96 Global Health NOW: The Long, Strange Journey of Mycetoma Research; and Chicken Pox Parties Make a Comeback Plus: It’s Not Just Ovation—It’s Duration View this email in your browser May 28, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for an immediate ceasefire in DRC to help fight the Ebola outbreak there, The Guardian reports; CIDRAP, citing a WHO flash update in ReliefWeb, reports that the outbreak shows no sign of containment, with almost 1,000 suspected cases.
  A first-of-its-kind experimental hepatitis B drug might offer a ‘functional cure’ for some patients, per a study published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine; in two Chinese-led trials across 29 countries, ~1 in 5 patients given bepirovirsen (“bepi”) were able to stop treatment without showing signs of the liver virus. AP
  Kenya has allocated zero funds to its NTDs project through 2029, leaving millions of Kenyans without structured protection from diseases such as kala-azar, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, and trachoma; last year, the program received 20 million KES (~$153,200) from national public health coffers. The Nation
  1 in 6 patients with COVID-19 go on to develop long Covid—about 2X the rate estimated by U.S. health officials, per a Mass General Brigham study of almost 458,000 patients across 58 hospitals. JAMA Network Open IN FOCUS: GHN EXCLUSIVE Two women pass by the Mycetoma Research Center in Khartoum, Sudan, before its 2023 destruction during the country’s civil war. August 5, 2013. Ashraf Shazly. AFP via Getty The Long, Strange Journey of Mycetoma Research     Early in 2024, Ahmed Fahal stood in the shattered shell of the Mycetoma Research Center in Khartoum, Sudan.    The civil war between Sudan’s Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces erupted on April 15, 2023, and eventually spilled over into Fahal’s center, leaving it ransacked and looted. 

• The reality overwhelmed Fahal, who has dedicated his career to researching the flesh-eating, bone-destroying neglected disease—and caring for its patients. 

• “I could not keep my tears, my emotions, and I was really crying, actually, when I saw this,” says Fahal, who founded the center in 1991.   

Better days: The crushing moment had a polar opposite 10 years ago today when the World Health Assembly voted to lift mycetoma from obscurity and place it on its list of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). 

• In the “sky is the limit” days that followed, Fahal and colleagues anticipated greater recognition for the cruel disease, access to funders, new treatments and diagnostics, and new researchers coming to the field.  

Complicated history:      Only some of those dreams have been realized: The outlook is “very gloomy,” Fahal says, pointing to a lack of funding, research advances, and other issues.      But other researchers see successes:  

• DNDi will start a phase III trial of a new drug by the end of the year. Fosravuconazole needs to be taken once weekly for a year, instead of the current drug’s twice daily requirement. 

• The field has drawn many more researchers: The Global Mycetoma Working Group now has 200+ members from 36 countries. 

• Wendy van de Sande, at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, and partners in Australia, the U.K., and Germany have screened nearly 10,000 existing drugs to find medications that could be effective against mycetoma.    

The takeaway: “We are always optimistic because we are scientists. Without optimism, we cannot go far,” says Doudou Sow, who leads mycetoma research at Senegal’s University Gaston Berger of Saint-Louis.     Related: The Most Neglected Disease – Global Health NOW 
  READ THE FULL STORY BY BRIAN W. SIMPSON GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES VACCINES Chicken Pox Parties Make a Comeback     Before the varicella vaccine, U.S. parents frequently turned to “chickenpox parties,” or planned exposure, to put some control around what was considered an inevitable infection.     Since routine varicella vaccination began in the mid-1990s, U.S. chickenpox cases have dropped ~97%, with major declines in hospitalizations worldwide.   
Yet the rise of vaccine hesitancy and influencers pushing “natural immunity” have led to a resurgence of chickenpox parties—much to the alarm of physicians. 

• While childhood chickenpox cases are typically mild, the practice was not risk-free: Complications including pneumonia, meningitis, and brain inflammation still affected some children. 

• “You didn't know which kids would get over it and be okay, and which kids would end up in the hospital,” said Jill Morgan with the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. 

Wired  ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION It’s Not Just Ovation—It’s Duration
By most standards, getting a 3–5-minute standing ovation would be a clear signifier of success—enough to make one blush.    But at the Cannes Film Festival? It’s basically a slap in the face. There, any ovation worth its salt stretches well past the 10-minute mark. And critics are watching closely, explains Globe and Mail’s Barry Herz: “Is it sustained? Is it hearty? Is it boisterous?”    Last week, the Spanish film The Black Ball brought the audience to its feet for an indulgent 20 minutes, Reuters reports.    And since everyone’s on their feet, let’s throw in some ovations for global health. The polio vaccine alone deserves at least an hour.  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS India's drug lifeline to Africa disrupted by Iran war – DW     Under President Milei’s austerity, disabled Argentines risk losing essential services – AP    Pleasure, Plague, and Panic: Why Cruise Ship Outbreaks Still Haunt Us – The MIT Press Reader    Century-long analysis of biosafety incidents identifies strongest predictors of outbreaks, deaths – CIDRAP     In Flint, Cash for Pregnant Women Leads to Better Outcomes for Babies – The New York Times (gift link)    The largest undocumented disparity in maternal health – The Atlantic     NSF puts new research grants to top universities on hold – Nature     Should we reengineer the world's deadliest animal? – NPR’s The Short Wave  Issue No. 2923
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: Two Days, Two ‘Astonishing’ Temperatures; and Haitian Mothers Giving Birth in Hiding View this email in your browser May 27, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES The Trump administration plans to establish a quarantine and treatment facility in Kenya for U.S. citizens exposed to the Ebola virus or who are at high risk of testing positive, pending approval from the Kenyan government. Reuters via MSN   Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s oil depots and a refinery earlier this year emitted almost 30,000 tons of sulphur dioxide that reached as far as China; the pollution, equivalent to the amount produced by a small volcanic eruption, reached levels that could impair lung function, irritate the eyes and throat, and exacerbate asthma or bronchitis. New Scientist    Artificial outdoor light at night “powerfully disrupts” the ability of Culex pipiens mosquitoes—the primary carriers of West Nile virus in the U.S.—to enter winter dormancy, suggests a study in the Journal of Applied Ecology, extending the mosquito season and giving them more opportunities to bite. Science 
Climate change is accelerating antibiotic resistance globally, per a first-of-its-kind international study published in the Lancet Planetary Health, which found that a 10% global increase in salmonella antibiotic resistance genes between 1940 and 2023 is associated with rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns. The Guardian  IN FOCUS A hot weather reminder on the big screen during the Sky Bet Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium. London, May 23. John Walton/PA Images via Getty Two Days, Two ‘Astonishing’ Temperatures 
The U.K. is experiencing record-breaking temperatures before summer has even started, sending hordes of Britons to pools and beaches and raising concerns about the march of extreme heat in a nation designed for cooler temperatures and where air conditioning can be scarce. 
  Forecasts show that the heat wave was set to make London hotter than Lagos this week, The Independent reports. 

• U.K. officials issued the first amber health alert of 2026 last Friday. Then, temperatures in London reached nearly 95°F (34.8°C) Monday, a provisional record that was broken on Tuesday when they reached 95.2°F (35.1°C). 

France and Spain are also experiencing unusually early heat waves, and temperatures in Europe are rising twice as fast as the global average—raising the risk of a chikungunya resurgence on the continent, according to new research.
  The soaring temperatures came on the heels of a May 20 report from the U.K.’s independent advisory committee on climate change, warning that the country’s climate adaptation plans thus far have been “inadequate.” 
  “Built for a climate that no longer exists”: The report warns that the country’s infrastructure is not prepared for hotter, longer, more frequent heat waves—leaving the country vulnerable to a range of climate-related risks: 

• More than 9 in 10 U.K. homes are not insulated well enough to keep out the heat—and many are built to trap heat, exacerbating health problems, Inside Climate News reports. 

• By 2050, the country should expect a daily water supply shortfall of 5 billion liters (shortages were already reported this week amid a surge in usage). By then, hotter heat waves could potentially cause overheating in over 90% of U.K. homes. 

Preparing for extremes: The report offers several ways the U.K. can adapt to rising temperatures, including: 

• Expanding access to air conditioning, shading, and other cooling measures, particularly in hospitals, care homes, and schools. 

• Setting maximum temperature regulations for workplaces—both indoors and outside. 

• Providing incentives to help low-income households install cooling technology. 

Related: Funding Down, Temperatures Up: The Struggle to Protect Women in a Warming World – Global Health NOW  DATA POINT

359%
————
More dengue cases reported in the U.S. in 2024 than the annual average reported from 2010 through 2023, per the May 14 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which ties the jump almost entirely to international travel-acquired infections. —CIDRAP REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RIGHTS Haitian Mothers Giving Birth in Hiding     The Dominican Republic’s mass deportation campaign against Haitian migrants has increasingly led Haitian mothers to avoid hospitals for maternity care and deliveries, endangering them and their newborns.    Crackdown at hospitals: Over the past year, Dominican authorities have stationed immigration officers at hospitals, where undocumented maternity patients are frequently detained shortly after delivery and deported back to Haiti and its ongoing humanitarian crisis. 

• “It’s an affront to the human dignity of women. And their girls and boys,” said Cristiana Luis, leader of the advocacy group Movement of Dominican-Haitian Women.  

Maternity on the margins: Hospital births among Haitian women dropped 60% between 2024 and 2025—from 32,967 to 13,856. Many mothers are opting to give birth in unsafe and unsupervised conditions, increasing risks of infection, hemorrhage, and death.     The New York Times (gift link) OPPORTUNITY Learn More at an Info Session Today!  
Learn more about the Pulitzer Center’s U.S. Civil Society Microgrants call for proposals at an informational session today, Wednesday, May 27, at 1 p.m. EDT.
 
Selected projects will receive grants ranging from $2,000 to $4,000. Project proposals can support existing activities or support the launch of new activities. 

• Register for today’s info session


• Learn about the full call for proposals


• Application deadline: Monday, June 8, 2026

QUICK HITS In Congo displacement camp, fighting Ebola with sand, oatmeal and one thermometer but no water – AP

Why the quarantine for hantavirus is so long – The Washington Post (gift link)

She Faced a Life-Threatening Miscarriage. Under Arkansas’ Abortion Ban, Even Calls to the Governor’s Office Didn’t Help. – ProPublica

They’ve Heard the Warnings. Gen Z Is Tanning Anyway. – The New York Times (gift link) Thanks for the tip, Kris Henry!

The peer coaching program getting men back on HIV/AIDS treatment in South Africa – Gates Foundation

Listen: The patients demanding unvaccinated blood transfusions – STAT

Tough peer-review process? Your paper might end up being more highly cited – Nature  Issue No. 2922
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: Distrust, Division, and Deficits in the Struggle to Contain Ebola; and WHO Confronts Defections View this email in your browser May 26, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES ~30,000 people have fled their homes in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas following a new wave of violence that has included widespread gunfire, burnings, and lootings perpetrated by armed gangs over 10 days. UN Wire
  Hunger is increasingly used as a weapon of war, per analysis from Insecurity Insight, with 21,000+ documented incidents of “food-related violence” including strikes on food distribution systems and markets reported since 2018. The Guardian
  Health care providers warn that easy access to GLP-1 weight loss drugs poses a threat to people with eating disorders; part of the treatment is aimed at helping people recognize natural hunger cues, which GLP-1s suppress. The Washington Post (gift link)
  Misinformation about perimenopause on social media is prompting more women to seek hormonal therapy for menopause before they need it, and to cease hormonal contraception prematurely—upping their risk of unintended pregnancies, unnecessary medication, and missed diagnoses. Femtech World IN FOCUS A health worker wearing protective equipment crouches beside the coffin of a suspected Ebola victim outside a family home. Mongbwalu, Ituri Province, DRC, May 24. Michel Lunanga/Getty Distrust, Division, and Deficits in the Struggle to Contain Ebola 
  Health workers already struggling to mobilize a response to the Ebola outbreak in northeastern DRC now face further threats as years of division and disinformation fuel violence against health care facilities and workers, and lead infected patients to resist and flee care, reports Reuters via NBC News   

• “There is denial of the disease within the population,” said Richard Lokodu, medical director of the Mongbwalu General Referral Hospital, which came under multiple attacks over the weekend, as assailants burned isolation tents and 18 Ebola patients fled. Medical facilities were also burned in Rwampara. 

Current status: 900+ suspected cases and ~220 deaths have been reported by WHO, with chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warning Sunday that “we are now playing catch-up with a very fast-moving epidemic” amid severe shortages of testing supplies, protective gear, and even basics like hand sanitizer.     Distrust and disinformation: Years of militia violence, ethnic conflict, and weak government authority in the region have hampered the response, and have left many residents suspicious of outsiders and health workers, reports The New York Times (gift link).  

• Aid workers have also reported attacks as they seek to canvas the region spreading information and resources, reports the AP, as conspiracies run rampant. Funeral rites are a particular flashpoint as families seek to handle the bodies of those killed by the virus. 

Related:  
  The Ebola outbreak will lead to devastating violence against women and girls – STAT (commentary)

People with Ebola pose little risk to public in US, experts say – CIDRAP GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY WHO Confronts Defections    Delegates at this year’s World Health Assembly avoided formally recognizing withdrawal attempts by both the U.S. and Argentina last week, in a quiet but firm effort to prevent a broader unraveling of the global health coalition, reports Health Policy Watch.     Binding agreements: As member states test whether they can simply walk away, delegates are pointing to the binding conditions of the WHO Constitution, which includes no technical provision for member states to withdraw.    The unpaid U.S. bill: The sole exception to this contract is the U.S., which stipulated its right to withdraw as a condition of joining the WHO in 1948—so long as all dues are settled. 

• The U.S. still owes ~$280 million in outstanding dues, leading member states to vote to suspend U.S. voting rights by 2027, a signal that they still consider the U.S. bound by its obligations. 

No ‘legal exit ramp’ for Argentina: Meanwhile, delegates voted to take note of Argentina’s departure notification—but resolved that “any further action at this stage” is undesirable, per another Health Policy Watch report—effectively not accepting Argentina’s departure.     No precedent for secession: The WHO has never formally accepted a departure in its history. When Soviet-bloc nations attempted to withdraw in 1949 and 1950, the organization refused to accept the exit.    Related:     The Forgotten Decisions Of The 79th World Health Assembly – Health Policy Watch

79th World Health Assembly (WHA79): Draft updated global action plan on antimicrobial resistance – IFPMA  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Misinformation is coming for the anti-HIV jab. Let’s get ahead of it – Bhekisisa
  WHO chief says hantavirus 'situation is stable for now' – The Hill

Our warming planet is a petri dish for new and deadly microbes – The New Yorker
FDA staff blindsided by move allowing more e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches onto US market – AP
  Firing Cancer Screening Experts Will Not Make Us Healthy Again – The New York Times (gift link) Thanks for the tip, Dave Cundiff! 
  Pap smears are designed to screen for cancer. Why are people afraid to get them? – The 19th
  Why an Indian Village Leader’s Welfare Reels Are Going Viral – Reasons to Be Cheerful  Issue No. 2921
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: The Race to Develop a New Ebola Vaccine; and Broadening HPV Vaccine Access to Boys View this email in your browser May 21, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES Bangladesh officials ignored repeated warnings from UNICEF over several years about a shortage of measles vaccines that could lead to an outbreak, reports The Daily Star; the current outbreak has now killed 481, with six children dying over 24 hours as suspected cases reach 57,856, per the Dhaka Tribune.     The UN has voted to support a landmark ruling from the International Court of Justice which found countries have a legal obligation to address the “existential threat” of the climate crisis; 141 member states voted in favor, with eight voting no and 28 abstaining. Al Jazeera     Local transmission of malaria in the U.S. remains “a significant public health concern,” warns a new CDC report, which points to a 2023 outbreak in which 10 people across four states were locally infected, and highlights most U.S. residents’ lack protective immunity against the disease. CIDRAP    Common preservatives used in store-bought foods were linked to a 29% greater risk of elevated blood pressure and a 16% higher risk of heart attacks and stroke, per a new study published in European Heart Journal; the study found that even “natural” preservatives citric acid and ascorbic acid were linked to a 22% greater risk of high blood pressure. CNN  EDITORS' NOTE We're Taking a Long Weekend
Heads up, readers! We won’t be publishing Monday in observance of Memorial Day in the U.S. We’ll be back Tuesday with more news!—The Editors  IN FOCUS A border health officer at the Busunga crossing between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo checks a traveler's temperature on May 18. Badru Katumba/AFP/Getty The Race to Develop a New Ebola Vaccine    As the global health community mobilizes to respond to the Ebola outbreak centered in eastern DRC and Uganda that has now sickened ~600 ad killed ~139, a simultaneous effort is kicking into gear in labs worldwide: develop a vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain—fast.    But such a vaccine is still months away, reports The Washington Post (gift link). The Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or targeted treatment, and WHO officials say producing doses for trials could take six to nine months.    Current status: There are two potential vaccine candidates, but neither is ready to move into human testing.  

• The leading vaccine candidate uses the same platform as Merck’s Ervebo shot, which protects against the Zaire strain of Ebola. Previous research identified a Bundibugyo-specific version of that shot protected monkeys, but it was never manufactured to human-testing standards.  

• A second candidate, built on technology similar to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, could move into trials sooner, though there is not yet animal data to support safety and efficacy.  

• Meanwhile, an investigational monoclonal antibody treatment, called MBP134 and developed by Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc., can protect against multiple strains of Ebola and has been through early human testing. 

Dire impact of American absence: Already, cuts to USAID and CDC programs have led to life-threatening surveillance gaps and delays in the movement of critical protective gear and testing supplies, global health experts tell The New York Times (gift link). Those gaps also slow and endanger future vaccine development and distribution models.  

• “In a time when hours matter, we’re delayed by weeks,” said Nicholas Enrich, the former top global health official for USAID.  

Related: Analysis of past Ebola outbreaks suggests 54% death rate, identifies hemorrhage as key risk factor – CIDRAP SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS Broadening HPV Vaccine Access to Boys     Researchers are urging South Africa to include boys in its HPV vaccination program, warning that men are increasingly affected by HPV-related cancers, too.     Prioritizing girls: South Africa’s soon-to-be-launched 2026-2030 cervical cancer elimination strategy aims to have girls vaccinated for HPV between ages 9–15. 

• The campaign does not include boys, who can’t get routine HPV-related cancer screening through public health care.  

The case for wider access: While women are especially at risk for developing cervical cancer from the human papillomavirus, men also face a substantial threat: One in five men globally carries a cancer-causing strain of HPV.  

• Experts say a gender-neutral HPV vaccination approach would improve overall cancer prevention. 

Bhekisisa (commentary) OPPORTUNITY Deadline Extended: Apply for the Heroes of Tomorrow UN SDG Awards  
The Changemaker Awards honor individuals leading collective action towards justice, equality, and peace in support of UN #SDGs. Successful changemakers demonstrate visionary leadership and the ability to make measurable, lasting impact within their communities and beyond—like Jîn Dawod (2025 Winner), a mental health visionary who transformed her experience as a Syrian refugee into life-changing support for displaced communities across 26 countries.   
In 2026, the UN SDG Action Campaign will bring together nine finalists from all over the world for a unique program of coaching and capacity building in advance of the Heroes of Tomorrow: UN SDG Action Awards Ceremony, in Rome, Italy on October 29, 2026. 

• Extended deadline: May 31, 2026 

• Learn more about the Heroes of Tomorrow: UN SDG Action Awards 

• Changemaker (self-)nomination form 

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION The Rhythm Will Be Televised    It’s a grounding principle of democracy: Give the people what they want.     And if that’s more air guitar, so be it.     Hungary’s health-minister-to-be Zsolt Hegedűs went viral in April for his exuberant celebration of incoming prime minister Péter Magyar’s victory. Because how better to celebrate the ousting of Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power than with a rollicking medley of finger-points, raise-the-roofs, and snakey-arms?    Hegedűs saw his debut as a “singular, spur-of-the-moment outpouring of emotion,” The Guardian reports. But his base—now consisting of the entire internet—wasn’t having it. By the time he arrived at Maygar’s swearing in on May 9, “the audience had been waiting for this so eagerly” and he “didn’t want to let down the people,” he said.    Anti-virus, pro-viral: Hegedűs has been busy updating Hungarians about infectious disease threats, and touting the health benefits of throwing shapes:  “It’s not that I’m going to start dancing in parliament”—a real shame, actually—“but I want to use this popularity to encourage people to adopt a health-conscious lifestyle and focus on mental wellbeing,” he said.    Thanks for the tip, Barbara Benham!  QUICK HITS Gaza’s public health crisis deepens as rodent infestations, sewage overflow and soaring heat threaten civilians – International Rescue Committee (news release)    'Get off your phones': Surgeon general advisory calls on kids to cut screen time – ABC      Treating Superbugs With Litigation: Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria From Animal Agriculture As a Public Nuisance – Harvard Law Review    Immunotherapy could be used to treat depression, early trial suggests – The Guardian    U.S. researchers face new restrictions on publishing with foreign collaborators – Science    World Cup’s hidden health operation – Your Local Epidemiologist  Issue No. 2920
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: A ‘Once-in-a-Generation’ Reset for Humanitarian Aid; and Nicotine Pouch Popularity Surges View this email in your browser May 20, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES The Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda could take months to contain, the WHO said today, reporting a current suspected death toll of 130+ and 600+ suspected cases, per the AP; meanwhile, challenges related to the region’s conflict and shortages of personnel, medical equipment, disinfectant, and protective gear are complicating the response, The New York Times reports (gift link). 
  Iran’s appeal for support against attacks on healthcare by the U.S. and Israel failed at the WHA yesterday, with 19 votes in favor and 30 against; a similar resolution from Lebanon, which asks the WHO to provide support through medications and supplies, passed with 95 votes in favor and two against. Geneva Solutions    Over half of U.S. teens are unaware of their right to independently access STI testing and treatment without a guardian’s consent, finds a new study published today by the American Academy of Pediatrics. CIDRAP    Undiagnosed ADHD may be linked to traffic-related injuries among adults, finds a new study presented at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting; the study found that ~35% of 95 adults admitted to the hospital for traffic-related injuries screened positive on the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale and that high-risk driving behaviors were more common among adults who screened positive. MedPage Today Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe!  IN FOCUS Residents gather to collect drinking water in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on May 19. Ahmed Al Arini / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty A ‘Once-in-a-Generation’ Reset for Humanitarian Aid    The global humanitarian aid system is “no longer fit for purpose,” warns a major commission in a landmark report that calls for a total overhaul of aid systems rather than incremental reforms, reports the Middle East Eye.    Background: A rising number of conflict-driven deaths and forced displacement globally spurred the 2024 launch of the CHH-Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict and Forced Displacement—a collaboration between the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health and The Lancet.  

• Their research period spanned the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID and other international funding shortfalls—demonstrating the politicization of aid that essentially functions as “rationing by design” driven by donor interests rather than human need.  

But failures have been decades in the making, the Commission argues, as seen in:  

• Rising harm: Conflict deaths nearly doubled between 2021 and 2024, and attacks on healthcare hit a record 3,663 incidents in 2024. 

• Need gaps: 239 million people are expected to need aid in 2026, but only ~87 million are likely to receive it.  

A need for a power shift: The pressures of the moment have created what lead author Paul Spiegel called a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to remake systems, including:  

• Moving decision-making and funding control to affected communities.

• Financing to create pooled, independent funds that are channeled straight to local groups and healthcare and are insulated from donor politics. 

• Using health outcomes to create better accountability around violations of humanitarian law.  

• A single streamlined UN aid agency instead of fragmented groups. 

What’s next: The Commission aims to help form a Global Humanitarian Alliance, regional implementation forums, and accountability reports aimed at turning the recommendations into enforceable global standards.    Related: Rethinking Humanitarian Health – Public Health On Call  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES TOBACCO Nicotine Pouch Popularity Surges     The WHO is raising alarm over a rapid uptake of nicotine pouch products among youth, as the small sachets containing flavored powdered nicotine are “being aggressively marketed” to young people worldwide, per News Medical.    Youth-targeting tactics include using sweet flavors and savvy social media campaigns to attract young users, who are especially susceptible to developing long-term nicotine addiction, finds the organization’s first-ever report on the products.  

• Sales topped 23 billion+ units in 2024—a 50% spike over the previous year—creating a ~$7 billion industry in 2025.  

Regulation is limited or absent in many countries, says the WHO, which urges “comprehensive” policymaking from advertising bans to taxation.  

• The regulatory debate is playing out across Europe, reports Politico—with Sweden taking a more permissive approach and France instituting a total ban. 

Related:    It’s maddeningly difficult to ban smoking – The Atlantic     WHO Member States Should Treat Fossil Fuels like Tobacco – as a Public Health Threat – Health Policy Watch    Fire and ‘sheer volume’: how Britain’s 6m-vape problem is putting recycling under strain – The Guardian  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS How measles unleashed a wave of suffering in Bangladesh – The Telegraph    CDC Director’s Nomination Is an Opportunity to Reconstitute the CDC – CSIS    She Was Finding Sources of Dangerous Water and Soil Pollution. The E.P.A. Canceled Her Grant – The New York Times (gift link)     Religious Anti-Abortion Center Finds Opportunity in Town Without OB-GYNs – KFF Health News    At least 80% responsibility for ill health in old age down to individual, says study – The Guardian    Can extra snoozing reverse the health hazards of a bad night’s sleep? – Science  Issue No. 2919
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: Ebola Worries Loom Over #WHA79; and How AI is Accelerating Biosecurity Risks View this email in your browser May 19, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES A diphtheria outbreak in Australia’s Northern Territory—with 133 cases, including one likely death—has spread, with Western Australia, Queensland, and South Australia now reporting up to 90 cases; it’s now the biggest diphtheria outbreak the country has seen in decades, per the country’s health minister, Mark Butler. ABC Australia     As infectious disease outbreaks like hantavirus and Ebola grow more frequent, they are also becoming more damaging, exacerbated by the climate crisis and armed conflict, say the authors of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) report published yesterday; they warn that the pandemic risk is outpacing investment in preparedness, which is undermined by “geopolitical fragmentation and commercial self-interest.” The Guardian   U.S. abortion bans appear to have made it harder for people experiencing miscarriages to receive appropriate—or even any—treatment, per a study in JAMA; as the Oregon Health & Science University-led study focused only on first trimester miscarriages among people with private insurance, the impact is likely an underestimate. The 19th    Nearly half of U.S. teens are on their phones between midnight and 4 a.m., losing critical sleep time on school nights, according to a study in JAMA Pediatrics that tracked 657 adolescents participating in the national Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. The Washington Post (gift link) IN FOCUS WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus delivers a speech at the opening of the 79th World Health Organization assembly. Geneva, May 18. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Ebola Worries Loom Over #WHA79     The burgeoning Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda at once overshadowed yesterday’s opening of the 79th World Health Assembly and emphasized the importance of international cooperation. 

• “From conflicts to economic crises to climate change and aid cuts, we live in difficult, dangerous and divisive times,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said yesterday at the WHA's opening, per Health Policy Watch. 

Ebola latest:  

• The outbreak has caused 131 suspected deaths and 513 suspected cases, according to DRC health minister Samuel-Roger Kamba, per The New York Times (gift link). 

• 30 cases have been laboratory confirmed and linked to the outbreak in the DRC’s northeastern Ituri Province. 

• 2 cases have been confirmed in Uganda. 

• Tedros said today that he is “deeply concerned about the scale and speed” of the outbreak, Reuters reports. He expects numbers to increase as surveillance, contact tracing, and lab testing scale up. 

• The WHO's Emergency Committee is convening today to discuss the outbreak.  

#WHA79 highlights:  

• “We are witnessing the end of an era, and we must have the courage to build the next one,” Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama said yesterday, noting that global health cuts could lead to 9 million preventable deaths by 2030, the Ghanian Times reports. His own country has lost $78 million in USAID funds, affecting programs in malaria, maternal and child health, HIV, and nutrition.  

• Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for greater investment in global health in the face of “the pandemic of egotism and selfishness,” Health Policy Watch reports. Spain has boosted its official development aid by 30%, he said. Sánchez obliquely castigated the U.S., saying “the country that cut $18 billion from global public health and ODA [official development assistance] has spent more than $29 billion on war.” 

Related:  
  US bans travellers from DRC, Uganda and South Sudan amid major Ebola outbreak – The Telegraph     Your guide to events at the 79th World Health Assembly – WHA Guide 2026     Watch the World Health Assembly sessions – WHO  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HEALTH SECURITY How AI is Accelerating Biosecurity Risks    Advanced biological AI tools are powering a research revolution, allowing scientists to design proteins and viruses—and opening up access to bioengineering knowledge and tools to people outside of labs.     Promise and risk: This new era could pave the way to great medical discoveries—and, scientists fear, for bad actors to misuse in the creation of toxins, viruses, and other bioweapons that can evade detection.     A range of responses: Scientists say a series of safeguards are needed in response to increased risks, including better screening by companies that synthesize nucleic acids to order so they can better identify dangerous sequences.  

• Others say AI tools themselves must have more stringent access controls and flagging systems to prevent misuse.  

Nature    Related:      Q&A: Is AI democratizing global health or reinforcing old inequities? – Medical Xpress     FDA clears first AI-based early warning system for sepsis – CIDRAP  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Mpox infections may outnumber diagnosed cases 33 to 1, study suggests – CIDRAP     HHS withdraws amended vaccine advisory panel charter – The Hill     Steep drop in number of people with Affordable Care Act health coverage, analysis finds – NPR    Children’s Mental Health Visits Have Shot Up, Research Shows – The New York Times (gift link)    Thousands of U.S. countertop workers could have damaged lungs, safety expert says – NPR    Kazakhstan Sees Later Marriages and More Equal Partnerships, Study Finds – The Astana Times    RFK Jr. wants meat back on hospital trays, no matter what cardiologists think – The Independent   Issue No. 2918
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: Ebola Outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern; and We Know How to Stop Disease Outbreaks. Will We? View this email in your browser May 18, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES The WHO should declare the global climate crisis a public health emergency of international concern, per a European climate and health commission; the WHO-convened commission delivered a report to European ministers yesterday on the eve of the World Health Assembly. The Guardian     LGBTIQ+ people are increasingly targeted for violence and discrimination, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said yesterday; consensual same-sex relations are criminalized in more than one-third of countries. UN News 
Mifepristone remains accessible via telehealth prescription and mail delivery after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a freeze on a lower court ruling that would have required in-person appointments for patients to acquire the drug; the underlying legal case remains unresolved and is expected to eventually return to the Supreme Court. Axios 
Hantavirus can survive in human sperm for up to six years, creating potential for sexual transmission even after recovery from the virus, per a 2023 study published in Viruses; while such transmission has not been documented, UK health officials say they were reviewing hantavirus research while monitoring British passengers from the MV Hondius. The Telegraph  IN FOCUS A CBCA Virunga Hospital staff member checks a visitor's temperature before allowing her access to the hospital. Goma, DRC, May 17. Jospin Mwisha/AFP via Getty Ebola Outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern    The WHO has declared an Ebola outbreak centered in eastern DRC a public health emergency of international concern as cases rapidly mount and epidemiologists urgently seek to gauge the spread of the highly contagious virus that has likely been circulating undetected for weeks, reports The New York Times (gift link).  

• The announcement, made Saturday, came one day after the Africa CDC reported that the DRC outbreak was linked to dozens of suspected deaths, and after the confirmation of at least two cases in Uganda. 

Questions around count: 300+ suspected cases and 88 deaths have been reported, per the AP. But epidemiologists warn the scale of the outbreak could be far larger, with the WHO highlighting “significant uncertainties” about the number of infections and geographic spread. 

• The virus is centered in a mining corridor region that Africa CDC director general Jean Kaseya described as “a very vulnerable and fragile region” weakened by conflict and poor health infrastructure, reports NPR. 

• Cases have also been reported in heavily populated areas including Kinshasa, Goma, and Kampala, further complicating response.  

Rare strain, few tools: The outbreak is being driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which has only been reported twice before, reports the AP. 

• There are no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the strain, and WHO officials said existing rapid tests initially missed the virus. 

• The response is also impacted by USAID cuts, reduced CDC funding, and the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO, say global health experts, who pointed to a pivotal U.S. role in previous Ebola outbreaks.  

Americans exposed: A small number of Americans may have been exposed in Congo, including at least one symptomatic individual who is being considered for medical evacuation by the CDC, per The Washington Post (gift link).  DATA POINT

1.1 billion
——————
People live in slums, per the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat); how to house them in dignity is a question being discussed at the World Urban Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan, this week. —UN News
  GHN EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY Using the 7-1-7 target, public health officials in El Salvador managed to stop the spread of imported malaria cases and maintain the nation’s malaria-free status. Courtesy of Resolve to Save Lives We Know How to Stop Disease Outbreaks. Will We? 
In December 2024, as cases of cholera were surging in South Sudan, the Ministry of Health recognized and curbed the outbreak in record time, with just six confirmed cases and no reported deaths.     Compare that to what we’re seeing with measles globally—as the disease has made a comeback in countries that had once eliminated it, like the U.S. 
  “The difference isn’t the disease; it’s the response and investment in prevention,” writes Amanda McClelland of Resolve to Save Lives. 
  One tool that’s helping to contain outbreaks—including in South Sudan––is the 7-1-7 target, developed by Resolve to Save Lives and adopted by dozens of communities, countries, and institutions around the world, based on three simple goals:  

• Detect an outbreak within seven days of the first case. 

• Notify public health authorities within one day of detection. 

• Complete early response actions within seven days of notification.   

A model to follow: The latest installment of the just-published Epidemics That Didn’t Happen report shows 7-1-7 target success stories from countries that used the tool to identify and stop outbreaks quickly—including an Ebola outbreak in Uganda last year. Other countries can follow their lead, McClellan says, and adopt the 7-1-7 target to improve rapid outbreak detection and response.     “We have a choice,” McClellan writes. “We can wait for the next crisis and respond after lives are lost, or we can invest in prevention and stop outbreaks before they spread.”   READ THE FULL COMMENTARY BY AMANDA MCCLELLAN OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Top WHO official: I’m relieved it isn’t bird flu, but we’re in a ‘make or break’ phase for hantavirus – The Telegraph

A Danish Couple’s Maverick African Research Finds Its Moment in RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Policy – KFF Health News

Study reveals hidden trauma of unaccompanied Afghan refugee children brought to UK – The Independent

Efforts to understand America’s drugged-driving problem stalls under Trump – The Washington Post (gift link)

RFK Jr.’s department to make it easier to fire career staff – Politico

With a Friend in Trump, the Tobacco Industry Secures a Lucrative Win – The New York Times (gift link) Thanks for the tip, Dave Cundiff!

How outbreaks at sea have been helping to shape the global health system since medieval times – The Conversation (commentary)

A revolutionary cancer treatment could transform autoimmune disease – Knowable  Issue No. 2917
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: The Hunt for Hantavirus Origins; and The Paternal Mortality ‘Blind Spot’ Plus: In Chonkers’ Wake View this email in your browser May 14, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES Global health progress is off-target and hard-won gains are being reversed, warns the WHO’s 2026 World Health Statistics report, which found that malaria incidence has increased, measles immunization coverage remains dangerously low, and the decline in maternal and child mortality rates is slowing. Scientific American    U.S. overdose deaths dropped by 14% last year, per new CDC data; but researchers caution that the number of deaths is still high (~70,000) and that cuts to harm reduction programs and the emergence of new illicit drugs could reverse progress. AP    Delayed diagnosis of travel-acquired malaria was common among U.S. children hospitalized for the disease between 2016 and 2023, per a new study published in Pediatrics, which found that malaria was not considered or tested for in 1 in 4 pediatric patients seeking initial clinical care; 51% of those children went on to develop severe symptoms. CIDRAP     Gene therapy was linked to a brain tumor in a boy years after receiving the treatment as a baby, per research presented at the annual meeting of American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy; while the mass was safely removed, it is the first time a gene therapy delivered by the adeno-associated virus has been linked to cancer, say researchers, who also said the rare outcome should not prevent the use of AAV in gene therapy. Science  IN FOCUS An aerial view of Ushuaia harbor in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, on May 13. Edrien Esteves/AFP via Getty The Hunt for Hantavirus Origins
As passengers of MV Hondius quarantine in their home countries, international health officials are racing to pinpoint the origin and transmission patterns of the Andes strain of hantavirus that has sickened 11 people and sparked global alarm.    Epidemiological detective work: Scientists are retracing the route traveled by the virus’s first known victims, a Dutch couple who boarded the cruise ship after crisscrossing Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, reports The New York Times (gift link).  

• Questions surrounding the initial source and incubation timeline have made it difficult to draw a clear line, resulting in some international finger-pointing between Argentina and Chile.   

• Scientists are also trapping rodents to determine whether the virus has spread into new regions beyond Patagonia. 

Scrambling to understand spread: Researchers are also working to grasp the transmission patterns of the Andes strain—the only hantavirus known to spread between humans, reports The Telegraph.  

• That means defining the conditions needed for the virus’s spread: incubation timing, respiratory droplet size, type of contact needed for spread, and the infectious dose needed to overcome immune defenses. 

Risk and response: While American cruise passengers are being quarantined and monitored, the CDC said Wednesday the threat to the public remains low, per Reuters.  

• Laboratories, including the University of Nebraska Medical Center, are rapidly developing diagnostic tests, reports Wired, and refining containment protocols as scientists study possible mutations.  

Misinformation contagion: Meanwhile, COVID-era conspiracy theories are resurging online—but this time, AI is an accelerant, per another New York Times report (gift link). 

• “The conspiracy theories from COVID-19 never really died,” said University of Buffalo misinformation researcher Yotam Ophir. “They lay dormant for a few years.” 

POPULATIONS The Paternal Mortality ‘Blind Spot’ 
New insights are emerging into the understudied crisis of paternal mortality in the U.S., in which new fathers are dying from preventable causes like accidental injuries, homicide, suicide, and overdose in their children’s early childhood, per SciTech Daily.   

• While maternal health and mortality are well-tracked in the U.S., paternal mortality has received little attention, despite its adverse effects on children and families. 

Illuminating the issue: Northwestern University researchers tracked ~130,000 babies born in Georgia in 2017 to see if their fathers died over the following five years, per the study published in JAMA Pediatrics. 

• Among 796 fathers who died, 60% of the deaths were preventable—pointing to “a huge blind spot” in public health. 

Need for more data—and intervention: Researchers are unpacking the factors driving the deaths; however, in an interview with Nautilus, the study’s lead author said birth-related health care visits provide a key opportunity to connect with fathers and provide them with support.   OPPORTUNITY Last Call to Submit for Open Forum Conference! 
There are a few more days to submit abstracts and awardee nominations for the 2026 Open Forum: Next Generation Conference.    Hosted by the National Network of Public Health Institutes, the annual public health workforce development gathering will be held August 24–26 in Nashville, Tennessee. 

• Abstract submissions are open for a variety of presentation formats for five conference tracks including performance improvement, data modernization, public health challenge navigation, and more. 

• Nominate your colleagues, friends, and mentors for this year’s Open Forum Awards, celebrating new and emerging leaders in the public health field. 

Abstract and award nominations are due by Sunday, May 17.  ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION In Chonkers’ Wake
Swim on, Moby Dick: There’s a new white whale in our lives, and his name is Chonkers.    Chonkers is not a whale. But the 1,500+-lb. Steller sea lion brought his own chonky mythos to San Francisco Bay this spring, dwarfing the resident sea lions and drawing “bonkers for Chonkers” crowds to Pier 39, per SFGate—including some who made cross-country pilgrimages “looking for the big one,” as one Atlanta visitor told CBS San Francisco.     We are all drawn to Chonkers—but what drew Chonkers to us? Relatably, he was “very food-motivated,” one expert told the New York Times (gift link); and the easy pickings of anchovies, herring, and rockfish in the bay probably spurred Chonkers to make the unusual 30+ mile trek shoreward. Now that he’s dined, it appears that he’s ditched us, reports Discover.      What now? Bereaved Chonkers-watchers may hope for another visit from the Steller sea lion; but the local harbormaster Sheila Chandor says the Pier 39 docks and their typical dainty, 700-lb. denizens aren’t exactly fit to host him, as this startling video demonstrates.     “He makes them all look like little kittens,” Chandor said.  QUICK HITS It’s Time to Blow Up the Public Health Events Model – Why Should I Trust You?

‘We will not denounce people in distress’: Luxembourg doctors balk at EU migration proposals – Luxembourg Times

French authorities to release millions of sterile tiger mosquitoes – Connexion Thanks for the tip, Cecilia Meisner!

Tunisia validated by WHO as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem – WHO

White House threatens to withhold Medicaid money from states over fraud – The Hill

On Monday morning it was a busy South Sudan hospital. By Tuesday night it was a bombed-out shell – The Guardian

Want to keep aging at bay? Get some arts and culture every day, study finds – Euronews   Issue No. 2916
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: A Silent STI Crisis Among South Africa’s Girls; Medical Rumors Turn Violent in the Congo View this email in your browser May 13, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES Maternity care in eastern Chad is “facing enormous pressure,” the UN Population Fund has warned, as the massive influx of refugees fleeing Sudan’s civil war means many women are giving birth in overcrowded clinics with limited medication and equipment. UN News    A French hantavirus patient is critically ill with life-threatening lung and heart problems, and is depending on an artificial lung, doctors say; the hantavirus outbreak centered on the cruise ship MV Hondius has now grown to 11 total cases. AP    ~7 million U.S. children live in a home with a loaded and unlocked gun, finds a new study published in JAMA Network Open, which also found that ~32 million U.S. children live in homes with firearms. NPR    Prescriptions for ivermectin and benzimidazole among cancer patients rose 2.5X after actor Mel Gibson endorsed the unproven treatment on Joe Rogan’s podcast, per a JAMA Network Open study; the needed dose for any anti-cancer effect would be toxic for humans, doctors say, and there have been no clinical trials on the drugs’ safety and efficacy for treating cancer in people. CIDRAP  IN FOCUS School girls being screened at the launch of the Dreams program, aimed at reducing new HIV infections, particularly in adolescents and young women. Durban, South Africa, April 7, 2021. Darren Stewart/Gallo Images via Getty A Silent STI Crisis Among South Africa’s Girls    In South Africa, which has one of the highest rates of STIs in the world, adolescent girls and young women are at particular risk: They are more likely to have STIs than boys and men of the same age, and than older women.     Yet they are also less likely to seek or receive care due to overwhelming stigma and a lack of education, finds research published this spring in the International Journal of Sexual Health.  

• “That silence is as deafening as it is dangerous,” wrote lead study author Zoey Duby in a commentary published in Bhekisisa. 

Gaps in care despite symptoms: Of ~5,000 South African girls and young women ages 15–24 surveyed by researchers with the South African Medical Research Council, many reported at least one STI symptom, with 17.5% reporting genital itching, 8.2% reporting unusual discharge, and 7.0% reporting vaginal pain or burning. 

• Despite these responses, just 16% had ever received an STI diagnosis. 

Barriers to care include:   

• Confusion and misinformation about STIs, including a belief that HIV prevention medication means condoms are unnecessary. 

• Pervasive STI shame and stigma, even in consultations with health workers. In the survey itself, 22.5% of participants preferred not to disclose symptoms. 

Improved education is essential: While schools are key sources of sexual health information, researchers say current lessons focus too heavily on HIV and neglect other STIs. 

• Researchers are urging more “all-in-one, youth-friendly” reproductive health services that combine education, contraception, and HIV prevention with STI testing.  

Related: Study shows doxyPEP’s diminished effectiveness against gonorrhea – CIDRAP   DATA POINT

1 in 8
————
Deaths averted by the RTS,S malaria vaccine among eligible kids in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi from 2019 to 2023, per an observational study in The Lancet. —CIDRAP
  MISINFORMATION Medical Rumors Turn Violent in the Congo   Over the past year, false online claims about a mystery illness supposedly circulating in the DRC have sparked panic, leading to violence and the killing of four health workers who were conducting vaccine research in the Tshopo province.     Explosion of misinformation: Videos and testimonials shared online described an illness that caused genital atrophy, with pastors and megachurch leaders fueling the viral content with claims of miracle cures.  

• Health workers have been accused of secretly spreading the disease.  

Deadly outcomes: The WHO-backed Africa Infodemic Response Alliance (AIRA), which monitors health misinformation, says ~17 killings linked to the rumor have been reported, including the four slain health workers.  

• Meanwhile, AIRA has lost key funding amid aid cuts, leaving it with fewer personnel and resources to combat misinformation.  

Reuters via The Japan Times OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Middle East conflict pollution puts Africa at risk of health impacts – Nature

Dengue outpaces virus-blocking mosquitoes in Brazil – AFP via France24

Marty Makary departs FDA after clashes with Trump over fruit-flavored vapes – The Guardian

European Parliament calls for investigation into undisclosed meetings between EU officials and Philip Morris International – The Examination

The next WHO leader will need to be a multitasking political acrobat – Geneva Solutions

How minimum wage hikes and food stamps fit into suicide prevention – The Washington Post (gift link)

By changing women’s lives, the pill changed the nation – AP

Cities are rehearsing for deadly heat. Will it help when disaster comes? – Grist

Wine’s leftovers could help wean chicken farms off antibiotics – Cornell Chronicle Issue No. 2915
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: America’s Overlooked Drug Crisis; and Discoveries and Delays in Kala-azar Treatment View this email in your browser May 12, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES Palestinians recounted a pattern of sexual violence against men, women, and children by Israeli prison guards, soldiers, settlers, and security agency interrogators to Nicholas Kristof, who shared the interviews in a New York Times commentary (gift link); a separate Civil Commission on Oct. 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children report, published in CNN today, presents evidence that Hamas and their allies raped, assaulted, and sexually tortured their victims during and after the October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, including previously unknown allegations related to the sexual abuse of minors held hostage in Gaza. 
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) following a decades-long push by advocates who say the term “polycystic” is misleading and contributed to delayed diagnosis and inadequate treatment for the condition, which impacts ~170 million women globally. The Guardian Thanks for the tip, Cecilia Meisner! 
A single-infusion therapy of immune cells engineered to recognize HIV could suppress the virus for years, per a small proof-of-concept study slated for presentation at a gene therapy conference today; the therapy has already cured some blood cancers by modifying a patient’s own immune cells to recognize and kill malignant cells. The New York Times (gift link)    Six in ten Americans polled on their awareness of the Trump administration’s reductions to U.S. foreign aid spending and global health programs say the changes have negatively impacted global views of the U.S., per a question in a poll that confirms that Americans’ views on aid cuts and support for people’s health in developing countries fall along highly partisan lines. KFF Health News  IN FOCUS Beer sits for sale in a grocery store in Brooklyn, New York City. January 3, 2025. Spencer Platt/Getty Images America’s Overlooked Drug Crisis  
Every day it kills almost 500 Americans, yet alcohol is so pervasive in U.S. culture that few pay attention to the damage it causes.     STAT reporters Lev Facher and Isabella Cueto do. In their seven-part investigative series (two articles are live so far), they deep dive into the U.S. alcohol epidemic—“a generational failure of the medical and public health systems, of industry, and of government,” as they describe it in their first article (subscription required).       The unacknowledged “public health emergency” includes: 

• Far more alcohol-related deaths in 2024 than opioid-related deaths (178,000 vs. 39,000). 

• A near doubling of alcohol-related emergency department visits to 5.4 million in 2022 from 2.7 million in 2003. 

• Research that links “heavy drinking to cancer, heart disease, stroke, cognitive decline, developmental disorders, gun violence, injuries …” 

• Economic costs of $249 billion per year. 

Daily toll: Reno, Nevada, emergency physician Jenny Wilson says she sees acute and chronic problems resulting from excessive alcohol use “every single day, multiple, multiple times. Without question.”     The series highlights (free access) how the U.S. is failing, including: 

• Inconsistent screening for excessive drinking. 

• A fragmented treatment infrastructure. 

• Open attitudes toward alcohol consumption during pregnancy. 

• Political deference to a powerful industry lobby.   

Upcoming topics in the series: 

• A new kind of liver crisis. 

• 12-step program’s uneven record. 

• Alcohol during pregnancy. 

• Trump administration’s weakening of alcohol research. 

• Alcohol industry maneuvers behind the scenes. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES NEGLECTED DISEASES Discoveries and Delays in Kala-azar Treatment 
It has been four years since trials for new, shorter kala-azar treatment concluded in East Africa—but the successful new protocols are still not reaching patients, doctors say.     The trial: The DNDi-sponsored trial centered in Eastern Africa, which accounts for 79% of global cases of the deadly parasitic disease kala-azar, also known as visceral leishmaniasis. 

• Amudat Hospital in northeastern Uganda gave patients a 14-day regimen of both oral miltefosine and paromomycin. Patients reported faster recovery and less pain compared with older treatments like a standard 30-day injection-only regimen. 

Stalled gains: 2025 funding cuts severely strained services at the hospital and contributed to delays in implementing updated care models.     Nature Africa OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Hantavirus cases rise to 11 as cruise ship passengers quarantine – NBC

Supreme Court extends pause on abortion pill restrictions through Thursday – The Hill

She's trying to outrun pancreatic cancer. Breakthrough treatments give her hope – NPR

Kennedy Is Driving a Vast Inquiry Into Vaccines, Despite His Public Silence – The New York Times (gift link)
No link between maternal COVID infection and birth defects, data suggest – CIDRAP   Giving birth in a hotel room? For some Indigenous women, gaps in care mean few options – CBC

3 simple ways to reduce your body’s exposure to plastic chemicals – The Washington Post (gift link)

Pediatrics group issues new guidance on recess for the first time in 13 years – AP  Issue No. 2914
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: Hantavirus Reveals Gaps in Outbreak Response; and Rising Vitamin K Shot Refusals View this email in your browser May 11, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES Manitoba has declared a public health emergency over HIV, amid some of Canada’s highest HIV rates—19.5 cases per 100,000 people, or ~3.5X Canada’s overall rate of 5.5; the aim of the declaration is not to create fear, public health officials say, but to open up options to increase testing and raise awareness. CBC   
The skin disease dermatophilosis has been confirmed in clusters of European men who have sex with men; the disease typically infects livestock, and while the human cases are reminiscent of mpox emergence, researchers say the condition appears mild. STAT    CDC support for PEPFAR will end in September in most countries, as the Trump administration pivots to its “America First” strategy of sending most HIV care funds directly to countries based on bilateral agreements with the U.S.; the move is the “final blow” to the 23-year-old program, public health advocates say. Science 
The UAE has launched a new initiative to combat river blindness via mass administration of medicines, disease monitoring, and the training of local healthcare workers; the effort, to be implemented by Noor Dubai, supports the WHO’s roadmap to eliminate river blindness by 2030. Fast Company  IN FOCUS Passengers are evacuated by small boat from the MV Hondius in the Granadilla Port. Tenerife, the Canary Islands, Spain, May 10. Chris McGrath/Getty Hantavirus Reveals Gaps in Outbreak Response     The global response to the hantavirus outbreak centered on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius is entering a new phase as passengers disembark on the island of Tenerife and evacuate to their home countries.    The decampment raises new concerns in a crisis that has already exposed the challenges of managing a global health response in a post-COVID landscape riddled with severe budget cuts, stalled research, rife misinformation, and strained international relationships.     CDC’s role questioned: Although the outbreak involves Americans, the agency “has been uncharacteristically missing in action,” reports the AP, with the CDC’s first health alert to doctors going out Friday and evacuation and quarantine plans for passengers only being confirmed over the weekend. 

• 17 U.S. cruise passengers returned to the U.S. early today, reports NPR; one American tested “mildly” positive for the virus and another showed “mild symptoms,” the HHS posted. Passengers are headed to the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska. 

• Acting CDC director Jay Bhattacharya told CNN that the agency didn’t want to cause public panic, but infectious disease experts say the agency’s quiet “underscored the nation’s diminished global role in the face of health threats,” reports Axios.  

Lack of treatments: Hantavirus is a known threat, so why aren’t there vaccines or treatments? Despite decades of research, there has been “no strong external pull” to develop treatments for the rare disease, reports The Telegraph.  

• One pilot project researching hantavirus spillover was eliminated under NIH cuts last year.  

• Still, some promising treatments in the pipeline could be expedited, researchers told The New York Times (gift link).  

Erosion of trust: Meanwhile, virus-related misinformation has run rampant, reports The Guardian.     The future of global cooperation: The struggle to trace the virus across borders has proven to be a “mammoth effort,” per The Independent. And in a year when countries have withdrawn from the WHO, a message of gratitude from WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to the people of Tenerife makes the case for collaboration: “The best immunity any of us has is solidarity.”      Related: I’m fighting misinformation online. False hantavirus claims follow a now-familiar playbook – STAT (commentary) DATA POINT

3,000+
————
Attacks on healthcare in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, per the WHO. “This cannot be normalized,” says Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, emphasizing that each attack marks a violation of international humanitarian law. —UN News
  CHILD HEALTH Rising Vitamin K Shot Refusals    With growing distrust in medical interventions, U.S. hospitals are reporting a sharp increase in parents rejecting newborn vitamin K shots. Pediatricians fear deficiency-related deaths are rising as a result. 
  Why the shot matters: The vitamin K injection has been a standard part of postnatal care for decades because it helps infants clot blood and prevents rare but dangerous brain bleeding.  

• Babies who skip the shot are far more likely to suffer severe bleeds, lasting injuries, or death. 

Doctors alarmed over declines: A 2024 JAMA Network study found that rates of vitamin K refusal reached 5% nationwide—a 77% spike since 2017.  

• While deficiency-related deaths are not tracked, doctors warn that the growing rejections are contributing to the hundreds of infant brain-bleeding fatalities that occur each year.  

ProPublica  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS NHS cancer nurses exposed to toxic chemicals linked to miscarriage due to inadequate PPE – The Independent     Measles Wild-Type Virus Detection Through Wastewater Surveillance in Sandoval County, New Mexico – JAMA Network Open    Nigeria: Sokoto, Sightsavers Step Up Vaccination After Meningitis Kills 33 Children – Daily Trust via allAfrica    FDA cliffhanger: Makary’s fate in limbo – Axios    A U.S. Senate Candidate Says Foreign Truckers Are Making America’s Roads Unsafe. His Own Truckers Have Caused Harm. – ProPublica    As Ranks of Uninsured Grow, Minnesota’s Hospitals Are Among Least Charitable in Nation – KFF Health News    WHO Gender Parity Dips Amidst Staff Cuts, but Women Advance Slightly in Professional Ranks – Health Policy Watch     New research reveals how music can transform exercise from a chore to a joyful habit – University of Jyväskylä Issue No. 2913
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: The Health-Improving Power of Pollinators; and The Deep Disparities in Kenya’s AI-Driven Health Coverage View this email in your browser May 7, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES At least 29 passengers left a cruise ship in the midst of a hantavirus outbreak on April 24, without contact tracing, after the first on board passenger death, but the WHO maintains the risk to the public is still low, per the AP; officials believe the outbreak could have originated from a bird-watching excursion in Argentina, where hantavirus cases have been on the rise, France 24 reports. 
  Shootings at hospitals have increased steadily over 25 years, from 6 to 34 events per year—a 6.4% increase annually, finds a new study published in JAMA Network Open, which pointed to the need for "hospital-specific prevention strategies,” including improved weapons screening processes. MedPage Today    COVID-19 can lead to blood clots, heart attack, and stroke because of the virus’s impact on proteins in blood vessels, per new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The study found that viral damage to thrombomodulin—a protein on the surface of blood vessel cells—creates clots, which then travel throughout the body and disrupt blood flow. CIDRAP 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Register for the conference 

• Learn more and submit your abstract  

• Deadline: May 17 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What’s next?  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Bus That Brings Reproductive Care to Homeless Women – Reasons to Be Cheerful  Issue No. 2910
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HIV patients in Senegal are forgoing treatment amid a surge of arrests targeting the LGBTQ community after the government’s decision to increase prison term lengths and fines for same-sex sexual acts and any promotion of homosexuality. Reuters    America's infant formula supply has been deemed safe by the FDA, which tested 300+ infant formula samples for contaminants including lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, pesticides, PFAs, and phthalates, and found "an overwhelming majority of samples had undetectable or very low levels of contaminants.” USA Today    World Cup health surveillance for the competition will be launched by global health academics at Georgetown University, who are providing a temporary surveillance hub to monitor disease risks like measles. The Telegraph  IN FOCUS Scanning electron micrograph of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which cause TB. NIH//Universal Images Group via Getty Images A Turning Point in TB Testing    A new portable tuberculosis test could transform the diagnostic process for patients, making it more accessible and affordable for underserved populations, and leading to earlier treatment options, reports NPR.     The traditional method: For over a century, TB diagnosis has relied on examining a patient’s phlegm samples under a microscope—an often-unwieldy, imprecise method that can miss up to half of cases or produce false positives.  

• It’s also difficult for many patients, like children and older people, to provide phlegm samples. 

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

• In a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers analyzed the tests of ~1,400 patients across Africa and Asia and found the diagnostic process met WHO accuracy standards, while proving easy to use in low-resource settings. 

• The device, MiniDock MTB, was developed by the Chinese company Pluslife, which designed it to be low-cost, battery-powered, and simple enough to use in clinics without microscopes or advanced labs. 

• Caveats: The test may miss very early infections and cannot identify drug-resistant TB without follow-up testing. 

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

• At least one partner must be disability-focused and disability-led.  

• Combined annual budgets must be under $3 million.  

• All organizations must be U.S.-based 501(c)(3)s or fiscally sponsored.  

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

• Learn more about the grants  

• Apply by May 20, 2026

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Gulls Just Wanna Have Fun    The frenzied squawks echoing from a pub in De Panne, Belgium, last weekend may have been alarming—if not downright annoying—to uninitiated passersby. But to the crowd inside, these were sacred hymns of homage.    The annual European Seagull Screeching Championship is, after all, more than a competition. Now in its sixth year, the event seeks to rehabilitate the much-derided sea scavengers’ reputation by “connecting gulls and people,” and reminding them that “a gull screeching brings back good memories,” explains the competition website.     The real memory-makers? The people with eerily good impressions of that unhinged cackle only a seagull can make as it divebombs your sandwich. This year, 70 contestants from 15 countries gave it their best go, Reuters reports, many donning feathers in an effort to further impress the five jury members (each “true seagull lovers,” assures the website).    And much like a seagull, organizer Claude Willaert has unapologetically bold aims for the competition, declaring to local station Focus WTV: “We are going to have more countries than at the Eurovision Song Contest.”  QUICK HITS RFK Jr. is holding up $600M in vaccines for poor countries – Politico     Australia becomes the 30th country to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem – WHO 
A cheap drug used by longevity enthusiasts may have a surprising impact on exercise – The Washington Post (gift link) 
J. Craig Venter, Scientist Who Decoded the Human Genome, Dies at 79 – The New York Times (gift link) 
Baby teeth hold clues to the harms of toxic metals for infants — and older kids – NPR  
Why you should ‘feed a cold’: eating primes immune cells for action – Nature  Issue No. 2908
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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96 Global Health NOW: When Policy Shapes Biology; and How Health Misinformation is Fueling Solar Farm Fears View this email in your browser April 29, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES Aid groups are calling for a humanitarian corridor to be opened through the Strait of Hormuz as the war in Iran has led to the blockage of vital aid supplies, including critical medications. The Guardian    Viral hepatitis remains “a major global health challenge” despite notable gains, finds a new WHO report; while hepatitis C- and B-related deaths have declined significantly, current transmission rates of ~1.8 million infections annually show that2030 elimination goals are off-course. WHO    Disabled Americans who receive Supplemental Security Income and live with family members who qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will see their monthly benefits cut or eliminated if a Trump administration rule change moves forward; the cuts would affect ~400,000 people with dementia, developmental disabilities, and other conditions. ProPublica    A former NIH aide has been indicted on obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges for allegedly using his personal email to conceal federal records about federally funded research into dangerous viruses like the one that caused COVID-19. Politico  IN FOCUS A view of houses in KwanGode, a rural area outside Hillcrest, South Africa. November 29, 2025. Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty When Policy Shapes Biology    The introduction of powerful anti-HIV drugs in regions like South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natale province has rewritten disease outcomes of the populations there. But the intervention has also reshaped the DNA of people in the region, finds a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences—slowing evolutionary changes that were being driven by the epidemic, reports Science. 

• In KwaZulu-Natal, extreme AIDS mortality before 2005 drove measurable genetic change over a decade, rapidly reshaping immune system genes.  

• The inflow of antiretroviral drugs notably slowed this process.  

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

• Such interruptions and reductions have eroded critical infrastructure needed to test, track, and treat the virus, impacting not only treatment but the ability to prevent it, reports The Guardian.  

• South Africa’s uptake of lenacapavir, for example, will be heavily affected by funding cuts, finds a new report from Physicians for Human Rights, per Bhekisisa.  

Seismic shifts on the horizon: South Africa is facing major upheaval to its HIV-fighting infrastructure: the Global Fund has notified the country that it has less than eight years before its funding wraps, per another Bhekisisa report.  
Related:     AIDS Creeps Back in Parts of Zambia, a Year After U.S. Cuts to H.I.V. Assistance – The New York Times (gift link)     We detected Aids through a federal early warning system. Trump has decimated it – The Guardian (commentary)  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES COMMUNICATION How Health Misinformation is Fueling Solar Farm Fears    The expansion of large solar farms is becoming a new battleground in public health policy: Critics point to health risks as a reason to restrict expansion, while researchers say such fears are grounded in misinformation.     A range of concerns: Critics of solar farms say health risks range from the impacts of electromagnetic fields to contamination, and such concerns have contributed to recent restrictions in Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri. 

• But the purported public health risks are not grounded in credible evidence, say researchers and environmental lawyers.  

Energy goals at stake: The backlash threatens to stall solar energy transition targets even as demand grows. 
ProPublica  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS More of the same. Epic Fury’s impact on global health and humanitarian actions – King’s College London (commentary)    Former Tobacco Executive Takes CDC Role – Medical Professionals Reference    ‘America First’ aid policy reshapes how U.S. delivers global health assistance – PBS News (news lesson plan)     Ending Malaria Is Africa’s Smartest Investment: Here Is Why Leaders Are Acting Now – Africa.com (commentary)     In first meeting, federal autism committee focuses on ‘profound autism’ – STAT     GOP takes aim at hospital CEOs over affordability crisis – The Hill    A neuroscientist’s guide to reading the research yourself – The Washington Post  (commentary, gift link)  Issue No. 2907
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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

Hundreds of hepatitis B infections and more liver cancer cases will likely follow the Trump administration’s policy that canceled a recommendation that the hepatitis B vaccine be given to infants within 24 hours of birth, per a new modeling study published in JAMA Pediatrics. The Washington Post (gift link) 

Strict limits on girls’ education and women’s work opportunities in Afghanistan may cause a shortage of 25,000 women teachers and health workers by 2030, according to a new UNICEF analysis. UN News     48% of newborns infected with chikungunya during birth will experience severe neurological problems, including seizures, bleeding in the brain, and other issues, per a study published in eClinicalMedicine; babies who appear healthy at birth can experience fever, persistent crying, and feeding problems three to seven days later. CIDRAP   IN FOCUS: GHN EXCLUSIVE A health worker administers polio drops to a child on a nationwide week-long poliovirus eradication campaign. Karachi, Pakistan, September, 1, 2025. Asif Hassan/AFP via Getty UK Cuts Imperil Polio Eradication 
Anne Wafula Strike once proudly served as the U.K.’s “poster girl” for polio eradication. Today, the Kenyan-born paralympic athlete and polio survivor has a different message: “It feels we were running a group relay and just before the finish line, someone deliberately dropped the baton.” 
  Last month, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) lost its largest contributor when the U.K. cut its $67–$134 million in annual funding. The move is part of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's sweeping 40% reduction in foreign aid, the largest percentage cut to development assistance by any government. 
  With the world on the cusp of eradicating the disease, “it’s the worst possible moment” to abandon funding, says Shahin Huseynov, WHO’s polio coordinator for Europe. Only two wild polio cases were reported globally in the first three months of 2026, and just two countries remain endemic—but poliovirus has been found in U.K. wastewater this year.  

• Without sustained funding, the WHO warns that 200,000 children could be paralyzed by polio each year within a decade. 

What it means on the ground: The cuts will likely mean prioritizing surveillance and vaccination campaigns in the highest-risk areas, and postponing the goal of eradicating polio by 2029, says Huseynov.  
With GPEI's budget already cut 30% from prior U.S. cuts, advocates are urging the U.K. to honor its legal obligation to spend 0.7% of national income on overseas aid. 

• Reinstating polio funding would cost just $134 million, a fraction of what's been cut. 

There’s hope that other countries will step in—such as Australia, Spain, Canada, and Korea—who are still “looking, kind of, to use their development assistance funds in a very positive way,” says Adrian Lovett of the ONE Campaign.    Nevertheless, a major concern is the signal the cuts send to other countries: “It’s not just about money. It’s about solidarity,” says Huseynov.
  READ THE FULL STORY BY ANNALIES WINNY GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES CONFLICT How One Sudanese Surgeon Held Back the Tide    Even as missiles hit Al Nao hospital, as electricity faltered, supplies dwindled and hospital staffers fled, orthopedic surgeon Jamal Eltaeb kept working.    Al Nao is one of the only functioning hospitals in the region outside Khartoum in civil war-torn Sudan—and Eltaeb knew it was a lifeline for hundreds of desperate patients.  

• For three years, he has found a way to keep caring for them—despite direct attacks on the hospital and amidst mass-casualty bomb strikes where 100+ wounded patients needed emergency care.  

• “We were working everywhere, in tents, outside, on the floor, doing everything to save patients’ lives,” said Eltaeb, who was just recognized with the $1 million Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity.  

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

Related: Darfur: Two decades on, a new generation of children faces 'horrific violence' – UN News OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Can the U.S. handle another pandemic? – PBS News (video) 
The US CDC on the brink – The Lancet (commentary)    Bedilu Abebe: Why Malaria Still Persists in Ethiopia – The Reporter (Ethiopia)     Trump administration warns against using federal dollars on fentanyl test strips – STAT     Toxins plus climate harms likely cause of reduced fertility, study finds – The Guardian    CDC warns of drug-resistant salmonella infections linked to backyard poultry – AP

How to let go of grudges — and why it could be good for your health – The Washington Post (gift link)  Issue No. 2906
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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96 Global Health NOW: A ‘Critical Phase’ in the Malaria Fight; and Solar Powering Maternal Survival in Nigeria View this email in your browser April 27, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES Algeria has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem after a decades-long effort that was accelerated in 2013 with particular focus on 12 highly affected provinces and intensive door-to-door screening and management; it is the 29th country globally to have eliminated the infection, which can cause blindness. WHO    The first gene therapy for deafness has been approved by the FDA—a historic milestone in the treatment of hearing loss, though the treatment currently impacts only people born with a very rare form of genetic deafness; the manufacturer, Regeneron, will offer the treatment for free in the U.S. NPR    Living in pesticide-heavy environments could heighten the risk of cancer by up to 150%––even with chemicals considered “safe” on their own—per a Peru-based study that examined the impact of complex mixtures of chemicals in real-world conditions, in contrast to previous research that has focused mostly on individual chemicals in controlled environments. Institut Pasteur via ScienceDaily  
70%+ of people globally believe at least one false or unproven health claim, like that vaccine risks outweigh benefits or that fluoride in water is harmful, per new survey published by the Edelman Trust Institute—results that point to a potentially growing number of people questioning scientific evidence. Scientific American  IN FOCUS Midwife Sarah Atim speaks to expectant mothers about malaria vaccination during an antenatal care session at a hospital in Uganda's Apac district. April 8, 2025. Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty A ‘Critical Phase’ in the Malaria Fight    The global fight against malaria is at a pivotal juncture, as major scientific advances like vaccines, therapies, and diagnostics converge with rising threats like drug resistance and underfunded health systems—a set of opportunities and barriers “defining a critical phase for malaria control,” per Nature Africa as World Malaria Day 2026 is marked.     New tools, new hope: Artemether-lumefantrine, the first malaria treatment tailored for newborns and small infants, has been approved, closing a longstanding gap in care for “one of the most underserved patient groups,” which is also the most vulnerable, per the WHO.  

• Three new rapid diagnostic tests are also rolling out, designed to detect mutating parasite strains that previously slipped through standard testing. 

And new threats: There is increasing evidence that parasites are growing resistant to artemisinin—the “backbone” of lifesaving therapies—per Nature Africa. This shift, along with insecticide-resistant mosquitoes and expanding mosquito habitats, is making it difficult to build on hard-won gains like the vaccine rollouts.     Ongoing toll of disruption: Meanwhile, malaria programs throughout Africa are still seeing the effects of the sudden USAID cuts last year, reports CIDRAP. In Zambia, for example, malaria hospitalizations are now increasing—likely due to the lack of regular USAID-funded spraying, doctors say.  

• And even as bilateral agreements with the U.S. are formed to fund countries’ malaria programs, countries with high malaria burdens are struggling to regain lost traction.  

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

379 million
——————
Malaria cases averted across 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa attributable to the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative investment from 2005 to 2024, per new analysis from Imperial College London and the Malaria Atlas Project. ––Clinton Health Access Initiative
  TECH & INNOVATION Solar Powering Maternal Survival in Nigeria    Electricity can be the difference between life and death for many maternity ward patients in Nigeria, where ~40% of primary health care centers lack reliable power.  

• Power interruptions lead to delayed surgeries, stalled oxygen flow, and nonworking incubators, and also hamper routine procedures that require light, like suturing.  

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

• “There is no interruption. We can suture, we can operate, we can do everything,” said Sarigamo Ibrahim, a nurse and midwife who manages the maternity unit. 

Nigeria Health Watch  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS South Carolina’s 200-day measles outbreak is over. What it cost. – The Post and Courier 
Measles Is Back. What Comes Next Will Be Worse. – The New York Times (commentary; gift link) Thanks for the tip, Dave Cundiff!  
What happened to Covid? – STAT  
The Next Global Health Crisis Is Already Here: Childhood Trauma from War – The Good Men Project 
Trump fires all 24 members of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s governing body – Science  

Untangling the complex relationship between HIV-exposure and tuberculosis in children: a narrative review – The Lancet Global Health  
So, you got bit by a tick. Here’s exactly what to do next. – The Washington Post (gift link)   Issue No. 2905
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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96 Global Health NOW: Europe’s ‘Narrowing Window’ for Climate Action; and Burkina Faso’s Psychiatric Care Deficit Plus: Your Photos May Be Bad—But Are They Bad Enough? View this email in your browser April 23, 2026 Forward Share Post TOP STORIES 21 African countries are battling measles outbreaks, and 493 deaths associated with the disease have been registered, reports the Africa CDC—which highlighted that 72% of all cases and 95% of the deaths have occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Independent (Uganda) 

The CDC will not publish a report showing the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines; sources familiar with the blocked report say it showed the vaccines reduced hospitalizations and emergency department visits ‌among ⁠healthy adults by about half this past winter. Reuters via Yahoo! News    A revamped suicide and crisis hotline, 988, has been associated with an 11% drop in suicides among adolescents and young adults in U.S. compared with projected rates since the shortened number was launched in 2022, finds a new study published in JAMA; states with the biggest increases in answered calls also saw the largest decline in suicide rates. STAT   A UK generational smoking ban passed this week in Parliament following a yearslong campaign; the directive means that children born after Dec. 31, 2008, will be banned from ever buying cigarettes. AP  IN FOCUS Locals and forest firefighters try to battle a wildfire in the village of Veiga das Meas, in northwestern Spain, on August 16, 2025. Miguel Riopa/AFP via Getty Europe’s ‘Narrowing Window’ for Climate Action
Extreme heat, drought, vector-borne illnesses, and other climate-driven health risks are rapidly escalating across Europe, finds the 2026 Europe report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change—which warns that political action and public will are not keeping pace with the need for urgent interventions, reports Euronews.  

• “The health impacts of climate change are intensifying faster than our response is keeping up,” said Joacim Rocklöv, co-director of the Lancet Countdown Europe. 

Heat-related harms: Compared with the 1990s, extreme heat alerts are up 318%, and nearly all monitored European regions saw an increase in deaths attributable to heat.  

• Heat is also exacerbating sleep disruption and complications in chronic diseases and birth outcomes. 

Accelerating disease: The overall average risk of dengue outbreaks in Europe has quadrupled over the last decade, and reported cases of West Nile virus, chikungunya, and Zika virus are also rising regionwide.  

Food insecurity: Meanwhile, drought is contributing to rising food prices, which pushed over a million more people into moderate or severe food insecurity in 2023 compared to past decades. 

Lagging political response: While Europe has been a global leader in climate policy progress, the report warns that political and public engagement are stalling, and urges further actions “need to be accelerated” including:  

• Swifter transition away from fossil fuels to other energy sources.  

• Implementing early warning systems for heat and other climate dangers into health care.  

• Targeted adaptation measures including expanded green spaces. 

Related: Heatwaves, floods and wildfires pose rising threat to democracy, report finds – The Guardian 

MENTAL HEALTH Burkina Faso’s Psychiatric Care Deficit     In Burkina Faso, access to mental health care is scarce, with just 11 psychiatrists available to a population of 20 million+ people.     Strained system: Mental health services were already fragile, but recent years of conflict and insecurity in the region have led to the withdrawal of NGOs that helped provide care.  

• Meanwhile, a key nurse training program has been suspended, and the country is dealing with an exodus of medical professionals to other countries.  

Cultural dynamics: A great deal of misinformation and stigma are still attached to mental health disorders, and families often turn to spiritual healers for help instead of medical care.    Hope on the horizon? The government has announced a plan to train and employ 60 psychiatrists over the next five years.    Bhekisisa  OPPORTUNITY Take a Load Off ... Your Eyes  
Prolonged screen use is a reality of daily life for many of us.     Students at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have launched a campaign—Take 60—to encourage 60-second hourly screen breaks to help reduce digital eye strain and support better focus and overall eye health.    We hope you’ll give it a try ... after scrolling down to read the Thursday Diversion!    Follow the campaign on social media ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Gullfoss, a waterfall on the Hvítá River, in southwest Iceland, in November 2023. This photo was taken by GHN's Morgan Coulson, who spent just 24 hours in Iceland on her way to Ireland, and couldn't find a bad shot. Your Photos May Be Bad—But Are They Bad Enough? 
Are you generally uninterested in photography, not good at it, and regularly disappointed with your own photos? Do you have no regard for composition and take portraits from below? Of people eating? Did you take this photo?
 
There’s a prize for that—and it comes with “possible worldwide recognition” and a trip to Iceland.
 
Icelandair is seeking the “world’s worst amateur photographer” to prove that this supermodel of a country has no bad angles—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity where “a lack of skill makes you ideal for this task.”
 
We admire Icelandair’s optimism, but suspect there’s someone out there that can still make a glacier look like a murky pond, a majestic volcano resemble an anthill, and give the Geysir a double chin. And we hope it’s us.
 
Apply to the contest by April 30
 
Thanks for the tip, Lindsay Smith Rogers!  QUICK HITS Why these treatments for one of the deadliest cancers are stirring such hope – The Washington Post (gift link)     Residents in rural Sudan say the Iran war has made it harder to get medicines – AP    Pace of N.I.H. Funding Slows Further in Trump’s Second Year – The New York Times (gift link)    In hearings, RFK Jr claims no responsibility for measles spread – CIDRAP    Two common drugs may reverse fatty liver disease, study finds – University of Barcelona via Science Daily     Britain’s £8bn bet on the developing world – The Telegraph  Issue No. 2903
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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