Durban — Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, the threat of new pandemics still looms, and the urgency remains. As the fourth International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA 2025) began in Durban, South Africa, a big question emerged: Is Africa prepared for the next pandemic? In his opening remarks at a press briefing,…
The global impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) extends beyond the acute phase of infection, presenting ongoing challenges for public health and clinical management. Some people continue to suffer health complications long after recovering from Covid-19, yet the reasons why some develop Long Covid while others do not remain unclear, even five years post-pandemic. Long…
In late June, the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), a group of independent experts convened by the World Health Organization (WHO), published an assessment of the origins of COVID. The report concluded that although we don’t know conclusively where the virus that caused the pandemic came from: a zoonotic origin…
Unlike previous economic downturns, the COVID pandemic created a crisis that disrupted both education and employment, abruptly halting young people’s emerging careers and clouding their hopes for the future. It doubly affected those transitioning into adulthood, out of school or university and into work, and it threatened the job security of those embarking on their…
The final Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) negotiations must be the true test of global equity in health. Sometimes, it is not immediately obvious that history is being made, but this time, it was. Amid enthusiastic applause, the new Pandemic Agreement, a legal instrument, was finally adopted by 194 Member States on 20th May 2025,…
