End the Genocide of the Yanomami People!

The World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA), the Brazilian Association of Collective Health (ABRASCO) and the Brazilian Association of Anthropology (ABA) denounce the Brazilian Federal Government’s omissive and conniving attitude towards the alarming situation experienced by the Yanomami and Ye’kwana peoples in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory (TIY), located on the Brazilian-Venezuela border.

Once again, the gold mining industry has invaded their traditional territory: more than twenty thousand miners are occupying and degrading their lands, forests, waterways, food sources, health, and community life in recent years.

The WFPHA, ABRASCO and ABA urge the global community to support the urgent appeal of the indigenous peoples regarding the gravity of the health situation and the urgency of measures to protect life and health of the Yanomami and Ye’kwana peoples.

Human Rights Day 2021

On Human Rights Day 2021, we are aware of the persistence of enormous inequities in the world, which are a flagrant disregard for human rights. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic not only revealed these inequalities but also contributed to their exacerbation.

The 2021 United Nations Theme for Human Rights Day is EQUALITY – Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights. The International Federation of Social Workers and World Federation of Public Health Association jointly advance a statement to continue to advocate with the United Nations, governments, companies and civil societies for the promotion of equity and respect for human rights, starting with the equitable distribution of vaccines and guaranteeing the universal right to sustainable development.

Key Actor in the Fight against a Pandemic

“We don’t want to return to the old silos that keep us separate!”

Who is the key actor in the fight against a pandemic? Dr Rory Truell of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), member of Coalition of International NGOs for Equity, answers the question.

Click on the link below to watch the video.

1st WHO-recommended Malaria Vaccine: A New Hope

Malaria is a life-threatening disease which has a devastating impact on people’s health around the world. Despite being preventable and treatable, more than 400 000 people die from malaria annually.1

In 2019, 94% of malaria cases and deaths occurred in the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region. Malaria remains a primary cause of childhood illness and death in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 260 000 African children aged under five years die from malaria annually.1

The WHO’s vision is a world free of malaria. In line with its vision, since October 2021, the WHO recommended the RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) as the first malaria vaccine for widespread use among children in areas with moderate to high transmission of P. falciparum malaria, the most deadly malaria parasite in the World and the most prevalent in Africa. The recommendation was based on the results of an ongoing WHO-coordinated pilot program implemented under the leadership of the Ministries of Health of Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has vaccinated more than 800 000 children since 2019.2

WFPHA applauds all the efforts to control and eliminate malaria globally and provides several recommendations.

A Vaccine TRIPS Waiver Now: Letter to WTO

Vaccination can save lives in millions. Massive upscaling of vaccine production is required across the globe with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing and with the prospect of new waves, and new variants in the future.

The World Federation of Public Health Associations, the Sustainable Health Equity Movement and the Global Network for Academic Public Health urge the World Trade Organisation to do everything in its power to achieve agreement to a temporary vaccine Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights waiver at its Ministerial Conference.

We believe the vaccine TRIPS waiver is the single most important action that can be taken to secure full and fair access to vaccine across the world, to give us the best possible chance of ending this pandemic, saving lives, and preventing disease and disability.

26th Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention

The 26th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention takes place on November to 3 December 2021.

Deborah Klein Walker, Chair of the WFPHA Women, Adolescent and Children’s Health Working Group, attends this session with a statement on strengthening education, outreach and other public health initiatives in all Member States. She has highlighted the role that WFPHA Global Charter for the Public’s Health has in addressing and eliminating chemical weapons, including guidance for protection, prevention, and promotion services using its four core functions.

Statement (Video)