disease

COVID-19 and the Increasing Risks of Substandard and Falsified Pharmaceutical Products in Africa

Dear CoNGO members,

I am delighted to get in touch with you for the first time since the Brazzaville Foundation’s membership in November 2020 to the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO).

On the occasion of the upcoming World Health Assembly and Africa Day, the Brazzaville Foundation is pleased to invite you to an online high-level roundtable on Tuesday 25th May to discuss “Covid-19 and the Increasing Risks of Substandard and Falsified Pharmaceutical Products in Africa: A public health and security issue”. High-level speakers are expected such as Prof. Moustafa Mijiyawa, Minister of Health of the Republic of Togo; Michel Sidibé, African Union Special Envoy for the African Medicines Agency (AMA) and Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

If you are interested in taking part in global health and security discussions, please register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Z0sYZHfPQnWICzmnQY2r0g. Simultaneous translation will be available in French/English.

We are eager to share this event with you and we look forward to collaborating together in the future.

Best regards,

Richard Amalvy, Chief Executive, The Brazzaville Foundation

À l’occasion de la 74e Assemblée mondiale de la Santé et de la Journée de l’Afrique, la Fondation Brazzaville réunira des intervenants de haut niveau pour discuter des enjeux de santé publique et de sécurité liés aux risques croissants des médicaments falsifiés et de qualité inférieure dans le contexte de la pandémie de la COVID-19. Traduction simultanée en français/anglais.

Background notes:

Poor-quality medicines can be both falsified and substandard:

  • Falsified medicines are deliberately fake medical products. Criminals manufacture, traffic and sell fake products to unsuspecting customers.
  • Substandard medicines can be the result of poor manufacturing and quality-control practices in the manufacture or distribution of the product.

Poor-quality medicines lead to death and illness:

  • Both fake and substandard medicines pose a threat to public health because they can lead to death, additional illness in individuals, the spread of disease within a community and antibiotic resistance.
  • The link between the traffic in falsified medicines and organised crime has been well established by intelligence services and law enforcement agencies. They are smuggled onto markets using the same routes and techniques as drug, weapon, or human trafficking.
  • Transnational organised crime also funds terrorism, destabilising countries and weakening state structures.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Drugs-NY, please visit nyngoc.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. 

COVID-19 and the Increasing Risks of Substandard and Falsified Pharmaceutical Products in Africa

Dear CoNGO members,

I am delighted to get in touch with you for the first time since the Brazzaville Foundation’s membership in November 2020 to the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO).

On the occasion of the upcoming World Health Assembly and Africa Day, the Brazzaville Foundation is pleased to invite you to an online high-level roundtable on Tuesday 25th May to discuss “Covid-19 and the Increasing Risks of Substandard and Falsified Pharmaceutical Products in Africa: A public health and security issue”. High-level speakers are expected such as Prof. Moustafa Mijiyawa, Minister of Health of the Republic of Togo; Michel Sidibé, African Union Special Envoy for the African Medicines Agency (AMA) and Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

If you are interested in taking part in global health and security discussions, please register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Z0sYZHfPQnWICzmnQY2r0g. Simultaneous translation will be available in French/English.

We are eager to share this event with you and we look forward to collaborating together in the future.

Best regards,

Richard Amalvy, Chief Executive, The Brazzaville Foundation

À l’occasion de la 74e Assemblée mondiale de la Santé et de la Journée de l’Afrique, la Fondation Brazzaville réunira des intervenants de haut niveau pour discuter des enjeux de santé publique et de sécurité liés aux risques croissants des médicaments falsifiés et de qualité inférieure dans le contexte de la pandémie de la COVID-19. Traduction simultanée en français/anglais.

Background notes:

Poor-quality medicines can be both falsified and substandard:

  • Falsified medicines are deliberately fake medical products. Criminals manufacture, traffic and sell fake products to unsuspecting customers.
  • Substandard medicines can be the result of poor manufacturing and quality-control practices in the manufacture or distribution of the product.

Poor-quality medicines lead to death and illness:

  • Both fake and substandard medicines pose a threat to public health because they can lead to death, additional illness in individuals, the spread of disease within a community and antibiotic resistance.
  • The link between the traffic in falsified medicines and organised crime has been well established by intelligence services and law enforcement agencies. They are smuggled onto markets using the same routes and techniques as drug, weapon, or human trafficking.
  • Transnational organised crime also funds terrorism, destabilising countries and weakening state structures.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Drugs-NY, please visit nyngoc.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. 

CRNGO Climate Working Group advocacy meeting

Good afternoon colleagues,
Eid Mubaak to those of you celebrating / recognizing Eid ul Fitr. As discussed on at the 3 May meeting, the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations’ Working Group on Climate will have an informal, 60-min meeting to discuss COP26 Advocacy this coming Monday, 17 May, at 10:00 am EDT.
The agenda will be simple:
  • Bring along your organization’s plans / ideas  for Advocacy to share (or if you don’t have a plan, come and learn and support others who do!)
PS – just FYI, here’s some info on the upcoming UN Decade of Ecological Restoration:

Even amidst the global pandemic and climate crisis challenges, the Good News is that it’s almost time for the launch of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030.  In an effort to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide, the UN Environment Program (UNEP) has developed many resources to share on June 5, 2021, which is World Environment Day. (See more information here: worldenvironmentday.global)

To help us take action in this next decade, UNEP has published a practical guide to ecosystem restoration called the Ecosystem Restoration Playbook – it provides an introduction to a range of actions that can slow the degradation of ecosystems and foster their recovery. Designed for all interested individuals and stakeholder groups, this guide outlines three pathways to getting involved in ecosystem restoration during the UN Decade and beyond:

· Taking action such as starting or support an on-the-ground restoration project

· Making smart choices like buying only sustainable products and changing diets

· Raising your voice in support of ecosystem conservation and restoration

You can find more information, as well as a link to this 21-page guide, here:  https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/

So join in on restoring one or more of the eight key types of ecosystems – forests, farmlands, grassland and savannahs, rivers and lakes, oceans and coasts, towns and cities, peatlands, and mountains – and become part of #GenerationRestoration !

______________________________________________________________________________________________
CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values, and Global Concerns-NY, please visit csvgc-ny.org.

CRNGO Climate Working Group advocacy meeting

Good afternoon colleagues,
Eid Mubaak to those of you celebrating / recognizing Eid ul Fitr. As discussed on at the 3 May meeting, the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations’ Working Group on Climate will have an informal, 60-min meeting to discuss COP26 Advocacy this coming Monday, 17 May, at 10:00 am EDT.
The agenda will be simple:
  • Bring along your organization’s plans / ideas  for Advocacy to share (or if you don’t have a plan, come and learn and support others who do!)
PS – just FYI, here’s some info on the upcoming UN Decade of Ecological Restoration:

Even amidst the global pandemic and climate crisis challenges, the Good News is that it’s almost time for the launch of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030.  In an effort to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide, the UN Environment Program (UNEP) has developed many resources to share on June 5, 2021, which is World Environment Day. (See more information here: worldenvironmentday.global)

To help us take action in this next decade, UNEP has published a practical guide to ecosystem restoration called the Ecosystem Restoration Playbook – it provides an introduction to a range of actions that can slow the degradation of ecosystems and foster their recovery. Designed for all interested individuals and stakeholder groups, this guide outlines three pathways to getting involved in ecosystem restoration during the UN Decade and beyond:

· Taking action such as starting or support an on-the-ground restoration project

· Making smart choices like buying only sustainable products and changing diets

· Raising your voice in support of ecosystem conservation and restoration

You can find more information, as well as a link to this 21-page guide, here:  https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/

So join in on restoring one or more of the eight key types of ecosystems – forests, farmlands, grassland and savannahs, rivers and lakes, oceans and coasts, towns and cities, peatlands, and mountains – and become part of #GenerationRestoration !

______________________________________________________________________________________________
CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values, and Global Concerns-NY, please visit csvgc-ny.org.

Building Global Momentum for Adult Vaccination Policy within COVID-19: Making COVID-19 a Springboard for Adult Vaccinations

The COVID-19 pandemic has unearthed an uncomfortable structural and societal ageism affecting the human rights of millions of people around the world. From hospital triaging guidelines to chronic understaffing of long-term care facilities, national health systems did not take the necessary steps to ensure that vulnerable people had access to life-saving health services, regardless of age or socioeconomic background.
Now is a critical time to collectively inform post-pandemic policies needed to recover and rebuild national health systems and consider investment strategies that prevent resurgence of infectious diseases and associated strain on health system capacity.
As part of a four-part series to build global momentum on vaccination within COVID-19, IFA invites you to the fourth and final webinar entitled “Making COVID-19 a Springboard for Adult Vaccinations.” Dr. Michael Moore and Dr. Monika Arora provide their perspectives on essential post pandemic multi-sectoral actions to keep on the agenda the critical importance of immunization for older people and those with noncommunicable diseases.
Register here!
Speakers:
  • Dr. Michael Moore, World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA)
  • Dr. Monika Arora, Non-communicable Disease (NCD) Alliance

This session will be recorded and streamed live on Facebook. Should you be unable to participate, a recording will be available on the IFA Facebook page at facebook.com/intfedageing and resources will be available at: ifa.ngo/ifa-virtual-town-hall-resources.

For any questions or concerns please contact zchouhdry@ifa.ngo.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-NY, please visit ngocoa-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Vienna, please visit ngoageingvie.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Geneva, please visit ageingcommitteegeneva.org. For more information on the NGO Committee for Rare Diseases, please visit ngocommitteerarediseases.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the co-chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com.

Building Global Momentum for Adult Vaccination Policy within COVID-19: Making COVID-19 a Springboard for Adult Vaccinations

The COVID-19 pandemic has unearthed an uncomfortable structural and societal ageism affecting the human rights of millions of people around the world. From hospital triaging guidelines to chronic understaffing of long-term care facilities, national health systems did not take the necessary steps to ensure that vulnerable people had access to life-saving health services, regardless of age or socioeconomic background.
Now is a critical time to collectively inform post-pandemic policies needed to recover and rebuild national health systems and consider investment strategies that prevent resurgence of infectious diseases and associated strain on health system capacity.
As part of a four-part series to build global momentum on vaccination within COVID-19, IFA invites you to the fourth and final webinar entitled “Making COVID-19 a Springboard for Adult Vaccinations.” Dr. Michael Moore and Dr. Monika Arora provide their perspectives on essential post pandemic multi-sectoral actions to keep on the agenda the critical importance of immunization for older people and those with noncommunicable diseases.
Register here!
Speakers:
  • Dr. Michael Moore, World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA)
  • Dr. Monika Arora, Non-communicable Disease (NCD) Alliance

This session will be recorded and streamed live on Facebook. Should you be unable to participate, a recording will be available on the IFA Facebook page at facebook.com/intfedageing and resources will be available at: ifa.ngo/ifa-virtual-town-hall-resources.

For any questions or concerns please contact zchouhdry@ifa.ngo.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-NY, please visit ngocoa-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Vienna, please visit ngoageingvie.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Geneva, please visit ageingcommitteegeneva.org. For more information on the NGO Committee for Rare Diseases, please visit ngocommitteerarediseases.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the co-chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com.

No Capes Needed: A Safe-Space During Nurses Week

It’s been a year – join a free, therapist-led virtual support circle for nurses at noon EST on May 6th.

This safe space to help process grief and loss are a place where the capes can come off and compartmentalization can come down. Gift yourself an hour where you don’t need to hold it all together. During nurses’ week, enter a space to feel your shoulders drop and your breath connects with your heart.

Pre-registration required: https://forms.gle/BMbVNMcH2JQo3B4x5

On-going support beyond nurses week may also be offered if the group desires. This event is sponsored by PEAC Institute, Mayo Clinic, Nurses You Should Know, & Nursing Futurites.

________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Mental Health, please visit ngomentalhealth.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

No Capes Needed: A Safe-Space During Nurses Week

It’s been a year – join a free, therapist-led virtual support circle for nurses at noon EST on May 6th.

This safe space to help process grief and loss are a place where the capes can come off and compartmentalization can come down. Gift yourself an hour where you don’t need to hold it all together. During nurses’ week, enter a space to feel your shoulders drop and your breath connects with your heart.

Pre-registration required: https://forms.gle/BMbVNMcH2JQo3B4x5

On-going support beyond nurses week may also be offered if the group desires. This event is sponsored by PEAC Institute, Mayo Clinic, Nurses You Should Know, & Nursing Futurites.

________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Mental Health, please visit ngomentalhealth.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

24th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion [call for abstracts]

Under the conference theme “Promoting policies for health, well-being and equity”, the Call for Abstracts is now open for the 24th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion – IUHPE 2022, being held in Montréal (Québec) Canada and in hybrid format from 15 to 19 May 2022. Submissions can be made in English, French and Spanish.

We invite all abstract submitters, including individual contributors, to interact and collaborate with other presenters and participants wherever possible. Participatory, collaborative and non-traditional session formats will be given priority in the selection process.

Abstracts can be submitted in eight different formats: 1) symposium, 2) workshop, 3) research oral/poster presentation, 4) innovation in policy and practice oral/poster presentation, 5) round table discussion, 6) alternative showing/new technology, 7) alternative showing/art, and 8) lunch with an author. For further information on each of these formats, please click here.

The deadline to submit an abstract is Friday 17 September 2021.

Registration and hotel reservations for the 24th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion will open in May.

We look forward to welcoming you to Montreal, or online, in May 2022. For any questions, please contact the IUHPE 2022 Conference Secretariat – JPdL (iuhpe2022@jpdl.com).

Sincerely,

Carl-Ardy Dubois
Dean, École de santé publique de l’Université de Montréal
Co-Chair 24th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion

Margaret Barry
President, IUHPE
Co-Chair 24th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion
IUHPE 2022 Conference Secretariat – JPdL

________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Mental Health, please visit ngomentalhealth.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

24th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion [call for abstracts]

Under the conference theme “Promoting policies for health, well-being and equity”, the Call for Abstracts is now open for the 24th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion – IUHPE 2022, being held in Montréal (Québec) Canada and in hybrid format from 15 to 19 May 2022. Submissions can be made in English, French and Spanish.

We invite all abstract submitters, including individual contributors, to interact and collaborate with other presenters and participants wherever possible. Participatory, collaborative and non-traditional session formats will be given priority in the selection process.

Abstracts can be submitted in eight different formats: 1) symposium, 2) workshop, 3) research oral/poster presentation, 4) innovation in policy and practice oral/poster presentation, 5) round table discussion, 6) alternative showing/new technology, 7) alternative showing/art, and 8) lunch with an author. For further information on each of these formats, please click here.

The deadline to submit an abstract is Friday 17 September 2021.

Registration and hotel reservations for the 24th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion will open in May.

We look forward to welcoming you to Montreal, or online, in May 2022. For any questions, please contact the IUHPE 2022 Conference Secretariat – JPdL (iuhpe2022@jpdl.com).

Sincerely,

Carl-Ardy Dubois
Dean, École de santé publique de l’Université de Montréal
Co-Chair 24th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion

Margaret Barry
President, IUHPE
Co-Chair 24th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion
IUHPE 2022 Conference Secretariat – JPdL

________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Mental Health, please visit ngomentalhealth.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

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