The UN World Health Organization (WHO) has stepped up efforts to improve vaccination coverage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by providing vital logistical support, including boats and motorcycles to reach remote communities along the Congo River.

96 Global Health NOW: MAHA Puts Vaccines Under New Scrutiny; Pandemic-Era Repression in North Korea; and Amid a Texas Oil Boom, an Eruption of Hazards View this email in your browser March 10, 2025 Forward Share Post Signs point the way to measles testing in the parking lot of the Seminole Hospital District on February 27, in Seminole, Texas. Jan Sonnenmair/Getty MAHA Puts Vaccines Under New Scrutiny 
The CDC will launch a study to reexamine whether there is a connection between vaccines and autism—despite dozens of studies that found no such link, reports The New York Times (gift article). 

The move fulfills pledges made by new Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose “Make America Healthy Again” platform included promises to review the childhood vaccination schedule. 

Kennedy’s early moves are already undermining trust in vaccines, reports CNBC: “Within the next couple of years, we could see major drops in childhood vaccination rates,” said Lawrence Gostin, professor of public health law at Georgetown University.

States target mRNA: Meanwhile, conservative legislators in Iowa, Montana, and Idaho have introduced laws this year aimed at cutting the use of mRNA vaccine technology, reports Axios.

Measles marches on: Kennedy’s announcement comes as the measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico has spread to ~230 people and killed two, and as doctors report an “uphill battle” trying to convince some parents about the safety of vaccines and the inefficacy of supplements, reports Reuters. 

• But in some Texas cities, pharmacies are struggling to keep the measles vaccine stocked, reports The Guardian.

Related:

Maryland resident confirmed to have measles after international travel – CBS

America Is Botching Measles – The Atlantic

Expanding Measles Outbreak in the United States and Guidance for the Upcoming Travel Season – CDC Health Advisory GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Almost 1,000 civilians have been killed and hundreds more injured in military drone attacks across Africa in the last several years, per a report by Drone Wars UK on the escalating use of cheap imported drones across the continent. The Guardian
 
7% of 10,000 U.S. adults surveyed reported having been present on the scene of a mass shooting (defined as four or more people shot); the groups most likely to have witnessed a shooting include younger generations, males, and Black respondents. JAMA Network Open

New Tanzanian law aims to expand HIV testing by lowering the age of consent for testing from 18 to 15 years and by legalizing self-testing for HIV; health officials say the strategy will “significantly accelerate” efforts to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. UNAIDS

Israel will debate exiting the WHO today, per a Knesset bulletin; far-right leaders have been pushing for a departure amid the WHO’s criticism of Israeli attacks on health care in Gaza. The Times of Israel  U.S. Policy News ____________________________________________________________
  No disease is deadlier in Africa than malaria. Trump's US aid cuts weaken the fight against it – AP

NIH will eliminate many peer review panels and lay off some scientists overseeing them – Science

CDC asks researchers to assess how their projects align with Trump administration priorities – ABC 

Trump Administration Sends Politically Charged Survey to Researchers – The New York Times (gift article)

HHS sends employees a $25K voluntary buyout offer – The Hill HUMAN RIGHTS Pandemic-Era Repression in North Korea 
North Korea’s government has grown more repressive since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic—eliminating already sparse freedoms and creating a “grave human rights situation,” per Human Rights Watch, which interviewed recent escapees. 
 
Restrictions include: 

• Limitations on movement enforced by “shoot on sight” orders for border guards. 


• Border closures that limit access to food, medicine, and essential goods like soap and batteries. 


• Ideological control and surveillance, including an uptick in public executions, including those targeting people who consumed foreign media. 

The Quote: “Finding medicine was like picking a star from the sky,” said Hye Kyung, a fruit trader who escaped. 

Human Rights Watch GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Amid a Texas Oil Boom, an Eruption of Hazards
Fossil fuel production is surging in West Texas—and so are the dangers faced by workers and residents. 

• ~30 Texas workers die of explosions, poison gas, blunt force trauma, or vehicle crashes each year. 

Danger on the roads: A surge in oil-related traffic has led to a growing death toll on regional roads, say first responders. 

• In 2023, 365 people died on highways in the region, resulting from 73 crashes per day. 


• In 2023, over 1,000 people died on the highways of all of Texas’s oil-producing regions, per state data. 

Deregulation impact: As the Trump administration plans to allow for increased production in the region, “the result of that is just going to be a horrendous amount of vehicular activity,” said personal injury attorney Kent Buckingham. 

Pulitzer Center and The Hill  LETTER TO THE EDITOR Nuance Missed  
I was disappointed by the March 4 lead summary titled “Obesity Threatens Global Surge by 2050.” While you emphasize the urgency of projected rising obesity rates, the piece makes no mention of why obesity is concerning.
 
Like all public health issues, obesity is highly nuanced. Simply stating that more people will be obese does not, in itself, explain why that matters. What are the underlying drivers of obesity? What role do structural and social determinants of health play? Your coverage fails to engage with these essential questions and may perpetuate the simplistic and harmful notion that thinness equates to health.
 
Readers deserve reporting that is thoughtful and evidence-based, rather than an incomplete snapshot of a trend. I hope future coverage will provide greater depth, offering a more complete and informed perspective. —Anisha Verma OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Transforming the humanitarian system, not destroying it – The Lancet (commentary)
 
A fair pandemic treaty is unlikely, but poorer countries have healthy options – Chatham House

Doctors are still burned out five years after COVID exposed systemic failures – Axios

Deadliest phase of fentanyl crisis eases, as all states see recovery – NPR

‘There’s no other solution’: Polish abortion centre opens in challenge to strict laws – The Guardian

Women are poorly represented in clinical trials. That's problematic – Nature (commentary)

Scientists’ suit against top academic publishers lays bare deep frustration over unpaid peer review – STAT

Maasai girls take up self-defense as protection from sexual abuse and early marriage – AP Issue No. 2688
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: TB Services ‘Collapsing’; Demand Grows For Out-Of-State Abortion Care—And So Do Threats; and Germany’s Crusty Cele-bready Drastic U.S. cuts to foreign funding threaten to undo decades of progress in the global fight against tuberculosis View this email in your browser March 6, 2025 Forward Share Post A tuberculous patient takes medicine at Curicica Hospital, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 13, 2019. Stefano Figalo/Brazil Photos/LightRocket via Getty Tuberculosis Services ‘Collapsing’ 
Drastic U.S. cuts to foreign funding threaten to undo decades of progress in the global fight against tuberculosis—and could have “fatal consequences for millions worldwide,” the WHO is warning. 

Historically: The U.S. has been the largest international donor in the anti-TB fight, contributing ~$200-$250 million annually, reports Reuters. 

• USAID funding helped avert ~3.65 million deaths last year alone. 

Hardest hit regions: Programs could be dismantled in ~18 high-burden countries, mostly across Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific, and especially in Africa—where treatment disruptions and program stoppages could “exponentially increase TB transmission rates.”

Fallout: Already, funding constraints are leading to layoffs, supply chain breakdowns, and shuttered surveillance programs in TB-affected areas. 

Lingering limbo: Some organizations like Stop TB have been granted waivers to continue their work; but they do not know when funding will be restored, reports Devex.

• And while the U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the Trump administration could not withhold already-owed payments to foreign aid organizations, a timeline on potential restoration of those funds remains unclear, per The Hill. 

Related: Huge Risk Of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis In Wake Of Abrupt US Funding Cuts  – Health Policy Watch GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
Uganda's Ebola outbreak likely led to the deaths of two additional people, say investigators who have been looking into the death of a 4-year-old boy who died of the Ebola Sudan strain this past week; investigators say the boy’s mother and newborn sibling died a few weeks earlier without being tested. CIDRAP

The forced return of Eritrean refugees from Ethiopia should be condemned by the UN Human Rights Council, urges Amnesty International—which said the “human rights situation of Eritrean refugees remains dire” for the ~600 people forcibly returned to their home country. Addis Standard

Florida regulators are demanding “unusually intrusive” data on millions of prescriptions filled in the last year, including the names of patients taking medications, and doctors they’ve seen—sparking concerns about government overreach. The New York Times (gift link)

Resistance to standard antibiotics such as ampicillin, tetracyclines, and sulfonamides remains high in humans and animals, per a joint summary report issued by European health and food safety officials that includes surveillance data from 33 European countries. Food Safety News U.S. Policy News   US judge bars Trump administration from cutting NIH research funding – Reuters via U.S. News & World Report (free registration required)

CDC Calls Nearly 200 Fired Workers Back, Apologizes for 'Disruption' – Newsweek

US stops sharing air quality data from embassies worldwide. Scientists say that cuts out a vital resource for global health – CNN 

KFF poll reveals support for USAID, misconceptions on aid for global health – CIDRAP  REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS Demand Grows For Out-Of-State Abortion Care—And So Do Threats
As more people cross state lines to seek abortion care in the U.S., destination clinics are fighting to keep up the pace, reports USA Today. 

• In Illinois—which borders states with abortion restrictions—clinics have reported a surge of out-of-state patients since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, with one clinic reporting a 3X increase. 

Unsustainable model? Advocates say that even in protective states, the current health infrastructure is under strain—as people have fewer health centers to turn to and are forced to travel greater distances. 

Meanwhile, in Alabama: Advocacy groups are closely watching court hearings this week in a “bellwether” Alabama case that addresses whether the state can prosecute people over abortions that took place across state lines, reports The Guardian. 

• In Yellowhammer Fund v. Marshall, an abortion fund argues that State Attorney General Steve Marshall’s threats to prosecute activists who help people cross state lines for care won’t hold up in court.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HEALTH POLICY Mass Firings Undercut Tobacco Control Efforts
The U.S. FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), which reviews thousands of new products coming onto the market, took a major blow on February 15 when the Trump administration fired around 100 probationary workers. 

• The Center, which is not taxpayer-funded, was already struggling to regulate products that kill nearly half a million Americans each year—with only about 1,000 employees. CTP is also tasked with educating the public about tobacco’s health risks.

The staffing cuts come as the FDA is embroiled in battle with the tobacco industry over the rules governing emerging tobacco and nicotine products. CTP has faced criticism from both the industry and public health groups over its regulations, and lawsuits from companies challenging its decisions. 

The Examination

Related: He Fought Claims of Harm From Infant Formula. Now He Regulates It. – The New York Times (gift article) ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Germany’s Crusty and Grumpy Cele-bready  
Itʼs his birthday and heʼll sulk if he wants to.

A melancholy loaf of bread is celebrating… nay, reluctantly acknowledging, its 25th anniversary as a German TV star, but heʼd rather be home staring at the walls.
 
Nothing to proof: The puppet Bernd das Brot—Bernd the Bread—has become beloved by adults as well as children, and received prestigious awards for embracing “the right to be in a bad mood,” AP reports.
 
Thereʼs a multitude of good reasons for Bernd to be ticked off, not least the unrequited love of a baguette who rejected him in favor of a “run-of-the-mill multigrain.”
 
But our favorite detail is a heartening one: Bernd, and his signature grimace, was originally conceived by one co-creator sketching the other on the back of a napkin. Instead of their relationship going stale, they created an icon of ennui.
 
So if this team can survive such brutal honesty, and their curmudgeonly creation can be besties with a sheep and a flower bush … then why canʼt the rest of us just get along? QUICK HITS UN to halve Rohingya food aid in Bangladesh amid funding crunch – Al Jazeera

Cases of Parkinson's disease set to reach 25 million worldwide by 2050, study suggests – Medical Xpress

Wastewater sampling could be key to early warning of new disease outbreaks – The Guardian

"Identity fraud": Proposed Texas state law would make identifying as transgender a felony – Salon

More women doctors than men for first time in UK – BBC Issue No. 2687
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @globalhealth.now and X @GHN_News.

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Global efforts to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic continue to remain insufficient, with deadly consequences, the UN Human Rights Council heard on Thursday.

96 Global Health NOW: Inside the Disarray at the NIH; Retinol’s Ugly History; and U.S. Organ Transplant System in Turmoil View this email in your browser March 5, 2025 Forward Share Post People gather on the University of Illinois Chicago campus to voice concerns about the potential loss of federal funding for medical research on February 19. Scott Olson/Getty Inside the Disarray at the NIH
Over six weeks, the NIH—the world’s largest sponsor of biomedical research—has been thrown into chaos after the Trump administration's orders for vast funding cuts and a suspension of grant reviews, reports The Washington Post (gift link).

• Despite federal rulings declaring the cuts unconstitutional, funding remains frozen as NIH employees fear violating executive orders.


• Leadership has been overturned, and ~1,200 probationary staff have been cut.

The result: “The longer the pause on NIH funding has dragged on, the more the American research community has descended into disarray,” reports Katherine Wu for The Atlantic.

• Universities have paused graduate admissions; labs are planning staff cuts; clinical trials risk being shut down; and biomedical internships are canceled, per STAT.

A “Plan B” to cut funds: Even if courts reject the funding cuts, the Trump administration could negotiate individual university payments in a “cat-and-mouse game,” reports Politico. 

Deeper fears: The remaking of the agency could end biomedical research in America “as we know it,” said Monica Bertagnolli, former NIH director.

Such concerns will be in play during today’s confirmation hearings for Jay Bhattacharya, the Trump administration’s pick to lead the agency.

• A Stanford professor and critic of COVID-19 shutdowns and vaccine policies, Bhattacharya is a physician who has never completed clinical training or practiced medicine. His research focuses on health economics and policy, reports NBC. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   The Americas region is at risk of losing its hard-won measles elimination status, PAHO warns, pointing to a 4.5X rise in reported cases compared to the same period last year; the U.S. and Canada account for over 97% of the region’s cases so far, but Mexico and Argentina have also reported cases. CBS
 
42% of people surveyed in Ohio State University–led research mistakenly believed that human papillomavirus (HPV) is more common in women than men, and 45% did not know if HPV was linked to cancers beyond cervical, per a survey of 1,005 people. CIDRAP
  
More than 60% of Americans expect that USAID’s dissolution will lead to more humanitarian and health crises globally, while 47% think the move will significantly reduce the U.S. budget deficit, according to a new poll that also shows Americans largely overestimate U.S. spending on foreign aid. KFF

Pregnant women and newborns in Beijing carry blood lithium levels up to 20X higher than those in a comparable industrial city, Changsha, according to a new study that raises “urgent” questions about an unidentified source of lithium pollution in the Chinese capital and details related health risks. South China Morning Post via MSN U.S. Policy News Medicaid cuts put adult dental care on the chopping block – Axios

Trump vowed to end surprise medical bills. The office working on that just got slashed – KFF Health News

Trump’s data deletions pose a stark threat to public health – The Bureau of Investigative Journalism

CDC rescinds some staff firings – NPR

Trump administration expected to seek to let Idaho enforce its strict abortion ban, in drastic reversal from Biden White House's stand – CBS

‘Omg, did PubMed go dark?’ Blackout stokes fears about database’s future – Nature HUMAN RIGHTS Retinol’s Ugly History 
Retinol has become a standard ingredient in skincare products. But its little-known origin story involves decades of medical abuse. 

• Before Retin-A’s FDA approval in 1971, it was tested on hundreds of incarcerated people in Philadelphia’s now-closed Holmesburg Prison in experiments led by University of Pennsylvania dermatologist Albert Kligman. 


• The mostly Black male test subjects had high-dosage chemicals applied to their skin, along with other medical procedures that left wounds and scars.

Calls for justice: The University of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia have issued formal apologies. But survivors and their families are calling for reparations, as retinol now generates billions of dollars in sales. 

• “My daddy’s skin is in those jars,” said Adrianne Jones-Alston, whose father underwent the experiments. 

Teen Vogue GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ORGAN DONATION ETHICS U.S. Transplant System in Turmoil 
Organ transplants in the U.S. have long been governed by a national registry: a consistent ranking system that aims to pair donated organs to patients who need them most. 

But a troubling new trend has emerged, where the registry order is regularly ignored, with officials “leapfrogging over hundreds or even thousands of people” to decide matches, finds a must-read investigation by the New York Times. 

By the numbers: Last year, officials skipped patients on the waiting lists for ~20% of transplants from deceased donors—6X more often than a few years earlier.

Impact: 1,200+ people have died over the last five years after being skipped while nearing the top of a waiting list. 

The New York Times (gift link) 

ICYMI: Myanmar villagers reveal ‘desperate’ illegal kidney sales – BBC FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY Calling All Changemakers!
  The application for the 2026 Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity cohort is now open! If you’re passionate about tackling health disparities and creating a more just world, this is your chance to join a global community of leaders dedicated to health equity.
 
Early- to mid-career professionals engaged in health-related work located in all parts of the world are encouraged to apply for this one-year, non-residential fellowship offered by George Washington University.   

• Sign up for a March 13 informational webinar
• Read the recruitment prospectus
• Learn more
• Deadline to apply: April 10

QUICK HITS CDC says it is on the ground in Texas to aid in measles outbreak response – The Hill

Humanitarian aid’s extreme donor dependency problem in five charts – The New Humanitarian

Breaking taboos about contraception in Benin – Médecins Sans Frontières

She’s a Foot Soldier in America’s Losing War With Chronic Disease – The New York Times (gift article)

USAID Helped Me Become the Scientist I Am Today – Med Page Today (commentary)

Smartwatches could end the next pandemic – Aalto University via ScienceDaily

Sperm quality linked to living longer, study finds – CNN Issue No. 2686
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 World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday that severe funding cuts – particularly in the United States – are threatening decades of progress in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), still the world’s deadliest infectious disease.

96 Global Health NOW: Obesity Threatens Global Surge by 2050; Girls Denied Surgery in Afghanistan; and Vaccine Resisters Double Down View this email in your browser March 4, 2025 Forward Share Post Customers sit at a window-facing table inside a McDonald's restaurant, eating and using their phones. February 12, Chongqing, China. K Cheng Xin/Getty Obesity Threatens Global Surge by 2050
Urgent action needs to be taken now to confront the soaring global obesity epidemic, according to authors of a Lancet study published yesterday that estimates more than half of adults and nearly a third of children and adolescents will be overweight or obese by 2050.

Projected problem: Without “multifaceted and multisectoral interventions and treatments,” 3.8 billion adults 25 and older and 746 million children and young people ages five to 24 will be overweight or obese.

Current numbers: 2.11 billion and 493 million, respectively, are obese or overweight, The Guardian reports.

Accelerated worry: 522 million adults and 200 million children and young people in sub-Saharan Africa are expected to be obese by 2050—a 250% increase (though some of the increase is due to population growth), per Reuters.

The Quote: “The unprecedented global epidemic of overweight and obesity is a profound tragedy and a monumental societal failure,” said lead author Emmanuela Gakidou, of the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

Study background: Team members from the Global Burden of Disease Study BMI Collaborators based their estimates of what could happen without future interventions (such as widespread availability of new obesity drugs) and drew on data from 204 countries and territories.

Related: China, India obesity problems driving global surge, study says – Bloomberg via The Edge Malaysia GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   A new mpox strain—a mutation of clade 1a that carries the APOBEC3 mutation, which enhances transmissibility—has been identified in the DRC; the WHO extended its declaration of a public health emergency of international concern over mpox late last week. The Telegraph

China’s highest court has called for a crackdown on paper mills churning out fraudulent manuscripts and selling authorships, as part of a broader push to curb research misconduct cases. Nature
 
Rates for precancerous lesions fell about 80% among 20- to 24-year-old women in the U.S. screened for cervical cancer between 2008 to 2022—bolstering evidence that the HPV vaccine is preventing cervical cancer, per a CDC report published late last week; however, a new JAMA Research Letter details a rise in cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates in rural U.S. counties with lower access to vaccination and screening.
 
A new swab test, dubbed the WID-easy test, is as accurate as an ultrasound scan in detecting uterine cancer and could help UK women avoid invasive ultrasound checks if adopted by the NHS, the developers say; the test is in use already by private medical clinics and in Austria and Switzerland. The Guardian Cuts to Science and Health The Global Fund will roll out the twice-yearly anti-HIV jab — with or without Pepfar – Bhekisisa

Devex Newswire: USAID employees and partners tell us what they think – Devex

NIH announces some key grant-review meetings will restart in late March – Science

US science is under threat ― now scientists are fighting back – Nature SURGERY Girls Denied Access in Afghanistan
Discriminatory Taliban restrictions are preventing Afghan girls from getting lifesaving surgical procedures, new medical data and personal testimonies show. 

Disparity by the numbers: While roughly half of Afghan children are girls, 80%+ of all surgical procedures performed by a charity-run pediatric unit in Kabul were performed on boys, per a survey published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Barred from care: Since the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, female medical professionals have been increasingly excluded from health institutions. And yet in many areas, male doctors are banned from treating women—forcing women to rely on faith healers and traditional medicine. 

The Telegraph GHN EXCLUSIVE OPPORTUNITY We Hope to See You Tomorrow!
Due to high demand we’ve released more tickets for this sold-out event co-hosted by GHN and the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health. We look forward to seeing you all for this special evening of storytelling. 

For those not in the D.C. area, you can watch the livestream on Global Health NOW; the link is now available on the event page. If you registered and can no longer make it, please release your Eventbrite ticket to allow someone else to attend. —Annalies Winny MEASLES Vaccine Resisters Double Down
As measles cases continue to spread in West Texas, many parents with anti-vaccine views still refuse to get their children vaccinated, claiming that the shot’s side effects are more dangerous than the disease itself, reports The Washington Post (gift link).

And yet silence: Neither Gov. Greg Abbott nor lawmakers from the hardest-hit areas have publicly addressed the outbreak or advocated for vaccinations, reports The Texas Tribune. 

COVID-19 ghosts: The response is being shaped by the pandemic, experts say—with politicians unwilling or reluctant to push public health interventions like vaccination and quarantine.

• “Texas is such an independent state. People don’t want to be told what to do, forgetting that what they do can affect others,” said Catherine Troisi, an epidemiologist at UTHealth Houston.

Related: 

Measles cases reported in Philadelphia area and in Texas traveler – CIDRAP

As RFK Jr. delivers his message on measles, public health experts hear a familiar tune – STAT

Can you still get measles even if you’ve been vaccinated? – Vox

US health official quits after reported clashes with RFK Jr over measles – The Guardian

RFK Jr.’s focus on vitamin A for measles worries health experts – The Washington Post (gift article) GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES CANCER Breast Cancer Cases Expected to Climb
Breast cancer diagnoses are projected to rise 38% globally by 2050—with annual deaths expected to increase by 68%, reports UN News.

• What that means: 3.2 million new breast cancer cases and 1.1 million related deaths each year by mid-century, per research published in Nature Medicine.

Contributing factors: A growing and aging global population, a higher prevalence of known risk factors for the disease, and improvements in detection and diagnosis, reports The Guardian. 

LMICs disproportionately affected: 

• In high-income countries, 83% of diagnosed women survive. In low-income countries, more than half of women diagnosed with breast cancer die from it.


• Death rates were highest in Melanesia, Polynesia, and west Africa.

QUICK HITS Children as young as 1 raped during Sudan's civil war, U.N. says – NBC

‘Rapid expansion’ of synthetic drugs reshaping illicit markets, UN anti-narcotics body warns – UN News

Dysentery cases on the rise in the Portland area: 40 new cases reported in January alone – USA Today

COVID 2024-25 vaccines 33% protective against emergency room or urgent care visits, data reveal – CIDRAP

Cancer Interception: The First HPV Antiviral Treatment Fights Pre-Cancers – University of New Mexico Newsroom Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe! 

Four ways to help beat health inequities in the face of USAID cuts – Nature

Extreme heat can age you as fast as a smoking habit – Grist

‘Man with the golden arm’: Grandfather whose rare blood saved millions of babies dies aged 88 – The Independent Issue No. 2685
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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Synthetic drugs are rapidly transforming the global drug trade, fuelling an escalating public health crisis, according to the UN administered International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).

96 Global Health NOW: February Recap Funding cuts to AIDS programs amount to a ‘death sentence,’ plus a round-up of GHN's must-read news from February. View this email in your browser March 3, 2025 Forward Share Post Client files are seen stacked on a table during an HIV clinic day at TASO Mulago service center. February 17, Kampala, Uganda. Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty A ‘Death Sentence’ for AIDS Programs—and Patients
Organizations working with HIV and AIDS across Africa are laying off staff and shuttering services this week—a sea change that could translate to “a death sentence” for hundreds of thousands of people over the next decade, reports The Guardian. 

Desperate attempts, dire end: There had been some hope that global HIV/AIDS efforts would be spared USAID cuts as part of waivers offered to “life-saving” projects. 

• But last week the State Department terminated 90% of foreign aid contracts issued by USAID—a death knell for many programs. 

Quantifying a catastrophe: In South Africa alone, eliminating PEPFAR is projected to lead to 601,000 HIV-related deaths over 10 years, finds a sobering study conducted before the cuts, per a STAT commentary. 

• At a press conference last week, clinicians and researchers in South Africa said programs were “being pushed off a cliff,” reports Science. 


• “This will be a bloodbath. Millions will suffer as a result of these actions, and global health—and the very notion of solidarity—will be unrecognizable,” said Jirair Ratevosian, former chief of staff at PEPFAR. 

Other human costs include hundreds of thousands of deaths from malaria, malnutrition, and other diseases, per a new memo drawn up by departing USAID officials, per The New York Times (gift link).   GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Uganda’s second Ebola death, a 4-year-old who was being treated at the main referral facility in Kampala, was confirmed on Saturday, raising concerns that the outbreak declared on Jan. 30 has not been contained; the WHO says efforts are underway to boost contract tracing and surveillance. The Independent

Water contamination could be the cause of illness in northwestern Congo, which has caused the death of 60 people and sickened 1,000+ others, WHO officials say. PBS

As measles cases increase in Texas, U.S. health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged people to get vaccinated—while also emphasizing the “personal” nature of the choice, reports Axios; meanwhile, the case count grew to 146 people last week, per the AP.  

States are easing licensing requirements for internationally trained physicians, meaning they may not have to repeat residencies in the U.S.; the shift could help alleviate physician shortages in rural areas. NPR Shots FEBRUARY MUST-READS Twice Bitten: Two Snakebite Deep Dives
The ‘Wild West’ of Antivenoms in Africa: In sub-Saharan Africa, a venomous snakebite is too often a death sentence: ~20,000 people in the region are killed each year, with rural populations especially impacted by severe antivenom shortages.

But even getting an antivenom is no guarantee of survival, as diluted and fraudulent antivenoms have flooded the poorly regulated market, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) reported.

U.S. foreign aid freeze imperils Eswatini’s hard-won success, according to another in-depth TBIJ report:

• Eswatini reported zero snakebite deaths last summer—an important first, as snakebites caused, at one point, more than 60 deaths a year in the country.


• But aid cuts forced the Luke Commission, a destination hospital for people with serious snakebites that led that progress, to close earlier this month to most patients. 

Gun Violence: Tales From Two Countries
Sweden’s Influx of Firearms: On February 4, Sweden suffered its worst mass shooting in history, at an adult education campus in Orebro that killed 11—forcing the country to reckon with a growing gun violence scourge, The Times reports.

• The shooting highlights Sweden’s shift from a “peaceful, high-trust society” to one struggling with gang-related crime, right-wing nationalism, and easier firearm access as illegal firearms are being trafficked in from the Balkans. 

In the U.S., Profile of a Forever Teacher: It’s been seven years since the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School killed 17 people. The Parkland, Florida, school building was bulldozed last year. But former teacher Ivy Schamis remains deeply connected to her old classroom and the 30 surviving students who were with her on that day, reports The New York Times (gift link).

• In a must-read profile of Schamis, reporter Emily Baumgaertner Nunn recounts the ongoing toll the trauma has taken on the teacher and her students, and how Schamis continues to be a lifeline for her students—all while struggling with her own grief.

FEBRUARY EXCLUSIVES A nurse takes care of a dengue fever patient at the Sergio Bernales National Hospital, in the outskirts of Lima, Peru, on April 17, 2024. K Juan Carlos CISNEROS/AFP via Getty Why Latin America Needs Its Own CDC—Now More Than Ever  
When COVID-19 swept through Latin America, it exposed the region’s lack of coordinated public health response mechanisms—accounting for 10% of global COVID-19 cases and 25% of deaths, despite making up just 8.2% of the global population.
 
Today, Latin America remains structurally vulnerable to the next pandemic, write a trio of public health leaders from Mexico and Peru. Pointing to the Africa CDC Model, they argue that Latin America needs a similar regional agency that would work alongside PAHO to ensure faster, more efficient responses to health emergencies–-and detail what it would take to make the Latin America CDC a reality—a message they also brought to the Consortium of Universities for Global Health, February 20-23 in Atlanta, Georgia.
 
Patricia J. García, Jorge Saavedra, and Ariel García for Global Health NOW

Nota del editor: GHN ha publicado una versión en español del comentario.

CUGH exclusive coverage by Brian W. Simpson:

• The Topic Everyone Was Talking About at CUGH 2025

• The Macro Impacts of Microplastics

FEBRUARY'S BEST NEWS How Guinea Stopped Sleeping Sickness   
Twenty years ago, Guinea had the highest number of sleeping sickness cases in West Africa. But as of this year, the country managed to eliminate the NTD transmitted by the Trypanosoma parasite and spread by tsetse flies, the WHO announced.

What did it take? After elimination efforts including mass screening and treatment proved ineffective, the focus shifted to vector control.

• Researchers discovered that tsetse flies are attracted to the color blue, so they developed tiny blue fabric screens coated with insecticide to attract and kill tsetse—a so-called “tiny targets” approach that has made a massive dent in cases.

El País

Related: Niger’s historic triumph over river blindness is a beacon of hope for Africa – The Telegraph GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES POPULATIONS A Future With Fewer Children 
Declining fertility is a “near-universal phenomenon”—affecting countries across a wide spectrum of incomes and cultural backgrounds. 

• 2023 may have been the first year ever the world’s population dipped below the replacement threshold.

“Harbingers of potential futures”: Reporter Gideon Lewis-Kraus considers the real-world effects of population decline across South Korea—which has the lowest fertility rate in the world at 0.7—where dwindling numbers of children have already led to closed schools, redesigned public spaces, and economic uncertainty. 

Still, long-term impacts remain a topic of debate, and government-led efforts to reverse the trend have proven elusive: 

• “A theory of fertility is necessarily a theory of everything—gender, money, politics, culture, evolution,” writes Lewis-Kraus. 

The New Yorker QUICK HITS As measles cases mount in the US, what's the situation worldwide? – Al Arabiya

RFK Jr. moves to eliminate public comment on HHS decisions – STAT
 
CDC Staff Prohibited From Co-Authoring Papers With World Health Organization Personnel – HuffPost
 
Renowned geneticist Francis Collins retires from NIH, urging ‘respect’ for embattled workers – AP

Iowa has high cancer rates. Trump's cuts to CDC and NIH are already hitting the state - NPR Shots

A Study of Mint Plants. A Device to Stop Bleeding. This Is the Scientific Research Ted Cruz Calls “Woke.” – ProPublica

Scented products cause indoor air pollution on par with car exhaust – New Atlas Thanks for the tip, Xiaodong Cai! Issue No. 2684
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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  CONTACT US
  Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.


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96 Global Health NOW: A ‘Death Sentence’ for AIDS Programs—and Patients; February Recap; and A Future With Fewer Children View this email in your browser March 3, 2025 Forward Share Post Client files are seen stacked on a table during an HIV clinic day at TASO Mulago service center. February 17, Kampala, Uganda. Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty A ‘Death Sentence’ for AIDS Programs—and Patients
Organizations working with HIV and AIDS across Africa are laying off staff and shuttering services this week—a sea change that could translate to “a death sentence” for hundreds of thousands of people over the next decade, reports The Guardian. 

Desperate attempts, dire end: There had been some hope that global HIV/AIDS efforts would be spared USAID cuts as part of waivers offered to “life-saving” projects. 

• But last week the State Department terminated 90% of foreign aid contracts issued by USAID—a death knell for many programs. 

Quantifying a catastrophe: In South Africa alone, eliminating PEPFAR is projected to lead to 601,000 HIV-related deaths over 10 years, finds a sobering study conducted before the cuts, per a STAT commentary. 

• At a press conference last week, clinicians and researchers in South Africa said programs were “being pushed off a cliff,” reports Science. 


• “This will be a bloodbath. Millions will suffer as a result of these actions, and global health—and the very notion of solidarity—will be unrecognizable,” said Jirair Ratevosian, former chief of staff at PEPFAR. 

Other human costs include hundreds of thousands of deaths from malaria, malnutrition, and other diseases, per a new memo drawn up by departing USAID officials, per The New York Times (gift link).   GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Uganda’s second Ebola death, a 4-year-old who was being treated at the main referral facility in Kampala, was confirmed on Saturday, raising concerns that the outbreak declared on Jan. 30 has not been contained; the WHO says efforts are underway to boost contract tracing and surveillance. The Independent

Water contamination could be the cause of illness in northwestern Congo, which has caused the death of 60 people and sickened 1,000+ others, WHO officials say. PBS

As measles cases increase in Texas, U.S. health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged people to get vaccinated—while also emphasizing the “personal” nature of the choice, reports Axios; meanwhile, the case count grew to 146 people last week, per the AP.  

States are easing licensing requirements for internationally trained physicians, meaning they may not have to repeat residencies in the U.S.; the shift could help alleviate physician shortages in rural areas. NPR Shots FEBRUARY MUST-READS Twice Bitten: Two Snakebite Deep Dives
The ‘Wild West’ of Antivenoms in Africa: In sub-Saharan Africa, a venomous snakebite is too often a death sentence: ~20,000 people in the region are killed each year, with rural populations especially impacted by severe antivenom shortages.

But even getting an antivenom is no guarantee of survival, as diluted and fraudulent antivenoms have flooded the poorly regulated market, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) reported.

U.S. foreign aid freeze imperils Eswatini’s hard-won success, according to another in-depth TBIJ report:

• Eswatini reported zero snakebite deaths last summer—an important first, as snakebites caused, at one point, more than 60 deaths a year in the country.


• But aid cuts forced the Luke Commission, a destination hospital for people with serious snakebites that led that progress, to close earlier this month to most patients. 

Gun Violence: Tales From Two Countries
Sweden’s Influx of Firearms: On February 4, Sweden suffered its worst mass shooting in history, at an adult education campus in Orebro that killed 11—forcing the country to reckon with a growing gun violence scourge, The Times reports.

• The shooting highlights Sweden’s shift from a “peaceful, high-trust society” to one struggling with gang-related crime, right-wing nationalism, and easier firearm access as illegal firearms are being trafficked in from the Balkans. 

In the U.S., Profile of a Forever Teacher: It’s been seven years since the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School killed 17 people. The Parkland, Florida, school building was bulldozed last year. But former teacher Ivy Schamis remains deeply connected to her old classroom and the 30 surviving students who were with her on that day, reports The New York Times (gift link).

• In a must-read profile of Schamis, reporter Emily Baumgaertner Nunn recounts the ongoing toll the trauma has taken on the teacher and her students, and how Schamis continues to be a lifeline for her students—all while struggling with her own grief.

FEBRUARY EXCLUSIVES A nurse takes care of a dengue fever patient at the Sergio Bernales National Hospital, in the outskirts of Lima, Peru, on April 17, 2024. K Juan Carlos CISNEROS/AFP via Getty Why Latin America Needs Its Own CDC—Now More Than Ever  
When COVID-19 swept through Latin America, it exposed the region’s lack of coordinated public health response mechanisms—accounting for 10% of global COVID-19 cases and 25% of deaths, despite making up just 8.2% of the global population.
 
Today, Latin America remains structurally vulnerable to the next pandemic, write a trio of public health leaders from Mexico and Peru. Pointing to the Africa CDC Model, they argue that Latin America needs a similar regional agency that would work alongside PAHO to ensure faster, more efficient responses to health emergencies–-and detail what it would take to make the Latin America CDC a reality—a message they also brought to the Consortium of Universities for Global Health, February 20-23 in Atlanta, Georgia.
 
Patricia J. García, Jorge Saavedra, and Ariel García for Global Health NOW

Nota del editor: GHN ha publicado una versión en español del comentario.

CUGH exclusive coverage by Brian W. Simpson:

• The Topic Everyone Was Talking About at CUGH 2025

• The Macro Impacts of Microplastics

FEBRUARY'S BEST NEWS How Guinea Stopped Sleeping Sickness   
Twenty years ago, Guinea had the highest number of sleeping sickness cases in West Africa. But as of this year, the country managed to eliminate the NTD transmitted by the Trypanosoma parasite and spread by tsetse flies, the WHO announced.

What did it take? After elimination efforts including mass screening and treatment proved ineffective, the focus shifted to vector control.

• Researchers discovered that tsetse flies are attracted to the color blue, so they developed tiny blue fabric screens coated with insecticide to attract and kill tsetse—a so-called “tiny targets” approach that has made a massive dent in cases.

El País

Related: Niger’s historic triumph over river blindness is a beacon of hope for Africa – The Telegraph GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES POPULATIONS A Future With Fewer Children 
Declining fertility is a “near-universal phenomenon”—affecting countries across a wide spectrum of incomes and cultural backgrounds. 

• 2023 may have been the first year ever the world’s population dipped below the replacement threshold.

“Harbingers of potential futures”: Reporter Gideon Lewis-Kraus considers the real-world effects of population decline across South Korea—which has the lowest fertility rate in the world at 0.7—where dwindling numbers of children have already led to closed schools, redesigned public spaces, and economic uncertainty. 

Still, long-term impacts remain a topic of debate, and government-led efforts to reverse the trend have proven elusive: 

• “A theory of fertility is necessarily a theory of everything—gender, money, politics, culture, evolution,” writes Lewis-Kraus. 

The New Yorker QUICK HITS As measles cases mount in the US, what's the situation worldwide? – Al Arabiya

RFK Jr. moves to eliminate public comment on HHS decisions – STAT
 
CDC Staff Prohibited From Co-Authoring Papers With World Health Organization Personnel – HuffPost
 
Renowned geneticist Francis Collins retires from NIH, urging ‘respect’ for embattled workers – AP

Iowa has high cancer rates. Trump's cuts to CDC and NIH are already hitting the state - NPR Shots

A Study of Mint Plants. A Device to Stop Bleeding. This Is the Scientific Research Ted Cruz Calls “Woke.” – ProPublica

Scented products cause indoor air pollution on par with car exhaust – New Atlas Thanks for the tip, Xiaodong Cai! Issue No. 2684
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @globalhealth.now and X @GHN_News.

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

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


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You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

With his new book 'Everything Is Tuberculosis,' celebrity author John Green is breathing new life into tuberculosis advocacy

96 McGill Perspectives on Global Health: Feb 2025 Issue February 27, 2025 View this email in your browser 
NEWSLETTER

This February, we honor Black History Month—celebrating the resilience, contributions, and impact of Black leaders in global health. From groundbreaking research to advocacy for health equity, we highlight the voices and organizations driving change. Let’s recognize the past, engage with the present, and inspire a more inclusive future in healthcare.

Highlights of this Issue:

🔹Perspectives on Global Health Award - Stand a chance to win prizes!
🔹 Stories of Black pioneers in global health
🔹 Organizations advancing health equity
🔹 Research on racial disparities in healthcare

Thank you for being part of our community. Enjoy the read! 💙✨

-->  Selected Articles for this Month  Inspiring Hope for the Future: Youth as Catalysts for Vaccine Equity “The youth remind the world that the future of vaccine equity lies in their hands. They are not just observers of systemic injustice; they are active participants in the fight for change.”
- Author: Abia Chowdhury is a Kinesiology major at McGill University. --> A Vision of Tomorrow: Vaccine Equity ""The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world." 
 - Author: Erica Prager and Andrew Sun are Canadian students at McGill University in Tiohtià:ke, Québec, Canada studying Anatomy & Cell Biology, and Computer Science & Biology, respectively. -->  Mission in Motion
  Get ready to be inspired! In this dynamic section, we spotlight global health organizations that are making waves and driving real change around the world. Each month, we showcase their innovative strategies and impactful initiatives as they tackle pressing health challenges and champion equity. 

We shine a spotlight on organizations spreading awareness about Black History Month.  Let’s celebrate their dedication and commitment as we highlight their vital contributions to research, advocacy, and awareness. --> Black Mamas Matter Alliance image: https://blackmamasmatter.org/ Black Mamas Matter Alliance: Black Mamas focuses on advancing maternal health equity by addressing systemic barriers that put Black mothers at risk. Through advocacy, community-led initiatives, and policy change, they work to ensure Black women receive respectful, quality, and culturally competent care. Their mission is to uplift Black maternal voices, fight medical racism, and create safer birthing experiences for Black mothers and their babies. --> Black AIDS Institute Image: https://blackaids.org/ Black AIDS Institute (BAI): Is a U.S.-based organization dedicated to ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Black communities through advocacy, education, and direct services. Rooted in a commitment to Black health equity, BAI provides culturally relevant resources, policy analysis, and capacity-building programs to empower individuals and institutions in the fight against HIV/AIDS. -->  In the News
  Stay up to date with news and opinions on Global Health Otis Boykin - The man who invented the Pacemaker  Image: https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/science-and-medicine/otis-bobby-boykin/ Otis Boykin was an African American inventor whose work revolutionized electronic technology. He developed a more reliable and cost-effective resistor, which became a key component in pacemakers, computers, and other electronic devices. His innovations have helped save lives and improve modern technology worldwide. Read or watch more about his story! --> Charles Richard Drew - Father of the Blood Bank Image: https://reporter.mcgill.ca/remembering-the-father-of-blood-banking/ Dr. Charles Drew was a pioneering Black surgeon and medical researcher who revolutionized blood banking. His innovations in blood storage and plasma preservation led to the development of large-scale blood banks, saving countless lives during World War II and beyond. Despite facing racial discrimination, his work laid the foundation for modern transfusion medicine. Read more about his story! -->  New in Global Health Academic Literature
  Strengthening primary health care to tackle racial discrimination, promote intercultural services and reduce health inequitiess
By: World Health Organization Image: https://images.app.goo.gl/7mxv7NUQpxyCeGE89 The World Health Organization (WHO) underscores the importance of strengthening primary health care (PHC) systems to combat these disparities. In their research brief, WHO outlines 14 strategic and operational levers aimed at policymakers to enhance PHC, thereby addressing inequities faced by populations experiencing racial discrimination. Read Now --> Opportunities in Global Health
  Perspectives on Global Health Spotlight Awards Visit our website to learn more about the award -->  Share your Perspective on Global Health
  We are excited to announce a Call for Papers in the following areas! 

• Indigenous Health
• Mental Health
• Refugee Health
• Immigrant Health
• Climate Change 

McGill Global Health Perspectives welcomes contributions relevant to global health. Contributions to Global Health Perspectives should pertain to its mission and can include perspectives from your latest research, research experience, key issues in health policy governance, equity related challenges and strengths in global health to name a few. We want to represent a wide range of voices representing global health research, commentaries and opinions on current global health challenges and ideas on future direction of global health. Click here for submission guidelines.

You can submit your article, photo essay or article pitch to us by emailing us at: globalhealthblog@mcgill.ca. --> Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest information and experiences in global health! Subscribe Follow us on social media  --> Copyright © 2017 McGill Global Health Programs, All rights reserved.

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McGill Perspectives in Global Health Blog · McIntyre Medical Building, Room 633 · 3655 Promenade Sir William Osler · Montreal, Qc H3G 1Y6 · Canada

96 Global Health NOW: The Macro Impacts of Microplastics; The Closure of a ‘Critical’ Global Health Data Resource; and Birkenstocks Arenʼt Art “There are at least 16,000 chemicals in plastics. Nobody really knows.” View this email in your browser February 27, 2025 Forward Share Post Volunteers remove plastic and other debris from a beach in Kedonganan, Indonesia, on December 31, 2024. Keyza Widiatmika/NurPhoto via Getty  The Macro Impacts of Microplastics
ATLANTA—Inexpensive and convenient, plastics have become the building blocks of modern life, but they’re also a threat to human health.

• About 75% of 8–10 billion tons of plastics produced since the mid-20th century are circulating in the environment, Philip Landrigan, director of Boston College’s Global Observatory on Planetary Health, told attendees at a Consortium of Universities for Global Health session last week.  

• “There are at least 16,000 chemicals in plastics. Nobody really knows,” Landrigan said. “And the real kicker is that more than 80% of the chemicals in plastic have never been tested for toxicity.”

 
Tiny threats: Microplastics—plastic bits less than 5 millimeters long—are found across the globe from the snows of the Himalayas to the interior of individual human cells.

• Italian scientists discovered that heart disease patients who had microplastics in their carotid plaque had a 450% increased risk of heart attack, stroke, or death, according to a March 2024 New England Journal of Medicine article. 

The Quote: “We’re literally becoming part plastic,” Amelia Meyer, a Stanford University research program manager, said in an interview with GHN. “We’re only just discovering what could happen to people who have been exposed to plastics their whole lives.”
 
Read the story for possible solutions.
 
Brian W. Simpson for Global Health NOW GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Influencers are “fearmongering” on social media to promote health tests like genetic testing, MRIs, gut microbiome tests, and egg count tests, finds a study published in JAMA Network Open; such posts can be “overwhelmingly misleading” and carry a risk for overdiagnosis, researchers say. The Guardian 

Satellite imagery of Sudan is providing researchers with clues about the scope of devastation in the Darfur region, as large parts of the country are inaccessible to humanitarian and data-gathering efforts amid intense conflict; data show “more people are dying of starvation and disease than bullets and bombs.” Science

The CDC is investigating the hospitalizations of five people who received the chikungunya virus vaccine IXCHIQ, per a notice posted Tuesday; the people are all aged 65+ and were hospitalized for cardiac or neurologic events following recent vaccination. CNN

Children with long COVID can experience “significant” lung injuries stemming from loss of blood flow in the lungs, per new findings published in Radiology; the condition can lead to severe chronic fatigue. CIDRAP Trump Administration News   Musk claims DOGE ‘restored’ Ebola prevention effort. Officials disagree. – The Washington Post (gift article)

C.D.C. Suggests Terms Like ‘Race’ and ‘Health Equity’ Are Off-Limits, Then Backtracks – The New York Times (gift article)

U.S. will spend up to $1 billion to combat bird flu, USDA secretary says – NBC News

Trump Team Weighs Pulling Funds for Moderna Bird Flu Vaccine – Bloomberg via Yahoo! News

FDA cancels pivotal advisory meeting about next season's flu vaccine – ABC News

RFK Jr. Dismisses Measles Outbreak As ‘Not Unusual’ After Child's Death – HuffPost

Title 42 Isn’t About Public Health — It’s About Keeping Immigrants Out – The Intercept FOREIGN AID FREEZE The Closure of a ‘Critical’ Global Health Data Resource
A data collection program that provided “indispensable” public health information to about half of the world’s nations will be shuttered following the Trump administration’s foreign aid freeze. 

The Demographic and Health Surveys have collected data in 90 low- and middle-income nations since 1984, and helped leaders to set health benchmarks at the local, national, and global levels—including the UN’s 2030 SDGs. 

• The surveys recorded “critical aspects” of household health—including mortality data, nutrition status, reproductive health and HIV status, as well as access to clean water.

• They were the only sources of information many countries had about some health indicators.

On Tuesday, the program’s administrators were told it was being “terminated for the convenience of the U.S. Government.” It remains unclear what will happen with the research collected in ongoing surveys—or what will happen with what has already been collected. 

The New York Times (gift link) GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ORGAN DONATION A Kidney Black Market Takes Hold in Burma
An illegal kidney market has a growing list of Burmese sellers, as the country’s civil war has forced half of the nation’s population into poverty, a BBC investigation has found. 

One story: Reporters followed one Burmese man through the kidney sale process, which included using a broker to oversee medical testing, link him to a Burmese buyer, and forge documents that claimed the two were family members. 

• The seller explained he “chose this desperate way” as he was struggling with debt. 

India a transplant hub: The “donor” and the “recipient” underwent the transplant in India—where concern around kidney sales has been rising. Last spring, a senior health ministry official wrote to Indian states warning of a surge in transplants among foreigners. 

BBC

Related: How Much Is Your Kidney Worth? – Noēma GUN VIOLENCE A Forever Teacher
It’s been seven years since the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School killed 17 people. The Parkland, Florida, school building was bulldozed last year. 

But former teacher Ivy Schamis remains deeply connected to her old classroom—Room 1214—and the 30 surviving students who were with her on that day. 

In a must-read profile of Schamis, reporter Emily Baumgaertner Nunn recounts the ongoing toll the trauma has taken on the teacher and her students, and lengths to which Schamis continues to be a lifeline for her students: from connecting them with mental health resources to coaching them through life transitions. 

All the while, she has struggled with her own grief. 

• “Everyone talks about how the students feel, but no one really pays attention to the teachers,” said former student Hannah Carbocci. 

The New York Times (gift link) EVENT Join GHN in D.C. … Or Online
For those in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area, we hope youʼll join GHN in person for a special live storytelling event spotlighting the remarkable experiences of refugees working in global health. But if you canʼt attend in person, GHN will be livestreaming the event!

Bloomberg School graduates from Afghanistan, Myanmar, South Sudan, Sudan, and Syria will share firsthand accounts of living and working amid humanitarian crises, fleeing conflict, and shaping impactful roles in public health. 

All are welcome for this evening of inspiring stories, hosted by the Center for Humanitarian Health and Global Health NOW, at the Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C.

Register here to attend the event or watch the livestream here. ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Birk Is It Art?  
No!
 
It took years of litigation—during which copycat Birkenstocks multiplied across the globe—but a German federal court has put its (probably cork-clad) foot down: Birkenstocks are not “copyright-protected works of applied art.”
 
The German shoemaker figured that if such status could be granted to Le Corbusier furniture and Bauhaus lighting, why not your Dadʼs favorite bunion-proof sandals cum fashion item?
 
But Birkenstockʼs loss is our win. The makers of the iconic yet divisive sandals sued three unnamed competitors and asked that knockoffs be recalled and destroyed—a request that, if enforced, would require an all-feet-on-deck, global seizure of counterfeit corkware. But fear not, your Target two-straps are safe!
 
Now that that matter is settled in court, we can return to the core question—not whether Birks should be displayed in a gallery, but whether they deserve to be placed on a human foot.

ArtNews QUICK HITS Life in the shadow of a toxic mountain of plastic waste – The Telegraph 

Tricky to spot and cumbersome to treat, visceral leishmaniasis turns deadly in arid east Africa – Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance

You need to start taking airborne fungal outbreaks seriously – Vox

South Korea birthrate rises for first time in nine years amid surge in marriages – The Guardian 

Epigenetic echoes: Violence can leave genetic marks on future generations – Medical Xpress

"Power of Joy": New Film on Childbirth During Ethiopia's Civil War – Think Global Health Issue No. 2683
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @globalhealth.now and X @GHN_News.

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

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


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Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) are carrying out further investigations to determine the cause of another cluster of illness and deaths in Équateur province, UN officials reported on Thursday.

Mapping immune cell diversity reveals dexamethasone’s impact on brain cancer immunotherapy

 

Swelling caused by brain cancer is a problem that can lead to serious side effects and even death. While controlling swelling is important, a new study shows that a commonly prescribed anti-swelling drug suppresses the immune system for weeks after dosage, inhibiting the body’s ability to fight the cancer.

Mapping immune cell diversity reveals dexamethasone’s impact on brain cancer immunotherapy

 

Swelling caused by brain cancer is a problem that can lead to serious side effects and even death. While controlling swelling is important, a new study shows that a commonly prescribed anti-swelling drug suppresses the immune system for weeks after dosage, inhibiting the body’s ability to fight the cancer.

Mapping immune cell diversity reveals dexamethasone’s impact on brain cancer immunotherapy

 

Swelling caused by brain cancer is a problem that can lead to serious side effects and even death. While controlling swelling is important, a new study shows that a commonly prescribed anti-swelling drug suppresses the immune system for weeks after dosage, inhibiting the body’s ability to fight the cancer.

Mapping immune cell diversity reveals dexamethasone’s impact on brain cancer immunotherapy

 

Swelling caused by brain cancer is a problem that can lead to serious side effects and even death. While controlling swelling is important, a new study shows that a commonly prescribed anti-swelling drug suppresses the immune system for weeks after dosage, inhibiting the body’s ability to fight the cancer.

Mapping immune cell diversity reveals dexamethasone’s impact on brain cancer immunotherapy

 

Swelling caused by brain cancer is a problem that can lead to serious side effects and even death. While controlling swelling is important, a new study shows that a commonly prescribed anti-swelling drug suppresses the immune system for weeks after dosage, inhibiting the body’s ability to fight the cancer.

Mapping immune cell diversity reveals dexamethasone’s impact on brain cancer immunotherapy

 

Swelling caused by brain cancer is a problem that can lead to serious side effects and even death. While controlling swelling is important, a new study shows that a commonly prescribed anti-swelling drug suppresses the immune system for weeks after dosage, inhibiting the body’s ability to fight the cancer.