WHO
WHO validates Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday validated the Sinovac-CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, giving countries, funders, procuring agencies and communities the assurance that it meets international standards for safety, efficacy and manufacturing.
The vaccine is produced by the Beijing-based pharmaceutical company Sinovac.
“The world desperately needs multiple COVID-19 vaccines to address the huge access inequity across the globe,” said Dr Mariangela Simao, WHO Assistant-Director General for Access to Health Products. “We urge manufacturers to participate in the COVAX Facility, share their knowhow and data and contribute to bringing the pandemic under control.”
WHO’s Emergency Use Listing (EUL) is a prerequisite for COVAX Facility vaccine supply and international procurement.
It also allows countries to expedite their own regulatory approval to import and administer COVID-19 vaccines.
The EUL assesses the quality, safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, as well as risk management plans and programmatic suitability, such as cold chain requirements.
The assessment is performed by the product evaluation group, composed by regulatory experts from around the world and a Technical Advisory Group (TAG), in charge of performing the risk-benefit assessment for an independent recommendation on whether a vaccine can be listed for emergency use and, if so, under which conditions.
In the case of the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine, the WHO assessment included on-site inspections of the production facility.
The Sinovac-CoronaVac product is an inactivated vaccine. Its easy storage requirements make it very manageable and particularly suitable for low-resource settings.
WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) has also completed its review of the vaccine. On the basis of available evidence, WHO recommends the vaccine for use in adults 18 years and older, in a two-dose schedule with a spacing of two to four weeks.
Vaccine efficacy results showed that the vaccine prevented symptomatic disease in 51% of those vaccinated and prevented severe COVID-19 and hospitalization in 100% of the studied population.
Few older adults (over 60 years) were enrolled in clinical trials, so efficacy could not be estimated in this age group.
Nevertheless, WHO is not recommending an upper age limit for the vaccine because data collected during subsequent use in multiple countries and supportive immunogenicity data suggest the vaccine is likely to have a protective effect in older persons.
There is no reason to believe that the vaccine has a different safety profile in older and younger populations.
WHO recommends that countries using the vaccine in older age groups conduct safety and effectiveness monitoring to verify the expected impact and contribute to making the recommendation more robust for all countries.
READ: Panel suggests WHO should have more power to stop pandemics
WHO emergency use listing
The emergency use listing (EUL) procedure assesses the suitability of novel health products during public health emergencies.
The objective is to make medicines, vaccines and diagnostics available as rapidly as possible to address the emergency, while adhering to stringent criteria of safety, efficacy and quality.
The assessment weighs the threat posed by the emergency as well as the benefit that would accrue from the use of the product against any potential risks.
The EUL pathway involves a rigorous assessment of late phase II and phase III clinical trial data as well as substantial additional data on safety, efficacy, quality and a risk management plan with a focus on low- and middle-income country needs.
These data are reviewed by independent experts and WHO teams who consider the current body of evidence on the vaccine under consideration, the plans for monitoring its use, and plans for further studies.
As part of the EUL process, the company producing the vaccine must commit to continue to generate data to enable full licensure and WHO prequalification of the vaccine.
The WHO prequalification process will assess additional clinical data generated from vaccine trials and deployment on a rolling basis to ensure the vaccine meets the necessary standards of quality, safety and efficacy for broader availability.
READ: German minister laments choice of Syria for WHO board seat
WHO has already listed the Pfizer/BioNTech, Astrazeneca-SK Bio, Serum Institute of India, Astra Zeneca EU, Janssen, Moderna and Sinopharm vaccines for emergency use.
Covid-19 vaccines: Commonwealth health ministers demand equal access for everyone
Commonwealth health ministers have called for swift and equal access to Covid-19 vaccines for everyone around the world.
They expressed deep concern over the stark gaps in access and delivery of doses, especially in poor countries, and called for "fair and transparent" pricing for the vaccine in a joint statement Friday on behalf of the 54 Commonwealth member countries.
Only 0.3% of the life-saving vaccine doses have been administered in 29 poor countries. About 84% of shots have been given in high and upper-middle-income countries.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said: "The science is clear: vaccination works and is the clear and only sustainable route out of this pandemic for the whole world."
"The rise of new variants shows that until everyone is safe no one is safe. No plan to tackle this virus will work until everyone agrees to work together."
"We must talk with each other to move away from some stockpiling vaccines, while many low-middle income countries still do not have access to the much-needed vaccine supplies for the vulnerable populations in their countries. So, cooperation to develop a global immunisation plan to deliver equal access to vaccines must be a top priority," Patricia added.
Vaccine equity
The Commonwealth health ministers appreciated the global vaccine equity initiative "COVAX" and encouraged all partners to support government efforts on boosting vaccine confidence and immunisation drives.
Recognising the acute gaps in research and development of new tests, vaccines and therapies in the Commonwealth, they stressed enhanced collaboration with scientists, academics and business leaders.
Speaking at the meeting, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "Vaccines are reducing severe disease and death in countries that are fortunate enough to have them in sufficient quantities, and early results suggest that vaccines might also drive down transmission."
"The shocking global disparity in access to vaccines remains one of the biggest risks to ending the pandemic. We seek the support of the Commonwealth in solving the global vaccine crisis by funding the ACT Accelerator, advocating for greater sharing of technology, know-how and intellectual property, and sharing doses with COVAX."
The ministers further backed a potential treaty on the fight against pandemics and a Commonwealth mechanism to share and distribute extra medical supplies such as ventilators and medicines.
They called on the heads of government to allocate resources for strengthening health systems, especially through primary healthcare, towards attaining universal health coverage.
Maintaining essential health services
New data shows 60 immunisation campaigns for other health threats are now suspended in 50 countries due to Covid-19. Such delays could cause significant avoidable mortality.
Disruptions to HIV/AIDS services, for instance, could lead to five thousand excess deaths globally.
So, the ministers committed to keeping essential health services running and sustaining the gains made towards tackling threats such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, avoidable blindness and non-communicable diseases while dealing with an influx of Covid-19 cases.
In their statement, they further voiced their support for a common framework for sovereign debt treatments, cooperation with the WHO and improved compliance with the International Health Regulations for preventing the spread of disease.
This is the second time that Commonwealth health ministers met virtually for their annual gathering due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The meeting, hosted by the Commonwealth Secretariat, took place on 20 and 21 May.
World Health Assembly to focus on ending pandemic
The 74th session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) will run from May 24 to June 1 that will stress the urgency of ending the current pandemic and preventing the next one by building a healthier, safer and fairer world.
The Health Assembly is WHO’s highest decision-making body and is attended by delegations from all around the world.
This year's session will be held virtually when Covid-19 threatens the health and well-being of everyone on the planet.
Over the past year, the cases of Covid-19 rose to 40 folds to 162 million globally, while the number of deaths has increased 11 times, to more than 3.3 million.
It will also be open to Associate Members, Observers, invited representatives of the UN and other participating inter-governmental organizations, and non-State actors.
The pandemic has hit all the countries hard, but its impact has been harshest on those communities which were already vulnerable, who are more exposed to the disease, less likely to have access to quality healthcare services and more likely to experience adverse consequences (such as loss of income) as a result of measures implemented to contain the pandemic.
“A crisis often brings out the best in people and organisations,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Also read: Declare COVID-19 vaccines a global common good: Global leaders
From the WHO Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan to our technical guidance, the Solidarity Trial, the UN Supply Chain Task Force, the OpenWHO.org learning platform and initiatives like the Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator, including its COVAX partnership, and the Solidarity Response Fund, WHO has given countries effective and evidence-informed tools to prevent infections, save lives and maintain essential health services, he said.
"I'm especially proud of the incredible work that WHO staff have done all over the world in the past 17 months to support countries to put these tools to work.”
But the pandemic is far from over and the global response is at a critical phase.
Stark contrasts still undermine progress, with vaccine inequity being one of the most urgent issues, posing a threat to ending the pandemic and to global recovery – over 75% of all vaccine doses have been administered in only 10 countries; the lowest income countries have administered less than ½ a percent of global doses.
"This year's World Health Assembly will play a vital role in shaping the global health architecture of the future, and in strengthening WHO to fulfil its mission and mandate," added Dr Tedros.
The Assembly’s agenda will focus on the health-related Sustainable Development Goals and WHO’s Triple Billion targets of one billion more people benefitting from universal health coverage; one billion more better protected from health emergencies; and one billion more enjoying better health and well-being.
Also read: Dhaka requests Delhi to send vaccine to Bangladesh soon
WHO’s Results Report, will also be presented during the WHA.
A high-level segment will take place on 24 May (10:00 -12:00 CEST) with participation from Heads of State and Governments and special guests, as well as an address by the WHO Director-General.
The Assembly’s two Committees - Committee A, which deals with predominantly programme and budget matters and Committee, B which deals mainly with administrative, financial and legal matters – will then consider the individual agenda items.
Highlights include:
Three reports on Covid-19 response will be presented at the Assembly: the Health Emergencies Programme’s Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee (IOAC), the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response and the Review Committee on the Functioning of the International Health Regulations (2005) during the Covid-19 Response.
Bangladesh to get 106,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine on June 2: Health Ministry
Bangladesh will receive a minimum of 1,06,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine by June 2, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said Tuesday.
The doses will be sent to Bangladesh under the COVAX scheme which is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), said Maidul Islam, the public relation officer of the ministry.
Also read: Bangladesh seeks at least 2 mln doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Canada
The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine has an efficacy of 95% against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.
However, preliminary laboratory studies of the mRNA vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna have shown decreased effectiveness against the double mutant variants discovered in India, WHO said in a note.
Read: Vaccine production in Bangladesh: Experts 'vehemently against private sector’s engagement'
Long working hours increase deaths from heart disease, stroke: WHO, ILO
Long working hours led to 745 000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease in 2016, a 29 per cent increase since 2000, say the latest estimates on Monday (May 17, 2021).
The latest estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) were published in Environment International on Monday.
In a first global analysis of the loss of life and health associated with working long hours, WHO and ILO estimate that, in 2016, 398 000 people died from stroke and 347 000 from heart disease as a result of having worked at least 55 hours a week.
Read Create more overseas jobs for female workers: Speakers
Between 2000 and 2016, the number of deaths from heart disease due to working long hours increased by 42%, and from stroke by 19%.
This work-related disease burden is particularly significant in men (72% of deaths occurred among males), people living in the Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions, and middle-aged or older workers.
Most of the deaths recorded were among people dying aged 60-79 years, who had worked for 55 hours or more per week between the ages of 45 and 74 years.
Read: Indian COVID variant: Why is it more deadly? How is it affecting the neighboring countries?
With working long hours now known to be responsible for about one-third of the total estimated work-related burden of disease, it is established as the risk factor with the largest occupational disease burden.
This shifts thinking towards a relatively new and more psychosocial occupational risk factor to human health.
The study concludes that working 55 or more hours per week is associated with an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared to working 35-40 hours a week.
Read: What does it feel like to get COVID-19 after taking the vaccine?
Further, the number of people working long hours is increasing, and currently stands at 9% of the total population globally.
This trend puts even more people at risk of work-related disability and early death.
The new analysis comes as the COVID-19 pandemic shines a spotlight on managing working hours; the pandemic is accelerating developments that could feed the trend towards increased working time.
Read Uncertain, uneven recovery likely amid unprecedented labour market crisis: ILO
“The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the way many people work,“ said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
He said teleworking has become the norm in many industries, often blurring the boundaries between home and work.
In addition, he said many businesses have been forced to scale back or shut down operations to save money, and people who are still on the payroll end up working longer hours.
Read Homeworkers need to be better protected, says ILO
"No job is worth the risk of stroke or heart disease. Governments, employers and workers need to work together to agree on limits to protect the health of workers," said the WHO DG.
“Working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard,” added Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, at the World Health Organization.
“It’s time that we all, governments, employers, and employees wake up to the fact that long working hours can lead to premature death”.
Read Safe Lifestyle in COVID-19 Lockdown: Do's, Don'ts, and Precautions
The WHO and ILO said Governments, employers and workers can take the following actions to protect workers’ health:
Governments can introduce, implement and enforce laws, regulations and policies that ban mandatory overtime and ensure maximum limits on working time; bipartite or collective bargaining agreements between employers and workers’ associations can arrange working time to be more flexible, while at the same time agreeing on a maximum number of working hours; and employees could share working hours to ensure that numbers of hours worked do not climb above 55 or more per week.
Read 81 million jobs lost as COVID-19 creates turmoil in Asia Pacific labour markets: ILO
Two systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the latest evidence were conducted for this study.
Data from 37 studies on ischemic heart disease covering more than 768 000 participants and 22 studies on stroke covering more than 839 000 participants were synthesized.
The study covered global, regional and national levels, and was based on data from more than 2300 surveys collected in 154 countries from 1970-2018.
Read ILO advocates better policies to protect workers & biz in the digital economy
Indonesia suspends AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine batch after death
The Indonesian government said Sunday (May 16, 2021) it has suspended the distribution and use of a batch of AstraZeneca Plc's coronavirus vaccine following the death of a 22-year-old man a day after his inoculation with the vaccine.
The Ministry of Health called the suspension "a prudent effort by the government to ensure the safety of the vaccine," and said it plans to continue to use other batches of the vaccine it has received.
Also read: Denmark stops AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine rollout
The results of sterility and toxicity tests by the Drug and Food Monitoring Agency are expected to come out within one to two weeks.
The batch in question, consisting of about 450,000 doses, arrived last month. It is part of the 3,852,000 AstraZeneca doses that Indonesia has received through the World Health Organization-backed COVAX facility.
Also read: Governments give varying advice on AstraZeneca vaccine
COVAX is an international vaccine distribution platform set up to ensure equitable access to shots for developing countries.
Local media reported that the man received a jab from the batch in the capital Jakarta on May 5 and died the next day. The batch had been distributed to Jakarta and North Sulawesi Province in central Indonesia, as well as to the military, according to the ministry.
Also read: EU agency: Rare clots possibly linked to AstraZeneca shot
Indonesia has fully inoculated almost 9 million of its 187 million eligible citizens under a nationwide vaccination drive that started in mid-January.
Panel suggests WHO should have more power to stop pandemics
A panel of independent experts who reviewed the World Health Organization’s response to the coronavirus pandemic says the U.N. health agency should be granted “guaranteed rights of access” in countries to investigate emerging outbreaks, a contentious idea that would give it more powers and require member states to give up some of theirs.
In a report released Wednesday, the panel faulted countries worldwide for their sluggish response to COVID-19, saying most waited to see how the virus was spreading until it was too late to contain it, leading to catastrophic results. The group also slammed the lack of global leadership and restrictive international health laws that “hindered” WHO’s response to the pandemic.
Some experts criticized the panel for failing to hold WHO and others accountable for their actions during COVID-19, describing that as “an abdication of responsibility.”
Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown University said the panel “fails to call out bad actors like China, perpetuating the dysfunctional WHO tradition of diplomacy over frankness, transparency and accountability.”
The panel was led by former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who were tapped by WHO last year to examine the U.N. agency’s response to COVID-19 after bowing to a request from member countries.
“The situation we find ourselves in today could have been prevented,” Johnson Sirleaf said.
Beyond the call to boost WHO’s ability to investigate outbreaks, the panel made an array of recommendations, such as urging the health agency and the World Trade Organization to convene a meeting of vaccine-producing countries and manufacturers to quickly reach deals about voluntary licensing and technology transfer, in an effort to boost the world’s global supply of coronavirus shots.
The panel also suggested that WHO’s director-general — currently Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia — should be limited to a single seven-year term. As it stands, the WHO chief is elected to a five-year term that can be renewed once.
The suggestion to limit the tenure of WHO’s top leader appeared in part designed to ease the intense political pressure that WHO director-generals can face. Last year, the Trump administration repeatedly inveighed against the agency’s handling of the pandemic — taking aim at WHO’s alleged collusion with China.
An Associated Press investigation in June found WHO repeatedly lauded China in public while officials privately complained that Chinese officials stalled on sharing critical epidemic information with them, including the new virus’ genetic sequence.
Clark said the global diseases surveillance system needed to be overhauled — with WHO’s role strengthened.
“WHO should have the powers necessary to investigate outbreaks of concern, speedily guaranteed rights of access, and with the ability to publish information without waiting for member state approval,” she said.
Sophie Harman, a professor of international politics at Queen Mary University of London, said the panel’s recommendations were unlikely to be entirely welcomed by WHO’s member countries, and thus, unlikely to be implemented.
“Which states would actually allow WHO in to investigate an outbreak without their permission?” she asked.
Many doctors fatigued after treating COVID-19 patients said any reform of WHO should include an evaluation of its ability to properly assess the science of an emerging health threat.
David Tomlinson, a British physician who has been campaigning for health workers during the pandemic in the U.K., said WHO “failed on the most fundamental aspect” in its scientific leadership of COVID-19. He said WHO’s failure to acknowledge that much coronavirus transmission happens in the air has “amplified the pandemic.”
WHO has said coronavirus spread can happen in limited circumstances in the air but recommended against mask-wearing for the general public until last June.
Clare Wenham, a professor of global health policy at the London School of Economics, said the report overall was good, but questioned its support for the U.N.-backed program for coronavirus vaccines called COVAX, which relies on a “donation” model. Of the millions of COVID-19 vaccines administered to date, developing countries have received just 7%, WHO said this week.
“(COVAX) is not addressing one of the main problems, which is we need to rapidly ramp up production of the vaccines and distribution of vaccines,” she said. “And it’s still working on the model of a finite number that’s only able be produced by a certain few manufacturing locations.”
Overall, she suggested politicians needed to budge more than technical institutions like WHO.
“The problems aren’t technical. The problems are political. The problems are about like: How do you get governments to behave and think about things beyond their own borders?” Wenham said. “I don’t think that has been resolved.”
WHO, Germany to launch new global hub for pandemic, epidemic intelligence
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Federal Republic of Germany will establish a new global hub for pandemic and epidemic intelligence, data, surveillance and analytics innovation.
The Hub, based in Berlin and working with partners around the world, will lead innovations in data analytics across the largest network of global data to predict, prevent, detect prepare for and respond to pandemic and epidemic risks worldwide.
German Federal Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel said the current Covid-19 pandemic has taught them that they can only fight pandemics and epidemics together.
"The new WHO Hub will be a global platform for pandemic prevention, bringing together various governmental, academic and private sector institutions. I am delighted that WHO chose Berlin as its location and invite partners from all around the world to contribute to the WHO hub."
Also read: Bangladeshi doctor made WHO Representative to Maldives
The WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence is part of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme and will be a new collaboration of countries and partners worldwide, driving innovations to increase availability and linkage of diverse data; develop tools and predictive models for risk analysis; and to monitor disease control measures, community acceptance and infodemics.
Critically, the WHO Hub will support the work of public health experts and policy-makers in all countries with insights so they can take rapid decisions to prevent and respond to future public health emergencies.
“We need to identify pandemic and epidemic risks as quickly as possible, wherever they occur in the world. For that aim, we need to strengthen the global early warning surveillance system with improved collection of health-related data and inter-disciplinary risk analysis,” said Jens Spahn, German Minister of Health.
Also read: COVID-19 continues to disrupt essential health services in 90pc of countries: WHO
“Germany has consistently been committed to support WHO’s work in preparing for and responding to health emergencies, and the WHO Hub is a concrete initiative that will make the world safer.”
Working with partners globally, the WHO Hub will drive a scale-up in innovation for existing forecasting and early warning capacities in WHO and Member States.
At the same time, the WHO Hub will accelerate global collaborations across public and private sector organizations, academia, and international partner networks.
It will help them to collaborate and co-create the necessary tools for managing and analyzing data for early warning surveillance. It will also promote greater access to data and information.
“One of the lessons of COVID-19 is that world needs a significant leap forward in data analysis to help leaders make informed public health decisions,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“This requires harnessing the potential of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, combining diverse data sources, and collaborating across multiple disciplines. Better data and better analytics will lead to better decisions.”
Icddr,b studies effects of asymptomatic COVID-19 in heart patients
In collaboration with the National Institute of cardiovascular diseases (NICVD) hospital and Orebro University of Sweden, icddr, b have conducted research to determine the prevalence and three-month outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with myocardial infarction who do not meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) clinical criteria for suspected COVID-19 (e.g. fever, cough, sneezing etc).
According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the United States, myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to a part of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle.
COVID-19, caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is associated with symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath and pneumonia which may ultimately lead to death. Most people who fall sick with COVID-19 will experience mild to moderate symptoms and recover without special treatment.
Also read: Tuberculosis remains a major public health threat: icddr,b
Aside from the symptoms mentioned previously, the COVID-19 can be related to cardiac events such as coronary thrombosis and cardiac arrests.
The study in question, which has been reported on the icddr, b website, was conducted during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic when the Bangladesh daily testing positivity rate was at a peak of around 20%.
Between June to August 2020, the study enrolled 280 patients with myocardial infarction and between the ages of 23–95 at the NICVD. Of the total, 220 (79%) patients were male.
Among the 280 participants, asymptomatic COVID-19 positivity in patients was 13%. Furthermore, generalised weakness was found as the second most frequent reported symptom (47%) and was significantly more often among SARS-CoV-2 infected participants.
Also read: icddr,b gets permission to run Chinese Covid vaccine trial in Bangladesh: Minister
After three months, a slightly higher mortality was observed among SARS-CoV-2 positive patients compared with SARS-CoV-2 negative patients (14% vs 11%). Moreover, the proportion of recurrent MIs was numerically higher (5%) vs (3%) among SARS-CoV-2 negative participants.
The study reportedly found a substantial rate of undiagnosed SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) in patients with MI who would not have been routinely tested because they do not meet the WHO criteria for COVID-19 symptoms.
The findings highlight the need for screening of all patients with myocardial infarction and adopting preventive measures for frontline healthcare workers, including cardiologists, to avoid spread of COVID-19 in hospital environments.
Bangladeshi doctor made WHO Representative to Maldives
In a rare move, a Bangladeshi health professional has been appointed as the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) to the Maldives.
Dr. Nazneen Anwar, a public health expert with more than 35 years of professional experience in the field of public health under her belt, was nominated as the WHO Representative to the Maldives on April 8, 2021.
She is the first Bangladeshi woman to be awarded this post by the World Health Organization, said a media release on Tuesday.
Also read: World Health Day: WHO calls for fairer, healthier world post-COVID-19
Dr. Nazneen Anwar presented her letter of Credence to the Foreign Minister of the Maldives Abdulla Shahid on April 18.
Apart from holding a Master’s degree in public health and a certificate in public health research by the Harvard University, Dr Nazneen Anwar has garnered more than 35 years of professional hands-on experience in multiple fields, including mental health, health policy, planning, and capacity development, non-communicable diseases, nutrition, vaccine-preventable diseases, disability prevention, health research, and development. She has worked in different capacities for the World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional office for South-East Asia, WHO Country Office Bangladesh, and Ministry of Health, Government of Bangladesh.
Credited with mapping out detailed plans for the development and implementation of several innovative approaches aimed at strengthening mental health care systems, she has pulled off different initiatives related to mental health and substance use policy with flying colors.
Also read: COVID-19 continues to disrupt essential health services in 90pc of countries: WHO
Born into an aristocratic Muslim family in Chattogram, Nazneen Anwar’s father, late Mahbub Alam Anwar, was the founding president of the Agrabad Chamber (now FICCI, Foreign Investment Chamber of Commerce and Industries).
Mother of two sons and one daughter, Nazneen was a student of St. Scholastica High School, Chittagong College, while her alma mater was Chittagong Medical College.