On the sidelines of the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, African leaders today launched ACHIEVE Africa—Accelerating Health Innovation, Equity, and Development of Vaccines and Biologics in Africa—an initiative designed to build the continent’s end-to-end research and development ecosystem for vaccines and therapeutics. The event was convened by the Government of Zambia and co-convened by African Union Member States including Ethiopia, Egypt, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Zambia; the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC); and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI). The African Medicines Agency (AMA) was a special guest institution.

The 39th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), held on February 14–15 in Addis Ababa, provided an opportunity for Morocco to reaffirm its commitment to actively contributing to the strengthening of collective African action, in line with the enlightened Royal vision. This Summit, preceded by the 48th session of the AU Executive Council on February 11–12, was marked by strong recognition of Morocco’s vision, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, in promoting the nexus of peace, security, and development in Africa, through the Kingdom’s election, in the first round and for the third time, to serve on the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC).

“Ayush is no longer at the margins but at the centre of global health discourse,” says Union Minister Shri Prataprao Jadhav. The Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Ayush, Prataprao Jadhav, inaugurated and later addressed the valedictory session of the 3rd International Ayush Conference & Exhibition (IACE 2026) held in Dubai, marking a major milestone in the global acceptance of traditional and integrative healthcare systems. The Minister conveyed greetings on behalf of the Government of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and highlighted India’s commitment to building an integrated, preventive and sustainable global health ecosystem. Addressing international dignitaries, researchers, industry leaders and practitioners from around the world, Shri Jadhav stated that Ayush systems — Ayurveda, Yoga, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy — are increasingly recognised as holistic approaches addressing physical, mental and social wellbeing in harmony with nature.

The European Union and the United Nations, in partnership with governments across Central Asia, have officially launched an EU-funded UN Multi-Country Programme (MCP) aimed at strengthening efforts to prevent gender-based violence and advancing gender equality across the region. The programme, titled “Challenging Harmful Attitudes and Norms for Gender Equality (CHANGE)” will be jointly implemented by UNDP, UNFPA and UN Women, working closely with national authorities, civil society organizations and the private sector.

Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded a weeklong round of negotiations on draft annex for Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) – a key component of the WHO Pandemic Agreement. The fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the WHO Pandemic Agreement (IGWG) – set up by the World Health Assembly (WHA) last year to negotiate the PABS annex – wrapped up over the weekend after productive discussions from 9–14 February 2026.

DAKSHIN – Global South Centre of Excellence at RIS convened a panel “Multilateralism in the Age of AI: Shaping the Future of Global Health Governance” in partnership with NIMS University, India. The discussion was held on 12 January 2026 as Panel I of the Winter Dialogue on Responsible AI for Synergistic Excellence (RAISE), at the Research and Innovation Park, IIT Delhi, New Delhi. The 90-minute panel brought together senior voices from diplomacy, multilateral organizations, health systems strengthening, academia, and implementation practice to examine how global health governance must evolve in response to the rapid integration of artificial intelligence into health systems. The discussion underscored that AI in health is not merely a technological shift, but a governance and diplomatic challenge with significant implications for equity, sovereignty, and global cooperation.