96 Global Health NOW: Argentina’s Health System Overhaul; The Legacy of Nuclear Testing in Kazakhstan; and Novel Mental Health Care in an L.A. Jail President Javier Milei’s “structural review” echoes the priorities of RFK Jr. View this email in your browser May 28, 2025 Forward Share Post Dozens of organizations and public health workers march to denounce the dismantling of public health by Javier Milei's government. February 27, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Miguel M. Caamano/NurPhoto via Getty Argentina Charts an Alternate Route
Argentine officials are signalling a sweeping overhaul of the country’s health system following the decision to withdraw from the WHO, which was ratified yesterday during a visit with U.S. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., reports The Buenos Aires Times. 

• President Javier Milei announced a “structural review” of Argentina’s health agencies, saying there would be stricter oversight of vaccine approvals, a reevaluation of drug authorizations, and “a comprehensive review of the toxic ingredients present in ultra-processed products,” echoing Kennedy priorities, reports the Buenos Aires Herald. 

Lockstep with U.S.: As Kennedy and Milei criticized the WHO, Kennedy announced the two countries would launch an “alternative international health system” to the WHO, which would be “free from totalitarian impulses, corruption, and political control,” per The Hill.

Backtracking on abortion rights: Meanwhile, Amnesty International says Argentina is becoming a “testing ground” for undermining reproductive rights, as access to abortion services and essential medications has declined sharply since Milei took office in 2023, reports The Guardian. GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   The WHO has designated NB.1.8.1 as a SARS-CoV-2 variant under monitoring (VUM), noting that while it is fueling a rise in cases and hospitalization in some Western Pacific countries, there are no signs that it is causing more severe cases than other circulating variants. CIDRAP

COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women in U.S. CDC guidelines, per a decision by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who did not cite any research or further details that informed the decision. AP
 
The WHA passed its first climate change and health action plan in a committee meeting last night—after the collapse of an hours-long effort to shelve the plan led by Saudi Arabia and supported by other oil-rich Gulf states and Russia. Health Policy Watch

“Dieselgate” pollution killed ~16,000 people in the U.K. and caused ~30,000 cases of asthma in children, per a new analysis that follows up on a 2015 scandal, when diesel car manufacturers were caught using illegal “defeat devices” to cheat regulatory tests. Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air U.S. and Global Health Policy News New Zealand, betting on innovation and economic growth, cuts existing science funds – Science

Federal cuts ripple through a bioscience hub in rural Montana – KFF Health News

As the Nation’s Research-Funding Model Ruptures, Private Money Becomes a Band-Aid – The Chronicle of Higher Education Thanks for the tip, Cecilia Meisner! 

In a county that backed Trump, people depend on Medicaid and are conflicted about cuts – NPR Shots

Read the Full ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Report – The New York Times (gift link) 

The pool's open. Trump's laid off the team that helps protect swimmers – Politico MENTAL HEALTH At California Jails, a Different Model for Care
About half the people incarcerated in the Los Angeles County jail suffer from mental illness.

The need for treatment and the chronic inability to meet that need led two incarcerated men to create a peer-led initiative, in which participants are trained to assist others with severe mental illness.

In the Forensic Inpatient Stepdown program, now 4+ years old, the assistants provide emotional support, use de-escalation techniques, teach life skills, and encourage peers to follow treatment plans. 

Impact: Since 2021, the program has expanded to reach 400+ patients. 

• Units using it report 6X fewer self-harm incidents and 35% fewer returns to hospitals.


• Mental health advocates say the program offers a model for improving care and rehabilitation inside jails. 

The Christian Science Monitor GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES RADIATION The Long Legacy of Nuclear Testing in Kazakhstan
From 1949 to 1989, the Soviet Union detonated 456 nuclear weapons at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan, exposing 1.5 million people to radioactive fallout.

• Generations of people in the region now suffer high rates of cancer, fertility problems, heart disease, and genetic birth defects.

• Researchers have found the radiation nearly doubled inherited gene mutation risks.

Ongoing Struggle: Despite persistent health issues, neither Russia or Kazakhstan has offered long-term, large-scale aid.

The Quote: People near the test site “became unwitting test subjects, and their lives were treated with casual disregard due to racism and ignorance,” said Becky Alexis-Martin, of the University of Bradford in the U.K..

The Telegraph QUICK HITS Saudi Arabia’s secretive rehabilitation ‘prisons’ for disobedient women – The Guardian

With aura readings and a Lauryn Hill concert, Philip Morris rolls out a new tobacco product in the U.S. – STAT

Where Iran and Israel Align: Youth Tobacco Use – Think Global Health

WHO's Big Push To Integrate Traditional Medicine Into Global Healthcare Framework – Health Policy Watch

Climate change driving sexual and reproductive health risks among young adolescents in Kenya – Medical Xpress

WHO Mandated To Update Of 30-Year-Old Review On Health Impacts Of Nuclear War – Health Policy Watch

Eliminating kala-azar: 6 African countries sign agreement to ramp up efforts, cross-borde programmes – Down To Earth

Educating the next generation of global health practitioners and leaders – Keck School of Medicine of USC / University of Southern California Issue No. 2732
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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

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


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

The 78th World Health Assembly concluded Tuesday in Geneva, marking several major milestones in global health. Delegates adopted the world’s first pandemic agreement and approved a significant boost in core funding for the World Health Organization (WHO).

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned of an escalating public health crisis in Sudan, as conflict and mass displacement continue to drive a surge in disease, particularly cholera and malaria.

96 Global Health NOW: Cholera Surges in Sudan; Rethinking Skin Cancer: Time to Double Down on Prevention; and Saving Babies as Global Health Shifts View this email in your browser May 27, 2025 Forward Share Post Cholera Surges in Sudan
Cholera cases are increasing in Sudan, with more than 2,000 cases in the Khartoum region treated by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in the past week alone, AP reports.

• The surge began in Khartoum’s twin city, Omdurman, in mid-May, according to MSF’s Sudan coordinator Joyce Bakker.


• Cholera patients have overwhelmed MSF treatment centers in Omdurman, said Bakker, noting the organization is only seeing a fraction of the cases.


• An average of 600–700 cholera cases per week have been reported in the past month, per Sudan’s Health Minister Haitham Ibrahim.


• The outbreak, which was first declared in August 2024, has led to 60,000+ cases and 1,600+ deaths, according to official statistics per Anadolu Ajansı.

What’s behind the surge? The Sudanese army had retaken the Khartoum region last week from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, leading many people to return to their homes but they lack access to clean water.

What’s next? Ibrahim said a cholera vaccination campaign will be launched in the coming days and should stem the outbreak.
 
Related: How cholera bacteria outsmart viruses – Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne via ScienceDaily THE QUOTE   "Reducing maternal and child mortality and the risk of infectious diseases are clearly important priorities … Investing in strategies to prevent malnutrition and providing opportunities for learning and responsive caregiving would enable all children to thrive and contribute to the human capital of their societies." ———————— Robert Black, professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health— The Lancet (commentary)
  The Latest One-Liners   Uganda has allowed “impunity for attacks” and “sexual and other forms of violence against LGBT people,” per a new Human Rights Watch report that accuses the country of state-led bigotry and attacks on LGBTQ+ people. The Guardian
 
Alcohol consumption ups the risk of pancreatic cancer, per a WHO cancer research agency study; pooled data from nearly 2.5 million people across Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America revealed a 3% increase in pancreatic cancer risk for each additional 10 grams of alcohol consumed per day. UN News

Excess deaths in the U.S. kept rising—even after the COVID-19 pandemic peaked—with ~1.5 million+ preventable deaths in 2022 and 2023, a Boston University-led study estimates; death rates among US adults aged 25–44 were 2.6X higher than in 21 peer high-income countries in 2023. CIDRAP

The U.S. Army spent nearly $1 million last year on untested snakebite drugs, including two drugs that appear to have undergone no independent testing for safety or effectiveness; testing on the civilian version of one of the drugs was determined to be “alarmingly weak.” The Bureau of Investigative Journalism World Health Assembly Wrap-Up News WHA Approves Landmark Resolutions on Health Finance, Rare Diseases and Skin Diseases – Health Policy Watch

Most WHO Member States Balk at Saudi-Russian Move to Ice WHO Action Plan on Climate Change and Health – Health Policy Watch

Global aid cuts will kill many – but Africa could benefit in the long run, says WHO chief – The Telegraph

WHO unveils new guideline to improve global access to controlled medicines – WHO (news release)

Kenya joins global push to combat snakebite deaths which claim around 4,000 lives annually – The Eastleigh Voice GHN EXCLUSIVE Colourful beach umbrellas seen from above at Cinque Terre, Monterosso al Mare, Italy. November 26, 2018. Alev Takil, Unsplash Rethinking Skin Cancer: It’s Time to Double Down on Prevention  
Each May, Skin Cancer Awareness Month reminds us of an urgent truth: Skin cancer is one of the most common cancers globally, with millions of new cases diagnosed each year across regions, climates, and skin tones, writes skin cancer expert Shafat Hassan.

Globally, skin cancer was diagnosed in more than 1.5 million people in 2020 alone, according to the WHO.
 
Essential question: Why are we still waiting for skin cancers to arrive at the hospital doors, instead of preventing them?
 
Strategy shift: The global health community must view skin cancer with the same urgency and innovation that we apply to other preventable diseases. This means elevating prevention and education to the same level as treatment.
 
Hassan’s takeaway: Let’s stop waiting for skin cancers to reach our operating rooms—and start preventing them from even happening.
 
Read the full commentary to learn essential next steps for global public health. READ SHAFAT HASSAN'S FULL COMMENTARY NEONATAL SEPSIS Saving Babies as Global Health Shifts 
As rich countries dramatically scale back their investment in global health, health leaders in low-income countries are looking for new models to bring critical tests and therapeutics to market.

Case in point: Infant sepsis kills ~400,000–700,000 babies worldwide each year. A rapid diagnostic tool could save hundreds of thousands of lives, but there is little incentive for rich countries to develop one because neonatal sepsis is concentrated in poor countries. 

• Some manufacturers are instead turning to middle-income countries like India, South Africa, and Kenya to invest in emerging interventions that those countries might actually use in large numbers—signaling growing independence and resilience of low- and middle-income countries. 

Vox / Future Perfect GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES INFECTIOUS DISEASES The CDC Goes Quiet   
The CDC’s public messaging has largely ceased during the Trump administration, with once-regular newsletters on hiatus, social media inactive, and health alerts not sent since March.

Reshuffled structure: The CDC’s communications teams saw drastic cuts earlier this year and messaging is now overseen by the HHS.

• Since the shift, staffers describe delayed or withheld public posts, even as outbreaks of measles, salmonella, and listeria continue, and as chronic health conditions go unaddressed.


• "We feel like our hands are tied behind our backs,” said one CDC employee. 

Various social media channels, which have 12 million+ subscribers, have stopped posting—with CDC staffers saying passwords to the platforms were lost when the agency’s digital media team was fired.

NPR CORRECTION Trust’s Name Check
A May 15 summary about tuberculosis prevention efforts in India incorrectly identified the Karnataka Health Promotion Trust as the Karnataka Health Project Trust. We regret the error. 

Our thanks go to Monika Doshi, PhD, MPH, of the Brown University School of Public Health, for catching this mistake. QUICK HITS FDA's plan to limit covid vaccines worries some who won't be eligible – The Washington Post (gift link)

WHO warns of 'zero-stock' levels of essential medical supplies, equipment in Gaza – Anadolu Ajansı

US aid kept many hungry Somali children alive. Now that money is disappearing – AP

One Type of Mammogram Proves Better for Women With Dense Breasts – The New York Times (gift link)

Sleep apnea pill shows striking success in large clinical trial – Science

Harvard researchers devastated as Trump team cuts nearly 1,000 grants – Nature

Why is the CDC located in Atlanta and not D.C.? History tied to Coca-Cola and mosquitoes – Georgia Public Broadcasting

A top global health expert's message to graduates: Kick the tires – NPR Goats and Soda Issue No. 2731
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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

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


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

As the war between rival militaries in Sudan continues, the World Health Organization (WHO) has raised alarm over the escalating health emergency, driven by ongoing violence, mass displacement, collapsing health systems and poor conditions inside refugee camps.

Alcoholic drinks, especially beer and spirits, may raise the risk of pancreatic cancer, a new UN study has found.

Some patients are easy to diagnose. They walk into a clinic and explain their symptoms. They can afford to pay for healthcare and access it seamlessly.

Five days – that is how long it took Dah, a 14-year-old prospective mother from Côte d’Ivoire, to give birth. The child was stillborn and she developed obstetric fistula.

96 Global Health NOW: MAHA Commission Report; Online Abuse Is Undermining the Right to Health; and What Would You Do For a Labubu? MAHA report expected to outline causes of chronic disease in children, without specific policy proposals. View this email in your browser May 22, 2025 Forward Share Post MAHA Commission Report Set for Release
Today the White House is expected to release the first report from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again Commission, which aims to outline causes of chronic disease in children, reports The New York Times (gift link). 

Background: President Trump tasked the commission in February to examine what he called the “growing health crisis in America,” starting with the “childhood chronic disease crisis,” per USA Today. 

Potential report highlights: Ultra-processed foods, pharmaceutical drugs, and environmental toxins are expected to be named in the report as key drivers of obesity, cancer, depression, and ADHD.

• It presents a broad assessment without specific policy proposals and calls for further investigation, people familiar with the report told the Times. 

Critics say recent actions by the administration, such as ending school produce programs, eliminating funding for childhood diet research, and cuts to maternal health appear to conflict with the report’s health-focused goals.

Pushback from agricultural groups and some Republican lawmakers has started, as they expressed worry about the report’s expected focus on chemicals such as the herbicide glyphosate, reports the AP. 

• Kennedy has said the report is “not going to do anything to jeopardize” farmers’ business model.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES EDITORSʼ NOTE No GHN Monday!
In observance of the Memorial Day holiday in the U.S., GHN will not publish on Monday, May 26.

Weʼll be back Tuesday with more news! –The Editors The Latest One-Liners
Vitamin D supplementation may help slow cellular aging by protecting telomeres, the DNA caps at the ends of chromosomes that shorten during aging and are linked to disease development, finds new research from a trial of vitamin D3 published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. EurekaAlert

A cross-border effort to eliminate visceral leishmaniasis has been launched by nine African countries, as leaders from the countries signed a joint strategy for surveillance, treatment, and disease control during a World Health Assembly event. Health Policy Watch

A new malaria battle tactic could involve targeting the parasite carried by mosquitoes instead of mosquitoes themselves, finds a study published in Nature—which determined that a drug cocktail applied to bed nets then absorbed through mosquitoes’ legs successfully eliminated the parasite from the insects. BBC

A commercial chicken farm in Brazil's central Tocantins state is free from bird flu, preliminary tests from the state's farm agency show—a “boon” following Brazil’s first outbreak reported last week, which led to trade bans and restrictions for the world’s top poultry exporter. Reuters GHN EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY Online Abuse Is Undermining the Right to Health  
In Kenya, a 14-year-old was evicted from her home when a health care provider texted a reminder about her HIV status to a shared family phone.
 
In Ghana, a gay man was lured to a meeting by fake romantic messages, then ambushed by men carrying machetes and sticks.
 
In Colombia, transgender sex workers were tracked to their homes after their details were shared online without consent.
 
These examples, from a new report by The University of Warwick’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies, reveal rising online abuse against young adults living with HIV, sex workers, and LGBTQ+ individuals in low- and middle-income countries.
 
“These abuses aren’t just horrifying—they are becoming normalized,” write several of the report’s co-authors in this exclusive commentary.

• Victims rarely see justice; some are criminalized instead.

• Police often dismiss complaints; digital platforms often fail to respond.

• And the fear of exposure leads many to stop seeking care altogether.

Online abuse is now a structural barrier to equitable health access, the authors argue—particularly in contexts where digital tools are increasingly central to public health delivery. They call on UN agencies, governments, and lawmakers to take urgent action against technology-facilitated abuse—outlining steps to strengthen privacy protections, invest in digital inclusion, and more.
 
Meg Davis, Catalina Gonzalez-Uribe, Bernard Koomson, and Allan Maleche for Global Health NOW GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES VACCINES ‘Gamechanger’ Gonorrhea Vaccine Program Launched
England will launch the world’s first gonorrhea vaccination program, as cases continue to reach record highs in the country. 

Rising infections: 85,000+ gonorrhea cases were recorded in England in 2023, an all-time high. 

Antibiotic resistance: Health officials have also warned that drugs are becoming ineffective against some strains of gonorrhea, highlighting the need for novel interventions, per a paper published in the BMJ.

Vaccine details: The 4CMenB vaccine, originally for meningococcal B, shows 32.7%-42% effectiveness against gonorrhea.

• While not fully preventative, the vaccine reduces transmission risk, and helps combat antibiotic resistance, with sexual health advocates calling the shot a “landmark moment” and a “gamechanger.”

The Guardian ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION What Would You Do For a Labubu?
If youʼve recently peered down to admire an expensive handbag, only to be glared at by a plush gremlin dangling from its strap—then youʼve met Labubu. 

The clip-on creatures that boast a “slightly grotesque charm and wide emotional range” are a Gen Z sensation, Mashable explains. While cuteness may be in the eye of the beholder, thereʼs no denying that this plushie punches above its weight.

Whatʼs the appeal? For starters, they …

• Are both ugly and cute.

• Wear fabulous outfits.

• Can hang on purses and also have their own purses.

• Have driven their makerʼs meteoric growth.

• Are apparently trade-war resistant, CNN reports.

And last but not least, their most powerful magic: They can make people stand in line. For a very long time. QUICK HITS FDA crackdown on off-brand Ozempic products set to take effect, threatening supply and access for many – CNN

West Nile virus detected in UK mosquitoes for first time as climate change linked to spread – Euronews

Indonesia on alert as COVID-19 surges across Asia – The Jakarta Post

6-year study of deer home range, habitat preference could help officials manage CWD – CIDRAP

When measles struck, a surge of parents stepped up to vaccinate their children – NBC News 

A husband and wife photographed each other during her cancer journey. Here is what they learned – STAT Issue No. 2730
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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

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


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

96 Global Health NOW: Narrowing Eligibility for COVID-19 Shots; Starved for Care; and Australia’s HIV Priority Shift View this email in your browser May 21, 2025 Forward Share Post Narrowing Eligibility for COVID-19 Shots
The FDA has announced new guidelines for which Americans will be eligible for the seasonal COVID-19 vaccine, limiting boosters to adults 65+ and others at high risk while more trials are conducted for younger, healthier people, reports the AP.

The new rationale, published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine, marks a shift from the previous policy recommending annual boosters for nearly all Americans ages 6 months+, raising questions about whether people who want the vaccine will be able to get it. 

Details: The current vaccine approval process will remain in place for older and high-risk groups, but vaccine manufacturers will need to conduct clinical trials before boosters are approved for healthier people.

• While the FDA says 100 million+ Americans fall in the eligible category, it remains unclear how eligibility would be determined. 

Concerns: Critics say guidelines exclude people who want vaccines to protect vulnerable family members or who want to avoid long COVID. 

• They also warn it undermines trust in reliably safe vaccines and could limit access by reducing insurance coverage, reports NPR Shots.

Debate: The guidelines come ahead of an FDA advisory committee meeting this week to discuss the boosters’ composition and a June CDC advisory panel meeting to update standards, with some experts saying there are legitimate questions about the benefits of yearly boosters. 

• It is unclear what this decision will have on those deliberations, with critics saying this decision preempts advisory panels’ role, reports The Washington Post (gift link). 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   China has pledged $500 million to the WHO, with the country now poised to replace the U.S. as the organization’s top donor—another sign of China’s expanded global health influence in the wake of the U.S. departure. The Washington Post

Metabolites from ultraprocessed foods can be identified in blood and urine, per a new study published in PLOS Medicine; the findings could help researchers better understand links between these foods and diseases like cancer and diabetes. Nature

A new Indonesian bill will allow broadcasters to censor LBGT content on digital platforms, including social media; advocates against the bill, which is still under deliberation, say it seeks to discriminate and control the country’s LGBT population. Global Press Journal

Urban rats are spreading bacteria that can cause leptospirosis in humans, finds a six-year study led by Tufts University published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases; the research generated new insights by analyzing DNA samples from rat kidneys. SciTechDaily World Health Assembly News Global leaders reaffirm commitment to WHO with at least US$ 170 million raised at World Health Assembly 2025 pledging event – UN News

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr Extends Olive Branch to WHO – With Strings Attached – Health Policy Watch

The world now has its first ever pandemic treaty. Will it make a difference? – NPR Goats and Soda

Director-General’s Award for Global Health given to Professor Awa Marie Coll Seck and Professor Sir Brian Greenwood – WHO (news release) DATA POINT   Nearly $700,000 —————————
The total average annual cost associated with each case of opioid use disorder in the U.S. —Axios MENTAL HEALTH Starved for Care
Eating disorders claim over 10,000 lives every year—but new data from the University of Louisville’s Eating Anxiety Treatment (EAT) Lab show that health insurers are creating formidable barriers for those seeking care. 

An EAT survey of patients with eating disorders published last year shows the most common reasons insurers deny their claims:

• 43% reported that their insurer did not cover the appropriate level of care. 


• 43% said theyʻd been discouraged from seeking treatment because they didnʻt seem “sick enough.”


• 36% reported there were no eating disorder treatment providers in their insurer’s network.

Overall: 96% of patients and their families reported encountering at least one barrier to accessing treatment; 81% encountered financial barriers.

The Pulitzer Center GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HIV/AIDS Australia’s HIV Priority Shift
Women are no longer considered a “priority group” in Australia’s HIV elimination strategy, despite frequently being diagnosed late—years after their health has deteriorated.

• Nationally, 38% of women are diagnosed late—a figure that jumps to 50% in some territories. 


• Cases among women have not fallen nearly as much as among men; a recent 10-year span showed a 6% dip for women compared to a 36% decrease for men. 

Roadblocks: HIV remains highly stigmatized; the biggest barrier for women is a lack of information and testing beyond screening during pregnancy.

Call to action: Normalize HIV testing for women, increase access to support services in high-risk regional areas, and improve representation of women in research.

ABC Australia OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Crippling tropical diseases threaten to surge after U.S. funding cuts – Science

U.S. funding halted Africa’s HIV crisis. Trump’s cuts have forced a reckoning. – The Washington Post (gift link) Thanks for the tip, Steven Hansch! 

Pets Might Be Adding To Antibiotic Resistance – U.S. News & World Report

Bird flu vaccine for cattle aces early test – Nature

Family likely infected with histoplasmosis in bat-colonized cave – CIDRAP

It’s time to stop the great food heist powered by big business. That means taxation, regulation and healthy school meals – The Guardian (commentary)

9 Federally Funded Scientific Breakthroughs That Changed Everything – The New York Times (gift link)  Issue No. 2729
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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

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


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

96 Global Health NOW: WHO Pandemic Agreement Is a Done Deal; U.S. Funding Cuts Stop Crucial HIV Research Work; and The Puzzling Drop in Human H5N1 Cases View this email in your browser May 20, 2025 Forward Share Post WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus delivers his report before delegates during the World Health Assembly in Geneva. May 19. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Done Deal: WHO Pandemic Agreement   After three years of arduous negotiations, the Pandemic Agreement was formally adopted by the World Health Assembly in Geneva this morning—though a key global player was notably absent.
 
Takeaways:

• The agreement improves future pandemic prevention and response by strengthening disease surveillance and access to vaccines and other medicines, The Telegraph reports.


• The WHO cannot control individual states’ responses such as travel restrictions, vaccine mandates, or lockdowns.


• Participating manufacturers must share “a target of 20% of their vaccines, medicines, and tests to the WHO during a pandemic to ensure poorer countries have access,” per Reuters.


• Today’s approval followed a vote yesterday in which Member States registered 124 in favor of the agreement with no objections and 11 abstentions, per the WHO.

Not quite done: Member States must negotiate details of the controversial pathogen access and benefit-sharing (PABS) system, which will establish how countries that “share information about pathogens with pandemic potential may benefit if pharmaceutical products are developed as a result,” reports Health Policy Watch.
 
No show: U.S. negotiators stopped participating in Pandemic Agreement discussions on January 20 when President Trump began the 12-month process to withdraw from the WHO.
 
Because it didn’t participate in the agreement, the U.S. is not bound by it, per Reuters.
 
The Quote: “It contains critical provisions, especially in research and development, that—if implemented—could shift the global pandemic response toward greater equity,” Michelle Childs, of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, told Reuters.

Related:

A Pandemic Treaty Without Teeth Will Leave Africa and the World Exposed – Think Global Health (commentary)
 
For the first time, the U.S. is absent from WHO's annual assembly. What's the impact? – NPR Goats and Soda

After US cuts funding, WHO chief defends $2.1B budget request by comparing it with cost of war – AP GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Papua New Guinea has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem—the country’s first elimination of an NTD—with the WHO crediting PNG’s robust disease surveillance, noting that many other countries’ trachoma elimination efforts required surgery campaigns, antibiotic mass drug administration, and targeted water, sanitation and hygiene improvements. WHO (news release)

The U.K. is ‘the sick person of the wealthy world,’ per a Health Foundation report led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine that underscored that, even as mortality from cancer and heart disease has decreased, deaths from drugs, suicide, and violence have increased. The Guardian

Austria, Norway, Oman, and Singapore earned recognition from the WHO at the World Health Assembly for their efforts to eliminate industrially produced trans fats from their food supplies; other countries are welcome to apply by August 31 to be considered for the third cycle of the TFA (trans-fatty acids) elimination validation program. WHO (news release)

Surgeons from Keck Medicine of USC and UCLA Health performed the world’s first in-human bladder transplant at UCLA earlier this month, restoring bladder function to a 41-year-old patient who had been dialysis-dependent for seven years. Keck Medicine of USC (news release) U.S. and Global Health Policy News Executive Order to Lower U.S. Drug Prices Could Hurt the Poorest Countries – Think Global Health (commentary)

Trump’s science adviser defends funding cuts as a chance to ‘revitalize’ U.S. science – Science

Trump’s NIH Chief Lets Loose on Fauci, Vaccines and Covid Cover-Ups – Politico

Exclusive: NIH grant rejections have more than doubled amid Trump chaos – Nature

RFK Jr. calls for healthier school meals as Trump cancels program that funded them – Reuters GHN EXCLUSIVE An aid worker who used to work with children orphaned by the AIDS virus poses for a photo at her home near Mbombela, South Africa. March 13. Phill Magakoe / AFP via Getty US Cuts Stop Crucial HIV Research in Its Tracks
JOHANNESBURG—All the groundwork had been laid and the official approvals for a Phase 1 clinical trial were secured. But now, vials of a valuable medicine sit untouched in laboratory refrigerators.
 
U.S. government research funding cuts halted the seminal mRNA HIV vaccine study, part of the BRILLIANT consortium, mere days before its planned start in March 2025, writes Elna Schütz.

• Such a vaccine could fundamentally change the HIV burden for South Africa, which reports the world’s highest number of people living with HIV.

The U.S. administration’s executive order to cut all aid funding to the country, along with cuts to other programs, also disrupted HIV prevention and care—and will likely lead to thousands of deaths as clinics that provide people with treatment sit empty, with hundreds of staff let go.

And, as the world’s third largest contributor to HIV research, South Africa is facing a unique double-whammy—with both researchers and people who receive clinical care feeling the impact.
 
Just six months ago, there was optimism around controlling the HIV epidemic, says Linda-Gail Bekker, director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre. “We were really in a position where we could maybe tame the tiger and put it back in its cage,” she says.
 
Now, she says, it feels like the cage’s doors have been opened wide and the key thrown away.
 
Ed. Note: This article was produced in collaboration with Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health. READ THE FULL ARTICLE BY ELNA SCHÜTZ GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES AVIAN FLU The Puzzling Drop in Human H5N1 Cases
Three months have passed since a human bird flu case was reported in the U.S., but epidemiologists are not sure why—especially as animal outbreaks are ongoing. 

Potential explanations include: 

Seasonal factors: The U.S. could be experiencing a natural, though possibly temporary, decline in cases, given that bird flu often peaks in fall and winter, the CDC told doctors earlier this month.

Underreporting: Fear among migrant farmworkers amid the federal immigration crackdown may mean they are not seeking treatment for or reporting cases.

Weakened surveillance: Widespread government staffing cuts at the USDA and FDA, plus reduced targeted surveillance, could be hindering detection efforts.

AP DISASTERS How Warnings Failed as Helene Loomed
As Hurricane Helene bore down on the mountains of western North Carolina, the advisories from the National Weather Service grew grim, then apocalyptic as it warned Helene could be the region’s most destructive weather event “in the modern era.” 

But in small communities in places like Yancey County, those warnings did not translate to evacuation orders—even in the most vulnerable locations. 

Why? 

Lack of preparedness: Hurricanes were not a feature of disaster planning for emergency officials in the region. Warning and evacuation systems were not in place.

Underestimating danger: Unfamiliar with the level of flooding or landslides brought by Helene, many people downplayed or did not heed warnings that were issued. 

Communication collapse: During the storm, cell service and communication systems went down, and volunteer responders were overwhelmed.

ProPublica QUICK HITS Biden’s sudden diagnosis of aggressive prostate cancer is unfortunately all too common – AP

Scabies on the Rise Worldwide, Even in High-Income Countries – Medscape

Poll: 83% of Americans say benefits of MMR vaccines outweigh risks – CIDRAP

2-in-1 COVID-flu vaccine looks promising in trial — but experts say approval may be delayed – Live Science

Why sunblock in the U.S. is so much worse than in the E.U. – STAT (commentary)

Can AI therapists really be an alternative to human help? – BBC

This Is Your Priest on Drugs – The New Yorker Issue No. 2728
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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

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


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

After three years of negotiations sparked by the COVID-19 crisis, countries have adopted the world’s first-ever international agreement to better prevent, prepare for, and respond to future pandemics. The new accord marks a major step towards ensuring stronger global cooperation to protect lives and avoid the devastating consequences of future outbreaks.

96 Global Health NOW: ‘New Levels of Horror’ as Attacks on Health Care Increase; Eroded Protections for Children; and Poisonous Profits View this email in your browser May 19, 2025 Forward Share Post Rescue workers provide medical aid to a wounded patient in a hospital damaged by a Russian drone strike on March 1, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Ivan Samoilov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty ‘New Levels of Horror’ as Attacks on Health Care Increase
Health workers, hospitals, and clinics were attacked in 3,623 incidents in 2024, finds a new report from the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition—a record figure that reflects an increasing disregard for humanitarian law, reports The Guardian. 

The attacks are up 15% from 2023 and 62% from 2022, including, bombings, looting, armed facility takeovers, and the detention of health workers. 

By the numbers: 

• 927 health care workers were killed, 473 were arrested, and 140 were kidnapped. 


• 1,111 incidents led to damaged and destroyed health facilities. 


• The numbers are likely an undercount, the report states. 

Hotspots: More than a third of the attacks (1,300+) occurred in Gaza and the West Bank, with hundreds more occurring in Ukraine, Lebanon, Burma (Myanmar), and Sudan.

Increased devastation: Explosive weapons accounted for 48% of incidents last year—an increase as drone strikes become more common, reports IPS.

No recourse: The rise in attacks reflects a “complete erosion in the respect for international humanitarian law and the responsibility to protect healthcare in conflict,” said Christina Wille, who led the report’s data collection. GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
Yellow fever cases in the Americas more than tripled in 2024, with five countries confirming 212 cases and 85 related deaths—a 40% case-fatality rate, per a new WHO report; Brazil recorded the highest number of cases and fatalities. CIDRAP

The FDA has approved Novavax’s COVID-19 shot, but has included new restrictions: The vaccine is approved for use only in adults 65+, or those ages 12–64 with health problems putting them at increased risk from COVID. AP

Girls with healthier diets tend to get their first periods later, regardless of BMI, per an observational study in Human Reproduction from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center that looked at the records of 7,500+ children ages 9–14; more research is needed to understand the linkage. NBC

Bangladesh’s air pollution could be lowered by a simple intervention: stacking bricks fired in kilns differently, finds a new study published in Science; the improved stacking pattern improves the airflow and efficiency of kilns, reducing black smoke emissions. NPR Goats and Soda IMMIGRATION POLICY Eroded Protections for Children
The U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), historically tasked with protecting immigrant children, is increasingly aiding immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, per a joint report by ProPublica and the Texas Tribune.

Shift in role: The ORR was formed to play a humanitarian role, assisting unaccompanied migrant children. 

• But in the last several months, current and former staffers say the office is being forced to share data used to target children and their sponsors for deportation.

Added risk: Critics say the shift will make already vulnerable children more susceptible to dangerous living and working conditions out of deportation fears. 

Forgoing medical care: Meanwhile, migrants fearing ICE are going without vital medical services for medical conditions including chronic illness, high-risk pregnancies, and injuries, doctors told The New York Times (gift link). 

• Children are especially at risk when their parents avoid the medical system. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Poisonous Profits
Despite being a potent neurotoxin, mercury remains the primary method for extracting gold from ore in West Africa’s booming informal mining sector. 

• Miners mix the liquid metal into crushed ore, then heat the mixture to evaporate the mercury, leaving the gold behind.


• Once released, mercury spreads through air, water, and soil. After heavy rains, it contaminates rivers, poisons fish, and accumulates up the food chain.

The process is cheap, effective—and dangerous: Mercury exposure can cause irreversible brain damage, developmental delays, birth defects, tremors, and loss of vision, hearing, and coordination. 

According to the UN Environment Programme, artisanal and small-scale gold mining is the largest global source of mercury emissions.

For many, the risk is worthwhile: Senegalese gold processors earn $370–$745 per month—more than double the national average salary.

AP

ICYMI: Peru’s Illegal Mining Surges … and Destroys – Global Health NOW OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Spike in Saudi Mers cases sparks outbreak fears ahead of Hajj – The Telegraph

Reports of sexual violence in Eastern DRC surge by almost 700% in March as armed conflict intensifies – ActionAid via ReliefWeb

Africa Turns to Mpox Lessons to Fight Cholera – Africa CDC & Cholera Plan to Map Hotspots in Five African Countries – Africa CDC

‘The fans just circulate hot air’: how indoor heat is making life unbearable in India’s sweltering cities – The Guardian

US brain drain: Nature’s guide to the initiatives drawing scientists abroad – Nature

How do middle-aged folks get dementia? It could be these proteins – University of California - San Francisco via ScienceDaily

Why we fall for fake health information — and how it spreads faster than facts – Kansas Reflector (commentary)

TikTok brings ‘raw milk’ craze to Britain – despite it being 45 times more likely to put you in hospital – The Telegraph

A pickled pepper maker knows exactly how hard it is to switch to natural food dyes – NPR Shots Issue No. 2727
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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

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


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

The 78th World Health Assembly opened on Monday with a broad appeal to global solidarity, as delegates from around the world gather in Geneva to confront mounting health, climate, and financial challenges – and finalise a global treaty to head off the next pandemic.

Could the world be better prepared for the next pandemic? As nations continue to deal with COVID-19’s lasting effects, that question is at the heart of an international agreement set to be negotiated in Geneva.

An international pandemic prevention treaty, three years in the making, is set to be adopted this week in Geneva. Rehman Hassan, a prominent member of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) Youth Council, is confident the accord could make a huge difference to the way that the world reacts to pandemics.

As world leaders negotiate the landmark Pandemic Preparedness Treaty at the WHO Assembly, we revisit frontline doctors, community advocates, a youth volunteer, and a journalist who lived through the storm of COVID-19. Theirs are just some of the millions of testimonies worldwide helping shape the urgent call for action. 

Amid reports that Israeli strikes across Gaza overnight into Friday killed at least 64 people, aid teams once again pushed back strongly at allegations that aid is being diverted to Hamas, demanding an end to Israel’s blockade.