96 Global Health NOW: Climate Report Frozen; Phthalates May Contribute to Heart Disease; and The Human Toll of Meta Moderation View this email in your browser April 30, 2025 Forward Share Post A view of a flipped tractor trailer in Asheville, North Carolina, after heavy rains and flooding from Hurricane Helene. September 30, 2024. Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Climate Report Frozen
Scientists working on the U.S.’s flagship climate report were dismissed this week by the Trump administration, which researchers say could impede critical planning and mitigation efforts at the national and community level, reports NPR.

The National Climate Assessment, mandated by Congress and produced by ~400 volunteer authors, is a comprehensive source of information about how climate change affects the U.S.—from how quickly sea levels are rising near cities to how to cope with wildfire smoke exposure.

The report covers public health impacts and recommendations for addressing them, including planning for extreme heat in urban areas and bolstering food and water security. 

• “If I care about food or water or transportation or insurance or my health, this is what climate change means to me,” Texas Tech University climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe told The New York Times (gift link).

Mounting toll: The past 10 years have been the hottest on record, and last year alone, the U.S. experienced 27 weather and climate-related disasters costing the country $185 billion, reports the Los Angeles Times.

What’s next? The Trump administration said the scope of the report “is currently being reevaluated.” Researchers worry that a report that downplays risks or contradicts climate science could be published instead, reports Grist. 

Related: 

UK is not ready for coming climate ‘disaster,’ government advisers warn – The Independent

Trump’s first 100 days: US walks away from global climate action – Climate Home News

From subs to bases, "climate change crap" has consequences for U.S. military – Axios GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners  

One HPV vaccine dose provides similar protection to two doses in preventing infection, per data from an efficacy trial involving 20,000 girls, presented ahead of the June meeting of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. MedPage Today (free registration required)

Florida is poised to ban fluoride in public drinking water after state lawmakers approved the measure Tuesday; the bill now goes to Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose administration has supported ending fluoridation despite warnings from dentists and public health advocates. AP

In an Alzheimer’s breakthrough, U.K. scientists have used living human brain tissue to mimic the early stages of the disease, exposing healthy brain tissue from NHS patients to a toxic form of a protein linked to Alzheimer’s to demonstrate damage to brain cell connections in real time. The Guardian

Low emission zones in London significantly reduced harmful pollutants like nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter, per a new study that documented measurable public health and economic benefits, including an 18.5% drop in sick leave, following LEZ implementation. University of Bath via ScienceDaily

U.S. Health and Science Policy News CDC reinstates workers who screen coal miners for black lung disease – The Washington Post (gift link)

Trump’s Cuts to Science Funding Could Hurt U.S. Economy, Study Shows – The New York Times (gift link)

Exclusive: In conversation with FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary – Inside Medicine

RFK Jr.'s not-so-secret weapon: the moms – Axios

Here's how the Trump administration has changed health policy in its first 100 days – NPR’s Short Wave (audio) ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Phthalates May Contribute to Heart Disease
Daily exposure to di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), a chemical used to make household plastic items, could be linked to more than 10% of all global mortality from heart disease in 2018, a new analysis of population surveys published in eBioMedicine shows.

While DEHP is used globally, Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East saw a much larger share of the more than 365,000 global deaths than other populations—nearly half the total.

• India had the highest death count at 39,677 deaths, followed by Pakistan and Egypt.

Consistent contact with DEHP has been shown to cause inflammation in the heart's arteries, which, over time, is associated with an increased risk of heart attack or stroke.

The study’s authors say the resulting economic burden from the deaths was ~$510 billion.

Medical Xpress GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES MENTAL HEALTH The Human Toll of Meta Moderation
The people tasked with sifting through the most disturbing images flagged on Facebook and Instagram are underpaid and work in grueling conditions, a new report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism finds. 

Background: Meta keeps the identities of its content-moderation subcontractors a closely guarded secret, but TBIJ identified one as a French multinational company, Teleperformance, which operates out of Accra, Ghana. 

The toll: Moderators say they are held to strict performance targets, work under surveillance, and receive no psychological support for the difficult work, which involves reviewing images of extreme violence and abuse. 

• As a result, many are coping with depression and substance abuse; some have even attempted suicide. 

TBIJ

Related: How to keep violent porn out of your home and away from your kids – NPR OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Plague of rats and insects provide latest challenge for war-shattered Gazans – UN News

The Disappeared: Mexico’s Industrial-Scale Human Rights Crisis – IPS (commentary)

Winnie Byanyimax: Three ways to help the developing world survive the end of aid – The Guardian (commentary)

More and more older Americans want to know their Alzheimer's status, survey finds – NPR Shots

Top ten research priorities in global burns care: findings from the James Lind Alliance Global Burns Research Priority Setting Partnership – The Lancet Global Health

COVID vaccine works faster with both doses in the same arm – Nature 

‘Smart insoles’ could help diagnose dementia, other health problems – The Washington Post (gift link) Issue No. 2717
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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In the aftermath of the huge 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar on 28 March, life-saving aid efforts led by the UN are being hampered by damaged infrastructure, ongoing armed conflict and global aid funding cuts.

96 Global Health NOW: Peru’s Illegal Mining Surges… and Destroys; Autism Database Debate; and The Lingering Legacy of Agent Orange View this email in your browser April 29, 2025 Forward Share Post GHN EXCLUSIVE REPORT Illegal gold mining in Peru’s Madre de Dios department has destroyed an average of 21,000 hectares of rainforest per year. May 31, 2024. Ernesto Benavides/AFP via Getty Peru’s Illegal Mining Surges… and Destroys  
LIMA, Peru—Soaring gold prices and plunging U.S. government funds are pushing Peru’s southeastern jungle into a public health crisis.

• A longtime problem in the department of Madre de Dios, which borders Bolivia and Brazil, illegal mining is booming as gold prices top $3,000 per ounce.


• The gold rush requires a massive influx of workers and large amounts of mercury, which is used to extract gold from ore.

The result: Destroyed forests, mercury poisoning, and fast-spreading infectious diseases, says Juan Pablo Murillo, an infectious disease specialist with the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos.
 
U.S. cuts: Canceled U.S.-supported projects had reforested devastated areas, traced how mercury poisoned people, and worked with communities on ways to avoid fish species with the highest mercury levels, says tropical ecologist Luis Fernández, who directs Wake Forest University’s Center for Amazonian Scientific Innovation.

The Quote: “We need to understand much more about [mercury’s] impact because it is so contaminating,” says Eusebio Ríos, a leader of the Harakmbut Indigenous people. “It is a silent threat because you do not see it. We are consuming it without knowing it or how it will affect us in the future.”

Ed Note: This article was produced in collaboration with Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health magazine and is the first in a series that examines front-line impacts of cuts in U.S. funding. READ THE FULL STORY BY LUCIEN CHAUVIN GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Measles is surging in Europe and the Americas; the ECDC reports a 10-fold rise in Europe—with 87% of the cases in Romania—between 2023 and 2024, and the WHO reports an 11-fold increase in the Americas so far this year compared to the same period last year, with all related deaths (3) and the highest case count (900) in the U.S. CIDRAP

130+ pregnant women, new mothers, and children who fled Haiti to seek health care in the Dominican Republic were rounded up in hospitals and deported as part of a new crackdown on undocumented migrants. The Guardian

100 days into the Trump administration, 44% of Americans say they expect to lose trust in public health under new leadership, compared with 28% expecting greater trust, per a new poll of 3,000+ Americans that reflects a partisan divide, with 76% of Democrats reporting waning trust, and 57% of Republicans expressing more optimism. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and de Beaumont Foundation

The FDA confirmed yesterday that it will require Novavax to run a new clinical trial for its COVID-19 vaccine, which was previously updated annually to target current strains without the need for new clinical trials, prompting concern from former health officials that it’s part of an effort to weaken vaccine efforts. NBC U.S. Health Cuts and Policy News ‘No one can do what America does’: Sudanese refugees bear the brunt as US aid dries up – The Telegraph

Will US science survive Trump 2.0? – Nature

Reproductive health groups, ACLU sue Trump administration for withholding family planning grants – Fierce Health Care

Health of mothers and children at risk from loss of CDC data program, expert says – Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

How this Limpopo NGO prepared itself for Trump funding cuts – Bhekisisa AUTISM Database Debate
Autism advocates and health privacy experts are raising concerns after the Trump administration announced plans to pursue wide-scale data collection in an effort to expedite autism research, reports The Washington Post (gift link). 

Pivot from initial plan: The administration initially announced it would create a new registry of people with autism, but retreated from the plan after intense backlash and privacy concerns.

• Still, the administration plans to collect and consolidate autism-related data, combining federal health data, medical records, insurance claims, and readouts from wearable devices to create a “real-world data platform,” reports Axios. 

Reactions: While some scientists have long pushed for a more comprehensive data source to improve research and treatments, others say it could lead to cherrypicking data to promote the view that vaccines cause autism. 

• Some health providers are reporting an uptick in patient requests to remove personal information from charts over privacy concerns. 

Related:

A severe autism advocate responds to RFK Jr.'s research initiative – NPR

‘This Is Not How We Do Science, Ever’ – The Atlantic

Fact-checking RFK Jr.’s claim that environmental toxins cause autism – PBS NewsHour

These autistic people struggled to make sense of others. Then they found AI. – The Washington Post (gift link) DATA POINT CONFLICT The Lingering Legacy of Agent Orange
The Vietnam War ended 50 years ago, but the fallout from the Agent Orange supply used in the country by U.S. troops continues to affect new Vietnamese generations.

• At Da Nang, the site of a U.S. air base, soil remains highly toxic, with dangerous chemicals like dioxin leaching into food and water supplies. 

The toll: Today, ~3 million people, including many children, still suffer serious health issues associated with exposure, ranging from cancer to birth defects. 

Clean-up in jeopardy: Vietnam continues decades-long, painstaking remediation efforts, but U.S. funds allocated for the effort have been called into question with the Trump administration’s cuts to foreign aid. 

AP GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES QUICK HITS Climate change could increase global levels of antimicrobial resistance, study finds – CIDRAP 

U.S. maternal deaths doubled during COVID-19 pandemic, among other findings in new study – Brown University

The Disaster of School Closures Should Have Been Foreseen – The Atlantic

Eliminating Malaria in ASEAN: Lessons From Egypt – Think Global Health (commentary)

As a diversity grant dies, young scientists fear it will haunt their careers – NPR Shots

Weight loss pills could help tackle obesity in poorer countries, experts say – The Guardian

He had 2 months to live. Cancer research "that seemed like science fiction" saved his life. – CBS Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe!

How bugs and beet juice could play roles in the race to replace artificial dyes in food – AP Issue No. 2716
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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After suffering almost 18 months of deadly bombardment, displacement and lack of access to basic services, the embattled people of Gaza face yet another challenge: the threat of insects and rodents.

96 Global Health NOW: Gaza Aid at a ‘Breaking Point’; The Struggle for Inclusive Care in Nigeria and Kenya; and Japan’s Regenerative Medicine Revolution View this email in your browser April 28, 2025 Forward Share Post Palestinians, mostly children, wait in long lines for food aid distributed by charity organizations at Nuseirat Refugee Camp, near Deir al-Balah, Gaza. April 28. Hassan Jedi/Anadolu via Getty Gaza Aid at a ‘Breaking Point’ 
  Food and medical aid are nearing total collapse in Gaza, as a blockade by Israel stretches into a second month, humanitarian groups are warning. The increasingly dire alerts come as hearings begin at the UN's top court in The Hague, with a Palestinian envoy accusing Israel of destroying the “fundamentals of life in Palestine,” reports The Guardian.

International hearings begin: In The Hague, Palestinian Ambassador to the Netherlands Ammar Hijazi accused Israel of breaching international law by blocking critical aid, attacking aid workers, and displacing citizens, reports the AP.

• Israel has criticized the case as “systematic persecution and delegitimization” and denies deliberately targeting civilians and aid staff. The court will likely take months to rule.

‘Brink of catastrophe’: Aid groups say that food and critical supplies are nearly out and that essential bakeries and kitchens have shuttered across the enclave, per another report by The Guardian.

• The World Food Programme announced last week its stocks in Gaza are depleted, saying that since the ceasefire, conditions have “once again reached a breaking point,” per UN News. 

Meanwhile, pregnant women face growing dangers in Gaza, with miscarriages, premature births, complications, and deaths in childbirth all rising, per another report by the AP.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
Yellow fever poses a growing threat in the Asia-Pacific region due to expanded mosquito habitats, accelerated urbanization, and increased international travel, a new study published in npj Viruses posits. News Medical

Uganda declared the end of its Ebola outbreak last Friday, with the last patient discharged March 14; ring vaccination, Remdesivir treatment, and border health measures were among the components of the country’s “fast, coordinated, and effective response.” WHO

Mpox cases have declined in Africa over the past six weeks due to an “intensification” of public health measures including increased surveillance and contact tracing, Africa CDC officials said last week; however, 17 of 24 countries still report active transmission, and the virus continues to show up in new countries. CIDRAP

The Trump administration is restoring funding to a major NIH-led women’s health research study; the reversal of last week’s defunding decision drew relief from scientists involved in the decades-long project, though they said they haven’t yet received official confirmation. Axios U.S. and Global Health Cuts and Policy News: WHO, WFP announce cuts and layoffs after US withholds funding – Semafor

Aid groups are erasing climate change from their websites – The New Humanitarian

Health program for 9/11 illnesses faces uncertain future after federal staffing cuts – NBC

USDA withdraws a plan to limit salmonella levels in raw poultry – AP

Researcher of 1918 flu virus takes over NIAID – Science

Trump-appointed National Science Foundation leader resigns – Politico INCLUSION The Struggle for Inclusive Care in Nigeria and Kenya 
Despite Nigeria’s and Kenya’s commitment to health care accessibility for people with disabilities and national laws for inclusive health care, these rights have not been fully realized, and many of those affected are not aware of their primary care rights.

• 17% of Nigeria’s population, or 35 million people, have disabilities.


• 57% of the 6 million people with disabilities in Kenya are women.

Overlooked: While both Nigeria and Kenya allow at least one disabled person to sit on committees for community health, accessibility is often neglected. It is often difficult to confirm if people with disabilities sit on some committees, and some say their abilities are frequently underestimated. 

Nigeria Health Watch

Related:

Disability Protection Groups in Two States Pause Services After Missing Federal Funds – Mother Jones

Supreme Court to hear school disability discrimination case – NPR GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING Japan’s Regenerative Medicine Revolution 
Across Japan, biotechnology labs are proliferating as the country’s government continues to bet big on the future of regenerative medicine. 

Background: In 2006, Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka discovered that adult cells could be reprogrammed into an embryonic-like state known as induced pluripotent stem cells (or iPS cells), allowing them to become any kind of tissue, from retinas to cardiac muscle. 

Since then, the Japanese government has poured $760 million (110 billion yen) into regenerative medicine development.

•  Of the 60+ iPS-cell clinical trials worldwide, nearly one-third are in Japan.

Now, Japan is on the cusp of becoming the first country to approve iPS-cell-based treatments for diseases like Parkinson’s. 

Nature OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Sudan war: People eating charcoal and leaves to survive, aid agency warns – BBC

‘Killer Robots’ Threaten Human Rights During War, Peace: Urgent Need for Treaty on Autonomous Weapon Systems – Human Rights Watch

More US adults willing to receive mpox vaccine now than in 2022 – CIDRAP

HMC launches first clinical study to help shisha smokers quit – Doha News 

WHO issues new recommendations to end the rise in “medicalized” female genital mutilation and support survivors – WHO

Huge reproducibility project fails to validate dozens of biomedical studies – Nature

Whooping cough cases are rising again in the US – AP

Angie Murimirwa: From hiding in the bathroom to Time's most influential people list – NPR Goats and Soda Issue No. 2715
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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Female genital mutilation (FGM) is becoming less common worldwide, but when it does occur, it is increasingly performed by professional healthcare workers, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday.

96 CNNTD Spring Newsletter |RCMTN Bulletin de Printemps Recent news and updates from CNNTD | Nouvelles et mises à jour récentes du RCMTN View this email in your browser April 24, 2025 / Avril 24, 2025 Canadian Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases Newsletter /
Bulletin d'information du Réseau canadien pour les
Maladies Tropicales Négligées --> News and updates from the CNNTD
/ Nouvelles et mises à jour de la RCMTN --> Niger and Guinea eliminate NTDs as a Public Health Problem on World NTD Day 2025/ Le Niger et la Guinée éliminent les MTN en tant que problème de santé publique à l'occasion de la Journée mondiale des MTN 2025 --> In 2025, Niger and Guinea have made significant strides in eliminating Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), with Niger becoming the first African country to eliminate onchocerciasis (river blindness) and Guinea eliminating Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT, or sleeping sickness). As of World NTD Day this year, we are more than half way towards the goal of eliminating at least one NTD in 100 countries, with 55 countries having done so! To learn more, please visit this WHO webpage.
......
En 2025, le Niger et la Guinée ont fait des progrès considérables dans l'élimination des maladies tropicales négligées (MTN), le Niger devenant le premier pays africain à éliminer l'onchocercose (cécité des rivières) et la Guinée à éliminer la trypanosomiase humaine africaine (THA, ou maladie du sommeil). Cette année, à l'occasion de la Journée mondiale des MTN, nous avons parcouru plus de la moitié du chemin vers l'objectif d'éliminer au moins une MTN dans 100 pays, 55 pays l'ayant déjà fait ! Pour en savoir plus, consultez le site suivant la page web de l'OMS. --> Advocating for Change on World NTD Day/ Plaidoyer pour le changement à l'occasion de la Journée mondiale des MTN --> On World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day 2025, we joined our members and partners around the world in calling for greater funding, resources, and political will to end NTDs and improve the lives of millions. Here are some of the videos we contributed on World NTD Day. Additionally, our very own Steering Committee Member Dr. Christopher Fernandez Prada supported the PAHO World NTD Day Event: Involving Communities: A Hands-On Approach to Neglected Diseases. PAHO calls on governments, health workers, cooperation agencies, and community and civil organizations to unite and take action to eliminate neglected Infectious Diseases in the Americas. To see the recording, please visit this link. To find out more about World NTD Day, please go to our WNTD Day webpage. ...... À l'occasion de la Journée mondiale des maladies tropicales négligées 2025, nous nous sommes joints à nos membres et à nos partenaires du monde entier pour réclamer davantage de fonds, de ressources et de volonté politique afin de mettre fin aux MTN et d'améliorer la vie de millions de personnes. Voici quelques-unes des vidéos que nous avons produites à l'occasion de la Journée mondiale des MTN. En outre, le Dr Christopher Fernandez Prada, membre de notre comité directeur, a apporté son soutien à l'événement organisé par l'OPS à l'occasion de la Journée mondiale des MTN : Impliquer les communautés: Une approche pratique des maladies négligées. L'OPS appelle les gouvernements, les professionnels de la santé, les agences de coopération et les organisations communautaires et civiles à s'unir et à agir pour éliminer les maladies infectieuses négligées dans les Amériques. Pour voir l'enregistrement, veuillez consulter le lien suivant. Pour en savoir plus sur la Journée mondiale des MTN, veuillez consulter notre page web consacrée à la Journée mondiale des MTN. --> Spotlighting Canadian Efforts Against NTDs: WaterAid Canada Champions WASH and One Health to Take on NTDs in Rwanda/ Pleins feux sur les efforts canadiens contre les MTN : WaterAid Canada se fait le champion du programme WASH et One Health pour lutter contre les MTN au Rwanda --> One World NTD Day 2025, we featured a project shared by WaterAid Canada and partners on addressing NTDs in Rwanda. Funded by Global Affairs Canada, this project promotes water, sanitation and hygiene and a One Health approach. Check out this story here.  ...... À l'occasion de la Journée mondiale des MTN 2025, nous avons présenté un projet partagé par WaterAid Canada et ses partenaires sur la lutte contre les MTN au Rwanda. Financé par Global Affairs Canada, ce projet promeut l'eau, l'assainissement et l'hygiène ainsi qu'une approche «One Health» Lisez cette histoire ici.  --> Raising Awareness about the Integration of FGS on International Women's Day/ Sensibilisation à l'intégration des BGF à l'occasion de la Journée internationale de la femme --> This 2025 International Women's Day webinar in partnership with the Female Genital Schistosomiasis Integration Group (FIG) explores how seven countries in Africa are Integrating FGS into existing health care programs to optimize women and girl's health in Africa. Here is the recording.  -------- Ce webinaire organisé en partenariat avec le Groupe d'intégration de la bilharziose génitale féminine (BGF) à l'occasion de la Journée internationale de la femme 2025 explore la manière dont sept pays d'Afrique intègrent la BGF dans les programmes de soins de santé existants afin d'optimiser la santé des femmes et des jeunes filles en Afrique. Voici l'enregistrement. --> World Health Day 2025/ Journée mondiale de la santé 2025 --> The Chair of the Canadian Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Alison Krentel, PhD, shares her reflections on this year’s World Health Day theme “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures,” and what this means for NTDs in our new blog. ..... La présidente du Réseau canadien pour les maladies tropicales négligées, Alison Krentel, PhD, partage ses réflexions sur le thème de la Journée mondiale de la santé de cette année « débuts sains, avenirs pleins d'espoir », et ce que cela signifie pour les MTN dans notre nouveau blog. --> World Chagas Day/ Journée mondiale de la maladie de Chagas --> --> CNNTD Steering Committee News/ 
Nouvelles du comité directeur du RCMNT --> Our Steering Committee Members are reaching exceptional heights this year, with 3 new appointments and awards for outstanding contributions to global health. Janet Hatcher Roberts has been awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal for her decades of contributions to health and equity here at home and globally! Deborah Ola, has been appointed the Canada Youth Delegate to the WHA/PAHO, where she will be leading youth consultations and engagement at the 78th World Health Assembly this year! Dr. Kishor Wasan has been awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award 2025 from the MD Anderson Center.

Congratulations Janet, Deborah and Kishor, we are proud to have you as part of the leadership of the Canadian Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases. You continue to inspire your peers and the next generation of global health professionals to take action to end neglected tropical diseases. ...... Les membres de notre comité directeur atteignent des sommets exceptionnels cette année, avec trois nouvelles nominations et récompenses pour leurs contributions exceptionnelles à la santé mondiale. Janet Hatcher Roberts a reçu la Médaille du Couronnement du Roi Charles III pour ses décennies de contributions à la santé et à l'équité ici au pays et dans le monde ! Deborah Ola a été nommée jeune déléguée du Canada auprès de l'AMS/OPS, où elle dirigera les consultations et l'engagement des jeunes lors de la 78e Assemblée mondiale de la santé cette année ! Le Dr Kishor Wasan a reçu le Distinguished Alumnus Award 2025 du MD Anderson Center.

Félicitations Janet, Deborah et Kishor, nous sommes fiers de vous compter parmi les dirigeants du Réseau canadien pour les maladies tropicales négligées. Vous continuez à inspirer vos pairs et la prochaine génération de professionnels de la santé mondiale à agir pour mettre fin aux maladies tropicales négligées. --> Welcome to UdeM, our Newest Organizational Member! 
Bienvenue à l'UdeM, notre plus récent membre organisationnel!  --> The Université de Montréal (UdeM), through its One Health Initiative, supports a research ecosystem that fosters the emergence of innovative solutions for neglected tropical diseases. This interdisciplinary framework brings together researchers addressing key issues such as zoonosis prevention, antimicrobial resistance and health system strengthening, in line with the One Health Joint Plan of Action. We look forward to a collaborative partnership that will bring visibility to neglected tropical diseases here in Canada and globally. ...... L’Université de Montréal (UdeM), par l’intermédiaire de son Initiative Une seule santé, soutient un écosystème de recherche favorisant l’émergence de solutions innovantes pour les maladies tropicales négligées. Ce cadre interdisciplinaire réunit des chercheurs qui se penchent sur des questions clés telles que la prévention des zoonoses, la résistance aux antimicrobiens et le renforcement des systèmes de santé, conformément au plan d'action conjoint One Health. Nous nous réjouissons à l'idée d'un partenariat de collaboration qui apportera de la visibilité aux maladies tropicales négligées ici au Canada et dans le monde. --> Take Action For NTDs / Agir contre les MTN --> Sign onto our letter to G7 leaders, asking them to take action on NTDs/ Signez notre lettre aux dirigeants du G7 pour leur demander d'agir contre les MTN. --> The Canadian Network for NTDs has convened NTD civil society in G7 countries to develop a letter to G7 leaders, asking them to take action on NTDs and make a collective, multi-year financial commitment to end NTDs. This letter was presented to the Canadian G7 Sherpa on April 15 at the C7 Summit. Please sign onto our letter as an individual or an organization so that we can show our government that Canadians care about Canada’s role in the fight against NTDs. ..... Le Réseau canadien pour les MTN a réuni la société civile des pays du G7 pour rédiger une lettre aux dirigeants du G7, leur demandant d'agir sur les MTN et de prendre un engagement financier collectif et pluriannuel pour mettre fin aux MTN. Cette lettre a été présentée au sherpa canadien du G7 le 15 avril lors du sommet du C7. Veuillez signer notre lettre en tant qu'individu ou organisation afin que nous puissions montrer à notre gouvernement que les Canadiens se soucient du rôle du Canada dans la lutte contre les MTN. Sign onto our Letter Here!/ Signez notre lettre ici! --> Join Our Steering Committee!/ Rejoignez notre Comité directeur! --> Want to join an incredible group of individuals supporting the activities and future direction of the Canadian Network for NTDs? Then apply to become a Steering Committee Member! Applications are due May 30th, 2025. To learn more and to apply, please go to our dedicated webpage below.  ...... Vous souhaitez rejoindre un groupe incroyable de personnes qui soutiennent les activités et l'orientation future du Réseau canadien pour les MTN? Alors posez votre candidature pour devenir membre du comité directeur! Les candidatures sont attendues le 30 mai 2025. Pour en savoir plus et poser votre candidature, veuillez consulter notre page web dédiée ci-dessous.  Apply Here!/ Postulez ici! --> Apply to our NTD Research Award 2025!/ Postulez à notre Prix de recherche sur les MTN 2025! --> We are running our 3rd Neglected Tropical Diseases Research Award this year! Eligible submissions include NTD papers published in English, French or Spanish in a peer-reviewed journal in 2024 in partnership with a Canadian Institution. The deadline for submissions is  April 27, 2025 at midnight EST.
......
Nous organisons cette année notre troisième bourse de recherche sur les maladies tropicales négligées! Les candidatures admissibles comprennent les articles sur les MTN publiés en anglais, en français ou en espagnol dans une revue à comité de lecture en 2024, en partenariat avec une institution canadienne.  La date limite de soumission est le 27 avril 2025 à minuit HNE. Apply Here!/ Postulez ici! --> Measuring the Impact of USAID Cuts in Lives/
Mesurer l'impact des coupes dans les vies de l'USAID Online tracking tool by Impact Counter/Outil de suivi en ligne par Impact Counter --> Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) 2025 Report on Canada’s Role in Global Health/
Rapport 2025 de l'Académie canadienne des sciences de la santé (ACSS) sur le rôle du Canada dans la santé mondiale Report/Rapport --> In The News / Dans la presse --> WHO delivers fexinidazole to Malawi and Zimbabwe - A safer Treatment for HAT 
L'OMS fournit du fexinidazole au Malawi et au Zimbabwe - Un traitement plus sûr contre la THA pour les MTN Canada Launches its First Africa Strategy Le Canada lance sa première stratégie pour l'Afrique Opinion: Why 2025 is a tipping point for NTDs 
Opinion: Pourquoi 2025 est un point de basculement pour les MTN A lurking threat to women and girls health: Closing the information gap on female genital schistosomiasis Une menace latente pour la santé des femmes et des filles: Combler le déficit d'information sur la schistosomiase génitale féminine Africa relies too heavily on foreign aid for health – 4 ways to fix this 
L'Afrique dépend trop de l'aide étrangère pour la santé - 4 façons d'y remédier Science and collaboration can end the neglect – World NTD Day 2025
La science et la collaboration peuvent mettre fin à la négligence - Journée mondiale des MTN 2025 Protecting Our Collective Future: Renewing Canada's Role in Global Health
Protéger notre avenir collectif : Renouveler le rôle du Canada en santé mondiale --> Research /Recherche  

Canadian researchers are making a difference to NTDs. Listed are publications from Canadian-affiliated authors published since January 1st,  2025. Canadian-affiliated authors are bolded. Have we missed something? Let us know by sending an email. 

......

Les chercheurs canadiens font une différence dans le domaine des MTN. Les publications des auteurs affiliés au Canada publiées depuis 1er Janvier 2025. Les auteurs affiliés au Canada sont en gras. 
Avons-nous manqué quelque chose? Faites-le nous savoir en nous envoyant un courriel.

Altcheh, J., Grossmann, U., Stass, H., Springsklee, M. and Garcia-Bournissen, F. (2025). Redefining the treatment of Chagas disease: a review of recent clinical and pharmacological data for a novel formulation of nifurtimox. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 19(2), p.e0012849. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012849.

Coomansingh-Springer, C.-M., de Queiroz, C., Kaplan, R., Macpherson, C.N.L., Carter, K., Fields, P., Gilleard, J.S. and Pinckney, R. (2025). Prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in small ruminants in Grenada, West Indies. Veterinary parasitology, regional studies and reports, [online] 59, p.101218. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vprsr.2025.101218.

Duguay, C., Thickstun, C., Mosha, J.F., Aziz, T., Manjurano, A., Krentel, A., Protopopoff, N. and Kulkarni, M.A. (2025). Fine scale mapping of water sources in low-income settings: A comparative study in Misungwi, Tanzania. PloS one, [online] 20(3), p.e0319603. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0319603.

Fernandez-Prada, C., Moretti, N.S. and do Monte-Neto, R.L. (2024). Critical loss: the effects of VEuPathDB defunding on global health. The Lancet Microbe, p.100980. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanmic.2024.100980.

Lindner, A.K., Veerle Lejon, Barrett, M.P., Blumberg, L., Bukachi, S.A., Chancey, R.J., Edielu, A., Matemba, L., Tihitina Mesha, Mwanakasale, V., Pasi, C., Tapunda Phiri, Seixas, J., Akl, E.A., Katrin Probyn, Villanueva, G., Simarro, P.P., Augustin Kadima Ebeja, Franco, J.R. and Priotto, G. (2024). New WHO guidelines for treating rhodesiense human African trypanosomiasis: expanded indications for fexinidazole and pentamidine. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. [online] doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/s1473-3099(24)00581-4. Lo, N.C., Addiss, D.G., Buonfrate, D., Amor, A., Anegagrie, M., Bisoffi, Z., Bradbury, R.S., Keiser, J., Kepha, S., Khieu, V., Krolewiecki, A., Mbonigaba, J.B., Muñoz, J., Mutapi, F., Novela, V., Vaz Nery, S., Coffeng, L.E., de Vlas, S.J., Bartoszko, J. and Moja, L. (2025). Review of the WHO guideline on preventive chemotherapy for public health control of strongyloidiasis. The Lancet. Infectious diseases, [online] 25(3), pp.e146–e152. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(24)00595-4.

Mohtasebi, S., Ahn, S., Rosa, B., Moyes, K., Kuzmina, T.A., Gilleard, J.S. and Poissant, J. (2025). ‘First record of Hsiungia pekingensis (Nematoda: Strongylidae) in North America: Morphological and molecular identification of a rare equine strongyle. Journal of Helminthology, 99. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022149x25000185.

Onwah, S.S., Uzonna, J.E. and Ghavami, S. (2025). Assessment of Autophagy in Leishmania Parasites. Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.), [online] 2879, pp.207–217. doi:  https://doi.org/10.1007/7651_2024_517.

Tamarozzi, F., Mazzi, C., Antinori, S., Arsuaga, M., Becker, S.L., Bocanegra, C., Bottieau, E., Buonfrate, D., Bustinduy, A.L., Camprubí-Ferrer, D., Caumes, E., Duvignaud, A., Grobusch, M.P., Huits, R., Jaureguiberry, S., Jordan, S., Mueller, A., Ndao, M., Neumayr, A. and Perez-Molina, J.A. (2025). Landscape of guidance documents used at TropNet and GeoSentinel centres for the clinical management of schistosomiasis outside endemic areas: A systematic appraisal. Travel medicine and infectious disease, [online] 64, p.102822. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2025.102822.

Venkatesan, A., Chen, R., Bär, M., Schneeberger, P.H.H., Reimer, B., Hürlimann, E., Coulibaly, J.T., Ali, S.M., Sayasone, S., Soghigian, J., Keiser, J. and Gilleard, J.S. (2025). Trichuriasis in Human Patients from Côte d’Ivoire Caused by Novel Trichuris incognita Species with Low Sensitivity to Albendazole/Ivermectin Combination Treatment. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 31(1), pp.104–114. doi:https://doi.org/10.3201/eid3101.240995. --> Save the date for upcoming events / 
Gardez la date pour les événements à venir 7 May 2025 - GLIDE application call deadline: 2025 Falcon Awards for Disease Elimination
7 May 2025 - FESTMIH Webinar: NTDs Around the World -
Burkina Faso
9 May 2025 - iCHORDS Knowledge Café: Sharing Principles- Persons Affected by NTDs in Operational Research
19-27 May 2025  - 78th World Health Assembly
22 May 2025 - MSF Scientific Day 2025
15 September 2025 - Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Health Law, Policy and Ethics, University of Ottawa (U.S. Scholar Program)
12-14 October 2025  - World Health Summit
24-28 October 2025 - Canadian Conference for Global Health
9-13 November 2025 - ASTMH Annual Meeting --- 7 mai 2025 - Appel à candidatures GLIDE : Prix Falcon 2025 pour l'élimination des maladies
7 mai 2025 - Webinaire FESTMIH : Les MTN dans le monde - Burkina Faso
9 mai 2025 - iCHORDS Knowledge Café : Partager les principes - Les personnes affectées par les MTN dans la recherche opérationnelle
19-27 mai 2025 - 78e Assemblée mondiale de la santé
22 mai 2025 - Journée scientifique MSF 2025
15 septembre 2025 - Chaire de recherche Fulbright Canada en droit, politique et éthique de la santé, Université d'Ottawa (U.S. Scholar Program)
12-14 octobre 2025 - Sommet mondial de la santé
24-28 octobre 2025 - Conférence canadienne pour la santé mondiale
9-13 novembre 2025 - Réunion annuelle de l'ASTMH --> Join us! Rejoignez-nous! The Canadian Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases welcomes individual, organizational and international members. Find out about the benefits of membership and join CNNTD.  --- Le Réseau canadien des maladies tropicales négligées accueille des membres individuels, organisationnels et internationaux. Découvrez les avantages de l'adhésion et rejoignez le RCMTN. Copyright © 2025 Canadian Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, All rights reserved.


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96 Global Health NOW: Global Vaccinations in Jeopardy; Kenya’s Push to Improve HIV Testing During Pregnancy; and Run, Run, Robots! UN: Global aid funding cuts upend vaccination efforts almost as much as the pandemic did View this email in your browser April 24, 2025 Forward Share Post A child receives a vaccination from a health care worker during national vaccination day in Vianí, Colombia, on September 25, 2021. Yair Suarez Salazar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Global Vaccinations in Jeopardy
Vaccine-preventable diseases are thriving in a global environment of health funding cuts, misinformation, and humanitarian crises, UN agencies and others are warning during World Immunization Week.

• The UN reports that global aid funding cuts are upending vaccination efforts almost as much as the pandemic did, per Reuters.

• The cuts are “severely limiting” UNICEF’s efforts to vaccinate 15 million children against measles.

Latest cut: The Global Vaccine Data Network, which has done the largest safety studies of COVID-19 vaccines, was terminated 13 months short of its end date by the U.S., The Guardian reports.
 
Disease updates:

• Measles cases topped 10.3 million cases in 2023, a 20% surge over the previous year, WHO notes.

• 5,500 cases of meningitis have been reported in 22 countries in the first three months of 2025.

• WHO’s Americas region has seen 131 cases of yellow fever in four countries already this year.

Mood update: The World Vaccine Congress is meeting this week in Washington, D.C., in a “political environment [that] has perhaps never been more fraught for attendees,” Politico reports.
 
The Quote: “Vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives over the past five decades,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Funding cuts to global health have put these hard-won gains in jeopardy.” GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
Nearly a third of antibiotics consumed by people end up in rivers, per a PNAS modeling study from McGill University and One Health Trust researchers that estimates the distribution of chemical pollutants from untreated wastewater and wastewater treatment plants. CIDRAP
 
AI models outperformed PhD-level virologists in lab problem-solving, reveals a study from MIT’s Media Lab, Brazil’s UFABC, and other groups, raising fears that non-experts could weaponize AI models to create bioweapons. TIME
 
A trial of 21 adults with peanut allergy offers evidence that the same micro-dosing approach approved in the U.S. for children with the allergy could work for adults as well, according to early-stage trial results published in Allergy. NewScientist (free registration required)
 
The Research Council of Norway launched a 100 million kroner ($9.6 million) fund to attract top U.S. researchers yesterday, in response to the escalating pressure on academic freedom in America; the council will issue a call for proposals next month focused on topics including climate, health, energy, and AI. The Guardian MATERNAL HEALTH Pregnant Women 2X Likelier to Die in Abortion-Ban States  
Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, pregnant people living in states with abortion bans were nearly twice as likely to suffer pregnancy-related deaths compared to their counterparts in states without restrictions, per a new Gender Policy Equity Institute study.

• Black women face the highest risk and are 3.3X more likely to die than white women in states with bans. 

• Maternal mortality fell 21% in states that preserved abortion access post-Dobbs. 

Risky waits: Abortion bans do offer narrow exceptions if a mother's life is in danger, but confusing language leaves many providers unable to intervene until a patient is approaching death. 
 
The 19th GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HIV/AIDS Kenya’s Push to Improve HIV Testing During Pregnancy 
A high number of women in Kenya who are missing HIV screenings during pregnancy is contributing to a persistently high number of babies with the virus, researchers say. 

A closer look: In 2023, 200,000+ pregnant women missed HIV screenings—“a major challenge to eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV,” said Joab Khasewa, an officer with the National Syndemic Diseases Control Council, which conducted the research. 

• That same year, 3,742 babies contracted the virus—7.3% of all births by women with HIV. The council says that rate needs to be brought below 5%. 

Power of preventative screening: Early screening and antiretroviral treatment for HIV-positive pregnant women can lower the risk of transmission from mother to baby to less than 5%. 

The Star ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Run, Run, Robots!  
Thereʼs long been concerns that robots could one day replace humans. But when it comes to running, weʼre still beating the bots. 

Running side-by-side half-marathons in Beijing recently, the fastest human beat the fastest humanoid robot by well over an hour. Of 21 robot competitors, only six finished the race, The Guardian reports.  
 
But rather than showcasing the limits of their development … their struggles in the race only underscore how very human robots have become.
 
Like so many whoʼve tried to take up running, many were “falling, trembling and struggling to stay upright,” according to the South China Morning Post. One “walked a short distance and fell,” Asia Times reports. Another overheated and needed water to cool down.
 
And, as in the human world, some are just annoyingly good athletes. One robot that was “more like a gymnast” also turned out to be a great runner.
 
Given all that androids have learned from us, thereʼs some traits weʼd happily take from them. Like the ability to swap out a battery to regain our strength. Or to keep running when our head falls off. QUICK HITS In China, trade war with U.S. taking a toll on research labs – Science

WHO launches new guidelines to tackle adolescent pregnancy and related health complications – News-Medical

Bowel cancer in young people is on the rise. Childhood toxin exposure could be the cause – The Independent

Studies zoom in on clues to why Lyme disease persists and which antibiotic to prescribe – STAT

US fertility rate hovers near record low as Trump administration pushes for a baby boom – CNN

2025 State of the Air report: 46% of Americans breathe polluted, unhealthy air – Healio

Superbug-fighting paint promises cleaner hospitals and safer public spaces – Phys.org Issue No. 2714
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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  Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.


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The UN has raised concern over a growing number of vulnerable Haitians – particularly pregnant women, new mothers, and infants – being deported from the Dominican Republic. 

Although strong global collaboration has helped to save nearly 13 million lives from malaria over the past 25 years, more action is needed to stamp out the disease. 

96 Global Health NOW: Measles and the ‘Malleable Middleʼ; New Efforts to Boost Turkey's Birth Rate; and Science Cuts Leave Researchers Looking Abroad View this email in your browser April 23, 2025 Forward Share Post A measles vaccinations information booth offered by Harris Public Health on April 5, in Houston, Texas. Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty The Rise of Measles, Misinformation, and the ‘Malleable Middleʼ  
As measles cases climb across the U.S., Americans are encountering pervasive false claims about the disease and its vaccine—and many are unsure what to believe, according to a KFF poll taken earlier this month.
 
The poll examined false claims that:

• Autism is linked to the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.


• The MMR vaccine is more dangerous than measles.


• Vitamin A can prevent measles infections.

It found that at least half of Americans fall into the “malleable middle” when it comes to measles misinformation, describing each of these claims as “probably true” or “probably false,” The Washington Post reports (gift link).
 
Other key findings:

• Despite rising misinformation, 78% of parents expressed confidence in the safety of the MMR vaccine.


• Parents who believed or were open to believing measles misinformation were more likely to delay or forgo vaccines for their children.


• Republicans and independents were at least twice as likely as Democrats to believe or lean toward believing the false claims. 

Growing outbreak: As U.S. measles cases top 800 nationwide, CDC officials now view cases across Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico as a single outbreak, making it the countryʼs largest since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000, The New York Times reports (gift link).
 
But amid deep cuts to local public health funding, the agency is “scraping to find the resources” to support states that are fighting outbreaks, said CDC senior scientist David Sugerman.

Related:

Montana has a measles outbreak with its first cases in 35 years. Here’s what you should know – AP

Track the spread of measles in Texas – Texas Tribune GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Dialysis patients in Gaza are struggling to get treatment under the blockade; Gaza’s Health Ministry said that 400+ patients, representing around 40% of all dialysis cases in the territory, have died over the last 18 months because of lack of proper treatment. AP

U.S. health officials announced plans to urge food makers to phase out petroleum-based artificial colors by the end of 2026—but stopped short of promising a formal ban, largely relying on voluntary efforts from the industry. ABC
 
The NIH has canceled the Women’s Health Initiative—its first and largest project centered on women’s health, which enrolled tens of thousands in clinical trials of hormones and other medications and tracked the health of thousands more over three decades, yielding influential findings on disease prevention, aging, and cognitive decline. Science

Teenagers who went to bed earliest, slept the longest, and had the lowest sleeping heart rates outperformed others on cognitive tests, per a study of 3,222 adolescents in China; researchers found the impact of even small differences in sleep “surprising.” The Guardian DEMOGRAPHICS A New Effort to Boost Turkey's Birth Rate
Turkey’s government has announced a raft of incentives designed to boost the nation’s flagging birth rate, reports The New Arab. 

The “Year of the Family” initiative includes:

• Financial support based on a household’s number of children.


• More flexible work policies, expanded childcare services, housing support, and enhanced medical services. 

The measures are a response to demographic shifts that could have major social and economic consequences: 

• Turkey’s fertility rates have fallen from 2.38 children per woman in 2001 to 1.51 today, “well below” the 2.1 replacement rate. 


• People are marrying and starting families later in life as living costs rise. 


• The country’s older population has reached 10% for the first time, and the median age is now 34.

Meanwhile: Turkey has banned elective c-sections at private health facilities without a medical justification. The move has “sparked fury” from women’s rights groups, doctors, and politicians, reports AFP via France24. 

Related: The push for women to have more children has a powerful ally: Trump – Axios GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES BRAIN DRAIN Researchers Look Abroad Amid Science Cuts
U.S. researchers are seeking careers abroad as the Trump administration cuts science funding and workforce numbers, per an analysis of Nature’s jobs-board data.

Comparing January–March 2025 to the same period last year:

• U.S. scientists submitted 32% more applications for jobs abroad–—and views for positions abroad rose by 68% last month compared with March 2024.


• Applications from U.S. scientists seeking careers in Canada rose 41%.

Some European institutions are rolling out a welcome mat—including Aix-Marseille University in France.

The Quote: “We felt it was our duty to do what we could to show scientists there was a little light in the south of France where they could do their research, be a lot freer and where they were wanted,” said Aix-Marseille’s president, Éric Berton.

Nature QUICK HITS HHS Plans to Cut the National Suicide Hotline’s Program for LGBTQ Youth – Mother Jones

‘Taking the Side of Cancer’: The War on Medical Research Is Being Fought Through Contracts – Splinter

New agreement geared toward universal avian flu vaccine – CIDRAP

RFK Jr.’s autism study to amass medical records of many Americans – CBS

Hearing loss in older adults linked to nearly one-third of dementia cases – Medical Xpress

Researchers find immune system proteins involved in severe cases of schistosomiasis – News Medical

The wholegrain revolution! How Denmark changed the diet – and health – of their entire nation – The Guardian Issue No. 2713
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.

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues: http://www.globalhealthnow.org/subscribe

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. -->
ABOUT
SUPPORT US
CONTACT US
  Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.


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Vaccines have saved around 150 million lives over the past 50 years, but that progress is now under threat. 

Teenage pregnancy remains the leading cause of death for girls aged 15 to 19, which countries could help prevent by allowing them to remain in school and ending child marriage, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.  

96 Global Health NOW: U.S. Cancer Death Rates Falling; Students Forced to Take Pregnancy Tests; and Promoting Mines, While Undermining Protections View this email in your browser April 22, 2025 Forward Share Post Claudia Tellez, MD, helps Nataly Arboleda off the exam table at the Lurie Cancer Center, in Chicago, on November 2, 2023. Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty U.S. Cancer Death Rates Falling
Cancer death rates in the U.S. decreased steadily from 2001–2021, although rates of new cancer diagnoses have increased for women, according to a new study in the journal Cancer.

Takeaways:

• Cancer death rates decreased by 1.5% per year (2018–2022), representing a slowdown from the previous 2.1% average annual decline.
   
• Cancer incidence rates remained stable from 2013–2021 for men but increased 0.3% per year from 2003–2021 among women.
   
• Cancer incidence in 2020 fell compared to pre-pandemic levels across all demographic groups.

Details:

• Increases in breast cancer among women are likely driven by obesity, alcohol use, and increased age for giving birth for the first time, per CNN.
   
• Racial disparities persist: Black women experience a 40% higher death rate from breast cancer and twice the death rate from uterine cancer, compared with white women.

Pandemic impact: Many Americans postponed cancer screenings for several months in 2020, but there wasn’t a major increase in late-stage diagnoses, which are typically harder to treat, the AP reports.

Late-stage diagnoses in 2021 returned to prepandemic levels for most cancer types.

Meanwhile in the U.K.: Cancer patients are not getting access to lifesaving drugs or clinical trials because of post-Brexit cost increases and red tape, according to The Guardian.
 

Related: Top cancer experts ‘being put off UK by politicians’ messaging on immigration’ – The Guardian

DATA POINT The Latest One-Liners   Réunion health officials are calling for urgent reinforcements to manage a chikungunya virus outbreak on the French Indian Ocean Island—with six deaths and 5,000+ cases since January—that is overwhelming hospitals. France24
 

Intensive efforts to reduce high blood pressure—e.g., through medication and health coaching—could reduce the risk of dementia by 15%, according to a study in Nature Medicine involving 33,995+ people with uncontrolled high blood pressure in 326 villages in rural China. The Guardian
 

Traditional risk models used by regulators likely underestimate air pollution health impacts, per Johns Hopkins University and Aerodyne Research Inc. research, measuring risk of simultaneous exposures to multiple chemicals on different parts of the body—and found increased risks missed by traditional methods. Environmental Health News
 

Health care worker burnout is starting to drop from peak levels at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but remains elevated compared to prepandemic times, per a six-year survey in JAMA Network Open assessing burnout and stress among Veterans Health Administration health care workers. McKnights Long-Term Care News

U.S. Policy and Science Cuts News: NIH moving to ban grants to universities with DEI programs, Israeli boycotts – CNN

New NIH director defends grant cuts as part of shift to support MAHA vision – Science

Trump Laid Off Nearly All the Federal Workers Who Investigate Firefighter Deaths – ProPublica

National Science Foundation cancels research grants related to misinformation and disinformation – Nieman Lab 

Trump Administration's HHS Cuts: Creating Waste And Inefficiency, Not Eliminating Them – Health Affairs (commentary)

Gawande: Federal cuts could mean loss of life, harm to U.S. science enterprise – Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (commentary)

As Trump administration champions IVF, it cuts key CDC staff – Axios REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS When Students are Forced to Take Pregnancy Tests
Across east Africa, girls are routinely subjected to pregnancy tests at school—a “humiliating, invasive and potentially unlawful” process that can also result in expulsion if the girls are found to be pregnant, per a report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. 

While laws have been updated recently in countries like Uganda and Tanzania to prohibit such tests and expulsions as a violation of children’s rights, a number of schools in those countries continue the practice in breach of national guidelines.  

• “What the teachers did, it was torturing her,” said one Ugandan father, David Wafula, whose pregnant daughter was examined by teachers in front of her classmates. 

Context: Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of adolescent pregnancies of any region in the world, per UN data.
 

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES COAL Promoting Mines, While Undermining Protections
While President Donald Trump has vowed to revitalize and expand coal mining in the U.S., advocates say they are dismayed by the administration’s simultaneous decision to gut the health protections in place for miners, reports The Washington Post (gift link). 

Included in cuts: The federal division that provides free black lung screenings for coal miners fired roughly two-thirds of the staff this month, and there are now no employees left to run the screening program in the agency’s West Virginia office, or analyze x-rays already taken.

• The cut in services could have fatal consequences, a spokesperson for the Mine Workers of America explained to The Guardian: “There’s not going to be anyone to work in the mines you are apparently reopening.” 

Plus: The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has delayed enforcement of a rule imposed last year to limit miners’ exposure to toxic crystalline silica dust—prompting multiple miners’ groups to file litigation against the agency, per Gizmodo. 

QUICK HITS Wave of Earth Day protests as Americans mobilize against Trump – The Guardian 

China's Integrated Policies on Climate Change and Health – Think Global Health (commentary)

Asia’s megacities at a crossroads as climate and population challenges grow – UN News

Vietnam reports H5N1 avian flu case with encephalitis – CIDRAP 

U.S. Supreme Court appears likely to uphold ACA preventive care coverage mandate – AP

The awful working conditions of factories that slaughter bird-flu-infected chickens – Japan Today (commentary)

Why cameras are popping up in eldercare facilities – KFF Health News

Melinda French Gates on what billionaires with 'absurd' wealth owe back to society ​​– NPR’s Fresh Air Issue No. 2712
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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96 Global Health NOW: COVID-19 Information Page Overhauled; Another Deadly Fireworks Factory Explosion in India; and Adolescent Girls Need Our Support View this email in your browser April 21, 2025 Forward Share Post COVID-19 Information Page Overhauled
Federal websites once used for sharing information on vaccines, testing, and treatments for COVID-19 now focus on the theory that the pandemic originated in a Wuhan lab and criticize the Biden administration’s handling of the pandemic, reports the AP. 

The websites covid.gov and Covidtests.gov redirect to a White House page entitled “Lab Leak: The True Origins of COVID-19,” which includes:

• A five-point breakdown making the case for lab leak origins.


• Accusations that federal officials like former NIAID director Anthony Fauci engaged in “obstruction” of information.


• Criticisms of the Biden administration, the WHO, and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for the pandemic response, including masks, lockdowns, and social distancing.

An unsettled question: Some federal agencies have said research supports a spillover event that likely occurred at a Wuhan market, while others say a laboratory accident is possible. Most scientists say key data remains missing, reports NPR Shots.

Scientists react: COVID researchers studying both theories said the new website includes inaccurate, oversimplified, and misleading information, with one virologist describing the page as “pure propaganda.” 

• The overhaul reflects “a broader practice of officials recently scrapping health websites that do not align with their views,” reports The New York Times (gift link). 

Related: 

CDC considers narrowing its COVID-19 vaccine recommendations – CNN via ABC Boston

I Was There: A Public Health Worker's Response to the COVID.gov Rewrite – Infection Control Today (commentary) GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Children in Burkina Faso have faced 2,483 documented rights violations amid escalating conflict in the country between 2022 and 2024, a UN report finds; violations include abductions, injuries from explosive devices, and recruitment into armed groups. APA News

Mercury emissions near small-scale gold mines can be measured in wild fig trees’ growth rings, finds a new study in Frontiers in Environmental Science, the first to show hardwoods’ potential as a biomonitor of gaseous elemental mercury. The Washington Post via MSN

Receipt paper from many U.S. retailers contains high levels of bisphenol S, a chemical linked to cancer and reproductive problems; even brief contact with some receipts can result in enough chemical absorption to exceed safety standards laid out in California’s Proposition 65. Environmental Health News

A U.S. attorney has sent letters to at least three medical journals accusing them of political bias and suggesting that the journals mislead readers, in a move scientists and doctors say could have a “chilling effect” on research publications. The New York Times (gift link) U.S. Health and Science Policy News Count the Dead by the Millions – Rolling Stone

Activists pile 200 coffins outside State Department to protest cuts to global AIDS relief – The 19th

‘Ripple effect:’ In US, anti-immigrant policy strains child and eldercare – Al Jazeera

USAID cuts halt Yale-led efforts to build global health infrastructure – Yale Daily News

NIH freezes funds to Harvard and four other universities, but can’t tell them – Science

Trump’s War on Measurement Means Losing Data on Drug Use, Maternal Mortality, Climate Change and More – ProPublica GHN EXCLUSIVE UPDATE Another Deadly Fireworks Factory Explosion in India
A large fireworks factory explosion in southern India on April 13 killed eight people and injured seven others in Kailasapatnam village in Andhra Pradesh, per The Times of India.

GHN Series: The GHN team learned of the explosion after publishing a two-part series on the dangerous conditions in fireworks factories in the southern Indian city of Sivakasi by freelance journalist Kamala Thiagarajan:

• ‘Invisible Suffering’: Deadly Risks in India’s Fireworks Factories


• Fireworks and Heartbreak in a Hard-Hit Indian Village

Follow-up: Thiagarajan reports that the articles were included in a formal petition last week to an Indian court seeking legal action supporting the victims of fireworks factory explosions.

She also notes that a local charity has contributed to the purchase of a prosthetic leg for factory worker Muthukutti, whose story was shared in the series’ second article. His left leg had to be amputated after a February 12, 2021, explosion at Sree Mariyammal Fireworks Factory near Sivakasi. GHN EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY Wajir girls reading together. 2021. icon (be one) K / Nicholas Oreyo The World’s Adolescent Girls Need Our Support   
As global funding cuts and policy shifts disrupt health and development programs around the world, “teenagers—particularly teenage girls—are especially vulnerable,” write Evalin Karijo and Karen Austrian, who lead the Population Council’s Girl Innovation, Research, and Learning Center.

• The U.S. foreign assistance freeze could deny access to contraceptive care for ~11.7 million women and girls this year—upping the risk of unintended pregnancies and maternal deaths.

“The ripple effects will be devastating,” they say—leading to “more child marriages, school dropouts, and economic hardships that will persist for generations.”

Yet investing in teen girls pays off, making girls more likely to stay in school, secure stable jobs, and contribute to household income. 

• Every dollar invested in adolescent girls’ empowerment in Africa by 2040, a recent report estimates, can generate more than a tenfold return in economic impact.

Karijo and Austrian see a clear pathway to achieving these economic gains. They point to evidence backing a girl-centered approach and offer models, including a program in Kenya that helped girls stay in school and delayed marriage and pregnancy for years after the program’s end. READ THE FULL COMMENTARY GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RIGHTS Seeking Abortion Training in Mexico
In the years since Roe v. Wade was overturned, more than a dozen U.S. states have banned virtually all abortions, and more than 100 abortion clinics have closed. 

To get training in providing abortions, a small but growing number of providers have sought opportunities in Mexico. 

• In 2023, Fundación MSI trained nine American doctors to perform abortions at Mexican clinics.


• This year, it is on track to train more than 50—and has the capacity to train up to 300 doctors a year, says MSI Latin America’s managing director.

Every abortion ban in the U.S. permits abortions to save a patient’s life. But without adequate training, doctors may not be skilled enough to perform abortions even in those dire circumstances.

The Guardian OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Haiti ‘awash’ with guns leaving population ‘absolutely terrified’ – UN News

Why is tuberculosis, the world's deadliest infectious disease, on the rise in the UK? – Euronews

ACA preventive care case reaches Supreme Court – Axios

What the Newest mRNA Vaccines Could Do Beyond COVID – News Medical

Relieve the suffering: palliative care for the next decade – The Lancet (commentary)

Rapid geographic expansion of local dengue community transmission in Peru – PLOS

Nitrogen-fertilised grassland more likely to trigger hay fever, study suggests – The Telegraph

A horse therapy program in Namibia brings joy to children with learning disabilities – AP Issue No. 2711
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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96 Global Health NOW: Global Health NOW: Fireworks and Heartbreak in an Indian Village; U.S. Administration Seeks Data and Deep Cuts; and Moose See TV “For most people, fireworks mean joy.” View this email in your browser April 17, 2025 Forward Share Post Muthukutti, 23, endured the amputation of his left leg after the 2021 Sree Mariyammal Fireworks Factory explosion outside Sivakasi, India. Kamala Thiagarajan Fireworks and Heartbreak in a Hard-Hit Indian Village  
SIVAKASI, India—Of the 650 families who live in Surangudi village, most have lost either a limb or a loved one to fireworks, says social activist Vijay Kumar.

Tens of thousands of workers in Sivakasi produce 50,000 tons of firecrackers annually—most of India's fireworks.
 
But they also risk deadly fires and explosions in their work. 
 
Deadly blast: A February 12, 2021, explosion killed 27 workers at the Sree Mariyammal Fireworks Factory and injured dozens more.

• Many of the killed and injured were from Surangudi village, including Muthukutti, 23, whose left leg had to be amputated.

• His aunt, Shanmugavadivu, also worked in the factory and had third-degree burns on her chest, stomach, arms, and legs.

Waiting for compensation: While both received $1,160 in compensation from the Tamil Nadu state government, they are still waiting for much larger compensation payments from the factory owners.
 
The Quote: “For most people, fireworks mean joy,” says Kumar, director of the Human Resource Foundation, which aids fireworks factory victims in the Sivakasi area. “But for those whose lives are so closely associated with it, it’s a source of sorrow and heartbreak.”
 
Kamala Thiagarajan for Global Health NOW
 
Ed. Note: Our thanks go to Padmavathy Krishna Kumar who shared the idea for this topic and received an honorable mention in the 2025 Untold Global Health Stories contest, co-sponsored by Global Health NOW and the Consortium of Universities for Global Health. READ THE FULL STORY GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
The COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on measles is coming into focus, with a new analysis published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases showing a steady decline in disease incidence over 30 years—but a stark drop in vaccination in 2021. CIDRAP 

The Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab has been approved for use in the EU; however, only a “very small portion” of patients will be eligible for the drug, which is sold under the brand name Leqembi and is authorized in the U.S., U.K., and Japan. DW

Arsenic levels in paddy rice could significantly rise with climate change, finds a new study that showed increased temperatures coupled with rising carbon dioxide levels could lead to higher concentrations of inorganic arsenic in rice, potentially raising lifetime health risks for populations in Asia, where rice is a staple food, by 2050. Phys.org

Limiting PPE to just N95 respirators late in the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore health facilities was effective in keeping staff safe while also lowering costs and curbing medical-related waste, finds a study published in JAMA Network Open. CIDRAP U.S. POLICY Administration Seeks Data and Deep Cuts
As U.S. federal health agencies continue to see seismic shifts under the Trump administration, two key developments reported by The Washington Post give insight into some of the administration’s imminent objectives: 

Deeper health cuts: A preliminary draft of the 2026 fiscal year budget obtained by the Post (gift link) reveals the Trump administration is seeking a $40 billion cut to HHS’s discretionary budget, roughly one-third of the agency’s discretionary spending, and is planning major reorganization and consolidation of agencies within the administration. 

ICE seeks Medicare data: U.S. immigration officials and Elon Musk’s DOGE team are seeking “unprecedented” access to sensitive Medicare databases as a way to track down undocumented immigrants, the Post has found (gift link), despite the fact that undocumented immigrants are barred from Medicare benefits. 

Related:

In the middle of a hepatitis outbreak, U.S. shutters the one CDC lab that could help – NPR

RFK Jr. contradicts CDC on causes of autism – Axios
 
Top NIH nutrition researcher studying ultraprocessed foods departs, citing censorship under Kennedy – CNN

Women, minorities fired in purge of NIH science review boards – The Washington Post

Exclusive: US consumer safety agency to stop collecting swaths of data after CDC cuts – Reuters GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES CAMBODIA Fifty Years After ‘Year Zero’ 
Five decades have now passed since the declaration of “Year Zero,” when Pol Pot and the brutal Khmer Rouge regime seized power in Cambodia. 

• From 1975 to 1979, 2 million+ people were killed in a wave of racial genocide, widespread famine, forced labor, and executions.

Those atrocities continue to shape Cambodian life today, writes Sophal Ear in a commentary for The Conversation: “It’s etched into every Cambodian’s bones.”

A legacy of trauma: Research has found elevated rates of PTSD among survivors and their descendants. 

Ongoing need for justice: While a tribunal convicted three Khmer Rouge senior leaders for crimes against humanity in 2018, per the International Bar Association, critics say many key perpetrators were never held to account. 

The next generation: The majority of Cambodia’s population is under 30—“with no more than an inkling” of the genocide, leading survivors to start a storytelling initiative, reports AFP via France24. 

Related: 

Unsung No More, Cambodia’s Malaria Hero – USAID via Medium (from August 2024) 

Q&A: Patrick Heuveline on the Khmer Rouge’s long-term impact on Cambodia – UCLA Newsroom ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Moose See TV  
Forget high-octane car chases and whodunnit cliffhangers. The real formula for suspense TV? Not knowing when a moose might show up.
 
The megahit Swedish TV show “Den stora älgvandringen” (“The Great Elk Trek”) began airing this Tuesday, serving up a must-see livestream of mostly nature scenery, occasionally punctuated by moose crossing the Ångerman River.
 
More than binge-worthy, some fans canʼt seem to focus on anything else. But how does one consume 20 days of round-the-clock content? By rearranging their entire lives.

• Kids are missing school during the migration. And “Sleep? Forget it. I don’t sleep,” said one viewer.  

The “slow TV” sensation is stress-relieving even for those who work on it—but itʼs complicated, said superfan William Garp Liljefors.
 
“I feel relaxed, but at the same time I’m like, ‘Oh, there’s a moose. Oh, what if there’s a moose? I can’t go to the toilet!’”
 
AP QUICK HITS Haiti: Escalating Violence Puts Population at Grave Risk –  Human Rights Watch

Colombia declares health emergency after dozens die of yellow fever – BBC

Rising temperatures could cancel most outdoor school sports in summer by 2060s – Japan Times

Reconsidering Ebola virus nomenclature: a call for a stigma-free and precise terminology – The Lancet (commentary)

CDC advisors broaden RSV vaccine recommendations to at-risk adults in their 50s – Endpoints News

Immune system proteins involved in severe parasitic disease identified – Medical Xpress

What impact will driving at 17 have on road safety? –  Euronews

AI-boosted cameras help blind people to navigate – Nature Issue No. 2710
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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96 Global Health NOW: Pandemic Agreement Reached; A Brain Bank Hangs in the Balance; and Spore-Driven Threats 190 countries agree to working draft of global pandemic treaty View this email in your browser April 16, 2025 Forward Share Post Pandemic agreement negotiations co-chair Anne-Claire Amprou and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus after a consensus on the pandemic treaty at the WHO headquarters, Geneva, on April 16. Christopher Black/WHO/AFP via Getty Pandemic Agreement Reached 
Around 2 a.m. today at the WHO’s Geneva headquarters—after 3+ years of back-and-forth between 190 countries—the 32-page working draft of a global pandemic treaty was finally highlighted in one color: green. 

“It's adopted,” negotiations co-chair Anne-Claire Amprou said, “to thundering applause,” reports France24. 

The approved pact sets guidelines for international collaboration in a future global health crisis, and is a victory for the WHO at a moment of geopolitical upheaval, reports the AP. 

• The agreement signals that “in our divided world, nations can still work together to find common ground and a shared response,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Key provisions include giving the WHO an overview of global medical supply chains; compelling manufacturers to allocate medical supplies to the WHO during a pandemic; and paving the way for more local vaccine and drug production, reports Reuters.

Final sticking points related to the technology transfer clause, which governs how drug and vaccine manufacturers share information and tools for medicine and vaccine production. 

• Such information will be shared on a “mutually agreed upon” rather than mandatory basis, per Euronews. 

Still being ironed out: the creation of a new pathogen access and benefit sharing system—in which countries would share pathogen samples with drugmakers in return for access to vaccines and medicine.

Notably absent: The U.S., which was barred from participating following President Trump’s January decision to withdraw from the WHO, and which is not expected to sign the treaty.

What’s next: Final adoption is pending approval by the World Health Assembly in May. 

Related: WHO tests pandemic response with Arctic ‘mammothpox’ outbreak – The Telegraph GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
The UK Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities law, a landmark decision following years of debate that could have significant implications for how sex-based rights and services apply across Scotland, England, and Wales. BBC

A new antibiotic is effective against gonorrhea, finds a new study published in The Lancet; if approved, it could become the first new class of antibiotic for the STI in 20+ years—a key tool as antibiotic resistance grows. NBC News

Children’s mattresses can emit toxic chemicals linked with developmental and hormonal disorders, two new studies have found; high levels of chemicals like phthalates and flame retardants were found near children’s beds, found a study published in Environmental Science & Technology, and a companion study identified mattresses as a key source of exposure. CNN

The autism diagnosis rate among U.S. 8-year-olds increased from 1 in 36 in 2020 to 1 in 31 in 2022, a new CDC report shows; rates among boys remained higher than among girls, and, as in 2020, were higher among Asian, Black, and Hispanic children than among white children. CNN ALZHEIMERʼS A Brain Bank Hangs in the Balance
An NIH funding pause has disrupted one of the most expansive Alzheimer’s research programs in the U.S., with researchers especially worried about the fate of 4,000 donated brains being preserved for research. 

• The Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the University of Washington—one of the public universities hardest hit by the freeze—is home to a range of decades-long studies, including one following 450 people until death.

A critical hub: The brain bank, which provided researchers with ~11,000 tissue samples last year alone, requires special facilities and staffing. 

• Even the temporary pause could upend long-term trials, therapy pipelines, and current patient care, researchers say. 

NBC

Related: As dementia rates increase, experts warn hospital emergency rooms are underprepared – AP GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES FUNGAL INFECTIONS Spore-Driven Threats
In the wake of the WHO’s warning of the need for more treatments and diagnostics for fungal pathogens, scientists are laying out evidence of a growing fungal threat:

• Perennial maladies like vaginal yeast infections and athlete’s foot are getting harder to treat, and antifungal-resistant pathogens like Candida auris have become a “silent pandemic” in hospitals.

• Invasive fungal infections are killing ~2.5 million people each year—twice the global fatalities of tuberculosis.

Because of global warming, more fungi are adapting to temperatures that could lead to invasive infections in humans. 

• It also means an increase in disruptive weather events like dust storms, which lead to the spread of spore-driven diseases like Valley fever. 

The Telegraph QUICK HITS After delays, first vaccine advisory meeting under RFK Jr. is underway – NPR Shots

5% of US cancers may be caused by medical imaging radiation – DW 

Emergency rooms treat a gunshot wound every half-hour – UPI

Oropouche virus ‘massively underdiagnosed’ in Latin America, new study suggests – The Telegraph

Paris air pollution is down 50% after its radical bike-friendly transformation – Fast Company

We’re on the verge of a universal allergy cure – Vox

Africa needs innovative financing solutions to prevent health systems from collapsing, say experts – Semafor (commentary) Thanks for the tip, Dave Cundiff!

Exclusive: the most-cited papers of the twenty-first century – Nature Issue No. 2709
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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In the early hours of Wednesday morning in Geneva, countries finalized a draft global agreement aimed at improving how the world prepares for and responds to pandemics, marking a historic step that will be submitted to the World Health Assembly in May for adoption.

Join us on May 7th at noon for the next McGill Cares webcast to support informal caregivers. During candid, interviews with leading experts, Claire Webster explores topics related to caring for a loved one with dementia.

96 Global Health NOW: Deadly Risks in India’s Fireworks Factories; Keeping Warm Can Be Toxic in Mongolia; and An Extra Coat of Coolness in Cape Town View this email in your browser April 15, 2025 Forward Share Post Millions of Indians celebrate the Diwali Festival with fireworks—without realizing the dangerous conditions factory workers in Sivakasi endure. Gurugram, India, October 31, 2024. Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty ‘Invisible Suffering’: Deadly Risks In India’s Fireworks Factories
SIVAKASI, India—The explosion shook the ground beneath the fireworks factory and threw him into the air.

The February 19 blast broke bones in both his legs and broke his right arm. His face is covered in scars from third-degree burns, and both his eyes have been badly damaged.

“I couldn’t see anything but darkness, and I couldn’t open my eyes,” Palpandey, 31, said from his hospital room days after the explosion. “I’ve never felt fear like that in my life.”

Fireworks’ Toll:

• Explosions like the one at Neerathilingam Fireworks are not uncommon in this city in Southern India that produces nearly 90% of the country’s fireworks and employs tens of thousands of workers like Palpandey (who uses only his first name).


• Employers typically pay for injured workers’ initial care, but then workers are often on their own in subsequent months and years.


• A 2023–2024 government report said 91 workers were killed in the most recent year, but only those killed at the site of an explosion are counted—not those who die later.

The Quote: “The suffering of these people who die later is invisible—they don’t show up on government counts of deaths,” says social activist Vijay Kumar.

Kamala Thiagarajan for Global Health NOW

Ed. Note: Our thanks go to Padmavathy Krishna Kumar, who shared the idea for this topic and received an honorable mention in the 2025 Untold Global Health Stories contest, co-sponsored by Global Health NOW and the Consortium of Universities for Global Health.

Look for part II of the series tomorrow: “Fireworks and Heartbreak in a Hard-Hit Village.” READ THE FULL STORY GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Denmark could eliminate cervical cancer by 2040, the Danish Cancer Society says, as a national HPV vaccination campaign has brought the rate down to lower than 10 out of 100,000 women; the WHO elimination standard is lower than four per 100,000 women. The Local Denmark

Female genital mutilation is linked to significant long-term health complications, including a 2X+ risk of prolonged or obstructed labor in childbirth and a 4.4 times higher likelihood of experiencing PTSD, per a new study in BMC Public Health that analyzes evidence from ~30 countries. WHO (news release)
 
A group of national organizations representing America’s academic, medical, and independent research institutions announced a joint effort to develop a new indirect costs funding model for federal research grants to submit to the federal government. Association of American Medical Colleges

Participants of a study in Tanzania who were cured of infection with Wuchereria bancrofti worms—which cause lymphatic filariasis—showed a ~60% reduction in HIV infections in a follow-up comparison of two study periods published in The Lancet HIV. German Center for Infection Research (news release) U.S. and Global Health Policy News Trump plan would slash State Dept. funding by nearly half, memo says – The Washington Post (gift link)

Trump eyes huge climate research cuts at NOAA – Axios

Federal government to remove gender dysphoria from protected disabilities list – The 19th

Free US family planning clinics face financial ruin after White House freezes funds – The Guardian

Impact of CDC Hepatitis Lab Closure on US Public Health – Contagion Live

EPA Plans to Stop Collecting Emissions Data From Most Polluters – Undark CLIMATE CHANGE Keeping Warm Is Killing Thousands in Mongolia
Some 7,000 people in Mongolia have died this winter due to air pollution, caused by the coal that provides 70% of the nation’s energy and warms most homes.

Raw coal smoke contains carcinogenic particles, and the briquettes introduced by Mongolia’s government can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.

• Citizens regularly suffer from respiratory diseases, liver and lung cancers, asthma, and flu.


• By February, there had been 811 deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning. 

The climate crisis has exacerbated Mongolia’s pollution problem, as extreme winters are killing off animals that have supported nomadic herding families, forcing them into cities. 

There they construct gers: circular tents with central stoves that feed out through a chimney in the roof. More than 50% of Mongolia’s population live in gers; each household burns ~50 pounds of coal daily in winter.

The Guardian GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES TECH & INNOVATION An Extra Coat of Coolness in Cape Town
South Africa’s summer sun can quickly make informal dwellings unbearably hot. The homes—often made of corrugated metal sheets and wood—can reach temperatures of 95°F / 35°C during the day, and barely budge at night. 

The heat takes a heavy toll on the millions of South Africans who live in such settlements, preventing sleep and compounding stress. 

A paint-related program aims to bring relief: Researchers are investigating the effect of painting roofs with reflective, UV-resistant paint—which manufacturers say can dramatically reduce temperatures. 

• The study will track buildings’ internal temperatures, and also potential impacts on inhabitants’ sleep and physiology.

The Telegraph OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS A vaccine expert worries child measles deaths are being 'normalized' – NPR’s All Things Considered 

Starved in jail – The New Yorker

'Parkinson's is a man-made disease' – Politico.eu

Stopping gonorrhoea's descent towards untreatability – The Lancet Infectious Diseases (commentary)

Why 3.5 Billion People Lack Basic Oral Care—and What Needs To Change – Health Policy Watch (podcast)

Young Children’s Exposure to Chemicals of Concern in Their Sleeping Environment: An In-Home Study – Environmental Science & Technology

The Fly That Ruined the World Record (A Metaphor for Chagas Disease) – ISGlobal Barcelona Institute for Global Health Blog

Europe deplores America's 'chlorinated chicken.' How safe is our poultry? – NPR Issue No. 2708
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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