Trahir l’histoire
Global Health NOW: A Turning Point in TB Testing; and A ‘Terrifying Medical Underworld’ Expands
HIV patients in Senegal are forgoing treatment amid a surge of arrests targeting the LGBTQ community after the government’s decision to increase prison term lengths and fines for same-sex sexual acts and any promotion of homosexuality. Reuters America's infant formula supply has been deemed safe by the FDA, which tested 300+ infant formula samples for contaminants including lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, pesticides, PFAs, and phthalates, and found "an overwhelming majority of samples had undetectable or very low levels of contaminants.” USA Today World Cup health surveillance for the competition will be launched by global health academics at Georgetown University, who are providing a temporary surveillance hub to monitor disease risks like measles. The Telegraph IN FOCUS Scanning electron micrograph of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which cause TB. NIH//Universal Images Group via Getty Images A Turning Point in TB Testing A new portable tuberculosis test could transform the diagnostic process for patients, making it more accessible and affordable for underserved populations, and leading to earlier treatment options, reports NPR. The traditional method: For over a century, TB diagnosis has relied on examining a patient’s phlegm samples under a microscope—an often-unwieldy, imprecise method that can miss up to half of cases or produce false positives.
- It’s also difficult for many patients, like children and older people, to provide phlegm samples.
- In a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers analyzed the tests of ~1,400 patients across Africa and Asia and found the diagnostic process met WHO accuracy standards, while proving easy to use in low-resource settings.
- The device, MiniDock MTB, was developed by the Chinese company Pluslife, which designed it to be low-cost, battery-powered, and simple enough to use in clinics without microscopes or advanced labs.
- Caveats: The test may miss very early infections and cannot identify drug-resistant TB without follow-up testing.
Borealis Philanthropy's Disability Inclusion Fund is seeking joint grant proposals from organizations led by and for disabled people.
These grants support cross-movement collaborations advancing disability justice, including community organizing, advocacy, narrative change, arts, and policy work.
- At least one partner must be disability-focused and disability-led.
- Combined annual budgets must be under $3 million.
- All organizations must be U.S.-based 501(c)(3)s or fiscally sponsored.
A cheap drug used by longevity enthusiasts may have a surprising impact on exercise – The Washington Post (gift link)
J. Craig Venter, Scientist Who Decoded the Human Genome, Dies at 79 – The New York Times (gift link)
Baby teeth hold clues to the harms of toxic metals for infants — and older kids – NPR
Why you should ‘feed a cold’: eating primes immune cells for action – Nature Issue No. 2908
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @globalhealth.now and X @GHN_News.
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Global Health NOW: When Policy Shapes Biology; and How Health Misinformation is Fueling Solar Farm Fears
- In KwaZulu-Natal, extreme AIDS mortality before 2005 drove measurable genetic change over a decade, rapidly reshaping immune system genes.
- The inflow of antiretroviral drugs notably slowed this process.
- Such interruptions and reductions have eroded critical infrastructure needed to test, track, and treat the virus, impacting not only treatment but the ability to prevent it, reports The Guardian.
- South Africa’s uptake of lenacapavir, for example, will be heavily affected by funding cuts, finds a new report from Physicians for Human Rights, per Bhekisisa.
Related: AIDS Creeps Back in Parts of Zambia, a Year After U.S. Cuts to H.I.V. Assistance – The New York Times (gift link) We detected Aids through a federal early warning system. Trump has decimated it – The Guardian (commentary) GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES COMMUNICATION How Health Misinformation is Fueling Solar Farm Fears The expansion of large solar farms is becoming a new battleground in public health policy: Critics point to health risks as a reason to restrict expansion, while researchers say such fears are grounded in misinformation. A range of concerns: Critics of solar farms say health risks range from the impacts of electromagnetic fields to contamination, and such concerns have contributed to recent restrictions in Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri.
- But the purported public health risks are not grounded in credible evidence, say researchers and environmental lawyers.
ProPublica OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS More of the same. Epic Fury’s impact on global health and humanitarian actions – King’s College London (commentary) Former Tobacco Executive Takes CDC Role – Medical Professionals Reference ‘America First’ aid policy reshapes how U.S. delivers global health assistance – PBS News (news lesson plan) Ending Malaria Is Africa’s Smartest Investment: Here Is Why Leaders Are Acting Now – Africa.com (commentary) In first meeting, federal autism committee focuses on ‘profound autism’ – STAT GOP takes aim at hospital CEOs over affordability crisis – The Hill A neuroscientist’s guide to reading the research yourself – The Washington Post (commentary, gift link) Issue No. 2907
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @globalhealth.now and X @GHN_News.
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Global Health NOW: UK Cuts Imperil Polio Eradication; and How One Sudanese Surgeon Held Back the Tide
Hundreds of hepatitis B infections and more liver cancer cases will likely follow the Trump administration’s policy that canceled a recommendation that the hepatitis B vaccine be given to infants within 24 hours of birth, per a new modeling study published in JAMA Pediatrics. The Washington Post (gift link)
Strict limits on girls’ education and women’s work opportunities in Afghanistan may cause a shortage of 25,000 women teachers and health workers by 2030, according to a new UNICEF analysis. UN News 48% of newborns infected with chikungunya during birth will experience severe neurological problems, including seizures, bleeding in the brain, and other issues, per a study published in eClinicalMedicine; babies who appear healthy at birth can experience fever, persistent crying, and feeding problems three to seven days later. CIDRAP IN FOCUS: GHN EXCLUSIVE A health worker administers polio drops to a child on a nationwide week-long poliovirus eradication campaign. Karachi, Pakistan, September, 1, 2025. Asif Hassan/AFP via Getty UK Cuts Imperil Polio Eradication
Anne Wafula Strike once proudly served as the U.K.’s “poster girl” for polio eradication. Today, the Kenyan-born paralympic athlete and polio survivor has a different message: “It feels we were running a group relay and just before the finish line, someone deliberately dropped the baton.”
Last month, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) lost its largest contributor when the U.K. cut its $67–$134 million in annual funding. The move is part of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's sweeping 40% reduction in foreign aid, the largest percentage cut to development assistance by any government.
With the world on the cusp of eradicating the disease, “it’s the worst possible moment” to abandon funding, says Shahin Huseynov, WHO’s polio coordinator for Europe. Only two wild polio cases were reported globally in the first three months of 2026, and just two countries remain endemic—but poliovirus has been found in U.K. wastewater this year.
- Without sustained funding, the WHO warns that 200,000 children could be paralyzed by polio each year within a decade.
With GPEI's budget already cut 30% from prior U.S. cuts, advocates are urging the U.K. to honor its legal obligation to spend 0.7% of national income on overseas aid.
- Reinstating polio funding would cost just $134 million, a fraction of what's been cut.
READ THE FULL STORY BY ANNALIES WINNY GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES CONFLICT How One Sudanese Surgeon Held Back the Tide Even as missiles hit Al Nao hospital, as electricity faltered, supplies dwindled and hospital staffers fled, orthopedic surgeon Jamal Eltaeb kept working. Al Nao is one of the only functioning hospitals in the region outside Khartoum in civil war-torn Sudan—and Eltaeb knew it was a lifeline for hundreds of desperate patients.
- For three years, he has found a way to keep caring for them—despite direct attacks on the hospital and amidst mass-casualty bomb strikes where 100+ wounded patients needed emergency care.
- “We were working everywhere, in tents, outside, on the floor, doing everything to save patients’ lives,” said Eltaeb, who was just recognized with the $1 million Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity.
Related: Darfur: Two decades on, a new generation of children faces 'horrific violence' – UN News OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Can the U.S. handle another pandemic? – PBS News (video)
The US CDC on the brink – The Lancet (commentary) Bedilu Abebe: Why Malaria Still Persists in Ethiopia – The Reporter (Ethiopia) Trump administration warns against using federal dollars on fentanyl test strips – STAT Toxins plus climate harms likely cause of reduced fertility, study finds – The Guardian CDC warns of drug-resistant salmonella infections linked to backyard poultry – AP
How to let go of grudges — and why it could be good for your health – The Washington Post (gift link) Issue No. 2906
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @globalhealth.now and X @GHN_News.
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WHO calls for stepped up action to eliminate viral hepatitis
Global Health NOW: A ‘Critical Phase’ in the Malaria Fight; and Solar Powering Maternal Survival in Nigeria
70%+ of people globally believe at least one false or unproven health claim, like that vaccine risks outweigh benefits or that fluoride in water is harmful, per new survey published by the Edelman Trust Institute—results that point to a potentially growing number of people questioning scientific evidence. Scientific American IN FOCUS Midwife Sarah Atim speaks to expectant mothers about malaria vaccination during an antenatal care session at a hospital in Uganda's Apac district. April 8, 2025. Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty A ‘Critical Phase’ in the Malaria Fight The global fight against malaria is at a pivotal juncture, as major scientific advances like vaccines, therapies, and diagnostics converge with rising threats like drug resistance and underfunded health systems—a set of opportunities and barriers “defining a critical phase for malaria control,” per Nature Africa as World Malaria Day 2026 is marked. New tools, new hope: Artemether-lumefantrine, the first malaria treatment tailored for newborns and small infants, has been approved, closing a longstanding gap in care for “one of the most underserved patient groups,” which is also the most vulnerable, per the WHO.
- Three new rapid diagnostic tests are also rolling out, designed to detect mutating parasite strains that previously slipped through standard testing.
- And even as bilateral agreements with the U.S. are formed to fund countries’ malaria programs, countries with high malaria burdens are struggling to regain lost traction.
379 million
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Malaria cases averted across 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa attributable to the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative investment from 2005 to 2024, per new analysis from Imperial College London and the Malaria Atlas Project. ––Clinton Health Access Initiative
TECH & INNOVATION Solar Powering Maternal Survival in Nigeria Electricity can be the difference between life and death for many maternity ward patients in Nigeria, where ~40% of primary health care centers lack reliable power.
- Power interruptions lead to delayed surgeries, stalled oxygen flow, and nonworking incubators, and also hamper routine procedures that require light, like suturing.
- “There is no interruption. We can suture, we can operate, we can do everything,” said Sarigamo Ibrahim, a nurse and midwife who manages the maternity unit.
Measles Is Back. What Comes Next Will Be Worse. – The New York Times (commentary; gift link) Thanks for the tip, Dave Cundiff!
What happened to Covid? – STAT
The Next Global Health Crisis Is Already Here: Childhood Trauma from War – The Good Men Project
Trump fires all 24 members of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s governing body – Science
Untangling the complex relationship between HIV-exposure and tuberculosis in children: a narrative review – The Lancet Global Health
So, you got bit by a tick. Here’s exactly what to do next. – The Washington Post (gift link) Issue No. 2905
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @globalhealth.now and X @GHN_News.
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A race for rights: How sport is helping protect girls in Uganda
Unleashing natural killer cells against cancer
Scientists have developed a strategy to boost the cancer-fighting power of natural killer (NK) cells, part of the immune system’s first line of defence. NK cells can detect and destroy cancer cells, but tumours often create a protective barrier that blocks them, allowing cancer to grow.
Researchers at McGill University’s Rosalind & Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, in collaboration with the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, found that suppressing two specific proteins helps NK cells overcome this blockage, turning them into more potent cancer killers.
For every generation, vaccines work and they have saved over 150 million lives: WHO
Two-thirds of global hunger concentrated in 10 conflict-hit countries
Global Health NOW: Europe’s ‘Narrowing Window’ for Climate Action; and Burkina Faso’s Psychiatric Care Deficit
The CDC will not publish a report showing the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines; sources familiar with the blocked report say it showed the vaccines reduced hospitalizations and emergency department visits among healthy adults by about half this past winter. Reuters via Yahoo! News A revamped suicide and crisis hotline, 988, has been associated with an 11% drop in suicides among adolescents and young adults in U.S. compared with projected rates since the shortened number was launched in 2022, finds a new study published in JAMA; states with the biggest increases in answered calls also saw the largest decline in suicide rates. STAT A UK generational smoking ban passed this week in Parliament following a yearslong campaign; the directive means that children born after Dec. 31, 2008, will be banned from ever buying cigarettes. AP IN FOCUS Locals and forest firefighters try to battle a wildfire in the village of Veiga das Meas, in northwestern Spain, on August 16, 2025. Miguel Riopa/AFP via Getty Europe’s ‘Narrowing Window’ for Climate Action
Extreme heat, drought, vector-borne illnesses, and other climate-driven health risks are rapidly escalating across Europe, finds the 2026 Europe report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change—which warns that political action and public will are not keeping pace with the need for urgent interventions, reports Euronews.
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“The health impacts of climate change are intensifying faster than our response is keeping up,” said Joacim Rocklöv, co-director of the Lancet Countdown Europe.
Heat-related harms: Compared with the 1990s, extreme heat alerts are up 318%, and nearly all monitored European regions saw an increase in deaths attributable to heat.
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Heat is also exacerbating sleep disruption and complications in chronic diseases and birth outcomes.
Accelerating disease: The overall average risk of dengue outbreaks in Europe has quadrupled over the last decade, and reported cases of West Nile virus, chikungunya, and Zika virus are also rising regionwide.
Food insecurity: Meanwhile, drought is contributing to rising food prices, which pushed over a million more people into moderate or severe food insecurity in 2023 compared to past decades.
Lagging political response: While Europe has been a global leader in climate policy progress, the report warns that political and public engagement are stalling, and urges further actions “need to be accelerated” including:
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Swifter transition away from fossil fuels to other energy sources.
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Implementing early warning systems for heat and other climate dangers into health care.
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Targeted adaptation measures including expanded green spaces.
Related: Heatwaves, floods and wildfires pose rising threat to democracy, report finds – The Guardian
MENTAL HEALTH Burkina Faso’s Psychiatric Care Deficit In Burkina Faso, access to mental health care is scarce, with just 11 psychiatrists available to a population of 20 million+ people. Strained system: Mental health services were already fragile, but recent years of conflict and insecurity in the region have led to the withdrawal of NGOs that helped provide care.- Meanwhile, a key nurse training program has been suspended, and the country is dealing with an exodus of medical professionals to other countries.
Prolonged screen use is a reality of daily life for many of us. Students at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have launched a campaign—Take 60—to encourage 60-second hourly screen breaks to help reduce digital eye strain and support better focus and overall eye health. We hope you’ll give it a try ... after scrolling down to read the Thursday Diversion! Follow the campaign on social media ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Gullfoss, a waterfall on the Hvítá River, in southwest Iceland, in November 2023. This photo was taken by GHN's Morgan Coulson, who spent just 24 hours in Iceland on her way to Ireland, and couldn't find a bad shot. Your Photos May Be Bad—But Are They Bad Enough?
Are you generally uninterested in photography, not good at it, and regularly disappointed with your own photos? Do you have no regard for composition and take portraits from below? Of people eating? Did you take this photo?
There’s a prize for that—and it comes with “possible worldwide recognition” and a trip to Iceland.
Icelandair is seeking the “world’s worst amateur photographer” to prove that this supermodel of a country has no bad angles—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity where “a lack of skill makes you ideal for this task.”
We admire Icelandair’s optimism, but suspect there’s someone out there that can still make a glacier look like a murky pond, a majestic volcano resemble an anthill, and give the Geysir a double chin. And we hope it’s us.
Apply to the contest by April 30
Thanks for the tip, Lindsay Smith Rogers! QUICK HITS Why these treatments for one of the deadliest cancers are stirring such hope – The Washington Post (gift link) Residents in rural Sudan say the Iran war has made it harder to get medicines – AP Pace of N.I.H. Funding Slows Further in Trump’s Second Year – The New York Times (gift link) In hearings, RFK Jr claims no responsibility for measles spread – CIDRAP Two common drugs may reverse fatty liver disease, study finds – University of Barcelona via Science Daily Britain’s £8bn bet on the developing world – The Telegraph Issue No. 2903
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @globalhealth.now and X @GHN_News.
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WHO says billions saw health gains in 2025 despite funding cuts
Global Health NOW: The Civilian Impact of War in Iran; and A Disease-Busting House Design
- But the true toll is difficult to gauge due to restricted reporting, damage to hospitals, and widespread communications blackouts.
- Such impacts will be most deeply felt by low-income countries in Africa and Asia.
Related: Geopolitics and Humanitarian Health in Iran, Cuba, and Ukraine – Public Health On Call (podcast) GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ARCHITECTURE A Disease-Busting House Design
Well-designed “Star Homes”—which promote airflow, block insects, and feature outdoor latrines and rainwater collection systems—can reduce child mortality, demonstrates a randomized controlled trial in southern Tanzania, published in Nature Medicine. Per the research, led by Lorenz von Seidlein of the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit:
- Children under 13 living in Star Homes were 44% less likely than those in the control group to suffer from malaria.
- Cases of diarrhea and respiratory infections were down by 30% and 18%, respectively.
- The study showed that “if you use better principles in building, you can probably achieve a massive effect,” he said.
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @globalhealth.now and X @GHN_News.
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Long hours, stress and harassment are causing hundreds of thousands of early deaths, says UN labour agency
Extreme heat pushing global food systems to the brink, UN agencies warn
NSERC awards two McGill professors $1.65 million each to prepare the next generation of researchers
Projects focusing on MedTech and genomics cut across disciplines while mobilizing expertise at McGill and other Quebec institutions to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow
Global Health NOW: The Questions Surrounding Zambia’s Future HIV Fight; and Omaha’s Lag in Lead Testing
As Zambia has achieved dramatic HIV gains through PEPFAR-supported efforts, its Southern Province has spearheaded efforts to become less dependent on NGOs, reports Foreign Policy.
- Since 2019, PEPFAR funds have been channeled directly to the provincial government, instead of being routed through NGOs.
- These “cooperative agreements” allowed the public sector to gradually take ownership of the HIV response.
- “If you speed up change, chances are that you may actually end up with an outcome that you didn’t desire,” said Callistus Kaayunga, the health director of Southern Province.
- The country reportedly has until May to decide whether to sign a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. or lose funding.
90%
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HPV vaccine uptake in girls in three European nations: Iceland, Norway, and Portugal, per ECDC; all EU countries now recommend HPV vaccination for both adolescent girls and boys, and report a decreased incidence of cervical cancer among vaccinated women since 2020. —CIDRAP ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Omaha’s Lag in Lead Testing The largest residential lead cleanup site in the U.S. is a 27-square-mile Superfund area in Omaha, Nebraska—a state that does not require lead testing during childhood. Instead, it is up to the doctor or a health system to test on a case-by-case basis. The result: Currently, <50% of kids under age 7 who live in the area near the cleanup site are tested for lead, public health officials say.
Elsewhere: 13 states have passed laws requiring all children to receive lead testing. What’s next? The Douglas County Health Department plans to propose an ordinance requiring health workers to test all kids up to age 7 who live in the affected area. Lasting stakes: If high blood lead levels go undetected, the federal government may not remediate tens of thousands of properties in Omaha. ProPublica GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES QUICK HITS The real ‘nanny tax’? Not being able to breastfeed your own baby – Bhekisisa After Decades of Quiet Rumbling, an Epidemic Is Erupting Among California Stoneworkers – In These Times Where U.S. science has been hit hardest after Trump’s first year – The Washington Post (gift link) Microplastics: Brain Study Confirms Health Risks, Challenges Kennedy’s Claims – Health Policy Watch Democrats Demand Trump Administration Halt Plan To Collect Federal Workers’ Health Data – KFF Health News There's new evidence for how loneliness affects memory in old age – Wired ‘Oscar of science’ awarded to team behind gene therapy that restores lost vision – The Guardian Issue No. 2902
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @globalhealth.now and X @GHN_News.
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Global Health NOW: Pakistan’s Infection Control Crisis; and The Hyperlocal Strategy to Curb Smoking
- The deaths of infants in neonatal units have raised alarms about possible hospital-acquired transmission.
- Health officials reported that HIV spiked 200% over the last decade, from 16,000 cases in 2010 to 48,000 by 2020.
- 39% of HIV infections are now found in traditionally low-risk populations, including women and children, reports Geo News.
Data released by the U.S. State Department last Friday “show us ... the deliberate unraveling of the elements of H.I.V. prevention and treatment service delivery that are essential to actually finish the job and defeat this pandemic,” says Asia Russell, executive director of Health GAP. ——————————— New PEPFAR Data Show Worrying Declines in Testing and Treatment for H.I.V. – The New York Times (gift link)
TOBACCO The Hyperlocal Strategy to Curb Smoking Taking on Big Tobacco may seem like an uphill battle. But in Massachusetts, small-town health advocates are up for the challenge. Grassroots push: Generational bans on tobacco sales—which make it illegal for anyone born after a certain date to ever buy tobacco—are gaining traction in the state via local health ordinances that are harder for industry lobbyists to target.
- In 2020, the city of Brookline passed such a ban, and similar ordinances have now spread to 21 towns, impacting 600,000+ residents.
RFK Jr. defends his health agenda and Trump’s proposed budget cuts in hearing – NPR
Politicians are using low teen birth rates to further restrict access to birth control, abortion – STAT (commentary) Younger adult colon cancer deaths are concentrated in people with less education, study says – AP The Great Ozempic Experiment – The New York Times (commentary; gift link) Thanks for the tip, Dave Cundiff! KitKat, Gatorade or granola bars? What’s banned under new SNAP rules is mixed. – The Washington Post (gift link) Issue No. 2901
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @globalhealth.now and X @GHN_News.
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World News in Brief: AI diagnostics, humanitarian deal for DR Congo, rights abuse allegations in Belarus, Ukraine children bear heaviest burden
Global Health NOW Special Edition: Takeaways from CUGH
A big thank you to the Consortium of Universities for Global Health for an excellent conference last weekend in Washington, D.C. With this special edition of GHN, we’re sharing some of the takeways that inspired us—including this year’s Untold Global Health Stories Contest winners! We’ll be sharing interviews with our two grand prize winners soon, so keep an eye out for that.
We also want to thank all of the new readers who signed up at CUGH—let us know what you think, and if you find GHN useful, please share with your friends and colleagues. We always love to expand our circle.
—Dayna dkerecm1@jhu.edu
—Brian bsimpso1@jhu.edu
SHARE GHN'S FREE SUBSCRIBE LINK IN FOCUS: GHN EXCLUSIVE From Rupture to Renaissance If the global health order is broken, some global health leaders are primed to chart a new way forward. Gathered last Sunday for the Consortium of Universities for Global Health annual meeting in Washington, D.C., they shared their concerns about the irrevocable changes in the structure, norms, and rules governing international relations—but devoted most of their time to discussing how to respond. For Olusoji Adeyi, president of Resilient Health Systems and a senior associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, global health funding cuts and disruptions to the field are an overdue opening to self-determination. Now, he said, global health groups should “seize the opportunity and behave differently and do better.” Key takeaways: A vision anchored by an African renaissance: “There’s a huge opportunity here for Africa to take care of itself by raising resources, by strengthening the academic institutions on the continent, and by helping our government to plan better to prepare better for the future,” said Nelson Sewankambo, former dean of Makerere University School of Medicine in Kampala, Uganda. Building political will: Former NIH director Francis Collins challenged CUGH to “become more of an activist organization,” serving as incubator for bold initiatives and nurturing the next generation of global health scholars.
An invigorated role for universities: “Let’s step forward and present ourselves to our governments and act as thinkers and advisers,” Sewankambo said.
- Adeyi added that individual countries need to be encouraged to devise—and debate—their own plans. When global health experts “meet in Washington or London or Brussels or Seattle and package things and expect them to just happen cleanly in Tanzania and Nepal and Sierra Leone,” they deny those countries opportunities to shape their health systems.
Congrats to the winners of the Untold Global Health Stories contest, co-sponsored by CUGH and GHN! We’ll be publishing interviews with the two grand prize winners in upcoming editions of GHN.
Grand Prize Winners A mental health crisis facing unaccompanied Moroccan boys in Ceuta, Spain Audrey Claire Benson, Barcelona Institute of Global Health / University of Pompeu Fabra / No Name Kitchen, Barcelona, Spain Health disparities in widowhood: A global health blind spot Jackline Odhiambo, Maseno University, Kisumu, Kenya Honorable Mentions
Judicial experts as guardians of occupational health in Mexico Shaira Gabriela Camacho
Gaza’s alarming surge in Guillain–Barré Syndrome Yara Ashour
Health care abandonment of trans communities in the South and Appalachia Beau Morgan
Health care barriers for U.S. refugees with disabilities Mustafa Rfat
Modernizing medical education in the Balkans Timothy Gaul
The silent crisis of dengue in rural Bangladesh Amit Banik
Toxic heavy metal exposure among auto mechanics in Accra, Ghana Anushka Peer
Thank you to everyone who contributed. The judging was harder than ever, given the caliber of ideas submitted. All of the stories deserve to be told.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WINNERS PULITZER CENTER – CUGH FILM FESTIVAL The Pulitzer Center upheld its tradition of hosting a film festival at CUGH, sharing a double feature of hard-hitting documentaries: An Atlanta News First documentary on a measles outbreak in Samoa, shared above, and a PBS NewsHour deep dive on the legacy of American foreign aid in central Kenya, by William Brangham and Molly Knight Raskin. THE QUOTE
“What gives me hope is the fact that people are willing to come together. They’re willing to convene, they’re willing to put their best foot forward. They’re willing to take their knowledge, capabilities, passions, and desires to be able to improve the health of people and the health of our planet.” ——————————— Keith Martin, MD, PC, executive director, CUGH, interviewed at CUGH for The Havey Institute for Global Health's Explore Global Health Podcast OPPORTUNITY Next Stop for CUGH: Lima, Peru
It’s an exciting first: Next year, the CUGH Annual Conference will be held outside the U.S.––in Lima, Peru, February 25–28, 2027. We hope you’ll be there! Issue No. 2900
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @globalhealth.now and X @GHN_News.
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