Advancing Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health and Inequalities in Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health:
Highlights from the 156th Meeting of the World Health Organization’s Executive Board
By Bianca Carvalho, Viviana Munoz Tellez
This policy brief examines discussions from the WHO’s 156th Executive Board meeting (February 2025) on the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health. The Director-General reported many countries falling behind on SDG targets for maternal and child mortality, with persistent inequalities in healthcare access. Member States emphasized the urgent need to accelerate progress through universal access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services and rights, including the right to make informed decisions about reproduction free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Recommendations focused on priorities for updating the Global Strategy and increasing investments. Two resolutions were advanced: one on regulating digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes (proposed by Brazil and Mexico) and another on World Prematurity Day (proposed by Tanzania). These will be considered for adoption by the World Health Assembly in May 2025.
Statement on the Amendment to the International Health Regulations
We congratulate the WHO members for the adoption of the amendments to the International Health Regulations to advance equity in access to health products, increase collaboration and finance to develop, strengthen and maintain core capacities. Efforts must continue to finalise a pandemic treaty.
A critical week for global health with the 77th session of the World Health Assembly. For decision, the future of the pandemic instrument and IHR amendment negotiations.
STATEMENT BY CARLOS CORREA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SOUTH CENTRE, AT THE VIRTUAL MEETING OF THE MINISTERS OF HEALTH OF THE MEMBER STATES AND OBSERVER STATES OF THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT
25 May 2024
On the sidelines of the 77th session of the World Health Assembly
There is a need for a stronger and more effective WHO, which should be at the centre of norm-setting and moral guidance. NAM can play a key role in shaping the global health agenda. As in the past, the South Centre remains ready to support NAM efforts in this field.
The WHO Intergovernmental Negotiating Body process and the revised draft of the WHO Pandemic Agreement (A/INB/9R/3)
by Nirmalya Syam & Viviana Muñoz Tellez
This Policy Brief considers the negotiating process conducted so far by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) for an instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response under the World Health Organization (WHO), and some aspects of the draft text for the Resumed Ninth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB9R), as well as of the draft proposed resolution for consideration by the World Health Assembly in May 2024. The Policy Brief provides recommendations to assist member States in their negotiations during the INB9R to be held from April 29 to 10 May 2024.
The South Centre highlights priorities for the 75th session of the World Health Assembly: Covid-19 response, sustainable financing for WHO, health emergency preparedness and response.
STATEMENT BY CARLOS M. CORREA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SOUTH CENTRE, TO THE MEETING OF THE NAM HEALTH MINISTERSON THE OCCASION OF THE 75TH WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY, MAY 20, 2022
The South Centre has closely followed issues concerning access to medicines and the work of the WHO over the years. In the last couple of years, it has provided analyses and advice in connection with the COVID-19 crisis that has so severely affected the members of NAM.
South Centre Statement to the WHO Executive Board 150th Session
The South Centre, the intergovernmental organization of 54 developing countries from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, considers that key outcomes from the work of the 150th Executive Board should include…
South Centre Statement to the Special Session of the WHA
This WHA is convening in special session with the promise of starting a process that could ultimately lead to saving millions of lives.
The most pressing priority is to get vaccines and other essential tools to the people that need them now, in all corners of the world. Redoubling efforts to help countries that are struggling the most to respond to the pandemic is an ethical imperative and would serve to contain the global spread of the virus and its new variants.
Strengthening WHO for Future Health Emergencies while Battling COVID-19: Major Outcomes of the 2021 World Health Assembly
By Nirmalya Syam and Mirza Alas
The 74th World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) took place in May 2021 in a time when developing countries had to confront a substantial surge in COVID-19 infections and fatalities, while continuing to face inadequate access to vaccines. Meanwhile, the majority of the global supplies were secured by a few rich countries, ignoring the pleas of the WHO Secretariat. However, even though discussions around the COVID-19 response and strengthening emergency preparedness and response dominated the Assembly, WHO Member States could not achieve any concrete outcome to addressing the question of equitable access to vaccines and other health technologies for COVID-19. In this context, this policy brief describes some of the major outcomes of the Assembly.
