Politico’s Guide for the World Health Assembly: Abortion in Ukraine and a Needles-Free Future

The World Health Assembly is currently taking place in Geneva, with discussions on various global health issues, including pandemic preparedness, global health regulations, and funding for the World Health Organization. One notable discussion is on the use of bionic technology in amputees, which has resulted in the sensation of hot and cold temperatures being experienced in phantom hands and fingers. Meanwhile, NGOs are warning that Ukrainian women in Poland risk returning to war zones to obtain abortions. In the future, vaccines may be delivered via patches, and global health experts are calling for investment in this technology. GAIN is making a call to action on global hunger; 345 million people face severe food insecurity, and up to 3 billion are suffering from micronutrient deficiencies. The UK government has announced funding of up to £39m for AMR research through the Global AMR Innovation Fund, and Curevac and BioNTech/Pfizer continue to fight over intellectual property rights to mRNA novel coronavirus vaccine technology. Lastly, Micron Biomedical’s vaccine patch has reported positive results in early-stage trials, and Gavi at The Vaccine Alliance is excited about the potential of the needle-free technology.