96 Global Health NOW: The Health-Improving Power of Pollinators; and The Deep Disparities in Kenya’s AI-Driven Health Coverage View this email in your browser May 7, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES At least 29 passengers left a cruise ship in the midst of a hantavirus outbreak on April 24, without contact tracing, after the first on board passenger death, but the WHO maintains the risk to the public is still low, per the AP; officials believe the outbreak could have originated from a bird-watching excursion in Argentina, where hantavirus cases have been on the rise, France 24 reports. 
  Shootings at hospitals have increased steadily over 25 years, from 6 to 34 events per year—a 6.4% increase annually, finds a new study published in JAMA Network Open, which pointed to the need for "hospital-specific prevention strategies,” including improved weapons screening processes. MedPage Today    COVID-19 can lead to blood clots, heart attack, and stroke because of the virus’s impact on proteins in blood vessels, per new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The study found that viral damage to thrombomodulin—a protein on the surface of blood vessel cells—creates clots, which then travel throughout the body and disrupt blood flow. CIDRAP 

Plant-based meat and dairy products in U.K. supermarkets contain a “prevalence” of mycotoxins, which are fungi-produced poisonous compounds, finds new research published in the journal Food Control; all 212 meat- and dairy-substitute products tested contained the toxins, which pose little risk in low quantities, but “could lead to a cumulative build-up” resulting in health problems, researchers said. The Independent
IN FOCUS A honeybee sits on a marigold flower to collect nectar. Kathmandu, Nepal, February 8, 2024. Sanjit Pariyar/NurPhoto via Getty The Health-Improving Power of Pollinators    Wild insect pollinators have a direct impact on human health and livelihoods through the critical role they play in food production and nutrition, finds new research published in Nature that quantifies those connections in precise and tangible ways.     Exploring the links in Nepal: To “understand and harness the pathways linking biodiversity to human health,” researchers spent a year inside 10 farming villages in Jumla District, Nepal, where three-quarters of the population depends directly on smallholder farming, reports NPR.  

• "That link between the biodiversity around them, and their health, their nutrition, their livelihoods is very, very direct,” explained lead author Thomas Timberlake.  

• Researchers tracked daily diets of 776 people and cataloged extensive activity between insects and crops across 500+ species—gauging the influence of insects on crops, and crops on humans.  

A vast web of connections: Pollinators were essential to crops that accounted for 44% of household farming income and 20%+ of vital nutrient intake, including vitamin A, folate, and vitamin E.     Interdependent losses: Some populations are drastically affected by the decline of pollinators like native honeybee populations, which are critical for pollinating multiple crops, and which have dropped by ~50% over ~10 years in some Nepalese regions due to habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change.  
Symbiotic gains: Researchers identified “relatively simple interventions” that significantly boost pollinators, including planting wildflowers, curbing pesticide use, and native beekeeping. 

• Active pollination management could increase household income by 15%–30% and raise 9% of the population out of a nutrient deficiency. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HEALTH DISPARITIES The Deep Disparities in Kenya’s AI-Driven Health Coverage    Kenya’s new health coverage program is facing backlash over its algorithm formula that is “systematically” driving up costs for the nation’s poorest.     Background: The Social Health Authority (SHA), launched in 2023, was meant to overhaul the country’s decades-old national insurance system and expand coverage. 

• To determine what households can afford to contribute, the government is using a predictive machine-learning algorithm that calculates incomes based on possessions and life circumstances. 

A flawed formula: The new system has overcharged more than half of poor households while underestimating wealthier ones, found an investigation by Africa Uncensored in collaboration with Lighthouse Reports and The Guardian.     Impact: Of 20 million+ people registered for SHA, ~5 million are paying their premiums, leading many to be denied care, and hospitals report large deficits as SHA reimbursements remain unpaid.     Africa Uncensored 

ICYMI: Rooting Out AI’s Biases – Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health OPPORTUNITY Call for Abstracts     The International Conference for Urban Health (ICUH) invites abstracts for work addressing issues in global urban health to share in Mexico City this coming October 13–17, under the theme Healthy Cities by Design: Climate, Care, & Community from Latin America to the World.    Submissions are open across six thematic tracks spanning climate resilience, food and movement, mental health and belonging, lifecourse health, urban health systems, and a dedicated Latin America and Caribbean spotlight, with submissions in English, Spanish, and Portuguese welcome.  

• Register for the conference 

• Learn more and submit your abstract  

• Deadline: May 17 

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION No Divine Intervention for a Pope on Hold 
Nothing tests one’s faith quite like a soul-crushing call with customer service. And when it comes to escaping the purgatory of the hold line, it turns out even the Pope doesn’t have a prayer.     Like anyone shifting careers and houses, Robert Prevost-turned Pope Leo XIV had to make some calls updating his address and phone number, including a call he personally made to his bank in South Chicago, relayed his longtime friend.     The pontiff’s successful responses to security questions rivaling St. Peter’s at the Pearly Gates still weren’t enough to satisfy the customer service representative, who informed him that he needed to come to the bank in person, per the New York Times (gift link).     Even the patience of Job runs out at a point, and even the Holy Father resorted to pulling the ace up his vestments’ sleeve: “Would it matter to you if I told you I’m Pope Leo?” he purportedly said.    Click.     Could the Pope’s experience bring a little needed fire and brimstone to the $165 billion American “annoyance economy” of interminable customer service hassles and corporate sludge?    It would be a miracle worthy of canonization.  QUICK HITS One Million More Midwives: The Smartest Investment for Safer Births in a Shrinking Aid Landscape – Nigeria Health Watch    In a milestone for ALS, a treatment helps some patients improve – The New York Times (gift link)    Survey: Facing headwinds, early-career physician-scientists mull other options, jobs abroad – CIDRAP     Georgia officials knew chemicals from carpet mills were polluting local water. The people did not – AP     First AI tool to detect suspicious peer reviews rolled out by academic publisher – Nature    RFK Jr withdraws proposal banning teens from tanning beds as skin experts warn of cancer risks – The Independent  Issue No. 2912
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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As Canada moves to modernize cervical cancer screening, a new study suggests most women do not yet understand or trust the shift from the Pap test to human papillomavirus (HPV) based screening.

The national survey, published in Current Oncology, examined women’s preferences for cervical screening – including how they want to be screened and how they want information communicated – as Canada transitions from Pap tests to HPV testing.

A deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean poses a low global public health risk and is “not the start of another COVID pandemic”, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

96 Global Health NOW: Identifying ‘The Deadliest Company in the World’; and On the Front Lines of an Emerging Drug Crisis View this email in your browser May 6, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES 1 in 5 amputees in Gaza is a child, and it could take at least five years for the 6,600+ in Gaza who need prosthetics and rehabilitation care to receive it amid a severe shortage of specialists and ongoing restrictions on prosthetic supply shipments, the UN said this week. Anadolu Agency    20 years after the HPV vaccine’s U.S. approval, data show that the vaccine reduces the risk of cervical cancer by 80% in women vaccinated by age 16 and 66% in those vaccinated after 16, per a systematic review and meta-analysis published by the Vaccine Integrity Project; the vaccines aren’t associated with serious side effects, the research shows. CIDRAP     The FDA blocked the publication of multiple recent studies showing the safety and efficacy of widely used COVID-19 and shingles vaccines; the HHS said the studies drew “broad conclusions that were not supported by the underlying data,” even though the research was conducted by government scientists analyzing millions of patient records. The New York Times (gift link)      Londoners from Black African and Caribbean backgrounds are 2X as likely to suffer stroke as white counterparts and are less likely to receive timely care, found a large study presented at the European Stroke Organization conference that analyzed 30 years of stroke incidents from the South London Stroke Register. The Guardian   IN FOCUS The exterior of the China Tobacco Shanghai Cigarette Factory Building. Shanghai, China, March 28. CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Identifying ‘The Deadliest Company in the World’    A handful of powerful industries play a major role in driving deaths from chronic diseases worldwide: tobacco, alcohol, ultra-processed foods, and fossil fuels, which together are responsible for at least one-third of global deaths, per a landmark Lancet study published in The Lancet in 2023.    Outsized impact: Among those industries, one company stands out as the single commercial entity linked to the most global deaths: China National Tobacco Corp., better known as China Tobacco—a state-owned company that for decades has controlled ~97% of China’s cigarette market in a country that consumes nearly half the world’s cigarettes.    Staggering toll: Tobacco use in China caused ~59–78 million deaths from 1990 to 2023, or 2 million people annually, per data from the Global Burden of Disease study run by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. 

• China Tobacco is tied to ~57 million of those deaths—a toll surpassing fatalities linked to war, drugs, or traffic worldwide, even adjusting for the highest plausible death estimates from those other industries.   

• The company also wields significant influence over China’s public health policy, systematically undercutting anti-smoking efforts. 

Intervention possible—and unlikely: Because of China Tobacco’s centralized role, direct policy change could avert millions of early deaths over decades.  

• But the government’s dependence on billions in tax revenue from the industry means the company “is likely to retain its spot as No. 1 in the world for years to come.” 

The Examination     Related:     FDA announces its first OK of fruit-flavored e-cigarettes for adults in major shift under Trump – AP    Can vaping cause cancer? The evidence suggests it might. – The Washington Post (gift link)     Hans Henri P. Kluge: Big Tobacco is No Longer Selling Cigarettes – It Is Engineering Addiction – Health Policy Watch (commentary)  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES OPIOIDS On the Front Lines of an Emerging Drug Crisis     In the swiftly shape-shifting opioid market, morgues and medical examiners are increasingly the first to flag new deadly drugs when typical detection methods fail.  

• Novel opioids like cychlorphine—a powerful synthetic opioid up to 10X stronger than fentanyl—often go undetected in labs.  

“Sentinels of public health”: A Knoxville, Tenn., medical examiner was key to alerting public health officials and law enforcement to the rise of cychlorphine—which she flagged after a long push for advanced testing in a suspicious overdose case.     Rapidly rising threat: In just six months, ~50 deaths in the region have been linked to cychlorphine, making it one of the leading local causes of overdose fatalities.     The New York Times (gift link)  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS ‘Spreading like wildfire’: Fiji grapples with soaring HIV cases – AFP via The Japan Times    Why rat virus patients could become super-spreaders – The Telegraph    Zambia blasts the US over a $2 billion health deal in exchange for critical minerals – AP     Can promises on gender equality made in Australia help a 16-year-old Indian cigarette maker with no toilet? – The Guardian    CDC leader calls for new journal to 'elevate scientific rigor' – Science     Health care costs outrank food, vaccine concerns for MAHA voters, poll shows – The Washington Post (gift link)     US woman moves to France and cuts annual asthma drug cost from $36,000 to $3,500 – The Connexion Thanks for the tip, Cecilia Meisner!  Issue No. 2911
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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It’s been confirmed that another passenger from the cruise liner linked to the outbreak of hantavirus has contracted the disease, which has claimed the lives of three people on board and sparked an international alert coordinated by the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

96 Global Health NOW: Cruise Ship Hantavirus Investigation; and Delayed Visas, Looming Care Gaps View this email in your browser May 5, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES Rescue efforts are ongoing in a fireworks factory explosion that killed 26 and injured at least 61 in central China yesterday; Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered an investigation into the disaster and “a far-reaching evaluation of workplace safety measures.” Al Jazeera
  Fossil-fuel derived methane emissions persisted at record high levels globally in 2025, making it unlikely that a 2030 target for reducing them by 30% will be met. Health Policy Watch
  Overburdened dialysis units across Australia and New Zealand are being forced to ration lifesaving care, with wait times lasting years in some cases, per a report from nephrology, dialysis and transplant registry experts in the two countries. They say the government needs to invest in more equipment and emphasize prevention to stop a “tsunami” of kidney disease. ABC Australia
Rates of antibiotic-resistant E. coli infections in the blood of newborns at a Kansas hospital are on the rise, per a study of 54 newborns with the infection, published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases; E. coli is a top cause of sepsis in newborns.  IN FOCUS The cruise ship MV Hondius off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on May 3. AFP via Getty Cruise Ship Hantavirus Investigation    The WHO and international partners are investigating the cluster of seven cases of severe respiratory illness (including three deaths) tied to hantavirus infection on a cruise ship in the Atlantic, per the WHO.     What’s the latest?  

• “We do believe that there may be some human-to-human transmission that is happening among the really close contacts,” said WHO's Maria Van Kerkhove, per France24.  

• The first person who fell ill may have been infected before boarding the MV Hondius in Ushuaia, Argentina, Van Kerkhove added. 

• Human infection commonly occurs via “aerosolized droplets of rodent faeces, urine or saliva containing the virus,” Nature reports. 

• The WHO says there’s low risk to the global population. 

• Two cases of the seven cases have been laboratory-confirmed. 

• The ship is moored off Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa.  

What’s next?  

• Results of genetic sequencing of the virus in sick passengers to determine the hantavirus strain should be available within a few days, University of Saskatchewan virologist Bryce Warner told Nature.   

Worth noting: South African experts did early lab testing that confirmed hantavirus infection in a patient, one of the seven, who remains critically ill.   

• “South Africa has very fast data, is home to some of the world’s best epidemiologists, and is a true team player in the world of global health,” per Your Local Epidemiologist.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES POLICY Delayed Visas, Looming Care Gaps    Hundreds of foreign doctors educated in the U.S. may be forced to leave the country within months due to a backlog of delayed visa waivers, potentially leaving vulnerable communities without care    Program in limbo: The HHS Exchange Visitor Program lets physicians educated in the U.S. remain in the country on J1 visas while they transition to temporary worker status if they practice in underserved areas. 

• But this year, applications have stalled for months across multiple agencies.  

Costly consequences: If doctors are forced to leave due to delays, rehiring them could cost employers ~$100,000 per visa—a prohibitive expense.     Patients bear the brunt: Such losses will especially impact rural and low-income areas, medical leaders warn. 

• “There’s going to be hundreds of places that are not going to have a physician that should have,” said one impacted psychiatrist.  

KFF Health News    Related: Immigration changes are driving foreign researchers to leave the U.S. — or not come to begin with – STAT   OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Abortion pill rulings cause whiplash and confusion – Axios

Kennedy Starts a Push to Help Americans Quit Antidepressants – The New York Times (gift link)

Beauty Without Burden: Why Nigeria Must Keep Lead Out of Cosmetics – Nigeria Health Watch (commentary)

The Cost of ‘Natural’ Womanhood – The Atlantic (gift link)

‘Point of no return’: New Orleans relocation must start now due to sea level, study finds – The Guardian

Telemedicine Visits Tied to Fewer Antibiotics for Respiratory Infections – MedPage Today Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe!

The Bus That Brings Reproductive Care to Homeless Women – Reasons to Be Cheerful  Issue No. 2910
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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The UN has expressed deep concern over escalating security incidents in the Gulf, warning that recent attacks risk undermining efforts to maintain regional stability.

Hantavirus victims on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean may have been infected prior to joining the cruise and human-to-human transmission on board cannot be ruled out – although it is rare - the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

96 Global Health NOW: The Growing Threat of ‘Hidden Hunger’; and Raw Milk Market Gains Ground View this email in your browser May 4, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES A suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship has led to three deaths, while lab results confirm six cases, reports France24; WHO officials said the  “risk to the wider public remains low” as exposure to the virus is rare and typically linked to exposure to infected rodents, reports Reuters.     Ghana has rejected a bilateral health agreement with the U.S., as Ghana’s leaders resisted terms requiring the sharing of sensitive health data—the same issue that led Zimbabwe to reject a similar deal and that has also prompted a court to suspend implementation of Kenya’s agreement. Reuters via The Post and Courier    School phone bans in the U.S. have had mixed results so far, finds a large new study published in the National Bureau of Economic Research, which analyzed 40,000+ schools and found that test scores and attendance have not increased; however, the study found improved student well-being over time and said long-term impacts bear further study. The New York Times (gift link)     The U.S. identified 50 large TB outbreaks involving 10+ related cases between 2017 and 2023, per new CDC data published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which found that roughly two‑thirds of large outbreaks occurred within family or social networks. Newsweek IN FOCUS Farmers harvest potatoes in a field in Dalingzi Village of Daxinzhuang Town in the Fengnan District, Tangshan City, China, on July 9, 2025. Yang Shiyao/Xinhua via Getty The Growing Threat of ‘Hidden Hunger’
Staple foods like rice, wheat, legumes, and potatoes are steadily losing vital nutrients, as rising carbon dioxide levels from climate change deplete key minerals and vitamins from crops. The shift could lead to mounting health consequences, scientists say—especially in low-income countries.     What’s happening: Increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere alter plant development by speeding growth and boosting sugars while disrupting their ability to absorb key minerals, like zinc and iron.  

• In one paper published in Global Change Biology, scientists found that nutrients have already decreased by an average 3.2% across all plants since the late 1980s—a depletion already impacting diets worldwide.  

“The diets we eat today have less nutritional density than what our grandparents ate, even if we eat exactly the same thing,” said Kristie Ebi of the University of Washington’s Center for Health and the Global Environment.    The impact: Scientists warn of a future of “hidden hunger,” where people eat sufficient calories but face major deficiencies. While wealthy countries can offset losses with diet changes and supplements, poorer populations reliant on impacted crops could see “devastating” impacts.  

• By mid-century, over a billion women and children could face increased risk of iron-deficiency anemia, leading to pregnancy complications, developmental problems, and death.  

• And ~2 billion people across the globe already facing nutrient shortages could see exacerbated health problems.  

Strategies needed: Researchers emphasize the need for agricultural policy geared toward growing an array of nutritious crop variants—and the urgent need to cut carbon emissions.     The Washington Post (gift link)    ICYMI: Less Nutritious Crops: Another Result of Rising CO2 – Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health  DATA POINT

40,000+
—————
The number of measles cases since March 15 in Bangladesh’s growing outbreak, according to health officials; nearly 300 deaths have been reported in that time frame. —Outbreak News Today   POLICY Raw Milk Market Gains Ground   
State legislators are pressing for wider access to raw milk in the U.S., as demand for the product grows despite its established health risks and links to ongoing outbreaks. 
 
More legal avenues: Currently 40+ proposed bills in 18 states are seeking to make it easier to buy, sell, or consume raw milk. 
 
Risks persist: The push for raw milk access has accelerated with promotion from social media and wellness influencers, despite five outbreaks linked to raw milk reported in the past year alone. 

• A CDC review identified 200+ outbreaks tied to raw milk that sickened 2,600+ people between 1998 and 2018, with children especially vulnerable.  

“Public health has lost the battle on raw milk,” said Mary McGonigle-Martin, co-chair of consumer advocacy group Stop Foodborne Illness. 
 
AP  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES QUICK HITS WHO delays pandemic treaty amid pathogen-sharing dispute – Reuters  
Court restricts abortion access across the US by blocking the mailing of mifepristone – AP     ‘Mothers won’t die, babies can survive’: new maternal hospital opens in world’s largest refugee camp – The Guardian 
Trump just replaced his surgeon general pick, and it could change what you’re told about your health – Fast Company    ‘A ghost that lives with us’: Death Cafes take the sting out of the inevitable end – CNN   Issue No. 2909
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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An outbreak of deadly hantavirus aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean has triggered an international public health response.

Three people have died and three others are ill following suspected cases of hantavirus infection on a cruise ship in the Atlantic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday.

Pour marquer la Journée internationale des travailleuses et des travailleurs, soyons véritablement unis pour la santé.

96 Global Health NOW: A Turning Point in TB Testing; and A ‘Terrifying Medical Underworld’ Expands View this email in your browser April 30, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES Endometriosis diagnosis could be dramatically improved with a new imaging tool that uses a molecular tracer to help physicians observe blood vessel growth and inflammation in the body; the new tool could significantly shorten the long wait time for a diagnosis, which averages 9+ years in the U.K. The Independent 

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. 

Circumventing phlegm: A new molecular test detects TB bacterium DNA via a simple tongue swab or phlegm, using technology similar to that used in hospital-based COVID tests to produce results in under 30 minutes, per Medical Xpress. 

• 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. 

Implications: Easier, more reliable diagnosis could reduce missed cases, expedite treatment, and slow transmission.  HEALTH SYSTEMS A ‘Terrifying Medical Underworld’ Expands     A crisis is growing in American hospitals as more facilities resort to patient “boarding”: the practice of holding admitted patients for hours or days in the emergency departments or other ill-equipped temporary locations while awaiting a hospital bed.     The reasons for the growing practice are complex, including hospital financial structures and staffing issues. But meaningful reforms have yet to be enacted.     In a deeply researched, and deeply personal report, journalist and former ER physician Elisabeth Rosenthal lays out the crisis through the lens of her late husband’s own agony in this “terrifying medical underworld” in his last days before dying of esophageal cancer.     The quote: “Everyone knows about this problem, and no one cares enough to do anything about it. It’s barbaric,” said Adrian Haimovich, an ED doctor in Boston.     KFF Health News  OPPORTUNITY Funding Opportunity for Disability Inclusion  
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.  

Successful applicants can receive up to $150,000 over two years.  

• Learn more about the grants  

• Apply by May 20, 2026

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Gulls Just Wanna Have Fun    The frenzied squawks echoing from a pub in De Panne, Belgium, last weekend may have been alarming—if not downright annoying—to uninitiated passersby. But to the crowd inside, these were sacred hymns of homage.    The annual European Seagull Screeching Championship is, after all, more than a competition. Now in its sixth year, the event seeks to rehabilitate the much-derided sea scavengers’ reputation by “connecting gulls and people,” and reminding them that “a gull screeching brings back good memories,” explains the competition website.     The real memory-makers? The people with eerily good impressions of that unhinged cackle only a seagull can make as it divebombs your sandwich. This year, 70 contestants from 15 countries gave it their best go, Reuters reports, many donning feathers in an effort to further impress the five jury members (each “true seagull lovers,” assures the website).    And much like a seagull, organizer Claude Willaert has unapologetically bold aims for the competition, declaring to local station Focus WTV: “We are going to have more countries than at the Eurovision Song Contest.”  QUICK HITS RFK Jr. is holding up $600M in vaccines for poor countries – Politico     Australia becomes the 30th country to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem – WHO 
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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96 Global Health NOW: When Policy Shapes Biology; and How Health Misinformation is Fueling Solar Farm Fears View this email in your browser April 29, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES Aid groups are calling for a humanitarian corridor to be opened through the Strait of Hormuz as the war in Iran has led to the blockage of vital aid supplies, including critical medications. The Guardian    Viral hepatitis remains “a major global health challenge” despite notable gains, finds a new WHO report; while hepatitis C- and B-related deaths have declined significantly, current transmission rates of ~1.8 million infections annually show that2030 elimination goals are off-course. WHO    Disabled Americans who receive Supplemental Security Income and live with family members who qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will see their monthly benefits cut or eliminated if a Trump administration rule change moves forward; the cuts would affect ~400,000 people with dementia, developmental disabilities, and other conditions. ProPublica    A former NIH aide has been indicted on obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges for allegedly using his personal email to conceal federal records about federally funded research into dangerous viruses like the one that caused COVID-19. Politico  IN FOCUS A view of houses in KwanGode, a rural area outside Hillcrest, South Africa. November 29, 2025. Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty When Policy Shapes Biology    The introduction of powerful anti-HIV drugs in regions like South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natale province has rewritten disease outcomes of the populations there. But the intervention has also reshaped the DNA of people in the region, finds a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences—slowing evolutionary changes that were being driven by the epidemic, reports Science. 

• 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.  

Deep, downstream effects: Abrupt funding cuts to programs like PEPFAR and those affecting programs backed by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria risk undoing that progress, potentially allowing both the epidemic and its biological impacts to intensify again. 

• 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.  

Seismic shifts on the horizon: South Africa is facing major upheaval to its HIV-fighting infrastructure: the Global Fund has notified the country that it has less than eight years before its funding wraps, per another Bhekisisa report.  
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.  

Energy goals at stake: The backlash threatens to stall solar energy transition targets even as demand grows. 
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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96 Global Health NOW: UK Cuts Imperil Polio Eradication; and How One Sudanese Surgeon Held Back the Tide View this email in your browser April 28, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES Ghana has rejected a U.S. proposal for a bilateral health aid deal because of a requirement that it share health data; Zimbabwe shot down a similar America First Global Health Strategy-based proposal for the same reason. Reuters via The Straits Times 

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. 

What it means on the ground: The cuts will likely mean prioritizing surveillance and vaccination campaigns in the highest-risk areas, and postponing the goal of eradicating polio by 2029, says Huseynov.  
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. 

There’s hope that other countries will step in—such as Australia, Spain, Canada, and Korea—who are still “looking, kind of, to use their development assistance funds in a very positive way,” says Adrian Lovett of the ONE Campaign.    Nevertheless, a major concern is the signal the cuts send to other countries: “It’s not just about money. It’s about solidarity,” says Huseynov.
  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.  

Dire, ongoing need: ~40% of Sudan’s hospitals no longer function as the war enters its fourth year.    AP

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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  Copyright 2026 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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Countries are making measurable progress in combatting viral hepatitis, but the disease remains a major global health challenge, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a new report published on Tuesday. 

96 Global Health NOW: A ‘Critical Phase’ in the Malaria Fight; and Solar Powering Maternal Survival in Nigeria View this email in your browser April 27, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES Algeria has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem after a decades-long effort that was accelerated in 2013 with particular focus on 12 highly affected provinces and intensive door-to-door screening and management; it is the 29th country globally to have eliminated the infection, which can cause blindness. WHO    The first gene therapy for deafness has been approved by the FDA—a historic milestone in the treatment of hearing loss, though the treatment currently impacts only people born with a very rare form of genetic deafness; the manufacturer, Regeneron, will offer the treatment for free in the U.S. NPR    Living in pesticide-heavy environments could heighten the risk of cancer by up to 150%––even with chemicals considered “safe” on their own—per a Peru-based study that examined the impact of complex mixtures of chemicals in real-world conditions, in contrast to previous research that has focused mostly on individual chemicals in controlled environments. Institut Pasteur via ScienceDaily  
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 new threats: There is increasing evidence that parasites are growing resistant to artemisinin—the “backbone” of lifesaving therapies—per Nature Africa. This shift, along with insecticide-resistant mosquitoes and expanding mosquito habitats, is making it difficult to build on hard-won gains like the vaccine rollouts.     Ongoing toll of disruption: Meanwhile, malaria programs throughout Africa are still seeing the effects of the sudden USAID cuts last year, reports CIDRAP. In Zambia, for example, malaria hospitalizations are now increasing—likely due to the lack of regular USAID-funded spraying, doctors say.  

• 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.  

The Quote: “We’re just running all the time, and the malaria parasite is catching up with us all the time,” said Jane E. Carlton, director of the Malaria Research Institute at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.     Related:       How mosquitoes—and malaria—helped shape the whereabouts of early humankind – NPR    AI-powered drones slash malaria cases – GhanaWeb   Can you stop malaria crossing borders? One nation’s bid to wipe out the disease – The Guardian   Malaria rebound spurs AI-driven hunt for parasite genes linked to deadly cases – Phys.org DATA POINT

379 million
——————
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.  

Lifesaving solar energy: Since Gombe State Specialist Hospital installed a solar-hybrid system in 2020, maternal deaths have dropped from 15–20 per month to 1–2, and neonatal deaths have fallen from 50+ per month to 20–25.  

• “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. 

Nigeria Health Watch  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS South Carolina’s 200-day measles outbreak is over. What it cost. – The Post and Courier 
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.

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

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On a red running track in eastern Uganda, coach Zuena Cheptoek is doing more than training runners. For many girls in the Sebei subregion, she is also a confidante, a mentor and first line of protection against female genital mutilation, child marriage and abuse.

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.

Over the past 50 years, vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives, as ordinary people chose to protect themselves, their children and their communities from diseases like measles, diphtheria, pertussis, polio, and rotavirus.