Global Health NOW: A Fire in Pakistan and a Public Reckoning; and Africa Doesn’t Lack Talent, It Lacks Systems to Retain It
August 27, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEFUganda is free of Ebola, the WHO declared yesterday after a 42-day monitoring period of no new cases, reports Al Jazeera; but the Ebola outbreak in DRC is on track to become the worst in history, with 5,605 infections and 2,683 deaths reported as of this week—numbers indicating faster spread than the West Africa epidemic in 2014, per The Washington Post (gift link).
Two Frankfurt Airport employees in Germany have died after contracting malaria in a cluster of cases believed to have been caused by infected mosquitos brought into the country on an aircraft, per Frankfurt health officials; six airport employees were infected despite not having traveled to a malaria-risk country. DW
Florida will remove four vaccines from its required list for public schools, the state’s department of health announced yesterday; the updated rules allow Florida children to attend public school without being vaccinated for chickenpox, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type B, and pneumococcal disease, and also expand religious exemptions for school immunizations. CIDRAP
A new pancreatic cancer drug was approved by the FDA yesterday, offering U.S. patients a “groundbreaking” treatment against the deadly cancer; the pill, called daraxonrasib and sold under the brand name Rasonque, blocks a mutated protein that fuels tumor growth in 90%+ of pancreatic cancer cases and nearly doubled patients’ survival time in experimental studies. NPR
IN FOCUSDuring a funeral in Rawalpindi, a man carries the body of a newborn who died following a fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital, on August 26. Aamir Qureshi/ AFP via Getty
A Fire in Pakistan and a Public ReckoningOutcry is building in Pakistan after fourteen newborns died yesterday in a fire at Islamabad’s largest public hospital, as advocates say the tragedy resulted from long-neglected healthcare infrastructure, reports The New York Times (gift link).
What happened: Officials say the fire ignited from a faulty air conditioning unit in the nursery at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, and quickly became an inferno fueled by the many oxygen tank units in the ward.
An investigation has been launched into other circumstances surrounding the fire, including claims of blocked exits and a lack of sprinklers.
The bigger failures: The incident speaks to a pattern of larger breakdowns at Pakistan’s public hospitals and clinics, as “administrative failure and regulatory oversight lapses have turned these institutions into danger zones,” a statement from the Pakistan Medical Association said, reports Dawn.
In June, that group warned that the country’s health care infrastructure was in “a state of systemic collapse due to structural neglect” after years of underinvestment, with the country’s health care expenditure among the lowest in South Asia.
Poor fire and safety regulations have also led to frequent building fires in Pakistan, reports ABC Australia. In January, 65+ people were killed in a fire at a shopping center in Karachi.
Push for recourse: Local and international groups are calling for further accountability, with the Pakistan Medical Association demanding “immediate restructuring” of safety code enforcement; meanwhile, UNICEF called for an “urgent review and strengthening of fire prevention and safety standards across health facilities.”
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES GHN EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARYAfrica Doesn’t Lack Talent, It Lacks Systems to Retain ItAfrica's health workforce crisis isn't just about training too few workers—it's about retaining those already trained. The region faces a shortage of 5.85 million health workers by 2030, per a WHO report.
Yet roughly 30% of trained health professionals in the report’s nine-country sample are unemployed—nearly one million people continent-wide—while systems remain understaffed, explain Elizabeth Namugaya Igaga and Getaneh Assefa Siyum, who work with Smile Train. They argue that these shortcomings stem from historic reliance on training specialists abroad, where many stayed permanently or struggled to reintegrate into under-resourced home systems.
Nearly half of African health workers say they'd leave given the chance.
The authors highlight promising training initiatives, like the Pediatric Anesthesia Training for Africa (PATA) fellowship, which trains specialists locally across five countries and has achieved near–100% retention among its 32 graduates.
What’s needed now: The authors call for structural investment in similar homegrown initiatives—closing a roughly $4 per capita annual financing gap, building labor-market tracking systems, and giving ministries capacity to hire trained workers.
Elizabeth Namugaya Igaga and Getaneh Assefa Siyum for Global Health NOW
OPPORTUNITYAdapting Public Health Education to New Communications RealitiesIn a rapidly evolving communications environment, traditional strategies and tactics for communicating public health issues no longer apply.
All are welcome at the Bloomberg School next month for a hybrid event featuring lightning talks that frame current communications challenges and propose steps needed to transform public health communications training.
Friday, September 18, 12–1 p.m. EDT
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, and online
Johns Hopkins University's second annual Wormlympics pits competitors from seven JHU biology labs against one another across a range of physical feats and tests of “worm skills.” Will Kirk/Johns Hopkins University
Battle of the Worm WhisperersSure, pizza parties and mixers are one way to build community at the start of term, but what better way to break down the biology hierarchy than by celebrating a beloved colleague: Caenorhabditis elegans.
The microscopic roundworms are ubiquitous in biology labs—but who can pick them fastest from a petri dish? Every year, the Wormlympics finds out, with seven JHU biology labs facing off in a “molecular bio-athalon” testing worm skill supremacy.
All levels of researchers “and non-worm researchers” are welcome. And despite having “Worm King” aggressively drawn across her knuckles, contestant Amanda Shaver insists “the worm community is pretty friendly.”
Participants can inch their way to victory by:
Crab-walking in full lab gear
Pipette-shooting and worm-picking
Handling an unwieldy biohazard bag
Making roundworm art
And more. “Everyone cheers on their colleagues, but the tension is thicker than the agar,” Rebecca Shillenn writes.
QUICK HITSNicotine e-cigarettes are more effective than other alternatives for quitting smoking, study finds – Euronews
How The Current Ebola Outbreak Might Reshape American Foreign Aid – Health Affairs
Scientists pinpoint exactly when women should start HRT to slash dementia risk – The Independent
Scoop: $7.5B in US funding for international affairs at risk of expiring – Devex
Calcium heart scans sharpen risk estimates mainly for borderline-risk adults – Northwestern University via Medical Xpress
The sugar you ate as a baby may be affecting your health now, study finds – The Hill
Issue No. 2971
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UN chief condemns ‘indifference’ as Ebola cases mount in DR Congo
Global Health NOW: Zika’s Long Toll; and London’s Clean Air Zones and Children’s Lungs
August 26, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEFMaternal deaths have doubled in the DRC’s Ituri province over the last three months as the region struggles to manage health services amid its widening Ebola outbreak; infection control restrictions, including some on blood transfusions, are potentially contributing to the crisis. The Independent
Two people in Pennsylvania have died after being infected with measles, marking the first U.S. measles deaths in 2026 and the fifth measles-related fatalities in two years—more than the combined total of measles deaths over 30+ years; the two people who died were both unvaccinated, per the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and lived in Lancaster County. AP
Complaints about autism and ADHD services in England have more than tripled since 2021–2022, as 60%+ of adults and children wait years for services; a new report from the NHS ombudsman’s office—which itself has a six-month waitlist for complaints—reveals a system “under significant pressure, with demand outstripping capacity.” The Guardian
The shingles vaccine’s cardiovascular protections were newly documented during the “natural experiment” allowed by the U.S. switch from Zostavax, the live-attenuated shingles vaccine, to Shingrix, the recombinant herpes zoster vaccine; in a study published in Nature Medicine, researchers found that the group that received Shingrix saw a lower risk of cardiovascular events over the next seven years compared with the group that received Zostavax. MedPage Today
IN FOCUSBrenda Pereira, who contracted Zika during pregnancy, holds her 4-month-old daughter, Maria, who was born with microcephaly, while awaiting medical exams at the State Brain Institute in Rio de Janeiro. Jan. 2, 2017. Vanderlei Almeida/AFP via Getty
Zika’s Long TollTen years after the Zika virus triggered a global health emergency, the crisis has entered a new phase as children who survived infection in the womb are becoming adolescents, revealing complex new challenges. Meanwhile, researchers are racing to develop a vaccine before the virus rebounds.
Brazil’s Zika generation: 3,080+ Brazilian children were born with congenital Zika syndrome after the 2015–16 outbreak. At least 444 of those children have died, and many survivors are now facing a new wave of severe neurological and developmental disabilities, seizures, and worsening musculoskeletal problems—leading to a new uptick in mortality, reports The Telegraph.
Families—many led by mothers—have faced a relentless struggle meeting their children’s mounting needs while also advocating for support to help meet the costs for rehabilitation, surgeries, and care.
Vaccine breakthroughs: There is still no approved Zika vaccine, but a new experimental vaccine study suggests new potential strategies, reports Medical Xpress. Researchers found that an experimental vaccine used on mice provided protection through T cells alone, without relying on antibodies, a particular challenge with orthoflaviviruses like Zika and dengue, per the study published in Nature Microbiology.
“The long-term goal of our lab is to develop a vaccine that provides long-term protection against all of these viruses,” said the study’s lead author Sujan Shresta.
The catch: Protection faded after 12 weeks in mice, meaning researchers are now looking for ways to make the T-cell response durable.
High stakes: Zika transmission has fallen sharply, but as immunity wanes and susceptible populations grow amid a warming climate and insecticide resistance, public health leaders say the time to prepare for the next outbreak is now.
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES POLLUTIONLondon’s Clean Air Zones and Children’s LungsReduced traffic pollution in part of London appears to have delivered a measurable health payoff: faster lung growth in children.
Background: To reduce the health effects of air pollution, many cities, including London, have begun introducing Ultra Low Emission Zones (ULEZs), which restrict or charge drivers of more polluting vehicles.
The impact: In a study published in The Lancet Public Health, researchers gave breathing tests to 3,400+ young children who lived in the area before the zone’s rollout and then every year for four years afterward, comparing results with those of a similar group in Luton.
Before the ULEZ was introduced, children in London had slower lung growth, the researchers found. After four years, London children had caught up, and impaired lung function fell from 14% to 9%.
Related:
Public transit is a public health solution – The Washington Post (commentary/gift link)
Air conditioning push favoured over emissions cuts in six European nations, survey finds – The Guardian
RIP, DOLLY PARTON QUICK HITSWorldwide study of diseases gets historic funding influx – Science
A Kenyan mother bled for hours after childbirth and died as healthcare remains weak – AP
The Ruthless Efficiency of Ultrapotent Street Drugs – The New York Times (gift link)
New mRNA Flu Vaccine Makes This Flu Season ‘One to Watch’ – Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Eighth person dies from flesh-eating bacteria linked to oysters in US – The Independent
While rare, the tick-borne Bourbon virus may be more common in US than thought – CIDRAP
Multilingual people may have brains up to 13 years younger – Federation of European Neuroscience Societies via ScienceDaily
Inside the Quebec town working to become a dementia-friendly community – CBC
Issue No. 2970
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Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
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More health workers, stronger systems: Africa’s new ambitious goal
Three Researchers from The Neuro Elected Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences
The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) is proud to celebrate the election of three of its distinguished researchers to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS): Dr. Edward Fon, Director of The Neuro, Professor Michael Petrides, and Professor Robert Zatorre.
Global Health NOW: Hunger Declines—But Disparities Persist; and Ensuring Access to Safe Surgical Care for All Children
August 25, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEFAs H1N1 swine flu cases overwhelm hospitals in parts of India, local authorities are urging people to follow Covid-style measures such as wearing masks in crowded places; in Delhi, the number of cases has surpassed 2,000—8X times higher than in previous years. The Independent
Children make up half of Guinea-Bissau’s 46 suspected mpox cases in the country’s first reported outbreak, declared on July 4; UNICEF, citing the country’s fragile health surveillance systems, warned that the virus may be spreading undetected. The Guardian
The burden of drug-resistant hospital infections in Asia is “substantial and likely underestimated,” particularly in the region’s LMICs, per a large National University of Singapore-led study across 19 Asian countries and regions that found deaths from ventilator-associated pneumonia and bloodstream infections—two severe types of healthcare-associated infections––were 2X as high as previous estimates. CIDRAP
U.S. life expectancy rose to 79, an all-time high, according to CDC 2024 numbers; in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number fell to 76.5, and has been improving since. AP
IN FOCUSA health worker measures a woman's mid-upper arm circumference at the Feynuus Nutrition Centre, on the outskirts of Mogadishu, on August 19. Hassan Ali Elmi/ AFP via Getty
Hunger Declines—But Disparities PersistGlobal hunger and food insecurity continued to fall from the pandemic-era spike, finds a new Gallup analysis––but both rates still hit above pre-COVID-19 levels, with hundreds of millions of people still experiencing hunger and the world off pace to eliminate hunger by 2030.
Key points, drawn from the FAO’s State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World:
Hunger is easing: ~645 million people experienced hunger in 2025, down ~14 million from the previous year, and marking the third consecutive drop. Meanwhile, ~2.1 billion people experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, down ~86 million from 2024.
Still, 510+ million are projected to experience hunger in 2030, leaving the world off track to achieve SDG 2 of ending hunger.
Extreme weather events, ongoing Middle East conflict, and aid cuts could undermine progress.
Africa most impacted: While Africa showed signs of improvement for the first time since the 2015 adoption of the SDGs, one in five Africans still experienced hunger last year, and 56%+ of the population experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025.
Plus: More than half of those facing hunger in 2030 are projected to live on the continent.
Food quality critical: Globally, only 30.8% of children under two meet the minimum dietary diversity standard, a key new nutrition indicator; and just 62.7% of women ages 15–49 met the minimum dietary diversity standard.
In Benin, for example, drought, poverty, cultural norms, and misinformation have led to limited protein and dairy intake, and to widespread childhood stunting—reinforcing the growing need for improving diet quality, not just food access, reports the AP.
Half of $1 million + 6,785 hours
——————————
The cost and labor estimate to contain one small measles outbreak—10 cases—in the Denver area this year. —The Washington Post (gift link)
Children’s surgery is a massive, neglected global health problem, with ~1.75 billion children lacking access to safe surgical care––87% of them in LMICs.
Surgical disease accounts for 30% of the global disease burden.
Africa has as few as 0.26 pediatric surgeons per million people.
Poor equipment and referral systems and long travel distances cause delays and financial hardship.
In response, the Global Initiative for Children's Surgery—a 1,500+ member, 60+ country consortium spanning surgery, anesthesia, pediatrics, critical care, and nursing––is rallying to advance children’s surgical care by sharing resources and building momentum on several fronts:
Workforce development: A GICS platform shares teaching resources, webinars, and research support for the global children’s surgical community—advancing initiatives like community-level identification of structural birth anomalies and the targeted surgical training of non-physicians.
Promotion of low-cost local innovations, such as repurposed urine bags for gastroschisis, 3D-printed instruments, and solar-powered ORs.
Advocacy to strengthen health system policy:
The GICS Optimal Resources for Children’s Surgery (OReCS) provides benchmarks for human and physical resources; an update is in the works.
Awareness days like Global Children’s Surgery Day and conferences to advance GICS efforts around the world.
What’s needed now: Sustained investment to translate into lasting systems change. Looking ahead to the next GICS meeting in Istanbul in September 2028, the authors see a critical window to help mobilize resources, inform priority-setting, and amplify the voices of vulnerable populations.
Jess Davies, Kara Faktor, Tahmina Banu, Doruk Ozgediz, and Milind Chitnis for Global Health NOW
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITSJean Kaseya and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: After 100 days of the deadliest Ebola outbreak, it can be stopped. Here's how – The Guardian (commentary)
Who can tap the US State Department's new global health funding? – Devex
As Malaria Spreads, Africa Needs Data on Gene-Edited Mosquitos – Think Global Health (commentary)
Chronic disease vulnerability in Ukraine during armed conflict – Nature
Doctors fear possible contaminated counterfeit peptide batch after seventh case of acute liver damage – ABC Australia
Millions of women in England to receive ‘game-changing’ home cervical screening kits – The Independent
Issue No. 2969
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Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
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Global Health NOW: The Precarious Struggle for a Polio-Free World; and Even in Asylum, a Lack of Safety
August 24, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEFViolence against healthcare workers in DRC—including setting fire to ambulances and medical tents—is hampering the Ebola response, the UN and Red Cross say; per the UN count, 260+ healthcare workers have been attacked in the past six months and eight have been killed. RFI
100,000+ more men in the UK are living with prostate cancer than in 2020, per new data from Macmillan Cancer Support; the organization advises men, especially Black men and those with a family history of the disease, to discuss testing with their doctors as the disease is typically asymptomatic in early stages. The Independent
The Trump administration is seeking public comment on federal vaccine recommendations and structures, per an HHS notice—a move that public health experts say could lead to greater confusion around different vaccine categories, especially those that involve “shared clinical decision-making” between patients and clinicians. The Guardian
A black market for an unapproved weight loss drug is growing, with counterfeits of Eli Lilly’s next-generation drug, retatrutide, heavily promoted on social media and e-commerce platforms even though the drug has not received FDA approval. Axios
EDITORS’ NOTEFarewell—But Not Goodbye—to GHN’s FounderToday is our editor-in-chief Brian Simpson’s last day on the job—and boy, are we going to miss him!
GHN was an idea Brian hatched back in 2014, when he sent the first no-frills issues around to colleagues. The newsletter now reaches 50,000+ subscribers in 170 countries.
Brian can’t be replaced—but thankfully, like all the best editors, he’s prepared us well to carry on without him. The team he shaped and leaves behind is committed to carrying on his legacy of boundless curiosity, smart editorial judgment, emphasis on accuracy, and a relentless focus on public health’s impact on real people.
Please join us in wishing Brian well on his next adventure. We know Brian would love to stay in touch—so feel free to drop him a line.
IN FOCUSA health worker adminsters oral polio vaccine drops to a child during the Pulse Polio vaccination drive in Siliguri, India, on June 28. Diptendu Dutta/NurPhoto via Getty
The Precarious Struggle for a Polio-Free WorldThe world has spent decades pushing polio to the brink of eradication, with key gains reported across Africa in recent days.
But that progress faces mounting challenges, as funding cuts and falling vaccination coverage give the virus new openings to spread—both in countries like India, which was certified polio-free in 2014, and in others like the U.S., where it has largely faded from cultural memory, reports Rolling Stone via YahooNews.
“One slip-up is enough—it will take no time for the virus to spread,” said Mathew Varghese, one of India’s top polio specialists.
Hard-won gains, sudden threat: Global cases fell from 350,000+ annually in the 1980s to just under 300 in 2025. But since 2025, the Trump administration’s moves against the WHO and other foreign aid funding have led to a ~$230 million loss in polio funding—a hit the Global Polio Eradication Initiative called an “‘existential threat’ to the dream of a polio-free world.”
The cuts have undermined efforts to vanquish wild polio in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to stamp out vaccine-derived polio by switching from oral vaccines to injections.
Meanwhile, falling vaccination rates in the U.S. open the door to future outbreaks in places where the virus is largely unrecognized.
Persistent progress in Africa: Five African countries—Burundi, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Uganda, and the Republic of Congo—recently ended transmission of type 2 outbreaks after yearslong efforts to strengthen vaccination, surveillance, lab capacity, and community outreach, per AFRO WHO.
While health leaders praised the dedication of community health workers and local officials “even in the most challenging settings,” they warned that the risk of reimportation remains.
For many refugee and migrant women fleeing violence and insecurity, arriving in South Africa does not mean entering a safe haven. Instead, violence takes a new shape.
“Overlapping vulnerabilities” including xenophobia, poverty, and exclusion from health systems increase insecurity; discrimination and fear of deportation make reporting gender-based violence and abuse especially dangerous.
Consequences: Too often, the ongoing toll forces women to return to countries they originally fled.
Needed change: Policymakers need to ensure that justice system protections extend to migrants, and community groups must battle pervasive xenophobia.
Otherwise, “we have simply relocated the violence,” writes Akuch Kuol Anyieth of the Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest at Stellenbosch University.
Related: Breaking the silence over sexual violence against men and boys in war – UN Wire
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITSNo fridge, no fans, just blocks of ice: improvising to survive in Pakistan’s searing heat – The Guardian
COVID Is Back: Does Anyone Care Anymore? – The People’s Pharmacy
A single shot can prevent JE, but Nepal’s vaccination programme leaves adults out – The Kathmandu Post
Missouri Republicans Are Trying to Repeal Abortion Rights by Leaning Into Anti-Trans Sentiment – ProPublica
Exclusive: NSF set to issue lowest number of new grants in four decades – Nature
New CDC director acknowledges agency problems in first large staff meeting – AP
Unseen Enemy, a film about our vulnerability to global epidemics – Institut Pasteur
9 vulnerable moments in the life of a bagged salad – The New York Times (gift link)
Issue No. 2968
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Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
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Workout or nap? Either can help your sleepless brain, study finds
A short workout or a nap can help protect memory after a sleepless night, a McGill University-led study has found.
Researchers found people who either completed 20 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise or took a 90-minute nap performed about 22 per cent better on memory tests after 30 hours without sleep than those who did neither. The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), point to practical ways to counter the effects of sleep deprivation.
100 days of Ebola and the race to stop the spread
Tuberculosis Testing Enters A New Era Of Access To Innovation
DR Congo Ebola outbreak spreading exponentially, UN responders warn
25 McGill professors awarded $7.7 million in CFI funding
From next-generation energy solutions to sustainable food innovation, 25 McGill research projects receive support through CFI's John R. Evans Leaders Fund.
Global Health NOW: ‘Mini Brains’ Breakthrough; and What’s Behind Baltimore’s Dramatic Homicide Decline?
August 20, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEFA vast discrepancy between global aid funding and disease burden is becoming clearer, as new machine-learning analysis allows researchers to compare disease-specific aid funding by country with countries’ disease burdens, per research published in Nature Communications; while noncommunicable diseases made up around 60% of the global disease burden, they received just 2.5% of targeted funding, researchers found. Medical Xpress
Oregon's nonmedical psilocybin program is providing researchers with new insights into the effects of broader access to the drug at state-licensed centers; analysis of 350 people’s experiences, published in JAMA Network Open, found that most participants described their trip as beneficial, and that a very small number had “serious adverse reactions.” NPR
Genetics associated with eating disorders including anorexia nervosa and binge eating are not the same as genetics associated with body mass index, finds new research published in Nature Mental Health; the research confirms “that eating disorders are not just about body weight,” said the study’s co-author. News Medical
Rare immune cells in centenarians, CD4 CTLs, known to kill some tumor cells could have a role in protecting the immune system when under attack; a study in Cell Reports from Japan’s University of Osaka found that the special cells cloned themselves to trigger early immune responses to target cancer growth. The Independent
IN FOCUSThe hand of research scientist Laura Stertz is shown near a sample of mini brain organoids at the UTHealth Houston Brain Collection for Research in Psychiatric Disorders on October 30, 2025. Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via Getty
‘Mini Brains’ Offer Major Breakthrough in Neural ResearchIn a new research milestone, scientists have kept human brain organoids—tiny, lab-grown neural tissue clusters—alive and developing for up to five years, a dramatic time extension that unlocks new opportunities to investigate neural development, disease, and potential treatments, reports Scientific American.
Background: Brain organoids are stem cell-derived clusters that reproduce some human brain cell types and early developmental processes, per ScienceAlert.
In recent years they have offered new ways to study human neural biology without relying entirely on animal models or inaccessible living brain tissue, but previously they were kept alive just weeks or months,
Widening the time window: The study, published in Nature, outlines how Harvard scientists developed a culture system that kept neurons and other neural cells viable for years, providing “a wealth of data on largely inscrutable periods of postnatal development of the human brain,” researchers wrote.
This allowed researchers to track genetic activity, cell types, and, critically, the epigenetic “clock” markers that accumulated over time—revealing that “time passes at the same rate for cells in the model as it does in humans,” and that the cells retain 'memory' of their development stages, reports El País.
Implications for health: These revelations and the extended timeline could help researchers study diseases whose biology unfolds over years—including neurodevelopmental disorders like Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s—while creating better platforms for testing therapies.
And as the field advances, researchers say they will need to keep reassessing bioethical implications.
Baltimore recorded 133 homicides in 2025—a nearly 60% decline since 2021 and its lowest homicide rate per capita in 50 years. While homicides have fallen nationwide, Baltimore’s decline began earlier and is steeper than in other U.S. cities.
A major factor is the city’s shift toward treating gun violence as a public health problem, pairing targeted law enforcement with community-based prevention and intensive support for people at highest risk.
Mayor Brandon Scott’s Group Violence Reduction Strategy identifies people at elevated risk due to recent victimization, proximity to shootings, and social networks. Community organizations then connect them with resources such as housing, employment, transportation, and treatment that can help reduce the conditions driving violence.
Programs including Roca, Safe Streets, and YAP (Youth Advocate Programs) also rely on trusted community members to mediate conflicts.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have helped guide and assess the city’s efforts. The approach is foundational to public health: Gun violence can spread through social networks—but so can peace.
Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health
Related: Killings Plunge in a City Once Known for Violence – The New York Times (gift link)
Data from New Study Suggest Safe Streets Baltimore Associated with Reductions in Youth Gun Violence – Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health
OPPORTUNITYFree Course on Sustainable Healthcare Waste ManagementA new WHO/UNICEF report found significant gaps in waste management remain in healthcare facilities worldwide—an online course developed by the agencies aims to help countries and health facilities fill those gaps.
The course provides practical guidance for those who work to plan, manage, and improve healthcare waste services.
The six modules:
The full waste pathway
Waste minimization, recycling, treatment capacity, infrastructure planning
Safe management of mercury-containing devices and pharmaceutical waste
Christopher Nolan had all of Hollywood behind him when he made The Odyssey. But all you really need for a summer blockbuster is rudimentary animation skills, some hand-drawn posters, a background in interior design—and a lot of memes.
In China, the only film that can compete with The Odyssey and Spider-Man this summer is an objectively bad coming-of-age tale about a calf and a skylark.
Niu Lai (The Cow is Coming)—a potentially sweet tale of love and perseverance—has been panned as “confusing” and “unpolished,” with “jarring” voice acting and glaring technical flaws. And people can’t get enough of it, according to the South China Morning Post.
Can’t please the critics? Try the trolls. After dismal performance its first week, trolls and internet curiosity made it a blockbuster hit—the GameStop of summer cinema, if you will. And also a meditation on taking chances. As one social media post warned: “You may regret for 80 minutes if you watch it, but if you don’t, you’ll regret it for life.”
QUICK HITS‘New studies to test whether existing Ebola vaccines can generate immune responses to Bundibugyo ebolavirus – CEPI (news release)
Europe's warmer seas are appealing to swimmers – but what lies beneath is ‘alarming’, study warns – Euronews
New CDC director pledges to ‘speak truth’ about science – NBC News
As More Americans Turn to Cannabis, Problem Use Is Increasing – The New York Times (gift link)
Want to predict Lyme disease risk? Count the acorns, not the deer – CIDRAP
Issue No. 2967
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Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
Contributors to Global Health NOW include: Brian Simpson, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, and Jackie Powder.
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Mpox: Children account for half of suspected cases in Guinea-Bissau
DR Congo receives 70,000 Ebola vaccine doses as Bundibugyo outbreak spreads
Global Health NOW: In the ‘Next Frontier’ in Cancer Treatment, mRNA Triumphs Over Melanoma’; and All Eyes on Australia as Social Media Ban Plays Out
August 19, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEFDRC’s Ebola outbreak has crossed the grim milestone of 5,000 confirmed cases and 2,325 deaths, making it the country’s deadliest on record; the WHO plans to boost community engagement in the response, including recruiting motorbike drivers involved in the transport of patients and dead bodies as surveillance and response officers. UN News
Flight attendants and pilots are at the highest risk of dying from radiation-related cancers, finds a study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine that looked at 12 million+ death certificates of people in 500+ occupations; flight attendants had ~50% higher odds of dying from such cancers than other workers, and pilots, ~36%. AP
The U.S. NIH lifted a ban imposed last year on funding new research projects in South Africa; there are still some limitations, however, including directives that funded research must directly improve the health of people in the U.S. and that South African scientists are no longer eligible for NIH Fogarty International Center training grants. Science
Researchers analyzed 800+ Instagram posts from leading cannabinoid product brands and found that they frequently emphasized recreational and youth-oriented themes, while age restrictions and health warning messages were less common, supporting arguments that they are marketing to youth. Addiction
IN FOCUSA researcher works in a lab at the Moderna headquarters outside Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA , on June 26, 2024. David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty
In the ‘Next Frontier’ in Cancer Treatment, mRNA Triumphs Over MelanomaAn mRNA vaccine to treat the deadliest form of skin cancer has met a major milestone on the path to a new treatment, according to clinical trial results released today by Merck and Moderna.
If approved by the FDA, it would become the first ever mRNA-based cancer treatment and pave the way for similar treatments for other cancers—representing “the next frontier of cancer immunotherapy,” said Karen Knudsen, CEO of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.
Phase 3 clinical trial results showed that the experimental drug—intismeran autogene—prevented recurrence and metastasis of removed melanoma tumors when combined with the immunotherapy Keytruda. The companies have not released the full phase 3 results, but earlier phase 2 trials reported that risk of recurrence or death was reduced by nearly half after five years.
How it works: Patients’ tumors are sequenced to identify their unique mutations. A computer algorithm flags the resulting abnormal proteins to target with a custom mRNA vaccine that shows the immune system “what to attack,” The Washington Post reports. Keytruda then holds back the cancer’s defenses, allowing the body’s immune response to fight the disease.
This achievement was “a dream still three or four years ago,” but it was always the goal, said Moderna President Stephen Hoge. While COVID vaccines made mRNA a household name, drugmakers like Moderna had invested heavily in the mRNA cancer-vaccine technology years before the pandemic—groundwork that helped accelerate the development of COVID vaccines.
“This is a bit of coming home and seeing all that investment in messenger RNA technology really serve its original purpose,” Hoge said.
The Washington Post (gift link)
DATA POINT$1 Trillion + 114,000 Lives
———————————
Could be saved every year through universal health coverage, a Yale study projects. —Yale School of Public Health
Researchers and policymakers around the world looking for evidence of social media’s mental health impacts on adolescents see an opportunity in Australia’s groundbreaking ban on social media for children and adolescents.
Since December 2025, when social media companies were required to take “reasonable steps” to block under-16 accounts, 4.7+ million accounts have been removed or restricted.
A real-world lab: With 1 million+ young people taking part in this “policy experiment,” the Australian government is funding studies to assess outcomes, with the first results expected to be published next June.
One study will investigate the impact of beneficial and harmful Instagram content on young adults’ well-being; another will look at whether sensitivity to social media likes and other rewards is a risk factor for depression.
Surveys so far haven’t found changes in adolescent sleep and mental health under the ban—but results will not be clear until the youngest children go through their teen years.
Related:
Mental Health in the Scroll Age – Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine
US states accuse Meta of covering up research on teen social media addiction in pivotal trial – The Guardian
A social media ban for Canadian kids sounds simple, but Bill C‑34 has major limitations – The Conversation
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach – Japan Times
Malaysia: Malaysia Was Confident in Its Social Media Ban, but Kids Are Still Logged In – The New York Times gift link)
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITSShe grew up unvaccinated. Now she’s a leading voice for science — and empathy – STAT
Jeremy Farrar to step down from World Health Organization – CIDRAP
Congress Funded Global Health. The Office of Management and Budget Is Trying Not To Spend It. – Partners In Health
Trump to tap White House aide as FDA commissioner – Axios
Will healthcare in the global south repeat the mistakes of the north? – Devex
What Geriatric Emergency Departments Do Differently – KFF Health News
Could indigo light prevent nearsightedness in children? – Science
Issue No. 2966
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Generic semaglutide could reshape diabetes drug coverage in Canada
The arrival of generic semaglutide in Canada significantly improves the cost-effectiveness and affordability of recommended treatments for up to 2.1 million Canadians living with Type 2 diabetes who face a high risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a simulation study led by researchers at McGill University and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre.
CIHR grants $51.7M to McGill health research
58 McGill research projects were awarded funding through CIHR’s Spring 2026 Project Grant competition, to support high-potential health research across all areas and career stages.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) announced a total national investment of $412 million through the CIHR Spring 2026 Project Grant competition, funding 439 grants. In addition, 19 Priority Announcement grants were funded for a total amount of $1.9 million.
Global Health NOW: Older People Face Higher Risk From Warming World; and California’s Deadly Silicosis Surge
August 18, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEFU.S. school vaccination rates dipped again last year, and exemptions rose to a record high of 155,000 kids—4.2% up from 3.6% for the year prior, per new CDC data; the numbers indicate kids at risk for measles are not evenly distributed, with concentrations of unvaccinated children higher in some states than others. AP
The Trump administration has taken down or deleted at least 28 federal datasets and altered 338 over the past year and a half, with health data comprising the greatest percentage by far—40%––of changes, per an online tracker from dataindex.us. The Guardian
Men’s higher tuberculosis incidence may be explained by a greater risk of becoming infected, rather than a greater likelihood of the infection progressing to disease, per University College London-led research––suggesting that prevention and screening strategies that address sex-specific patterns of TB exposure could be important. CIDRAP
In-country aid staff bear the brunt of violence against humanitarian workers––accounting for nearly 3,500––or 96%––of the attacks from August 2021 through July 2026, compared with 134 attacks on international staff which tend to bring more attention, per a Save the Children analysis drawn from Aid Worker Security Database figures. ReliefWeb
IN FOCUSAn elderly woman walks under an umbrella to shelter from the sun in Yangon, Burma (Myanmar), on August 13, 2025. Sai Aung Main/AFP via Getty
Older People Face Higher Risks From Warming WorldOlder people may face serious health risks from heat at much lower temperatures than previously understood, per new research from Stanford University.
Most previous studies applied heat limits for healthy young adults to all age groups—overlooking the vulnerability of older people.
The new research, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, found that people ages 60 and up could “no longer maintain a stable core temperature”—the point at which the body’s biological cooling mechanisms become overwhelmed––at temps roughly 4.7–7.5 degrees Celsius and (40.46–45.5 degrees Fahrenheit) lower than young adults.
After accounting for ways that aging reduces heat tolerance, the number of people facing repeated, “uncompensable” heat exposure—a combination of heat and physical factors—as climates warm is two-to-eight-times higher than earlier studies estimated using young-adult thresholds for all ages.
Suggested solutions: Researchers say there is a need for targeted, age-specific action plans and warning systems to protect older people, per ABC Australia.
Insights From Delhi’s Heat DiariesAs heatwaves in Delhi intensify, city residents are keeping “heat diaries” to document tangible, everyday impacts of extreme temperatures, in hopes of helping shape climate policy, per separate reporting from The Guardian.
“While we have some meteorological data on heat, what’s absolutely missing is people, community—what they feel, what they experience,” said Aravind Unni, an urban planner and researcher.
Dispatches of distress: Participants include 40 households in the slum Sunder Nagra—where temperatures can reach 129°F/54°C, and take a relentless toll on health, incomes, and food supply.
Policy push: Researchers say such hyperlocal testimony could help target interventions, improve urban resiliency plans, and steer emergency relief funds.
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTHCalifornia’s Deadly Silicosis SurgeOver seven years, California has seen a sharp rise in severe and often fatal silicosis among workers who fabricate artificial stone countertops, with Latino men disproportionately affected, per an analysis of state data published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Escalating crisis: Workers are developing the incurable lung disease after relatively short exposure to silica particles, reports CIDRAP.
592 cases were reported through June of this year.
65 workers needed lung transplants, and 31 died.
The median diagnosis age is 46; median age at death is 52.
Impacted workers: ~98% of cases are Latino men, and roughly half work in countertop fabrication in Los Angeles County, per the Los Angeles Times.
What’s next: While California strengthened silica manufacturing rules in 2023 and expanded surveillance in 2025, officials say costly controls and weak enforcement continue to leave workers exposed.
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITSAfter the Earthquakes – The New York Times (gift link)
Texas Maternal Mortality Committee’s Next Report Will Skip Post-‘Roe’ Deaths. Lawmakers Suspect Political Influence. – The Texas Observer
US Assumes Control Over Global Anti-Abortion Geneva Consensus Declaration, Affirms Religious Groups – Health Policy Watch
For Much of the World, Tobacco is More Popular Than Ever. Now What? – New York University
Lyme disease is spreading into southern Appalachia, increasing the need for public education – CIDRAP
The scientist who lived with dozens of children from the Pacific Islands – The New Yorker
Traveling Doctors Are Filling the Gaps in Rural France – Reasons to be Cheerful
Issue No. 2965
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Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
Contributors to Global Health NOW include: Brian Simpson, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, and Jackie Powder.
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