused on improving the effectiveness and efficiency of its aid, rather than using it to serve its own geopolitical and commercial interests….”
A D Usher; https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01380-7/fulltext
(must-read) “At its sixth replenishment, Gavi fell short of its fundraising target after the USA withdrew all financing and the other key donors reduced their support. Ann Danaiya Usher reports.”
“…. Amid sweeping global aid cuts and a volatile geopolitical landscape, Gavi managed to raise $6·5 billion (table). A few more pledges are expected in the coming months…..” “Gavi had proposed a total budget of $11·9 billion for 2026–30, a combination of fresh pledges and $2·9 billion in assured resources, mainly unspent funds from the COVAX facility and money already owed to the International Finance Facility for Immunisation mechanism (IFFIm). The agency potentially faces a 25% hole in its budget, and it will have to make some tough choices.”
“… Notably, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Japan, which together provided more than $500 million in the last funding cycle, have not yet announced pledges. Gavi's overall replenishment result could therefore still increase. On the other hand, donors other than the UK may also have included old money in their pledges. Gavi indicates that it will take a few weeks to finalise the result.;..”
PS: “… Although Nishtar has garnered praise for her far-reaching reform plan [the “GAVI Leap”], many people point to necessary trade-offs given the funding shortfall and question how the sunset clause would work in practice. Focusing on health systems, childhood vaccination, health security, introducing new vaccines, building up manufacturing capacity in Africa, helping countries move towards self-reliance, and market shaping work will involve tough prioritisations. “Some of the goals Nishtar outlines for the Gavi Leap are potentially in tension with each other, such as helping countries become self-reliant for the procurement of vaccines, while expanding on Gavi's market shaping”, said Puyvallée….”
“Shabir Madhi, Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand, acknowledged that governments in Africa share an “aspirational goal about setting a sunset clause for Gavi”, but he worried about whether countries will be willing or able to take over full financial responsibility for vaccine portfolios that are currently being paid for—in part or in full—by Gavi. He noted, for example, that African governments have shown a strong interest in malaria vaccination, on which Gavi plans to spend more than $1 billion during 2026–30. Given the funding constraints, Madhi said, Gavi cannot afford to provide this vaccine for free. Instead, governments should be required to start contributing co-financing right away. “It is extremely unlikely that Gavi is going to withdraw funding for vaccines that they are already assisting countries in procuring. So, the only way to balance the books is to promote co-funding by governments for newer vaccines”, he said. In that connection, he underlined the importance of safeguarding support for maternal respiratory syncytial virus and human papillomavirus vaccines. Moreover, “if Gavi is serious about expecting countries to take over procurement of vaccines over time, the starting point must be a political commitment by country governments to take on responsibility over their health-care systems to ensure that immunisation services continue”, Madhi said. “Gavi should be playing a more facilitating role, rather than actually funding countries’ healthcare systems”, although countries in conflict, like South Sudan, are exceptions and might require emergency support. Health systems strengthening is set to receive $1·6 billion in the proposed Gavi 6.0 budget…..”
J M Keller et al ; https://www.cgdev.org/blog/mind-gap-recapping-gavis-pledging-summit
With three takeaways: “The Trump administration reaffirmed plans to zero out funding, and others didn’t step in to fill the gap; The headline figure of over $9 billion does not fully represent new funding; Optimizing available resources while maintaining impact will take smart prioritization.”
https://www.devex.com/news/gavi-s-sania-nishtar-is-very-hopeful-us-will-return-as-a-donor-110422
“While the organization fell short of its fundraising goal at its replenishment event last week — its chief executive officer still sees the $9 billion raised as a victory.”
PS: not quite sure though on what her hope for the US returning is based… at least with the current administration.
D A Watkins et al ; https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01093-1/fulltext
With many Letters in the Lancet today.
Check out here the authors’ reply.
Among the letters, check out among others the letter by Elizabeth Paul et al. Also the one by Damian Walker, Justice Nonvignon et al.
https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/global-health-system-calls-for-new-models
By Boston Consulting Group authors. Need I say more? : )
Still worth a read though.
“Gutting USAID is a travesty, and it’s a tragedy. Because it’s some of the most important work happening anywhere in the world,” Obama said.”
D M Cavalcanti et al ; https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01186-9/fulltext
“The aim of this study is to comprehensively evaluate the effect of all USAID funding on adult and child mortality over the past two decades and forecast the future effect of its defunding…..”
· Coverage via NBC – USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths over the next five years, researchers say
“The analysis found that, from 2001 through 2021, USAID-funded programs prevented nearly 92 million deaths across 133 countries, including more than 25 million deaths from HIV/AIDS, around 11 million from diarrheal diseases, 8 million from malaria and nearly 5 million from tuberculosis…..”
“…The analysis, done by a team of international researchers from Spain, Brazil, Mozambique and the United States, estimated the impact of the 83% funding cuts, assuming they remain through 2030. Of the more than 14 million deaths forecast, around 4.5 million would be among children under 5, the authors found……”
· But see a related (hard-hitting) thread by Daniel Krugman on X :
Starting with: “I know nuance breaks our brains these days but we need to be serious about this "forecast." Africa will not simply roll over and die without USAID. All this shock-inducing statistical narrative does is reinforce the very American-centrism that led to this mess in the first place…”
· On the USAID closure, see also HPW - USAID Shut Down Days After Lancet Warns Closure Will Kill 2.4 Million Every Year
“ US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the official end of USAID, eliminating the world’s largest humanitarian aid agency just days after The Lancet medical journal warned the closure would cause 2.4 million preventable deaths every year…. … In a State Department memo titled “Make Foreign Aid Great Again” announcing the shutdown, Rubio laid into USAID, stating its “charity-based” model was against American interests, that it spawned “a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense,” and attacked countries and regions – notably Sub-Saharan Africa – for not repaying the US with UN votes despite billions in aid…..”
PS: re the ‘future’: “… Citing two anecdotes – a Zambian man who told American diplomats teaching his countrymen to “learn to fish” instead of receiving US aid, and an Ethiopian woman praising two-way investment schemes – Rubio said the new model will provide “targeted and limited” aid, while favoring nations who demonstrate an “ability and willingness to help themselves” and welcome US investment. …. “The charity-based model failed because the leadership of these developing nations developed an addiction,” Rubio said. “That ends today, and where there was once a rainbow of unidentifiable logos on life-saving aid, there will now be one recognizable symbol: the American flag.” …”
W Herkewitz (guest essay); https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/29/opinion/usaid-ending.html?smid=bs-share
Making a very important point. “On July 1, the Trump administration will effectively dissolve the United States Agency for International Development and shunt the agency’s few remaining contracts to the State Department. Over the next two months, remaining employees will be terminated — including the entirety of the government’s global humanitarian aid work force. Quietly, America will abandon the fight against global famine…..”
“…I worked for U.S.A.I.D. in East Africa over the past eight and a half years, selling the story of American foreign aid to people in Rwanda, Ethiopia and Kenya. Our inability to tell this same story to Americans is our great failure … … This failure is partly because after decades of routine silence, the agency could only see the banality in the extraordinary and partly because of a broader incompetency by the federal government to communicate directly to the public it serves. But the biggest reason we never got the story out is that the American public was never U.S.A.I.D.’s primary audience. Instead, a majority of our communication efforts were aimed entirely at Congress and other government insiders. This was our choice. Our flawed logic was that if lawmakers understood the agency’s impact, they’d protect its work…..”
“… With no other nation stepping in to fill the void America is leaving, we must not forget the lesson of this moment. If we ever return to serious global aid, we cannot rebuild on the same broken foundation that treated public awareness as optional….”
(gated) “On the day the State Department is set to absorb the remnants of USAID, veteran development leaders described the transition as a major step backward for U.S. global development efforts in an event for Devex Pro members.” “veteran development leaders described the transition as a major step backward for U.S. global development efforts — and one that comes with significant risk.”
“…They are only going to have 718 people, less than 6% of the USAID workforce, to manage these programs.” Panelists warned of an “impending trainwreck” as the State Department takes over programs without sufficient personnel to manage them. “One of the calculations I’m looking at right now is the per capita management responsibility per officer at the State Department is going to go from $1.7 million to $12.8 million,” said Jim Kunder, former acting USAID deputy administrator.”
“The now-defunct USAID has been shorn of most of its staff, funds, and programs, and as of July 1, has officially been folded into the State Department. But the State Department itself is looking at deep losses, with reported plans to imminently strip thousands of employees of their jobs, triggering fears that the cuts will not only hobble U.S. diplomacy, but also what’s left of the country’s development efforts….”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/03/trump-spending-bill-conservatives-law
“The Republican fantasy of lower taxes and hard-to-access social safety net programs will now be a reality.”
· Links: NPR - 5 ways Trump's tax bill will limit health care access.
From earlier this week (after the Bill passed the Senate) “The estimate comes amid concerns from some Republicans that the health spending cuts are too deep.”
https://www.kff.org/tracking-the-medicaid-provisions-in-the-2025-budget-bill/
Update as of 1 July. “This summary compares the health care provisions in the versions of the reconciliation bill passed by the Senate on July 1 and by the House on May 22 with current law in four categories: Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).”
In-depth analysis.
“Since Robert F. Kennedy Jr suspended an independent presidential run to back Donald Trump’s bid for the White House, his laser-focus has been on one mission: “Make America Healthy Again” by attacking the threat of chronic disease. Now sitting atop the United States health system, the anti-vaccine scion of the Kennedy dynasty released a major policy paper to advance that agenda last month, known as the “MAHA commission” report. Its centrepiece: the childhood chronic disease epidemic.”
“The 73-page document, pledging a return to “gold-standard” science and reversal of the childhood chronic disease crisis by “confronting its root causes—not just its symptoms,” was quickly found to be riddled with factual inaccuracies, mischaracterisation of research presented as evidence, and citations of at least seven studies that did not exist at all. The report’s technical errors, bad science and blatant use of artificial intelligence dominated media coverage following its release.”
“Lost in the controversy over its scientific flaws was what the report left out: several of the deadliest causes of chronic disease in the United States – the very “epidemic” Kennedy’s MAHA manifesto claims to tackle. Tobacco, the largest preventable cause of chronic disease in the US, causing lung cancer, heart disease and stroke, claims around 450,000 lives annually per CDC figures. It is never mentioned, despite most smokers starting as children. Alcohol deaths, which rose 29% from 2016 to 2021, and drug overdoses claiming over 80,000 lives yearly – both risks that often begin in adolescence – are entirely absent, despite fentanyl being central to Trump’s ‘war on cartels’ and the deportation raids that sparked the largest protests in US history last week. Air pollution, responsible for 50,000 to 200,000 preventable deaths in the US every year from chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and respiratory illness, is omitted entirely from the report. “Pollution” writ-large – from vehicles, industrial emissions and other sources that cause chronic disease – is mentioned five times: four times in footnotes, with its sole appearance in the main text a reference to “light pollution” from smartphones, tablets and laptops disrupting sleep patterns. …. Trump administration policies have banned the terms ‘pollution’ and ‘air pollution’ from federal documents, according to leaked memos and free speech groups.”
“Taken together, the report ignores the first, fifth, sixth and seventh leading causes of preventable death in the United States from chronic diseases – which the report, and Kennedy’s HHS, claim as their north star…..”
And there’s more… do read on.
H Dempster et al; https://www.cgdev.org/blog/even-1-percent-us-remittance-tax-hits-poor-countries-hard
“President Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which just passed the US Senate, includes a 1 percent tax on remittances, money migrants send home to family and friends. While the tax has been reduced, applying it to all remittance senders (including US citizens) will have a significant impact. Remittances remain a crucial source of household income and economic stability for low- and middle-income countries. Indeed, for many of these countries, the impact of even a 1 percent remittance tax will far outweigh the impact of aid cuts.”
Alicia Yamin, Gregg Gonsalves et al; https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01320-0/fulltext
Focus on the US here. With an overview of all the resistance so far, and what’s needed further.
“A policy tweak to the ban on foreign “subawards” should allow clinical trials worldwide to continue.”
“The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has softened a controversial change to its foreign funding policy that had put many clinical trials abroad in limbo. An alternative payment scheme announced this week could allow those studies to continue. Science has also learned that several days ago the agency, without explanation, lifted a hold on payments for scores of existing grants to South Africa, an important location for research on HIV and other infectious diseases….”
And a link:
· CGD (blog) - The Ongoing Crisis in US Foreign Assistance Delivery (by C Kenny)
https://ninaschwalbe.substack.com/p/as-the-us-steps-out-the-rest-of-the
“Next week, discussions in Geneva resume on the Pandemic Agreement, advancing the work to draft an annex on Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS)…..”
“A four year WHO-sponsored investigation of the origins of the COVID pandemic by an international group of experts has concluded that “most scientific data and accessible published scientific evidence” support the hypothesis that the novel virus first entered the human population either directly from virus-carrying bats, or from bats to humans via intermediate hosts.” But the possibility that the virus escaped from a lab leak remains on the table, concluded the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), in findings published by WHO on Friday. ….. And large gaps in data provided by China, as well as lack of acccess to key United States and German intelligence reports have confounded investigation of the lab leak hypothesis, concludes the 27-member report of international experts. …”
PS: “The committee examined four hypotheses, including: a spillover from animals to humans, via bats or indirectly; an accidental lab leak during field investigations or due to a break in biosafety; a third hypothesis, promoted by the Chinese in the early days, that the virus was transmitted via imported frozen food products imported into China; and a fourth hypothesis, promoted by conspiracy fans, that the virus was the product of deliberate laboratory manipulation.”
· Related: Science - WHO panel favors natural origin of COVID-19 virus but decries missing evidence
“New report doesn’t rule out that SARS-CoV-2 leaked from a lab in China, but says evidence for scenario remains “speculation”.”
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/mpox/health-officials-encouraged-recent-trends-africa-s-mpox-outbreaks
“African health officials are tracking an encouraging decline in some of the region’s most recent mpox hot spots, including Sierra Leone, which over the past few months has reported a surge that came with spread of the clade 2b virus to some West African nations. At an Africa Centres for Disease Prevention and Control (Africa CDC) briefing on June 26, Yap Boum, PhD, MPH, deputy incident manager for Africa CDC's mpox response, said cases in Sierra Leone made up 41% of mpox cases in Africa the previous week, down from 63% a few weeks ago. ….”
“…. However, the region is still far short of its goal for mpox vaccine. In April, officials projected the region would need 6.4 million doses over the next 6 months…..”
https://www.nature.com/articles/d44148-025-00197-z
“Poor diagnostic capacity, puzzling transmission, and a new fast-moving variant sees virus spread to neighbouring countries.”
https://www.ft.com/content/818e017d-8055-4521-b51e-c0291019bdd8
“More than a dozen nations struggling to contain outbreak as health systems struggle with loss of international support.” With among others focus on Malawi & Sierra Leone in this article.
Scattershot vaccination fails to slow mpox spread in Congo | Science | AAAS
“The country hardest hit by mpox, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has had only a trickle of vaccine doses to fight the outbreak across a geographically vast territory that is home to 100 million people. A new analysis by researchers at the World Health Organization (WHO) shows it was also hampered by a scattershot use of that limited vaccine supply. “I call it the confetti strategy: You distribute a little bit everywhere,” says Ana Maria Henao-Restrepo, a WHO vaccine specialist who led the analysis. “The possibility of having an impact is diminished substantially.” She has presented the findings at recent WHO meetings and shared the slides with ScienceInsider. Although the country has managed to vaccinate more than 700,000 people since October 2024, the WHO analysis suggests it has made little difference……” ,
Journal of Public Health in Africa (Editorial) - Africa’s second plan to stop mpox outbreaks through intensification, integration, and legacy
By N Ngongo, J Kaseya, Chikwe Ihekweazu et al. https://publichealthinafrica.org/index.php/jphia/article/view/1452
“…. the Incident Management Support Team developed the Mpox Continental Response and Legacy Plan 2.0 (March 2025 – August 2025) that builds on the first plan (September 2024 – February 2025) and incorporates lessons learned, best practices and recommendations from the intra-action review conducted in December 2024. The plan outlines two concurrent phases: firstly, an intensification phase that focuses on immediate containment by curbing the spread and interrupting transmission chains, and secondly, a legacy phase aimed at building long-term system resilience to enhance preparedness….. “
F Maggi et al; https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00673-7/fulltext
Arguing, towards the end : « ….. We believe WHO should escalate the risk of national and international spread of clade Ia from moderate to high, and support efforts to boost non-pharmaceutical interventions, including further educating populations, against sexually transmitted infections such as mpox.”
Katie Dain et al; https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01326-1/abstract
“…The stakes could not be higher for the forthcoming fourth HLM on NCDs. And for this reason, the NCD Alliance civil society network announced our HLM campaign priorities early in September, 2024, focusing on five calls to accelerate implementation, mobilise investment, break down silos, engage communities, and deliver accountability. In our view, this HLM process must catalyse honest reflection on the reasons for the implementation deficit of the past decade and reset the NCD agenda for 2030 and beyond….”
“With only 3 months to go, the HLM negotiations have begun, with the publication of the NCDs Zero Draft Political Declaration (Zero Draft) in May, 2025. In the NCD Alliance's analysis of this draft, our view is that it is a good starting point but improvements are needed if this HLM is truly going to accelerate action on NCDs…..” Read why.
A Cox et al ; https://www.bmj.com/content/390/bmj.r1331
“Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health conditions are responsible for more than 43 million deaths annually. It is critical that the upcoming United Nations general assembly high level meeting triggers decisive and sustained action on NCDs, says the World Health Organization Civil Society Working Group on NCDs.”
“The WHO Civil Society Working Group on NCDs, which includes more than 30 international Civil Society Organisations, has reviewed the zero draft against its own priorities for action, captured in its statement to the UN Multistakeholder Hearing. Our collective conclusion is clear. The political declaration must go further if it is to confront the urgency, scale of action, and accountability needed to stem the rising burden of NCDs and mental health conditions….” Read why & how.
Nina Renshaw (Clean Air Fund) & Allison Cox (NCD Alliance); https://healthpolicy-watch.news/the-uns-ncd-declaration-overlooks-a-preventable-killer-air-pollution/
“Air pollution is barely acknowledged in the draft political declaration for the upcoming fourth UN High-Level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) and Mental Health. The omission of the world’s leading contributor to disease threatens global progress in tackling heart disease, respiratory diseases, stroke, cancer, and other chronic illnesses.”
PS: “…. NCD Alliance (NCDA) has voiced strong concerns over the draft political declaration, particularly the absence of any mention of fossil fuels—by far the leading driver of air pollution. Reducing fossil fuel extraction and use, phasing out subsidies, and ensuring just transition to clean energy must be central to NCD prevention efforts, but such commitments are currently absent…..”
P Bovet et al ; https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01280-2/fulltext
“…. Making sense of the numbers and untangling the epidemiology of NCDs is not easy. But it is important for those tasked with negotiating the political declaration. The terms epidemic and pandemic are sometimes used to describe NCDs. But such language needs to be used with care. Epidemics describe an increase, often sudden or over a short period of time, in the number of cases of a disease above what is normally expected in that population. Therefore, when assessing trends in NCD mortality, distinguishing between age-standardised mortality rates (ASMRs; measured as the number of deaths per 100 000 population per year) as opposed to the total number of deaths per year (ie, the public health burden) is important…..”
“…. ASMRs for these four NCDs have at the global level declined between 1990 and 2021, and the decline has been proportionally steeper at ages below than above 70 years (figure; appendix).4 Specifically, this decline was observed for cardiovascular disease (358 vs 235 deaths per 100 000 in 1990 vs 2021), cancer (148 vs 117), and chronic respiratory diseases (85 vs 53), but an increase was observed for diabetes (18 vs 20).4 The decrease in ASMRs at the global level, however, masks regional variations, with greater progress being made in higher-income countries, which in part reflects broader socioeconomic improvements and reductions in exposure to modifiable NCD risk factors, as a result of implementing population level interventions (eg, taxing unhealthy products, advertising bans, food reformulation, and health promotion campaigns) and improved diagnosis and treatment. The decline in ASMRs for NCDs (particularly cardiovascular disease) is an important contributor to current and predicted future gains in life expectancy in most countries….”
With a number of take-home messages for diplomats and policy makers.
Faraz Khalid et al; https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanprc/article/PIIS3050-5143(25)00009-3/fulltext
“The need for whole-system leadership to advance primary health care (PHC) has never been more urgent. In this Comment, we make the case for cultivating PHC leadership capacity worldwide and share early lessons from a first-of-its-kind effort to do so.”
Key messages: “Effective leadership to support whole-system learning is urgently needed to advance primary health care (PHC) as the foundational approach for achieving universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals. WHO’s PHC Leadership Course responds to a substantial global demand, evidenced by more than 2700 applications from 155 countries, to equip leaders with both the technical knowledge and implementation skills to drive PHC-oriented reforms. Establishing an enabling presence of PHC leaders requires collaborative efforts across WHO, WHO member states, development partners, academic institutions, and civil society organisations to further bolster capacity-building opportunities worldwide.”
In case you missed this.
The 4th Edition of Disease Control Priorities (#DCP4) is out. It explores how selected low- & middle-income countries have used evidence for priority setting & designed #EssentialHealthService packages within the #UHC framework.
Volume 1—Country-Led Priority Setting for Health—presents the overall lessons learned in defining and implementing essential health service packages (EHSPs). The volume is divided into three parts that highlight successes and failures and the way forward.
With 12 main messages (see exec summary). And foreword by J Nonvignon.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to Universal Health Coverage by deepening strategic health sector cooperation with Brazil, focusing on local pharmaceutical production, digital health, and workforce development, while drawing lessons from Brazil’s successful health system model. “ At the 2nd Session of the Nigeria–Brazil Strategic Dialogue Mechanism in Abuja.
Saroj Kumar Jha, Juan Pablo Uribe & David Whineray; https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/voices/no-hygiene-no-health-fixing-the-foundations-of-care?cid=ECR_TT_worldbank_EN_EXT
“….WASH facilities are fundamental for effective infection prevention and control, countering global threats like Ebola, mpox, and pandemic influenza, and to provide essential health services. But globally, half of health care facilities lack basic hygiene services. Over 850 million people receive care at facilities without water, placing them, and the health workers who care for them, at greater risk. … ….”
“… We need to do things differently, ensuring health systems are emergency-ready, to prevent the next pandemic and to achieve our target of delivering quality, affordable health services to 1.5 billion people by 2030. Meeting these goals will require going beyond business-as-usual and ensuring health ministries and local governments have the support they need to integrate and sustain infrastructure investments. This also requires engaging with the private sector through the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group’s private sector arm, for critical aspects of delivery like decarbonization and resource efficiency. ….”
“… This is why a new approach is taking shape. Through joint Water and Health Global Challenge Programs, the World Bank is supporting countries to invest in health systems that are safe, resilient, and sustainable, powered by improved access to electricity. This will enable countries to better prevent, detect, and respond to health emergencies, contributing to the wider ambition to address basic care at every stage of life. …”.
“Funders like the World Bank and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) are working together to: Mobilize domestic and climate financing to support national priorities and plans; Embed WASH, energy, and waste in health emergency and health system reform programs; Drive collective agendas to recognize and address the threat of antimicrobial resistance; and Generate evidence and use results-based approaches to ensure transparency and accountability.”
“… To fully realize these ambitions, we need to bring together those who can make a difference. As part of these efforts, the World Bank is chairing the next World Health Organization/UNICEF Strategic Leaders Network meeting in June 2025 to promote cross-sectoral alignment and reinforce impactful partnerships for WASH in health systems. ….”
https://ninaschwalbe.substack.com/p/did-a-study-really-show-a-tenfold
“How RFK continues to fuel the global anti-vaccine movement.”
· Related: BMJ - The antivaccine movement threatens health in the US and worldwide
“Robert F Kennedy Jr and others in the antivaccine movement are using the power of the US government to promote disinformation and flawed science, write Anna Kirkland and Scott Greer.”
“MSF urges that funding shortfall shouldn’t deter Gavi and donors from ensuring stronger efforts to reach children in humanitarian settings with immunization.”
· Link: MSF Bridging the gap: Securing access to essential TB medicines in the EU and EEA
“In first assessment since pandemic in 2020, World Bank urges other countries to step up support.”
“Extreme poverty is accelerating in 39 countries affected by war and conflict, leaving more than a billion people to go hungry, according to the World Bank. Civil wars and confrontations between nations, mostly in Africa, have set back economic growth and reduced the incomes of more than a billion people, “driving up extreme poverty faster than anywhere else”, the Washington-based body said. Underscoring the breadth of conflicts beyond the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza wars, it said the 39 developing economies classified as being in fragile and conflict-affected situations are plagued by instability and weak institutions, “hindering their ability to attain the robust, sustained economic growth needed for development”.
“In its first assessment of conflict zones since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, the World Bank urged western governments to step up support for war-torn countries to end the conflicts and rebuild vital institutions. ….. “For the last three years, the world’s attention has been on the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and this focus has now intensified,” said Indermit Gill, the World Bank Group’s chief economist. “Yet more than 70% of people suffering from conflict and instability are Africans. Untreated, these conditions become chronic. Half of the countries facing conflict or instability today have been in such conditions for 15 years or more. Misery on this scale is inevitably contagious.” He said of the 39 economies currently classified as facing conflict or instability, 21 are in active conflict…..”
· See also the WSJ - Extreme Poverty Becoming More Concentrated in Conflict Countries, Warns World Bank
“Extreme poverty is increasingly concentrated in economies that have been blighted by armed conflict, which has become more common over the course of this century, the World Bank said [last week on ] Friday….”
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02009-8
“Results align with other efforts to count the number of people killed amid the ongoing conflict.”
“Report by Francesca Albanese singles out companies such as Palantir and calls for prosecutions.”
J J Amon; https://www.hhrjournal.org/2025/05/07/free-speech-the-right-to-health-and-genocide/
From the new June issue.
https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/gaza-starvation-or-gunfire-not-humanitarian-response
(30 June) “Oxfam and over 170 other NGOs operating in Gaza call for immediate action to end the deadly Israeli distribution scheme (including the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) in Gaza, revert to the existing UN-led coordination mechanisms, and lift the Israeli government’s blockade on aid and commercial supplies. ….”
“Rapporteur calls for defossilization of economies and urgent reparations to avert ‘catastrophic’ rights and climate harms.”
“A leading UN expert is calling for criminal penalties against those peddling disinformation about the climate crisis and a total ban on fossil fuel industry lobbying and advertising, as part of a radical shake-up to safeguard human rights and curtail planetary catastrophe. Elisa Morgera, the UN special rapporteur on human rights and climate change who presents her damning new report to the general assembly in Geneva on Monday, argues that the US, UK, Canada, Australia and other wealthy fossil fuel nations are legally obliged under international law to fully phase out oil, gas and coal by 2030 – and compensate communities for harms caused. Fracking, oil sands and gas flaring should be banned, as should fossil fuel exploration, subsidies, investments and false tech solutions that will lock in future generations to polluting and increasingly costly oil, gas and coal….”
“… The report points to a mountain of evidence on the severe, far-reaching and cumulative damage caused by the fossil fuel industry – oil, gas, coal, fertilizers and plastics – on almost every human right including the rights to life, self-determination, health, food, water, housing, education, information and livelihoods.”
“Morgera makes the case for the “defossilization” of our entire economies – in other words the eradication of fossil fuels from all sectors including politics, finance, food, media, tech and knowledge. The transition to clean energy is not enough to tackle the widespread and mounting harms caused by the fossil fuels, she argues…..”
Alice Street et al; https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01099-2/abstract
“Around the world, some 16 billion plastic syringes and 15 billion face masks are thrown away each year. Unknown in the first half of the 20th century, the global production, circulation, and disposal of single-use medical plastics is now taken for granted as a feature of modern medicine. But the virtues of medical plastics have a dark side: where do all the discarded things go?...”
And some related links:
· Lancet Perspective – Why are plastic syringes not being recycled?
· Lancet Perspective - Can plastic waste from point-of-care diagnostics be reduced?
“Water shortages hitting crops, energy and health as crisis gathers pace amid climate breakdown.”
“More than 90 million people in eastern and southern Africa are facing extreme hunger after record-breaking drought across many areas, ensuing widespread crop failures and the death of livestock… …. These examples are just the beginning of a worldwide catastrophe that is gathering pace, according to a report on drought published on Wednesday. In regions across the world, drought and water mismanagement are leading to shortages that are hitting food supplies, energy and public health….”
“…The report, published by the NMDC, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and the International Drought Resilience Alliance, examined in detail more than a dozen countries in four main regions: Africa, south-east Asia, Latin America and the Mediterranean…..”
“ “Ibrahim Thiaw, the executive secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, the global treaty signed in 1992 meant to avoid the worst impacts of drought, said the problem had received too little attention. “Drought is a silent killer. It creeps in, drains resources and devastates lives in slow motion,” he said. “Its scars run deep.” He added: “Drought is no longer a distant threat. It is here, escalating, and demands urgent global cooperation. When energy, food and water all go at once, societies start to unravel. That’s the new normal we need to be ready for.””
“The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with cities and research institutions from China and Europe, convened the "Roundtable on 1.5°C Proactive Health" in Geneva, Switzerland. The event was jointly hosted by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Universal Health Coverage (Peking University China Center for Health Development Studies) and the Ningyuan Institute of Climate and Sustainable Development.”
“…A key milestone was the official launch of the Geneva 1.5°C Proactive Health Initiative, marking the world's first transnational academic-industry-government platform focused on climate-health governance in urban contexts…..”
“The roundtable focused on three core themes: the new paradigm of 1.5°C Proactive Health, innovative practices "From Lab to Community," and urban actions for health implementation….”
PS: “The "1.5°C Proactive Health International Alliance" will be launched to create a collaborative innovation network spanning proactive health research, urban development, and industrial synergy….”
https://www.who.int/groups/commission-on-social-connection/report
“This landmark report from the WHO Commission on Social Connection highlights that social isolation and loneliness are widespread, with serious but under-recognized impacts on health, well-being, and society. Drawing on the latest evidence, the report makes a compelling case for urgent action. It outlines practical, scalable solutions to strengthen social connection – and calls on policy-makers, researchers and all sectors to treat social health with the same urgency as physical and mental health. The Commissioners envision a future where stronger social bonds improve well-being, reduce preventable deaths, boost education and economic resilience, and ease the social and financial burden of disconnection. This report is a call to act – and an invitation to build a more connected, healthier world.”
From the exec summary: “…. This report has three key messages. 1) Social disconnection is widespread, in all regions and all age groups. 2) Its consequences are severe and underrecognized, impacting mortality, physical and mental health, well-being, education, the economy and wider society. Its widespread occurrence and its severe consequences make it a serious global public health issue. 3) But, there is hope. Effective strategies to foster social connection exist and should be scaled up.”
· For some key messages, see WHO’s Press release – Social connection linked to improved health and reduced risk of early death
“The World Health Organization (WHO) Commission on Social Connection has released its global report revealing that 1 in 6 people worldwide is affected by loneliness, with significant impacts on health and well-being. Loneliness is linked to an estimated 100 deaths every hour—more than 871 000 deaths annually. Strong social connections can lead to better health and longer life, the report says….”
“… Loneliness affects people of all ages, especially youth and people living in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Between 17–21% of individuals aged 13–29-year-olds reported feeling lonely, with the highest rates among teenagers. About 24% of people in low-income countries reported feeling lonely — twice the rate in high-income countries (about 11%)….”
“… While data on social isolation is more limited, it is estimated to affect up to 1 in 3 older adults and 1 in 4 adolescents…”
“… The report of the WHO Commission on Social Connection outlines a roadmap for global action focusing on five key areas: policy, research, interventions, improved measurement (including developing a global Social Connection Index), and public engagement, to shift social norms and bolster a global movement for social connection….”
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01940-0
“The Journal of Public Health in Africa faces a pivotal moment, and researchers say it must evolve to better serve the scientific community.”
“When Nicaise Ndembi took the helm of the Journal of Public Health in Africa (JPHIA), his goal was to amplify African voices in global health research. Six months after he stepped down as editor-in-chief, researchers are calling for bold changes to make certain that the journal can fulfil its promise. “We want to ensure that what is being done in Africa is well known by the rest of the world,” says Ndembi, a virologist and deputy director-general of the Kigali-based Africa regional office of the non-profit International Vaccine Institute (IVI). Epidemiologist Nebiyu Dereje at the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) was named the new chief editor of JPHIA earlier in the year…..”
With some suggestions from Seye Abimbola.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01381-9/fulltext
“Growing interest in health and the exposome—a person's collective environmental exposures—is spurring new funding and research initiatives. Talha Burki reports.”
“….As initially defined, the exposome covered the entire range of external exposures, such as air pollution, diet, drugs, light, noise, radiation, and the tens of millions of chemicals that human activities have introduced to the environment. It has since expanded to include the microbiome, which acts as a barrier for some toxins and metabolises others, as well as internal processes such as inflammation, sleep, and responses to stress, alongside the social context of education, the built environment, and so on….”
M Salam; https://gh.bmj.com/content/10/7/e018536
« Evidence-based leadership is essential to maintain public trust and health system integrity. History showed that deviating from science in health policy leads to catastrophic consequences. Misinformation necessitates leaders rooted in transparency, equity and collaboration. »
Among others also pointing to a “new threat: when conspiracy rhetoric shapes policy.”
· Via the Wellcome Trust (on LinkedIn):
“Recent shifts in politics and funding present an unprecedented challenge to global health but also a critical opportunity for reforms. We’re proud to commission five proposals that will rethink the global health architecture and propose pathways to get there. These proposals will be developed by thought leaders from different regions around the world, including Paola Abril Campos Rivera, Catherine Kyobutungi, Shadi Saleh, Kelley Lee and Swee Kheng Khor. Their proposals will be published in August 2025 to set an ambitious trajectory for inclusive dialogue at regional and global levels. “
Ahead of the BRICS leaders’ summit in Brazil (6-7 July, Rio), a short reminder on the Health Ministers’ meeting from a few weeks ago:
“The Health ministers of the BRICS countries met in Brasilia and approved a final declaration with recommendations for the creation of a BRICS Partnership for the Elimination of Socially Determined Diseases. The document will be made official during the BRICS Summit, scheduled for 6 and 7 July in Rio de Janeiro….”
“According to Brazilian Health Minister Alexandre Padilha, the text of the declaration was structured around three priority areas, the first of which is addressing the social causes of disease. “The first is addressing the social determinants of health, which resulted in the main initiative of the Brazilian presidency of BRICS: the BRICS Partnership for the Elimination of Socially Determined Diseases,” explained Padilha. The second pillar deals with overcoming cultural inequalities in access to health, with a special focus on remote institutions and innovative solutions. The third addresses the strengthening of science, technology and productive capacity in health. On this last point, the consolidation of the BRICS Vaccine Production and Development Centre was highlighted.”
Vineeth Penmetsa; Geneva Health Files;
“A landmark approval of the Global Traditional Medicine Strategy at the World Health Assembly potentially establishes precedents for balancing indigenous rights, scientific standards, and regulatory sovereignty in international law.”
“… A new strategy was approved by countries earlier this year at the World Health Assembly in May. Our piece today, by my colleague Vineeth Penmetsa, unpacks the layers in the traditional medicines business. The analysis describes the legal ramifications, AI, to cultural factors, and how they all come together in opening another frontier in the governance of health. We also look at the discussions on this in other policy fora including at the World Intellectual Property Organization.”
“The author argues that WHO has created a legal framework that tests fundamental assumptions about how international law handles cultural diversity, regulatory pluralism, and enforcement accountability….”
PS: “… Ultimately, the Global Traditional Medicine Strategy represents a pivot in international law. Whether it becomes a vehicle for inclusive, culturally grounded global health governance or a case study in regulatory overreach and legal ambiguity remains to be seen…
https://www.devex.com/news/norway-s-asmund-aukrust-discusses-un-reform-110413
“The current U.N. system — with its 42 agencies and thousands of mandates — is unsustainable and hinders effective development work, making reform essential, says Åsmund Grøver Aukrust, the international development minister of Norway.”
https://www.devex.com/news/oecd-s-carsten-staur-says-we-re-at-the-brink-of-a-new-paradigm-110392
“Despite today's upheaval of foreign aid and global finance, the head of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee says the original goals for official development assistance still have resonance.”
Worth a read. Though surprise, surprise, I can’t say I really agree with this ‘new paradigm’.
Excerpt: ““I think we are basically at the brink of a new paradigm,” he said, with "total upheaval" in the global financial architecture. “One thing that is really clear is that we need to be much more focused on [how] we use scarce resources,” he added. That means still using aid to eradicate extreme poverty while also mobilizing and leveraging resources such as private investment.”
With focus on “Global Gateway 2.0”.
“The EU’s initiative is evolving from a development-focused plan into a strategic investment tool aimed at advancing the bloc’s economic, geopolitical and security interests, with a stronger role for the European private sector.”
“It marks a new strategic paradigm that demands updated tools, deeper engagement with European private companies and investors, and a balancing act between Europe’s self-interests and sustainable development goals…..”
Alexander Stoljar Gold; https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441692.2025.2523542?src=
“… When identifying interventions to fund, global health practitioners place great weight on cost-effectiveness, which is determined through cost-effectiveness analyses. These analyses frequently draw on data from randomised controlled trials (RCTs), as they are considered the gold standard for determining causality. I argue that the use of RCT data in cost-effectiveness analyses leads to a bias in favour of vertical interventions and against horizontal interventions. This is because it is significantly easier to randomise vertical interventions compared to horizontal ones, so analyses that draw on RCTs will preferentially report on vertical initiatives. This bias contributes to a trend of underfunding horizontal interventions in global health. I argue that this trend is problematic, as horizontal interventions have the potential to be highly cost-effective. Finally, I argue that global health practitioners should find effective ways of evaluating horizontal interventions to ensure their benefits are captured.”
(gated) “ Rémy Rioux, CEO of the French Development Agency and a veteran of FfD conferences, sees successes over the last 10 years, but also stalled progress.”
“… heading into FfD4 in Sevilla, Spain, this week, he reflected on the evolution — good and not so good — of development financing and the role banks such as AFD play in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex fiscal space…..”
Kristina Kim, G Zangana et al; https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441692.2025.2524069#abstract
“This paper critically examines published work from health actors based in Scotland conducted within low – and middle-income countries (LMICs), under a Scottish government policy context currently promoted as engaging in a novel approach to international development….”
“…Authors of included documents characterised the ‘Scottish approach’ to partnership as rejecting the traditional donor-aid model and championing ideas of collaboration, reciprocity and equity in partnership. Yet simultaneously, most works described partnerships that positioned Scottish actors as the sources of expertise with partner country actors as beneficiaries, replicating the donor-recipient aid model. Additionally, the framing of partnership activities frequently deployed historical narrative frames.”
“In today’s edition, our guest contributor, Jirair Ratevosian from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), analyses recent developments in American policy that cuts deep into health systems worldwide. Among his other roles, Ratevosian was a policy advisor on COVID-19 and global health under the Biden administration…”
Excerpts : “…. In the vacuum left by public donors, philanthropic foundations and private sector actors are being looked to not just as financiers—but as agenda-setters in global health. Institutions like the Wellcome Trust and the Novo Nordisk Foundation now wield outsized influence, with multi-billion-dollar endowments and growing ambitions in areas such as antimicrobial resistance, metabolic disease, and epidemic preparedness. At the same time, tech-aligned philanthropies and corporate social responsibility arms—from the Gates Foundation to pharmaceutical and data companies—are shaping delivery models, funding priorities, and even governance structures. While this influx of private capital brings flexibility and innovation, it also raises concerns around transparency, public accountability, and the representation of low-income countries and civil society in decision-making…..”
Concluding: “…. …. Still, there is opportunity amidst the upheaval. This moment of disruption can be a turning point—an opening to reform and reorient donor efforts around country-led, community-driven priorities. That’s why my colleagues Mumbi Chola and Judith Auerbach are launching the Kigali Call to Action ahead of the International AIDS Conference in Rwanda this July. We are asking world leaders to commit to a new era of cooperation—one that centers national leadership, community wisdom, and equitable financing.”
“Five Nordic countries, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom have given political backing for a new asset class in development financing, involving pension funds co-financing with multilateral development institutions. Their hope is to raise tens of billions of dollars for development finance without tapping into ODA.”
https://www.cgdev.org/blog/what-happened-after-debt-was-forgiven-lessons-hipcmdri-countries
By B Clements, S Gupta et al.
“we examine the experience of low-income countries that received debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI), launched in 1996 and 2006, respectively. These initiatives, led by the World Bank and the IMF, provided debt relief to eligible countries that met specific criteria related to unsustainable debt levels and the implementation of poverty reduction strategies. By reducing debt burdens, these initiatives aimed to free up resources for health, education, and poverty alleviation. However, a review of these countries experience from 2000 to 2024 suggests that the anticipated outcomes were not realized….”
https://pmarquez.substack.com/p/investing-in-health-for-inclusive?r=12a3te&triedRedirect=true
“In the post-pandemic world marked by economic uncertainty, rising inequality, and shifting global priorities, investing in health is no longer just a moral imperative—it is a strategic policy for achieving inclusive and sustainable development. In this note, I discuss how health investment, fiscal policy reform, institutional accountability, and natural resource governance can work together to build resilient economies and equitable societies.”
“A recently developed framework, the Domestic Resource Mobilisation (DRM) Framework, identifies country-specific tax policy measures and estimates their tax revenue potential to mobilise additional domestic resources in low- and middle-income countries. Structured into four modules, the DRM Framework evaluates potential tax reforms considering a country's structural characteristics, including its level of development, economic structure, informal economy, and the tax and social protection system that is in place. It features a detailed database encompassing 115 countries, created specifically for this project, and compares individual countries with peers to identify potential areas of tax reform. The DRM Framework includes a range of specific and concrete macro and micro-level tools and methodologies to assess the tax revenue potential of a wide range of tax measures. In this Working Paper, the Framework is applied to social protection financing. However, the Framework can be applied to other financing priorities and used for domestic resource mobilisation more broadly.”
PS: “The social protection financing gap remains very large in low- and middle-income countries. The average low-income and lower middle-income country requires additional funding in the order of, respectively, 16% and 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) to finance universal social protection floors, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) …..”
M Plant; https://www.cgdev.org/publication/crisis-capital-rethinking-role-sdrs-global-development
“Emerging market developing economies (EMDCs) face escalating challenges in financing development amidst compounding global shocks—pandemics, climate change, geopolitical conflict, and declining aid. In response, the 2021 IMF allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) offered a vital reserve boost. While the allocation disproportionately favored advanced economies, SDR “recycling” initiatives aimed to redirect resources toward vulnerable countries. The IMF channeled recycled SDRs through traditional lending trusts, preserving their reserve asset status but offering limited fiscal flexibility and scale. A more innovative proposal—using SDRs as hybrid capital in multilateral development banks (MDBs)—could dramatically expand development lending without depleting global reserves. However, central bank resistance and legal barriers have stalled implementation. This paper explores the limits of current SDR governance, the blurry boundary between monetary and fiscal use of reserves, and the potential for reform. It argues that global reserves, though nationally held, are a public good and that modest, risk-mitigated innovations—such as direct SDR allocations to MDBs—could unlock much-needed financing.”
https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099052225155540779
Related LinkedIn message by Sven Engels: “….We estimate that Uganda can raise its per capita health spending from $44 today to $73 by 2030 through domestic funding, via economic growth, reprioritization, health taxes, and efficiency gains. “
A Odii, D Balabanova et al ; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953625006872
« Multiple factors combine to fuel corruption in the Nigerian health system. Corruption in primary health facilities creates a semblance of a 'marketplace,' where access to care and health commodities is heavily influenced by economic incentives and intricate social processes. Addressing corruption through single-factor solutions, such as focusing solely on health system failures, is insufficient. »
Katherine E Smith et al; https://academic.oup.com/heapol/advance-article/doi/10.1093/heapol/czaf042/8178256?searchresult=1
“ … Stakeholders generally believed public support for health taxes was low, especially for more widely consumed products. Yet most focus group participants expressed strong support for health taxes, especially those targeting (more widely-consumed) sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). Support increased when health taxes were framed as measures to improve public health and/or create a fairer tax system, and when commitments were made to using resulting revenue for health spending (known as ‘earmarking’ or hypothecation). However, stakeholders and members of the public shared a concern that business influence in Ghanaian politics presents a key barrier to implementing effective health taxes sustainably. Overall, our findings suggest that health taxes with a clearly-framed health rationale could command strong Ghanaian public support but likely require effective advocacy to overcome political barriers.”
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(25)00150-1/fulltext
“Government-led cash transfer programmes providing money to individuals or households are a cornerstone of poverty reduction strategies in many countries. Over the past three decades, more than 100 countries have introduced cash transfer programmes (unconditional or conditional) as part of their poverty reduction and social protection strategies. Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programmes, which provide payments to the poorest households conditional on certain requirements, primarily conditionalities on education and health, are crucial for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 (no poverty), SDG3 (health), and SDG4 (education). With global economic growth now projected to weaken further to 2·3%, according to the Global Economic Prospects report, published by the World Bank on June 10, will governments be tempted to deprioritise such programmes due to financial constraints?”
“In this issue of The Lancet Public Health, Daniella Cavalcanti and colleagues provide timely and important evidence to sustain and scale up cash transfer programmes. In their Article, they assess the health effects of the Brazilian Conditional Cash Transfer programme: Bolsa Família Program (BFP). “
The Editorial concludes: “…. Given the overwhelming evidence of the effects of CCT programmes across health, social, and economic domains, continued investment and financial sustainability are crucial…. CCT programmes are not expenses to be cut in times of austerity, but strategic public health and socio-economic investments. They represent a powerful investment to simultaneously address poverty, strengthen human capital, and deliver measurable returns across health, equity, social, and economic indicators. Sustainably financing such programmes requires strong political will and innovative financing strategies. Novel and ambitious fiscal policies—progressive tax systems, corporate taxes, wealth taxes, inheritance taxes, and health taxes levied on products that have a negative public health impact, such as tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages—are to be seriously considered. Short-sighted austerity measures cost lives. The choice for governments should be clear—invest in programmes that deliver health, social, and economic benefits.”
https://gh.bmj.com/content/10/Suppl_2/e018076
By A Edelman, R Marten, Kumanan Rasanathan et al.
Nina Schwalbe et al; https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441692.2025.2522916?src=
“This article examines efforts to develop a pandemic treaty through World Health Organization member state agreement from 2021 to 2025, focusing on challenges during the process…..”
“… Drawing on observations as invited stakeholders, relevant literature, official documents, and reports from other stakeholders, we identify key patterns, themes, and challenges, particularly the competing priorities of countries and difficulties in reaching consensus. Barriers that slowed progress include uneven political commitment, lack of transparency, and exclusion of key stakeholders, which hindered agreements and limited the treaty’s potential to address global health threats. Our analysis highlights practical steps for future negotiations, including stronger political engagement, better coordination, greater transparency, and ensuring a broader range of voices and stakeholders are included in the process…..”
https://impactethics.ca/2025/06/30/the-prepared-code-a-reminder-not-to-forget-the-covid-19-pandemic/
Doris Schroeder presents the PREPARED Code – a global code of conduct for research during pandemics.
“The Telegraph joined scientists in Cambodia’s vibrant wet markets and vast bat caves to test revolutionary new disease surveillance tools.”
“…. Cambodia has become adept at detecting cases, but now scientists are experimenting with a new line of attack that could revolutionise disease surveillance – making it safer, faster and cheaper to track zoonotic pathogens. The approach? Rather than taking swabs directly from animals in high risk areas, virologists are analysing the air they breathe. In wet markets teeming with live birds, slaughterhouses butchering pigs and even limestone caves home to millions of bats, scientists are deploying air samplers to capture a snapshot of the pathogens lurking in the atmosphere – from avian influenza to coronaviruses, and perhaps even the next ‘Disease X’…..”
“Key takeaways from two weeks of negotiations aimed at setting out stall for November’s Cop30 in Brazil.”
· See also Carbon brief - Bonn climate talks: Key outcomes from the June 2025 UN climate conference (with far more detail).
“Exclusive: Green groups furious at plans to let member states buy controversial carbon offsets from abroad.”
· Related: Guardian analysis - EU’s proposed 2040 emissions target signals its retreat as leader on climate action
PS: “ The EU’s policies will also have an effect internationally. Cosima Cassel, programme lead for climate diplomacy and geopolitics at the E3G thinktank in Berlin, said the EU’s NDC would be crucial in galvanising other economic heavyweights to play their part. “A timely NDC submission would send a clear signal to other major emitters including China, India, Japan, Australia and Mexico to step up their own ambition ahead of Cop30.” “
“China, the world’s biggest emitter, will be critical – whether Beijing goes for a 10% cut in emissions by 2035, as some have suggested, or the 30% to 50% cut that others calculate is feasible, will be the biggest determinant of success at Cop30 in Belém….” “…India is also surging ahead in renewable energy, and is now the world’s third-biggest producer of solar and wind energy.”
“By contrast, there are very large emitters and exporters of fossil fuels – Russia, Saudi Arabia and now the US – that take little action or have gone backwards on climate commitments. The key question for the EU, and the planet, will be what can be done to bring recalcitrant countries on board at Cop30. “
· See also Climate Change News - EU Commission proposes allowing carbon offsets to help meet 2040 climate goal
(gated).
S Sherwood et al; https://theconversation.com/earth-is-trapping-much-more-heat-than-climate-models-forecast-and-the-rate-has-doubled-in-20-years-258822
“How do you measure climate change? One way is by recording temperatures in different places over a long period of time. While this works well, natural variation can make it harder to see longer-term trends. But another approach can give us a very clear sense of what’s going on: track how much heat enters Earth’s atmosphere and how much heat leaves. This is Earth’s energy budget, and it’s now well and truly out of balance. Our recent research found this imbalance has more than doubled over the last 20 years. Other researchers have come to the same conclusions. This imbalance is now substantially more than climate models have suggested…..”
“Research on climate change in urban areas is skewed towards large, well-established cities in the global north, according to analysis of more than 50,000 studies.”
“The research, published in Nature Cities, uses keyword searching and machine-learning methods to produce a database of studies on climate change and cities published over 1990-2022. The authors find that small, fast-growing cities – especially in Africa and Asia – are underrepresented in their database. “
“… The new analysis is published as scientists from around the world start work on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on climate change and cities, which is due for publication in March 2027. The study finds that, in its most recent set of headline reports, the IPCC captured “only” 5% of the total available literature on climate change and cities……”
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jul/02/air-pollution-lung-cancer-dna-mutations-study
“Research finds that the higher the levels of air pollution in a region, the more cancer-promoting mutations are present.”
“Air pollution has been linked to a swathe of lung cancer-driving DNA mutations, in a study of people diagnosed with the disease despite never having smoked tobacco. The findings from an investigation into cancer patients around the world helps explain why those who have never smoked make up a rising proportion of people developing the cancer, a trend the researchers called an “urgent and growing global problem”…..”
https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0004624
By David Nogués-Bravo et al.
W Liu et al; https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2413541122
« Water scarcity affects billions of people and vast areas. However, different dimensions of water scarcity—blue water (surface-/groundwater), green water (soil moisture), water quality—have not been examined in tandem despite their substantial and often overlapping implications. We construct a multidimensional water scarcity assessment, which explicitly assesses all three dimensions and determines their individual and combined effects. We estimate that one-third of the world’s land area and 4-in-5 people globally are exposed to some form of water scarcity for at least 1 mo per year. »
C Chen et al; https://www.bmj.com/content/390/bmj-2024-083868
· Related BMJ Editorial: • Addressing the indirect health burden of covid-19 (by Z Lei)
« Consider collateral impacts when planning for future crises.”
« … The covid-19 pandemic’s impact extends far beyond the direct effects of infection and death, resulting in sharp increases in other causes of illness and death that demand attention. A new time-series analysis of the Global Burden of Disease data by Chen and colleagues quantifies these shifts and identifies which conditions had excess burden during 2020-21. Their key finding is that many countries had greater than expected morbidity and mortality from non‐covid causes—a signal that health systems were strained in multiple ways. As such, policy makers must look past the virus itself and address collateral impacts. Health experts have noted that assessing health-system resilience now is “vital in helping policymakers plan for sustainable recovery” and to strengthen systems for future crises….”
· And some coverage via Cidrap News - Analysis: Pandemic disruptions compounded malaria, mental illness burden
M B Jalloh et al ; https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/mpox-surge-sierra-leone-stress-test-national-readiness
Informative blog. « Epidemics have a habit of revealing whether the last crisis was truly instructive or merely traumatic. »
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1165036
“The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has launched a bold new national initiative aimed at eliminating AIDS among children by 2030 – a move hailed by the United Nations as “a beacon of hope” amid growing global funding constraints. “
“… Backed by an initial commitment of $18 million in national funds, the Presidential Initiative to End Pediatric AIDS will focus on political leadership, systems strengthening and inclusive healthcare access particularly for children, adolescents, and pregnant women……”
P D Ehrenkranz et al ; https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2834158
“This Viewpoint discusses the need to develop products, such as long-acting antiretrovirals, for people with HIV in settings with minimal resource requirements.”
Christine M. Bachman and Dr. Kavitha Saravu; https://speakingofmedicine.plos.org/2025/06/30/malaria-is-evolving-our-response-should-too/
“…We are in an era where the parasite, the vector, and the environment are all changing faster than the tools designed to control them. Malaria is evolving. Our approach should be too.”
They conclude: “ We are at an inflection point. Climate, conflict, and migration will continue to shift where and how malaria spreads. Vectors are adapting, parasites are mutating, and health systems are under pressure. The challenge is no longer just developing better tools—it’s using them better.”
“This means: Embedding trials and delivery into local care systems, not standalone campaigns. Investing in data systems and diagnostics tailored to specific species and populations. Scaling African-led manufacturing to improve responsiveness and resilience; Treating elimination as a multisectoral, sustained effort, not a donor-driven project cycle. As malaria evolves, so must we. Precision, adaptability, and partnership will define the next era of control—and with the right focus, elimination is still within reach.”
“Livestock manure around the globe is packed with antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) that could threaten human health, according to a new study in Science Advances. The study was published by Chinese and US researchers, who sampled 4,017 manure specimens from pigs, chickens, and cattle in 26 countries over 14 years….”
B Meessen, G Ku et al; https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16549716.2025.2518667?src=exp-la
Concluding: “…The challenge of improving the quality of chronic care in resource-constrained settings is extensive and requires immediate attention. Leveraging purchasing arrangements is one promising channel to strengthen quality chronic care in such settings.”
https://www.bmj.com/content/390/bmj.r1123
“Parkinson’s disease diagnoses are rising across East Africa—hinting at a shift in healthcare priorities. Frank Burkybile reports.”
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02085-w
“Inflammation, thought to be a driver of age-related disease, does not worsen with age in some Indigenous communities.”
“People from Indigenous communities do not show the same link between chronic inflammation and age-related illness seen in industrialized societies, a study that looked at nearly 3,000 adults in four countries has found. … …. Inflammation is an important part of the immune system’s response to infection — but long-term inflammation can cause damage. The latest findings, published in Nature Aging on 30 June, show that chronic inflammation — which has been long considered a hallmark of ageing — could be a feature of industrialized living…..”
https://www.thelancet.com/series-do/cancer-in-first-nations-australians
“Cancer is the leading cause of death among First Nations peoples, who experience significant disparities in outcomes compared to non-Indigenous Australians. This Series published in The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific underscores both the challenges and the valuable opportunities to achieve equity in cancer outcomes for First Nations communities…..”
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03775-8
“... Here, using Burden of Proof meta-regression methods, we evaluated the associations between processed meat, SSBs and TFAs and three chronic diseases: type 2 diabetes, ischemic heart disease (IHD) and colorectal cancer. ….
Amila Suranga Malawige et al ; https://academic.oup.com/heapol/advance-article/doi/10.1093/heapol/czaf036/8180115?searchresult=1
« … The available evidence suggests that alcohol control policies are largely effective in LMICs. »
https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0004805
By Shashika Bandara, R Lencucha et al.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09581596.2025.2524011?src=#abstract
By Fernando Santos et al.
Re the Safer Births Bundle of Care program.
“…a coalition of organizations including the Global Financing Facility (GFF), a partnership hosted at the World Bank, developed a low-cost, evidence-based program around a simple idea: equipping frontline workers with the tools, skills and confidence they need to act quickly and effectively on the day of birth. The innovative program, the Safer Births Bundle of Care (SBBC), provides improved clinical tools and a strong focus on regular, on-site, simulation-based trainings designed to strengthen health workers’ response to emergencies during labor, birth and the critical hours that follow. The program includes health care workers learning to manage postpartum hemorrhage with their hands and to perfect high-quality neonatal resuscitation for babies born not breathing.
The approach of creating a culture of safety and learning for all those working within maternity departments has been critical to the success of the program…..”
“As a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows, the outcomes of the program have been remarkable, the kind of results rarely seen in maternal and newborn health interventions. Over a three-year period, the program delivered a 75% reduction in maternal deaths and a 40% decline in early newborn deaths. ….”
· And a link: The Conversation - Men and family planning: studies from 23 African countries reveal gaps in what we know
B Bedasso et al; https://www.cgdev.org/blog/how-can-early-childhood-investment-survive-global-aid-retreat
“…. Early childhood development (ECD) already makes up only a small share of total official development assistance (ODA). As donors cut budgets, many developing countries—facing limited resources and competing priorities—may struggle to fill the gap. And many of the countries that will be the worst impacted by shrinking aid flows were already investing too little, too late on children.”
“Still, there are reasons for optimism. Some low-income countries are allocating a higher share of their limited child-focused budgets to early childhood than their income levels would predict.
At the same time, multilateral development banks—most notably the World Bank—are scaling up investments in early childhood education (ECE), responding to growing demand and delivery capacity in low- and middle-income countries….”
“This blog explores country-level investment in early childhood, the role of concessional finance, and what governments and donors can do to close the gap and build on emerging momentum….”
PS: “ …. UNICEF, Columbia University, and the University of York’s report, Too Little, Too Late, offers a sobering diagnosis: public spending on children is not just insufficient, but mistimed. Around the world, government spending overwhelmingly arrives too late in life, failing to reach children during their most formative years, when returns to investment are highest. Using data from 84 countries, the report finds that in low-income settings, cumulative public spending per child up to age 18 adds up to an average of just US$2,300 in PPP terms (adjusting for differences in prices and cost of living). A meagre 6.7 percent of that is spent in the first six years of life. …”
Authors of the blogs then offer some recommendations.
https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/10.5334/aogh.4596
By Samantha R. Lattof et al.
N J Silva et al ; https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(25)00153-6/fulltext
“The relationship between economic growth and nutrition is not yet fully understood in the context of the new nutrition reality where most low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) face an increasing double burden of malnutrition. We aimed to investigate the association between early life exposure to economic shocks and multiple forms of childhood malnutrition in LMICs….”
“Analysis finds key to survival for children found to be unconscious and unresponsive is a quick dose of drugs and fast access to specialist care.”
Related to a recent Lancet GH article.
“Drugs currently being tested target complications associated with obesity such as heart disease, fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes.”
Lucy Goodfellow et al ( for the WHO Technical Advisory Group for the Full Value of Influenza Vaccines Assessment and project team Next-generation influenza vaccine impact modelling contributors ); https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004655
“Next-generation influenza vaccines (NGIVs) are in development and have the potential to achieve substantial reductions in influenza burden, with resulting widespread health and economic benefits. The prices at which their market can be sustained and which vaccination strategies may maximise health impact and cost-effectiveness, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, are unknown, yet such an understanding could provide a valuable tool for vaccine development and investment decision-making at a national and global level. To address this evidence gap, we projected the health and economic impact of NGIVs in 186 countries and territories….”
https://gh.bmj.com/content/10/6/e019130
By K Alemu, G Tomson et al.
https://www.devex.com/news/unfpa-staff-in-uproar-over-cooperation-agreement-with-israel-110355
“A petition says the move puts the agency’s “reputation, credibility, and neutrality at risk.”
S Gupta et al; https://www.cgdev.org/blog/financing-social-protection-fragile-and-conflict-affected-states-domestic-resources-matter
“The Social Protection Technical Assistance, Advice, and Resources Facility (STAAR), a joint initiative of the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and UK Aid, has convened a High-Level Panel on Social Protection in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Settings, of which the first author is a member. The panel seeks to address the complex challenges of delivering and sustaining social protection for vulnerable populations in these contexts—not only by meeting immediate needs, but also by laying the groundwork for long-term social cohesion, recovery, and resilience. The panel held its first meeting on May 21, 2025. In early June, it launched a public enquiry by circulating seven key questions on a broad range of issues. …”
“… In this blog post, we would like to focus on the second question of the public enquiry: How can financing for social protection be enhanced through domestic sources in the medium to long term? While external financing will continue to play a critical role in fragile and conflict-affected states, two important points must be kept in mind….”
https://sdg.iisd.org/news/beyond-gdp-a-unique-opportunity-to-address-well-being-challenges/
“There is a growing call among experts and policymakers for development models that emphasize well-being, inclusivity, sustainability, and human connection, rather than focusing solely on short-term economic growth as measured by GDP. Referring to models such as inclusive wealth frameworks, happiness-oriented strategies, or multidimensional progress indicators, the call aims to center development around people. This is a global shift that is redefining and reorienting the future path of how societies view and define success by adjusting policies and measures to promote long-term well-being.”
“In May, the UN Secretary-General appointed a High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP to develop recommendations that will help countries and institutions adopt more comprehensive measures of sustainable development progress beyond traditional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) metrics. The group was created as the follow-up from the UN Summit of the Future (SoF) to address well-known shortcomings of GDP as an indicator of wealth by developing a framework for measuring sustainable development progress that can complement and go beyond GDP.”
“This edition of the ‘Beyond GDP’ update reflects on the Expert Group’s establishment and shares other news on global efforts to select indicators that move beyond GDP. It highlights growing support from academic research, policy analyses, and national strategies for the idea that economic growth alone is insufficient to tackle urgent sustainability and well-being challenges….”
https://www.devex.com/news/how-to-unlock-funding-from-asia-s-largest-foundations-110376
“Asia’s top philanthropies are moving billions — but don’t expect open calls. A new Devex guide offers key intel for fundraisers and BD pros on how to engage funders like Tata Trusts, Tencent, and Temasek Foundation.”
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2507231?query=featured_home
“….. In this issue of the Journal, we launch a new Perspective series called “The Corporatization of U.S. Health Care” to delve into these trends and draw out their ramifications for physicians, patients, and health. We begin with an article by Erin Fuse Brown, laying out some essential definitions — including what’s meant by “corporatization” — and providing a snapshot of the current landscape. Then, each month, one or more experts will explore a specific aspect of corporatization, its effects on various key constituencies, and, where possible, what could or should be done to mitigate its negative consequences while sustaining and revitalizing a health care system capable of improving health and fostering a high quality of life for everyone…..”
“Attacks on an institution’s integrity spur more anger—and engagement—than other types of criticisms, study suggests.”
“… Criticism of public health institutions is increasingly common, and a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explored their effects in detail. They surveyed 6800 people in the United States and showed that certain critical social media posts not only led to declining trust, but also incited feelings of anger—and increased readers’ tendency to engage with those posts.”
“The tech titan and his wife once had sprawling ambitions for their Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Now their efforts in politics, education and housing have been cut back to focus on science.”
https://phmovement.org/mobilizing-health-justice-global-health-watch-7
“What is New with the latest edition of the GHW7?”…. Three innovations.
And a short overview of this edition.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(25)00207-3/fulltext
“Rates of homelessness are rising in many high-income countries with over 300 000 people in England classed as living in unsheltered or temporary housing in 2024, an increase of 14% in 1 year. In the US, 771 480 people experienced homelessness in 2024, the highest ever recorded. Being homeless has devastating consequences to your health and people who are homeless die nearly 30 years earlier than the average American. At the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Conference in May, the timely keynote lecture explored health care's role in serving unhoused people.”
“The ATS conference was held in San Francisco, CA, which has some of the highest rates of homelessness in the US. There are several common misconceptions about the factors that drive higher rates of homelessness, with many presuming it is due to warmer climates and high rates of mental health conditions. However, as Margot Kushel, Director of the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, University of California, San Francisco, explained at ATS, “It is really about the mismatch between housing and incomes…we don't have enough housing and people's income isn't high enough to pay for it.” Although deeply affordable housing is the main systemic factor driving homelessness, mental health and substance use problems do act as precipitants, and once homeless, those problems are exacerbated alongside many other health issues….”
Angela V. Flynn et al ; https://academic.oup.com/heapol/advance-article/doi/10.1093/heapol/czaf024/8176504?searchresult=1
“There is a growing need for healthcare professionals to ensure that their practices are inclusive and that they are considerate of the needs of marginalised communities. Inclusion health seeks to correct the imbalances that result in health inequities and requires health practitioners to have an adequate understanding and knowledge of the needs of marginalised and vulnerable population groups. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesise and critically appraise evidence from studies that explored healthcare professionals’ knowledge and/or awareness of inclusion health…”
Prof Allison Jaure et al ; https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00712-3/fulltext
Part of a Lancet series.
“… In this Series paper, we focus on how policies can advance equity in the field of transplantation, both within individual health systems and across different countries. We propose policy solutions to make progress towards equity in access to transplantation and better outcomes for all patients with end-stage organ disease who could benefit from transplantation….”
https://katribertram.wordpress.com/2025/06/29/hope-based-communication-a-panacea-or-pain/
“If we say we’re all going to hell, everyone will give up, and we’ll never see action or progress. Can hope-based communication save us – or will it cause more pain?”
N Chadha et al ; https://blogs.bmj.com/bmjgh/2025/07/02/whats-in-your-equitree-exploring-approaches-for-enhancing-equity-in-health-policy-and-systems-research/
“If you committed to do one thing this year to enhance equity in health policy and systems research, what would it be? This was the question posed to participants at an organised session in the Global Symposium on Health Systems Research (HSR) in Nagasaki last November. ..”
“Despite growing calls for equity and inclusivity in health policy and systems research, we noted the ad hoc nature of their actual integration in research processes. We came together to review existing tools and frameworks aiming to enhance equity, raising the challenges we face, and what we can do better.”
“As #FfD4 approaches, with #COP30 and the #G20 summit later this year, we call for three fundamental shifts: embed directionality in public investment, redesign partnerships for genuine reciprocity and strengthen state capabilities. Purpose-driven multilateralism remains our most effective vehicle for shared challenges. Read our joint letter in the @FT with Ministers (from Spain, Brazil & South-Africa) - FT: Letter: Multilateralism remains the best path to prosperity )
(via Ian Bremmer) “ Pope leo criticizing global return to the law of the jungle: “it is disheartening to see today that the strength of international law and humanitarian law no longer seems binding, replaced by the presumed right to overpower others.”
“Warren Buffett’s vision and generosity have shaped the @gatesfoundation in profound ways through nearly two decades of contributions and advice. We are grateful for his support, which has totaled nearly $48 billion since 2006.”
“This is big: Spain and Brazil are kick-starting today a “coalition of the willing” to tax the super-rich The embryo of a new, much-needed, South-North multilateralism putting economic, climate, and social justice at its core.”
“Having your US visa revoked has, inevitably, become a badge of honour.”
“At the #tippingpoints conference, @clubofrome.org 's Sandrine Dixson-Decleve says the economic system is dictated by “shareholder value” and "no longer responds to the needs of people, planet or prosperity" Without changes to business models and business governance “we will get nowhere”, she says.”
“Blended finance has underperformed—mobilising only $15 billion annually vs $4 trillion needed for SDGs. Without directionality, genuine additionality, and fair risk-reward sharing, it fails to create the genuine partnerships needed where public and private sectors share both risks and rewards to deliver transformative development outcomes.”
“The FICs (Finance in Common) coalition has brought all Public Development Banks together in Seville to discuss the future of development financing. Key messages : -Invest at the nexus of the climate and social agendas including social protection -more efficient taxation including health taxes -expand cooperation and financial capacity of PDBs -leverage private financing “