Global Health NOW: A New Shot at Stopping HIV; and Fragile Gains, Tough Targets in the NTD Fight
November 5, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEFTwo new Ebola candidate vaccines have been approved by the WHO for clinical trials; the vaccines—ChAdOx1, developed by the University of Oxford with the Serum Institute of India, and Moderna’s mRNA-1469—are the first specifically designed to protect against Bundibugyo virus. Al Jazeera
Teenagers are not getting enough exercise, per a study published in The Lancet Global Health, which found that one in four adolescents worldwide were not active on any day of the week in 2025, and that girls are falling furthest behind; the global average of 2.7 active days per week has not changed between 2010 and 2025. Euronews
A third of infants diagnosed with a peanut allergy may be safely able to eat nuts, finds a new study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology; the study, which involved 10 pediatric hospitals across Australia, found that those infants who had a positive allergy test did not react to a supervised oral food challenge. ABC Australia
Cyberattacks against French blood bank refrigerators were prevented by facilities alarm systems; the hacks sought to reprogram blood cold storage to reach 110° C instead of -30° C, and are part of a wave of cyberattacks hitting cold storage facilities across Europe. France24
IN FOCUSJein Nhlanhla, the first South African person to receive lenacapavir, at Extension 19 Clinic in Embalenhle township, South Africa, on June 5. Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images
A New Shot at Stopping HIVThe FDA’s tentative approval of a generic version of Gilead’s long-acting HIV-prevention drug lenacapavir could “turn the tide of the HIV epidemic” by significantly widening global access to the 2X-yearly injectable PrEP through reduced cost, reports the AP.
By the numbers: The generic developed by Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, based in India, could cost just ~$40 per person per year in 120 low-income countries, compared with Gilead’s U.S. list price of $28,218.
But the real test is rollout: Even at cheaper rates, funding is still needed to bring the shot to low- and middle-income countries where it is needed, reports CIDRAP.
That will require large orders from purchasers like the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the U.S. government.
Plus, bolstered distribution and staffing systems will be needed to create new PrEP protocols.
What’s next: The Global Fund hopes to reach 3 million people by 2028, however, medical groups and health advocates say millions need the drug much sooner.
NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASESFragile Gains, Tough Targets in the NTD FightThe world is making progress against neglected tropical diseases—but the gains are “uneven and fragile,” and many countries are falling behind on 2030 elimination targets.
That’s the takeaway from the WHO’s Global Report on Neglected Tropical Diseases 2026, a mid-term update of the agency’s 2021–2030 road map.
Progress is real: NTD cases are down 19% since 2020; and 63 countries had eliminated at least one NTD as of June 2026.
Three specific milestones were reached: reduced dengue case fatality rates; chikungunya vaccine development; and the availability of WHO-recommended polyspecific antivenoms for snakebites.
But major gaps remain: Insufficient financing, conflict, climate change, weak surveillance and failure to cover NTDs in universal healthcare are all factors slowing progress.
OPPORTUNITYDon’t Forget the Fungi: The Growing Global Health Threats of Fungal PathogensFungal pathogens are commonly overlooked in global health.
Next week, the Duke Global Health Institute will host three experts to discuss the ways that fungi threaten health—ranging from infections in humans to fungi that impact agriculture and human food security—and consider how climate change is altering these threats.
Tuesday, Nov. 10, 12–1 p.m. EST
Attend in person or register to watch online.
When Englishman Karl Bushby contemplated his journey home from Chile in 1998, the choice was clear: He’d walk.
28 years, 31,000 miles, a trek across the Bering Strait, and a swim across the English Channel later, he’s home in Hull—with his mother.
“Where have you been?” she joked as they embraced outside his childhood home Monday, the BBC reports.
It wasn’t exactly a 28-year vacation. Meals often involved “shoveling plates in someone’s house on the side of the road somewhere,” he told the BBC. Over the years, he was “arrested, deported, broke, lost, and written off more times than he can count,” The New York Times reports (gift link).
Along with “a good shellacking” and unbearable tedium, Bushby experienced innumerable miracles and feats of human kindness. Now he’s seeking simpler thrills, like visiting school children “and telling them that the world is just a much better place than you will imagine.”
CORRECTIONOur bad! One of our Quick Hits yesterday included the wrong link—here is the correct one:
Nearly 1 in 5 patients with dental infections receive high-risk antibiotic, study shows – CIDRAP
Thanks to the readers who pointed this out!
QUICK HITSNew NHS blood test trial to detect cancer in its earliest stages – The Independent
CVS Health to split in two, separating pharmacy business from insurance – Reuters via NBC News
Pennsylvania reports 6th measles-associated death amid outbreak: Health officials – ABC News
Metformin given within a week of COVID-19 slashes risk of long COVID, death by 53%, paper notes – CIDRAP
Why human body temperature appears to be getting cooler – BBC
Issue No. 3010
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Two new Ebola vaccines to join DR Congo clinical trial
Research | Building the Foundation for Personalized RNA Therapeutics in Heart Disease
McGill researchers have developed a new way to study why the same heart-failure treatment can help some patients recover while others continue to worsen. The research was co-led by Diego Loggia, a D2R Scholar and PhD student in McGill's Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics.
Nineteen Canada Research Chairs awarded to McGill
Funding backs innovative research in an array of disciplines, including health sciences, music and social work.
The Government of Canada has awarded McGill $19 million in funding to support 19 researchers through the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) Program – 11 new and eight renewed appointments.
Prix du Québec honours for Nathalie Tufenkji
McGill environmental engineer who focuses on ‘problems that matter outside the lab’ recognized for research on plastic pollution
By Neale McDevitt
Global Health NOW: Can a Blue Wave Buoy Medicare for All?; and An 80-Cent Solution for Dangerous Deliveries
November 4, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEFSix climate and health-related measures could save 1.6 million lives a year and generate trillions of dollars in economic and fiscal gains, finds a new WHO report; those actions include heat warning systems; climate-resilient water, sanitation and hygiene; and clean household energy. WHO
UK aid strategy and spending have grown murky amid budget cuts and ministerial turnover, finds the 2026 Aid Transparency Index, an independent peer-reviewed analysis of data published by aid organizations and agencies; the UK’s transparency score has fallen 13.9 points for a lack of forward-looking objectives, strategies, and budgets, say report authors. The Telegraph
“Concerning” mental health indicators are trending worldwide, per a survey of 50,000 people in 92 countries published in the journal Social Indicators Research; languishing mental health has been increasingly reported among young people, who show “lower vitality, emotional stability and resilience.” Phys.org
Global cervical cancer cases could increase by ~20% and deaths by ~39% by 2050, per a modeling study published in Nature Medicine, which projects the highest incidence and mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa. Medical Xpress
IN FOCUSA supporter of California Democratic Congressional candidate Randy Villegas holds a “Medicare For All” sign at his election night party on November 3, in Bakersfield, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images
Can a Blue Wave Buoy Medicare for All?Sweeping Democratic victories in the U.S. Senate and House midterms will put health policy on lawmakers’ agenda in 2027, including the restoration of health spending cut by Republicans. The blue wave also brings a surge of momentum to universal health coverage advocates, reports Forbes.
Oxygen for Medicare for All: Winners last night included several Democratic candidates who support government-run public health insurance options like Medicare for All, most notably Michigan’s Senate seat winner Abdul El-Sayed. While policy proposals vary, they seek to expand Medicare access to Americans under 65.
~60% of Americans support Medicare for All, per KFF—but a legislative path remains uncertain, with moderate Democrats unlikely to embrace eliminating private insurance. Including a public option or Medicare buy-in may prove more politically viable.
More immediate health overhauls: Democrats are also promising to reverse Medicaid cuts enacted in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act and to restore enhanced ACA premium tax credits, which expired at the end of 2025. But that will be a tough act with Trump still in office, reports Axios.
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES MATERNAL HEALTHAn 80-Cent Solution for Dangerous Deliveries“How could a flimsy sheet of plastic and a small procedural change in treatment save women’s lives?”
That’s what Nigerian obstetrician Hadiza Galadanci first thought about a maternal drape for postpartum hemorrhage. But after joining research on the intervention, Galadanci was soon persuaded.
“Bundling” to block bleeding: Slipped under a woman in labor, the drape’s pouch catches blood; at 300 milliliters, health workers launch a rapid-fire “bundle” of treatments (massage, drugs, fluids) that, researchers learned, work best when delivered all at once.
The intervention can cut postpartum hemorrhage deaths in hospitals by about two-thirds—and is now the national standard of care in Nigeria.
Beyond the hospital: A kit for community health workers is now being tested for the many women who give birth at home.
The New York Times (gift link)
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITSNearly 1 in 5 patients with dental infections receive high-risk antibiotic, study shows – CIDRAP
U.S. overdose deaths drop 12%, per CDC estimates – Axios
Ebola survivors comfort sick children in Congo’s isolation wards – Reuters via Sight Magazine
Gabonese TikTokers fight back against toxic skin lightening products – The Telegraph
Former head of global health fund returns, eyeing a ‘huge opportunity’ despite political and financial challenges – Science
Breaking the silence in Mexico’s barracks – UN Wire
Which vaccines do children around the world receive? – Our World in Data
Issue No. 3009
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15 years of ‘almost no progress’ in getting young people moving: WHO
Global Health NOW: How Mpox Thrived in Neglect; and The Power of Peers in Schizophrenia Care
November 3, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEFViolence in northern Ethiopia is pushing the health system to the brink of collapse, warns WHO’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; recent fighting and drone strikes have killed at least 15 civilians, including several children, and strained medical facilities. Al Jazeera
The U.S. FDA has approved a generic version of lenacapavir, a twice-yearly HIV-prevention shot; the drug is expected to cost $40 a year per person, which could improve access for low- and middle-income countries—but there are questions about which countries will have access. AP
A child in northern New York died after contracting measles—the state’s first measles death in three decades; Gov. Kathy Hochul said the death signals an erosion of public health protections alongside declining vaccination coverage. The New York Times (gift link)
Washington state has reported a death from H5N1 bird flu; the person, who died after being exposed to infected cattle, marks the country’s first death this year; health officials say the risk to the public remains low, but the death comes amid an uptick in bird flu cases among poultry and livestock. The Independent
IN FOCUSAn ambulance is seen at a hospital in Kommunarka outside Moscow. December 12, 2021. Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr / Xinhua via Getty
How Mpox Thrived in NeglectThe two mpox outbreaks that triggered WHO emergency declarations in 2022 and 2024 stemmed from “decades of neglect” in vulnerable African communities, argues a new report by the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response.
A known and preventable crisis: The mpox virus circulated for 50+ years, causing sporadic outbreaks in poor West African communities—but weak health infrastructure and international neglect gave the virus years to mutate into the devastating variants that affected 82 countries, per Health Policy Watch.
Bridging the readiness gap: Researchers called for investment in locally led research, affordable vaccines and diagnostics, and regional stockpiles—plus the capacity to monitor future outbreaks.
“What other diseases are we neglecting in plain sight?” asked panel co-chair Helen Clark.
Meanwhile in Moscow: A Moscow hospital has confirmed the region’s third mpox case in a month—its eighth since the start of a 2022 outbreak. Russia has never disclosed which mpox clade patients carry—blocking European epidemiologists from determining whether the new Moscow cases represent the milder clade IIb strain responsible for the 2022 global outbreak, or the more dangerous clade Ib strain that has since spread across Europe, hampering the response, Tech Times reports.
Russia, as a WHO member state and signatory to the International Health Regulations, is required to share information about outbreaks, but “There is no mechanism to force countries to comply or share information,” says Alexandra Phelan with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
In South Africa, a lack of community mental health support means people with schizophrenia often become stuck in a cycle of hospitalizations for psychosis.
Peer-led support groups are proving to be a source of stability, helping participants navigate emotional triggers, relationships, and set personal goals—critical elements of recovery often unaddressed in medication-centric protocols.
In one 2024 study, researchers found that among people on medication for psychosis, just 2% experienced relapse when they supplemented medication with peer-led recovery groups, versus 17% on medication alone.
“Medication is just part of your recovery,” said peer-support advocate Charlene Sunkel. “The rest is your relationships with your family and your community.”
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS‘The term is becoming unrecognisable’: have the experts who believed in a single autism spectrum changed their minds? – The Guardian
Australia: Solitary Confinement Harming Prisoners with Disabilities – Human Rights Watch
Postcards from IDWeek: Growing number of infectious disease professionals embrace advocacy – CIDRAP
The invisible global health workforce: Why nurses matter more than ever – Medical Xpress
Are GLP-1s leading to divorce? The answer is complicated. – The Washington Post (gift link)
Issue No. 3008
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Global Health NOW: Dangerous Blind Spots in the U.S. Measles Fight; and Rethinking Forever Chemical Cleanup
November 2, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEFBelarus is holding ~22 political prisoners in psychiatric hospitals, per human rights groups who say the prisoners are reportedly undergoing compulsory psychiatric treatment and being confined indefinitely outside the country's conventional prison system. Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
Even moderate drinking is linked to premature death, disability, cancer, and other diseases, finds a major new study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs; researchers found no overall health benefits from alcohol and warned that consuming more than one alcoholic beverage per day can significantly increase risks. Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health via ScienceDaily
A new endometrial cancer test could prove a less invasive, more reliable diagnostic; the new test, a vaginal swab developed by molecular diagnostics company PinkDx, could spare half of the tested population from undergoing the standard, painful biopsy to test for the cancer. The Washington Post (gift link)
Barbados has eliminated mother-to-child HIV transmission as a public health problem, the WHO has announced, crediting the country’s universal pregnancy healthcare as a key reason the country recorded no new HIV infections resulting from mother-to-child transmission among infants between 2022 and 2024. Caribbean National Weekly
IN FOCUSAn Amish horse-and-buggy near the town of Bird-in-Hand, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. November 7, 2022. Branden Eastwood / AFP via Getty
Dangerous Blind Spots in the U.S. Measles FightA long-dormant measles threat is emerging in the U.S., as clinicians encounter more cases of measles during pregnancy and congenital measles passed on to newborns—a poorly understood form of transmission that has researchers and physicians’ groups scrambling for guidance, reports The Atlantic (gift link).
“Unprecedented” gaps: Most U.S. clinicians have never encountered measles during pregnancy. Before vaccination, most people had developed immunity through infection well before childbearing age, reports The Washington Post (gift link).
~77 pregnant women in Pennsylvania have been diagnosed, per the state’s health department, which issued an advisory on congenital measles in October.
But miscarriage and congenital infection rates remain unclear. There’s no national tracking system and little evidence to guide treatment.
While the CDC sought to issue an urgent alert last month, the report has been stalled amid internal review delays, contributing to a “profound vacuum” for doctors seeking direction, says infectious diseases physician Jeanne Marrazzo: “These are unprecedented knowledge gaps.”
Seeking immunization inroads: Amid this crisis, the region’s largely unvaccinated Plain People communities—including Amish and Old Order Mennonite groups—are showing more openness to immunization as health workers build trust through patient, relationship-based outreach, reports the AP.
Related:
7% of measles cases misdiagnosed, study finds, raising concerns about disease spread – CIDRAP
Measles made a stealthy return as another virus took the spotlight – Nature
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES POLLUTIONRethinking Forever Chemical CleanupCleaning up “forever chemicals” in the environment is notoriously difficult. Eliminating them once they are taken offsite is a whole other challenge.
Scientists have been advancing new technology to destroy PFAS, including leveraging extreme heat, high pressure, UV light, sound waves, and electricity.
But these methods must be proven safe, effective, and scalable—and not to cause their own contamination.
Enter the newly opened PFAS Remedial Technology Engineering (RiTE) Center at the Colorado School of Mines, which aims to standardize evaluation of PFAS removal tech.
And there is also the question of priority: Scientists say it is impossible to eliminate every trace of PFAS, so guidance is also needed on where to focus.
ICYMI: New Model Could Better Protect Farmworkers From PFAS-Contaminated Soil – Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITSCongo’s Ebola deaths top 5,000 as fear of continent-wide spread mounts – PBS
Women travel thousands of miles for a reproductive moonshot. Scientists say they’ve been misled – STAT
Alzheimer’s tests and treatments are available right now – Gates Notes
Doctors in Ukraine Try Treating Infections Like Biological Warfare Attacks – The New York Times (gift link)
The Door-to-Door Technique That Actually Changes Minds – Reasons to Be Cheerful
Serbia just elected the world’s brainiest parliament – Science
Issue No. 3007
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'Heart-in-a-dish' paves way for personalized treatment for heart failure
McGill researchers have developed a new way to study why the same heart-failure treatment can help some patients recover while others continue to get worse.
Combining “heart-in-a-dish” technology with advanced microscopy, the approach makes it possible to identify differences between patients that would probably be missed using conventional methods.
Ethiopia: Violence in the north is pushing health system to the brink, WHO chief warns
Day in the Lab: Inspiring Girls Through Science
Last week, D2R accompanied high school girls in Grades 7-9 from Les Scientifines on a visit to the Biomedical Engineering Lab of D2R-funded researcher Caroline Wagner at McGill University. The visit offered students a firsthand look at the exciting world of science.
Global Health NOW: Data Centers Hit the Ballot; and In Florida, Pollution and Gun Violence Intersect
October 29, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEF~6 million people in Haiti are experiencing severe hunger, with almost two million facing emergency levels of food insecurity, finds a new UN report which says the crisis is expected to worsen into next year amid widespread gang violence and displacement. AP via AfricaNews
~75% of former NFL players who died between 2008–2023 most likely had CTE, finds a new study published in JAMA Network Open that expands ongoing efforts from Boston University, Mass General Brigham, and the Concussion & CTE Foundation to establish the prevalence of CTE among deceased former NFL players beyond the high CTE rates identified in donor brain banks. ESPN
Six peptides will soon become widely available by prescription, the HHS has announced, saying it will temporarily allow compounding pharmacies to make peptides known as BPC-157, TB-500, epitalon, MOTS-c, KPV and semax, though scientific evidence on products remains unclear. ABC News
Millions of Los Angeles County residents were exposed to elevated concentrations of lead and other toxic metals found in smoke from the devastating Eaton Fire last year, finds a new study published in Science Advances; researchers estimate ~7 million people were exposed to lead concentrations 80X higher than typical levels when the blaze was at its peak. CBS News
IN FOCUSPeople participate in a protest of the CoreWeave AI data center outside the municipal building
Kenilworth, New Jersey, on October 21. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
Data Centers Hit the BallotAI data centers have become an increasingly prominent 2026 campaign issue, as backlash to their proliferation grows in communities concerned with potential health risks the centers pose, reports KFF Health News.
The opposition has reshaped political races from Arizona to Texas to Ohio, and put incumbents in reliably Republican states on their heels. Many standoffs are occurring in states that President Trump won in 2024.
While the volume of opposition may have recently lessened, per polling from Heatmap, the centers remain vastly unpopular, with 71% of Americans saying they would oppose a data center being built near where they live.
Mounting health concerns range from increased emissions linked to cardiovascular and respiratory disease; to impacts of noise and light pollution; to the dispersion of “forever chemicals.”
And many local governments have been unprepared when it comes to anticipating and regulating potential environmental and health harms, forcing residents “to shoulder the burden of gathering evidence, seeking out experts, and demanding information”— resulting in a newly activated voting base, reports Think Global Health.
Jacksonville, Fla.’s gun violence crisis may have roots in decades of environmental racism, finds a joint investigative report by KFF Health News, The Trace, and Action News Jax.
Jacksonville has some of the highest child firearm injury rates in Florida, with ~375 children hospitalized for gun injuries since 2018.
~150 lived near a former toxic waste site, Brown's Dump, which has been home to elevated levels of lead, arsenic, and other contaminants.
The city also has one of the state’s highest lead poisoning rates—a factor that researchers and doctors say leads to poor mental health outcomes and increased rates of violence.
Lead exposure in the first six years of life has been positively associated with an increased risk of firearm violence in early adulthood, per a 2019 study.
Join the Institute for Global Tobacco Control for a virtual Innovations in Tobacco Control lecture.
As part of the Institute’s monthly lecture series, Nandita Murukutla, PhD, who leads the Behavioral Insights Lab at Vital Strategies, will speak on AI-enabled digital surveillance that can identify online marketing of tobacco and other harmful products.
November 18, 10–11 a.m.
Another fall in America. Pumpkin spice lattes, cozy knits, and … giant inflatable pumpkins on the loose.
Last year, Ohio cops found themselves “pretty much in pursuit” of a defiant PVC gourd which was later detained, deflated, and squashed … into the back of a police car, AP reports.
Not to be outdone, this year a North Carolina inflatable “took itself for a ‘walk’” near a fall fest before being pacified by four adults and “rehomed” to a less blustery location near a corn maze, USA Today reports.
In Dubuque, Iowa, a massive puffy pumpkin barreled through traffic in front of driver Pat McCarron, who’s been on gourd ever since: “What’s going to pop up today? … Frankenstein or something?” she pondered to KCRG.
The takeaway for one Dubuque cop: Secure your décor, because, to put it mildly: “We don’t really need those things bouncing down the roadway.”
QUICK HITSDengue comes back even in vaccinated people — new clues – Nature
Health coverage more strongly associated with income than world region – Eureka Alert
More education linked to lower dementia risk, study finds – The Washington Post (gift link)
HHS updates national Alzheimer's plan with shift toward prevention, earlier detection – Healio
The 3 public health threats that scare Michael Osterholm most—and 4 bonus frights – CIDRAP
Issue No. 3006
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Global Health NOW: A ‘Decisive Moment’ After a Decade of Climate Harms; and A Pandemic-Perfect Petri Dish
October 28, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEF19 pathogens cause ~9.7 million infections and ~50,800 deaths in the U.S. annually, per an updated CDC report on antimicrobial resistance, which found that healthcare-related infections account for 42,000+ of those deaths and ~$12 billion in healthcare costs, and that drug-resistant fungus Candida auris infections have increased 10X since 2019. The Washington Post (gift link)
~18.9 million people developed pertussis in 2023, and 115,000 died from the disease globally—with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 65% of deaths, per a study published in Nature Medicine, which also found cases and deaths rose sharply after the COVID-19 pandemic. CIDRAP
900+ U.S. women were criminally charged for conduct during pregnancy in the three years after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs verdict, per a new Pregnancy Justice report; the majority of charges were for child abuse, neglect, or endangerment, and at least 13 were charged for obtaining, seeking to obtain, or researching how to get an abortion. Stateline
AI bots were used in an attempt to manipulate the U.K.’s policymaking around disposable vapes, with machine-generated responses making up three-quarters of all submissions to a 2023 consultation on a tobacco and vapes ban, finds research published in Tobacco Control; the effort is thought to be the first coordinated attempt to use AI to “swamp” health policymaking consultations in the U.K. The Guardian
IN FOCUSAn ambulance providing medical assistance to tourists is seen in front of the Colosseum during an extremely hot day in Rome, on August 28. Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu via Getty
A ‘Decisive Moment’ After a Decade of Climate HarmsA decade after the Paris Agreement’s enactment, The Lancet Countdown’s 10th report on Climate Change and Health delivers a sobering verdict: “The health harms of climate change are growing faster than the world’s response to them, and in many cases even accelerating,” said the Countdown’s executive director Marina Romanello, per ABC.
In light of this, the report calls for the WHO to declare a global health emergency—and lays out a path toward further action, while also highlighting indicators of progress.
Key findings:
Increasingly deadly heat: ~3 million deaths worldwide from 2016 to 2023 were linked to heat, with developing countries seeing the highest proportion of heat-related deaths.
Fossil fuels’ continued dominance: Such fuels still account for 80%+ of global energy, and energy-related greenhouse gas emissions hit a record high in 2024, reports ABC Australia. Researchers singled out the U.S.’s continued promotion of fossil fuels as a major obstruction.
Hopeful signs: The growth of renewable energy has “vastly exceeded expectations.” Electric-based transportation increased by 427% globally from 2016 to 2023, and improved indoor air quality prevented ~400,000 deaths in 2023 compared to 2016.
Action recommendations: A formal WHO emergency declaration could trigger a more coordinated global response—including sweeping measures to cut emissions, a shared climate health data commons, and increased financial commitments from wealthier countries.
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ZOONOTIC DISEASESA Pandemic-Perfect Petri DishA bird flu outbreak has been raging on a Utah mink farm for more than two months—and officials have prioritized the fur industry over human health despite pandemic risks, ProPublica asserts.
So far, the strain in question hasn’t spread human-to-human—but a single mutation could change that.
With lungs and airways similar to humans’ at the cellular level, mink would be a prime intermediate host for spillover.
Muted response: Utah didn’t order the mink culled, as Spain and Finland did in similar outbreaks. Contrary to CDC guidelines, officials also chose not to monitor or test workers.
The Quote: “We might get lucky, and a response that is not robust may not have dire consequences. But we may get unlucky,” said Meghan Davis, a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health epidemiologist.
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITSShe Trusted ChatGPT With Her Medication Decisions. It Cost Her Everything. – The New York Times (gift link)
Nigeria’s women and girls impacted the most by British and US funding cuts, committee is told – The Telegraph
A ‘canary in the coal mine’: Measles resurgence exposes weaknesses in U.S. public health, experts say – CNBC
Hospital Beds for the Nation’s Sickest Kids Are Disappearing – KFF Health News
Who’s who in Trump’s America First Global Health Strategy – Devex
Strengthening American Global Leadership Through Development and Humanitarianism: An Affirmative Vision for U.S. Foreign Assistance – Aid on the Hill
Are you an organ donor? – Here are some rule changes you may want to know – NPR
How daylight saving time changes affect you and what you can do about it – AP
Issue No. 3005
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DR Congo: WHO urges sustained efforts as Ebola cases top 10,000
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Global Health NOW: The Dangerous Side Effects of Sierra Leone’s Soapmaking; and The Mechanisms Behind Microplastics’ Harms
October 27, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEFAt least 25 women and girls are killed every day in conflict settings—and conflict-related civilian war deaths have doubled since 2021, per the UN Secretary-General’s annual report on Women, Peace and Security; the UN has also verified 9,788 cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2025—2X as many as 2024, and nearly 4X as many as 2022. UN News
The U.K. has sanctioned senior Sudanese military commanders implicated in a “campaign of rape” during the siege of El Fasher, where thousands were massacred in October 2025; the British government said it has imposed travel bans and frozen the assets of 15 military leaders from both sides in the conflict—the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces. The Guardian
Kenya reported a second Bundibugyo Ebola death yesterday: the 65-year-old woman, a close relative of the country’s first identified patient, was receiving treatment for the disease and under quarantine when she died; Kenyan officials said that seven patients who tested positive remain in treatment and reported no new cases of the virus. CIDRAP
GLP-1 weight loss and diabetes drugs should be discontinued one to two months before pregnancy, per “long-awaited” guidance from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; the group also recommends that clinicians carefully monitor neonatal weight gain if the drugs are used during breastfeeding. Healio
IN FOCUSFour-year-old Amza Kebbie with his mother Mamie at the Goderich Surgical Centre, outside Freetown, Sierra Leone. Simon Townsley / The Telegraph
The Dangerous Side Effects of Sierra Leone’s SoapmakingA humanitarian effort to improve sanitation and women’s livelihoods in Sierra Leone has fueled an ongoing poisoning crisis among children.
Background: In the aftermath of Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war, which ended in 2002, aid agencies proposed soapmaking as a “win-win” for women to generate income while contributing to community sanitation efforts.
But the initiatives encouraged home use of caustic soda—a highly corrosive chemical, also known as sodium hydroxide, that is easily mistaken for drinking water, and which has now injured thousands of children.
One recent victim, a four-year-old boy, is undergoing treatment in an intensive care unit after he drank caustic soda, which stripped the lining of his esophagus and part of his stomach, causing lifelong injury.
The toll: Freetown’s Goderich Surgical Centre admits ~200 children annually with caustic soda injuries; medical advocates fear many more are harmed in more remote regions.
“Almost every family knows someone who has suffered,” said chief surgeon Giuseppe Meucci.
Microplastics can trigger chemical reactions that could damage cells, suggests new research published in Nature that could help explain links between microplastics and inflammation and disease.
How it works: Microplastics exposed to water generate chemicals known as reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can damage biological molecules like DNA—and contribute to cancer, heart disease, and neurological diseases.
Missing mechanics: Earlier studies found links between microplastics and certain diseases, but the new research identifies a “mechanism for the detrimental effects” in the form of oxidative stress and the production of dangerous free radicals.
While more study is needed to understand these relationships, the research “challenges the prevailing paradigm of plastic inertness,” and may inform the design of safer materials.
The Washington Post (gift link)
Related:
Medical Care Sheds Microplastics Into Patients. What to Do? – Medscape (free registration required)
International Assessment Finds Growing Global Health Toll from Ozone Air Pollution – Milken Institute School of Public Health – The George Washington University
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS‘Our world is yellow’: Fears for children as sickening smog blankets Indonesia – The Telegraph
Claude helped plan risky bird flu research. What did the AI add? – ScienceNews
Not a Culture War: Attacks on Women’s and LGBT Rights Are ‘Central’ to Autocratic Playbook – Health Policy Watch (commentary)
Fact vs. fiction: Doctors share whether peptides are safe and effective – CNBC
From a rotation in Zimbabwe to a continent-wide surgical training platform – Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health
How a scientist who studies dementia protects himself from bad air – The Washington Post (gift link)
A simple liquid can stop cavities without drilling, major study confirms – University of Michigan via ScienceDaily
Issue No. 3004
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Contributors to Global Health NOW include: Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, and Jackie Powder.
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Ebola: 20 contacts released from quarantine in Kenya, amid vaccine ‘hope’ in DR Congo
Lawrence Kazak awarded NSERC’s Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship
McGill researcher at the forefront of metabolic science recognized with $250,000 award for promising early-career scientists
Professor Lawrence Kazak, Canada Research Chair in Adipocyte Biology and Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, has been awarded the 2026 Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship.
Global Health NOW: Ebola’s Cross-Border Threat Mounts; and Venezuela’s Abortion Care Is Underground, and Under Threat
October 26, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEFResults of a melanoma vaccine trial further demonstrate the power of genetically tailored cancer treatments; the trial results of intismeran autogene, the vaccine developed by Moderna and Merck, show a significantly reduced risk of melanoma returning after surgery in phase 3 clinical testing when combined with an existing immunotherapy, per data presented at the 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Madrid. New Atlas
The long-acting injectable HIV treatment Cabenuva suppresses HIV as effectively in the real world as in controlled clinical trials, per new study results presented at the ID Week medical conference in Washington, D.C.; researchers found that Cabenuva, which combines the drugs cabotegravir and rilpivirine, suppressed HIV to undetectable levels in 94% of people. CIDRAP
U.S. measles cases this year are now more than double the total number for all of 2025 per new CDC data, which reports 4,580 measles cases as of Oct. 22; numbers remain especially high in Pennsylvania, where 1,338 cases have been confirmed, 250+ people have been hospitalized, and five people have died. NPR
50,000+ deaths have been linked to Europe’s record-breaking heatwaves this summer, per research published in Nature Health that analyzed heat and mortality in 854 urban areas in 30 countries across Europe; southern and western Europe were hardest hit, with Italy experiencing the highest number of excess deaths at ~13,000. The Telegraph
IN FOCUSPort health officials from Kenya's Ministry of Health wait to screen passengers at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Nairobi, October 7. Simon Maina / AFP via Getty
Ebola’s Cross-Border Threat MountsEbola has now reached a third African region, “the widest footprint of any Ebola outbreak to date,” as health officials rush to trace its spread, reports The New York Times (gift link).
That footprint now: Beyond the DRC epicenter—which has recorded 9,700+ cases and 4,600+ deaths—nine Bundibugyo cases have now been reported in Kenya, along with one in Nigeria. And Uganda, which was declared Ebola-free in August, is facing new questions after an infected patient traveled there.
The biggest threat is a hidden web of infection, epidemiologists say: ~70% of the DRC’s new cases are reported in communities, suggesting widespread undetected transmission and heightening fear of cross-border spread.
Uganda’s unclear connection: The circumstances surrounding the patient who tested positive in Nigeria remain murky. The patient, a Ugandan national married to a Swiss diplomat, reportedly spent two weeks in Uganda before developing symptoms.
Ugandan officials said the woman passed through the country on her way from the DRC. But the patient maintains she did not visit the DRC.
The patient has since been medically evacuated to Switzerland, reports Reuters via U.S. News & World Report.
Attacks imperil response: In eastern DRC, a nurse was killed and another health worker was severely injured while responding to an Ebola alert, reports the AP.
Related:
Uganda tightens Ebola border controls and requires returnees from Congo to pay for quarantine – AP
Converting Ebola skeptics: Christian leaders mobilize communities in Congo – The New York Times (gift link)
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RIGHTSVenezuela’s Abortion Care Is Underground, and Under ThreatDespite the political upheaval in Venezuela, little has changed when it comes to the country’s restrictive reproduction policies, which continue to push women toward clandestine abortions.
Criminalized care: Abortion is punishable by up to two years in prison. Abortions to save the mother’s life are legal, but advocates say that exception is rarely granted—and even miscarriage patients risk imprisonment.
Forced underground: Most abortions in Venezuela are medication-based, with many poorer women risking black-market scams to obtain pills.
Colombia closing? Many Venezuelan women seek abortions in neighboring Colombia. But proposed constitutional changes under an anti-abortion government could limit access.
Related:
Women are protesting in Poland for free access to legal abortions – AP
South Korea: Medication Abortion Rules Too Restrictive – Human Rights Watch
OPPORTUNITYAn Uzbek child looking from the door of her home in Ovakent neighbourhood of Hatay province in southeastern Turkey. February 14, 2015. Burak Milli / Anadolu Agency / Getty
The Untold Global Health Stories Contest Is Back!Do you have an important, underreported global health story to share? This is your chance to tell the world!
Enter the Untold Global Health Stories of 2027 Contest, co-sponsored by the Consortium of Universities for Global Health and GHN, for a chance to elevate an issue that matters to you—whether you’ve worked on it firsthand or have come across it in your travels.
The more specific, the better: We’re looking for stories rich in details and impact, backed by data and evidence. If your idea wins, Global Health NOW will select a journalist to tell your story.
Bonus: The winner receives a free registration for the CUGH annual meeting, in Lima, Peru, February 25–28, 2027.
Deadline: December 4, 2026
Deep Dive: Paying African Nations to Make Deportation Frightening – Inkstick (commentary)
Why Mass Shootings Happen Even in States With Strict Gun Laws – The Trace
Flu arrived early this year. Should clinicians do anything differently? – Medscape
British American Tobacco touted anti-smuggling efforts. Researchers say it cracked down only to help its bottom line. – The Examination
Scientists discover a hidden switch that burns fat and blocks new fat cells – Weizmann Institute of Science via ScienceDaily
The clocks change soon. Here’s how to prep your body. – The Washington Post (gift link)
Issue No. 3003
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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.
Contributors to Global Health NOW include: Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, and Jackie Powder.
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