This page provides links to item alerts and item updates on key debates at Global Health Governance meetings. Click here to subscribe to the Updater.
WHA77 Item Alerts
PHM Item Commentaries on WHA77 now posted
EB154 Item Alerts
Item 6. Universal health coverage stalls while financial protection goes backwards
Item 7. Progress on NCDs lags: WHO must address the drivers, overcome the barriers
Item 10. TB morbidity reflects poverty and exclusion
Item 11. Funding for ‘neglected tropical diseases’ (NTDs) has collapsed since the Covid pandemic
Item 16. WHO moves cautiously towards Global Health and Peace Initiative
Item 19. Social determinants of health
Item 20. Maternal, infant and young child nutrition
Item 21. WHO to consider plan for ‘well-being societies’
Item 23. Council on Economics and Health pushes WHO for action on the economic determinants of population health
UNGA78 HLMs Item Alerts
WHA76 Item Alerts
15.1 Shadow boxing continues around clinical trials: agreement on principle but governance disciplines too hot to handle (21 May 2023)
15.1 Global architecture for health emergencies: protecting WHO or addressing the fundamentals? (22 May 2023)
22.2 Proposed investors' forum will give WHO donors privileged role in budgeting (15 May 2023)
EB152 Item Alerts
5. Progress (?) on UHC (28 Jan 2023)
6. NCDs: falling behind despite impressive range of programs. Cost effectiveness menu a double edged sword (29 Jan 2023)
7. Substandard and falsified medicines: call for review of progress (29 Jan 2023)
8. WHO urged to invest in strengthening rehabilitation in health care (29 Jan 2023)
9. Draft strategy on infection prevention and control (28 Jan 2023)
10. Road map for defeating meningitis launched (29 Jan 2023)
11. Resistance to the standardisation of medical device nomenclature continues (29 Jan 2023)
12.3 WHO's Health for Peace Initiative welcomed (31 Jan 2023)
13. Polio (28 Jan 2023)
14. Well-being and health promotion (1 Feb 2023)
15. WHO commitment to address violence against children outsourced to a multistakeholder partnership (1 Feb 2023)
16. World Report on SDH an important step forward (2 Feb 2023)
19. WHO's new focus on behavioural sciences (actually behavioural econmics) (3 Feb 2023)
WHA75 Item Alerts
14.1 NCDs Action Plan stalled; WHO must confront the drivers of the epidemic (11 May 2022)
14.2 WHA to consider new Global Health Sector Strategies: Good document but needs further attention (13 May 2022)
14.3 Global strategy for TB falling behind. Human rights and solidarity must be at the centre of TB care and control (15 May 2022)
14.4 WHO's Roadmap for NTDs needs a wider scope (15 May 2022)
14.5 Immunization Agenda 2030: multilateralism replaced by 'multistakeholderism' (17 May 2022)
14.7 Implementing the meningitis road map: affordable vaccines and comprehensive primary health care will be critical (19 May 2022)
14.8 Medical devices nomenclature: need for a single international public good classification (19 May 2022)
15 Human resources for health: massive needs but only small steps (22 May 2022)
16.2 Global health security or gated health security? Critical questions on emergency preparedness and response (25 May 2022)
17.1 WHO must work towards fair and equitable benefit sharing as well as timely sharing of biological materials and sequence data (11 May 2022)
17.2 PHM welcomes WHO's Global Health for Peace Initiative (11 May 2022)
17.3 Polio eradication recedes into the future: WHO faces financial uncertainty as GPEI funding dries up (12 May 2022)
18.1 Maternal, infant and young child nutrition targets are not being met: Time for a political economic analysis of global food systems (18 May 2022)
18.2 WHO promises better health for a billion people but is confused about implementation: Proposed framework arbitrary, cautious and has no coherent theory of change (25 May 2022)
18.2 WHO approach to food safety oriented around trade facilitation: neglects economic and commercial determinants of health (25 May 2022)
18.2 WTO reform of fishing subsidies catches artisanal fisherfolk in its net: Surprising absence from draft resolution on the health of small island development states (SIDS) (25 May 2022)
WHA73 Item Alerts
1. World Health Assembly considers compromise resolution on COVID-19 (15 May 2020)
EB146 Item Updates
24. Notes of EB146 debate (and resolutions and decisions) now available through PHM's WHO Tracker (13 Feb 2020)
EB146 Item Alerts
11. Upwards harmonisation of food standards a risk to community nutrition and food sovereignty (7 Jan 2020)
12. WHO mulls high level declaration on NCDs (7 Jan 2020)
13. WHO needs to go beyond mass drug administration in addressing neglected tropical diseases (7 Jan 2020)
14. WHO to consider new operational framework for primary health care (26 Jan 2020)
15. Special Program on PHC of 'central importance' for achieving universal health coverage, Executive Board told (27 Jan 2020)
16. WHO looking to develop a new vaccine action plan. Experts advise on lessons learned after disappointing outcomes from Global Vaccine Action Plan 2011-2020 (27 Jan 2020)
17. WHO proposes concerted action on cervical cancer. (But more attention needed in adapting HPV vaccination, screening and treatment to LMIC settings) (28 Jan 2020)
18. WHO action on access to medicines bogged down in diplomatic wrestling: Needs-driven R&D and medicines affordability stalled in the interests of Pharma profits (29 Jan 2020)
19. Cholera: neglected disease of poverty. PHM: cholera incidence an indicator of the crisis of neoliberal globalisation (29 Jan 2020)
20. Executive Board to review barriers to controlling TB epidemic and considers new strategy to drive research and development for TB (29 Jan 2020)
21. WHO prepares to launch a Decade of Healthy Ageing but key issues still need attention (30 Jan 2020)
22. WHO struggles to make sense of "digital health". Send new (non-strategic) strategy back to the drawing board! (30 Jan 2020)
23. World falling behind in global nutrition targets. WHO tries valiantly to hold member states accountable for their nutrition commitments (but refuses a political economy analysis of food systems) (31 Jan 2020)
WHA72 Item Updates
1. WHO adopts budget for 2020-2021 (27 May 2019)
2. WHA reviews arrangements for public health emergencies in the light of the DRC Ebola experience (28 May 2019)
3. Low income countries face cut back in international assistance as polio campaign looks towards winding down (8 June 2019)
4. Progress stalls on health-related Sustainable Development Goals (10 June 2019)
5. Conflict over sexual and reproductive health rights complicates World Health Assembly consideration of women's and children's health (11 June 2019)
6. WHA commissions 'operational framework' for strengthening primary health care: transforming vision into action (14 June 2019)
7. New WHO Guideline on community health workers welcomed at WHA72 (24 June 2019)
8. WHO member states determined to avoid accountability for action on refugee and migrant health (28 July 2019)
9. WHO adopts global strategy on health, environment and climate change (and a plan of action for small island developing states) (1 August 2019)
10. WHO adopts Roadmap on Access to Medicines and resolves to promote pharma market transparency (9 August 2019)