NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 23, 2026--
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Global Public Health Institute, Club de Madrid and partners will join the Governments of Spain and Zambia in co-hosting a high-level roundtable, “Rebalancing Global Health: Regional Platforms, Equity, and Fiscal Space for Public Health Security,” on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the University Club in New York City and online via Zoom.
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The event will occur on the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81) and this week's UN High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response.
The world is entering a decisive moment for global public health. Recurring infectious disease outbreaks, climate-linked health threats, rising antimicrobial resistance and long-standing gaps in access to vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics, surveillance and emergency response capacities have exposed structural weaknesses in the current global health architecture. At the same time, official development assistance has recorded its steepest single-year decline on record, while debt burdens continue to squeeze health budgets in many low- and middle-income countries.
Negotiators are also racing to finalize the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement before May 27, an essential step to implementing the treaty. Against this backdrop, speakers will examine whether regional platforms—from Africa CDC to emerging initiatives in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean—can serve as a missing pillar between national governments and global institutions in strengthening preparedness, response, equity, and accountability, giving countries greater autonomy while reinforcing global solidarity. The event will also explore what is needed to translate calls for an equitable global health architecture into concrete action.
ROUNDTABLE OBJECTIVES:
The roundtable will bring together senior government officials, global health experts, as well as civil society, academia, and multilateral institutions to advance a high-level political conversation on reimagining global health governance, with regional platforms positioned as essential instruments for preparedness, response, equity and delivery. Discussion will also examine how the WHO Pandemic Agreement and its PABS Annex can operationalize equitable access and benefit-sharing, and how debt relief, restructuring, and new fiscal mechanisms can expand the fiscal space national and regional health systems need.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 3.2 million people across 50 countries, including the U.S. and in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. In January 2025, AHF received the MLK, Jr. Social Justice Award, The King Center’s highest recognition for an organization leading work in the social justice arena. To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
AHF Global Public Health Institute is an initiative of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation created to engage in global public health policy analysis and research to generate objective evidence that can inform improvements in public health policy at the global, regional, national, and local levels, particularly for infectious diseases.
Club de Madrid is the world's largest forum of democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers, utilizing their collective leadership experience to promote inclusive democracy and global well-being. As a non-partisan non-profit with over 130 members from more than 70 countries, the organization collaborates with a global network to foster dialogue, drive advocacy, and provide policy recommendations addressing critical issues like inclusion, sustainable development, and peace.
Join global health leaders, policymakers and advocates for a high-level roundtable on rebalancing global health through stronger regional platforms, greater equity and sustainable health financing. Sept. 24 in New York City and online.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 23, 2026--
Today, Eight Sleep announced Pod 6, the sixth generation of its intelligent sleep system and its most ambitious yet. Rebuilt from the ground up, Pod 6 is the company's most significant hardware launch to date, with a Hub small enough to fit under most bed frames, 9-times more biometric sensors for enhanced data accuracy, new Solo sizes that put the Pod within reach of more sleepers than ever, and the fastest temperature response Eight Sleep has ever built. Starting at $1,999 USD, it's the most accessible Pod in the company's history.
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Pod 6 builds on more than a decade of sleep research by the company, plus now six generations of innovation since the original Pod launched in 2019. Along the way, Eight Sleep has been named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2026, and the Pod has been named twice to TIME's Best Inventions list, backed by more than 50 clinical studies and relied on nightly by professional athletes, entrepreneurs, and health-conscious sleepers around the world.
Half the size. Even more powerful.
The Hub, the Pod's central power system, has been rebuilt from scratch, with the electrical, mechanical, and software systems re-engineered together. The result is a product that fits under most standard bed frames without sacrificing any of the performance members expect. It's the biggest change to the Hub since Eight Sleep introduced the original Pod, and it's more powerful than ever, delivering up to 20% quicker relief from night sweats and chills.
Pod 6's thermal engine draws heat away through redesigned thermoelectric coolers (TECs) in the Hub, with optimized airflow and acoustic performance, delivering temperature adjustments 20% faster than any previous generation Pod. Each side of the Pod runs entirely on its own temperature and tracking: whatever one side is set to has zero effect on the other.
The new Hub also has an entirely new exterior, designed by renowned industrial designer Joe Tan. While it can disappear under the bed, its sleek, ribbed silhouette looks at home on or next to a nightstand.
"Our mission is to fuel human potential through optimal sleep. Pod 6 is the strongest expression of that mission so far. It delivers better performance, better design, and better accessibility in one product, for more people than ever before," says Matteo Franceschetti, Co-founder & CEO at Eight Sleep.
9-times more sensors for increased accuracy
The Cover, the component of the Pod that goes onto any mattress, tracks heart rate, breath rate, HRV, snoring, sleep stages, and more from beneath the sleeper, no wearable required. In Pod 6, the Cover features 9-times more biometric sensors than Pod 5, going from two sensors to 18. That added density gives the system spatial resolution it didn't have before: it can distinguish signals from two people sleeping close together, or separate a sleeper's signal from a pet or child on the bed. The result is class-leading sleep stage classification, and heart rate, heart rate variability, and breathing rate that reach near parity with medical-grade references.
That same sensor data feeds Autopilot, Eight Sleep's AI engine, which learns each sleeper's patterns and automatically adjusts the Pod based on sleep stage, the environment, and the day's activity, without any manual input.
New Solo sizes. The Pod, now for one single sleeper.
Pod 6 is the first generation accessible to solo sleepers and smaller bedrooms thanks to the new Solo sizes. Standard Cover sizes fit the whole bed and are designed for one or two sleepers, while the new Solo sizes fit one side of a Queen, King, or California King bed, as well as Twin XL and Twin-sized mattresses. Solo sizes are designed for one sleeper, making them ideal for teenagers or anyone who wants the Pod's technology on only one side of the bed.
The lowest starting price for the Eight Sleep Pod
Pod 6 starts at $1,999 USD for the Solo sizes and $2,699 USD for Standard sizes. Pod 6 works with existing Eight Sleep add-ons, including the Blanket, Pillow Cover, and Base.
The company is introducing a price drop in this new generation thanks to engineering efficiencies, with those savings going straight to members. "The best technology improves by continuing to solve real user problems, and becoming smarter at solving them. Naturally, as Eight Sleep matures, we're following this curve with a Pod that's smarter, faster, and more affordable," says Sam Kang, Chief Product Officer at Eight Sleep.
Six generations and over one million nights of sleep improved later, backed by more than 50 clinical studies, the Pod stands out as award-winning sleep technology.
Pod 6 is available starting September 23, 2026, in over 37 countries at eightsleep.com.
Pricing and Availability
A year of momentum
Pod 6 lands on the back of the most active year in Eight Sleep's history. The company launched in China, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Singapore over the past year, bringing its footprint to 37 countries. China is growing 12x faster than any previous country launch to date.
Software kept pace with hardware. This year alone, Eight Sleep introduced Pregnancy Mode and Biological Age, along with Autopilot 4.0 which works as a personal sleep agent, predicting user needs and adjusting temperature and settings automatically through the night.
Eight Sleep is also advancing the Pod's path toward medical device status. The company is pursuing HTA clearance, the FDA equivalent in Abu Dhabi, for sleep apnea, and also U.S. FDA clearance.
About Eight Sleep
Eight Sleep is the company that pioneered sleep fitness, bringing together technology, physiology, and data to unlock deeper sleep and better health. Its products are trusted by professional athletes, business leaders, and health-conscious consumers around the world. Eight Sleep has been recognized as one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2026, and has twice been named to TIME's Best Inventions. Its products are available in 37 countries at eightsleep.com.
Eight Sleep Introduces Pod 6: The Smallest, Most Powerful Pod Yet. Now Starting at $1,999.
