The ‘Global Goal: Unite for our Future’ pledging summit organised 27 June by the European Commission and Global Citizen mobilised €6.15 billion in additional funding to help develop and ensure equitable access to coronavirus vaccines, tests and treatments. This brings total pledges under the Coronavirus Global Response pledging marathon, launched by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 4 May, to €15.9 billion. The money raised will also support economic recovery in the world’s most fragile regions and communities..
The latest pledging session includes a €4.9 billion pledge by the European Investment Bank, in partnership with the European Commission, and €485 million committed by EU Member States.
Forty governments took part in the summit and committed to ensuring universal access to coronavirus medicines. They also vowed to help rebuild communities that have been hit hard by the pandemic, in a fair and just way.
As a landmark of global solidarity, the summit resulted in commitments for the production capacity of over 250 million vaccine doses for middle and lower income countries.
“The world will only be freed from this pandemic when vaccines, tests and treatments are available and affordable to everyone who needs them. Today’s pledges and Europe’s contribution bring us closer to this global goal. Europe is in this for the long haul. We will use all of our convening power for the common good. There is a strong alliance out there to beat this virus, together.” Von der Leyen said.
The European Investment Bank is building a pipeline of investment projects to develop and scale up production of coronavirus vaccines, tests and treatments, in partnership with the European Commission, the World Health Organization and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).
In recent weeks, the EIB announced a new Memorandum of Understanding with the WHO, an Advisory agreement with CEPI, a collaboration with the Israel Innovation Authority and a €50 million financing agreement with Pluristem to develop therapies for coronavirus vaccine development finance for BioNTech and increased cooperation with UN-Habitat.

Health leaders and professionals from more than 40 countries will be in Oman on 6-9 November for the 43^rd World Hospital Congress of the International Hospital Federation for in-depth discussions on people-centered health services in times of peace and crisis. The scientific sessions will bring up actionable ideas on how health services can be resilient to various issues, supported by investments contributing to the prosperity of the country and innovative to increase health gain.
IHF’s annual Congress, hosted this year by the Ministry of Health of the Sultanate of Oman, will showcase a comprehensive event experience with:

• 150 notable Speakers who will present advancements and share best practices in leadership, management and service delivery;
• 40 Sessions that will delve into various dimensions of resilience, contribution of the health industry to prosperity and impactful innovations;
• Poster display of best practices from different hospitals and organizations;
• Solid networking opportunity enhanced by a new mobile application – CERCA – for secure and privacy-protected network-building activity; 
• Two intensive Pre-conference sessions: Economics for Health Leaders and The “Fast Forward” Initiative for Community- and Person-Centered Hospitals and Health Services;
• 2019 IHF Awards where outstanding initiatives will be recognized;
• A friendly exhibition environment to make new connections or reunite with peers;
• Hospital Site Visits to The Royal Hospital and Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, of which funds collected will be donated to St. Gemma’s Hospice in Leeds, a charity supported by a life-changing campaign called #hellomynameis.

The World Hospital Congress is a one-stop shop for the healthcare professional seeking the opportunity and environment in which to engage in a 360-degree learning and knowledge-sharing experience among peers. http://worldhospitalcongress.org

95% of surgeons have either been personally affected by a needlestick injury or have seen a colleague experience one, a new global survey has found, increasing their risk of infection. The survey – the first of its kind undertaken – was conducted by SERMO for Mölnlycke, a wound care and surgical products company.
The survey looked at key opinions from 510 surgeons across six countries relating to infection prevention and the role of high-quality gloves in improving patient and clinician safety. In particular, it demonstrated the importance that surgeons place on high quality gloves in the fight against needlestick injuries and exposure to blood-borne viruses, like HIV.

An estimated two million needlestick injuries occur among health workers each year, resulting in increased exposure to HIV, Hepatitis C
and other blood-borne viruses. Needlestick injuries occur when a needle or other sharp instrument accidentally penetrates the skin, yet the underreporting to occupational health departments is well established.

The survey revealed that 93% of surgeons think that high quality gloves reduce the chance of exposure to blood-borne viruses and 83% said that the quality of gloves affects their sense of being protected from needlestick injuries.

On the topic of patient safety, 81% of surgeons believe that high quality gloves impact overall patient outcomes and 89% agreed that high quality gloves improve patient safety in the operating theatre. When asked about glove failure during an operation, 78% of surgeons responded that it increases the risk of surgical site infections.

Commenting on the survey findings, John Timmons, Clinical Staff Nurse and Internatio-
nal Medical Director, said: “Each year, millions of surgeons and their teams risk exposure to life threatening blood-borne viruses and this ground-breaking survey highlights the value that surgeons across the globe place on high quality gloves. Surgeons clearly recognise their role in both ensuring the safety of surgeons and improving outcomes for patients.

“Surgical gloves are one of the key factors that prevent infections in the operating room and should not be viewed as a commodity. High quality means fewer glove failures, yet we are increasingly seeing healthcare systems around the world prioritise price over quality.”

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are the most frequent adverse event in healthcare delivery worldwide. Hundreds of millions of patients are affected by HAIs worldwide each year, leading to significant mortality rates. Of every 100 hospitalized patients at any given time, an estimated seven patients in developed countries will acquire at least one HAI. www.molnlycke.com/biogel/

The cloud-based platform “teamplay” by Siemens Healthineers, together with its applications teamplay Dose, teamplay Usage, teamplay Protocols, teamplay Images, and teamplay Images Research, has been awarded the European Privacy Seal (EuroPriSe). The European Privacy Seal was first granted to teamplay in 2016, and must be regularly renewed. The privacy seal in its current version relates to the expansions made in recent years to the range of functions the teamplay applications offer, and now specifically checks whether the requirements of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have been satisfied.
From the start, teamplay was developed in accordance with the principle of “Data Protection by Design and Default” and the level of transparency this principle implies. The Privacy Seal confirms that users who utilize teamplay as instructed by Siemens Healthineers can work with the cloud platform and the above applications in full compliance with the GDPR.
With more than 4,000 healthcare institutions connected to teamplay, it is one of the world’s largest cloud-based networks for physicians, medical professionals, and decision-makers in the healthcare industry. Over 18,000 modalities from different vendors deliver data directly to the cloud platform. The teamplay applications for performance management help healthcare providers, for example, support in making rapid, sound decisions based on transparent performance data.
That means it is possible to evaluate the number of imaging examinations just as easily as the radiation dose used in scans, or the capacity utilization of devices, rooms, and resources in a given department, down to individual devices and patient examinations. Teamplay simplifies the reporting process and highlights where workflows need to be adjusted. In addition, users can connect via teamplay, sharing data to obtain comparisons and benchmarks and easily exchanging images and reports. www.siemens-healthineers.com