96 Global Health NOW: Measles Gains Ground in Texas; Online Daters Kept in the Dark; and Plastic Credits Predicament View this email in your browser February 19, 2025 Forward Share Post A road sign delineating the Texas state line and welcoming visitors to Gaines County, Texas. Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Measles Gains Ground in Texas 
A swiftly spreading measles outbreak in West Texas has grown to 58 cases, and an additional eight people in neighboring eastern New Mexico also have been diagnosed, reports the AP. 

Escalation: Cases have ballooned since the first two cases were confirmed in Gaines County Jan. 30. Health officials suspect the true case count is much higher—with 200–300 people infected but untested, reports Forbes.

Texas health officials say the outbreak is the state’s largest in ~30 years and that 13 people have been hospitalized. 

• Most cases are among children who are unvaccinated, and have been concentrated in a “close-knit, undervaccinated” Mennonite community and among children who attend small religious schools or are homeschooled.

Bigger picture: The U.S. saw a rise in measles cases in 2024, and with childhood vaccine hesitancy on the rise, the problem is likely to worsen:

• Last year, kindergarten vaccination rates fell below 93%—below the 95% threshold necessary to prevent measles outbreaks.

Reprimanding RFK: The outbreak has sparked renewed criticism of newly confirmed health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has endorsed false claims of links between the MMR vaccine and autism, reports The Hill.

• Yesterday, Kennedy vowed to scrutinize the nation’s childhood vaccine schedule—despite a promise to a U.S. senator that he would not alter it, reports the AP: “Nothing is going to be off limits,” Kennedy said.  

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group executed three children in Bukavu last week, the UN confirmed in an alert yesterday that also condemned attacks on hospitals and humanitarian warehouses. UN News

All eight patients hospitalized in Uganda's Ebola Sudan outbreak have been released after testing negative for the virus twice in tests conducted 72 hours apart, the WHO regional office for Africa announced yesterday; the outbreak’s toll stands at nine cases and one death. CIDRAP

A surge in dengue infections in the Philippines’ capital region—including 10 recent deaths in Quezon City—spurred Addition Hills village officials to offer residents a token bounty for mosquitoes captured dead or alive. AP

President Trump issued an executive order aimed at expanding access to IVF yesterday; he directed his assistant for domestic policy to draft policy ideas to protect IVF access and “aggressively” reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for the treatment within 90 days. NPR Shots Health and Science Cuts: The Latest ______________________________________________ Mass firings decimate U.S. science agencies – Science

Amid layoffs at HHS, experts warn about impact on public health – CIDRAP

USDA says it accidentally fired officials working on bird flu and is trying to rehire them – NBC

Trump cuts reach FDA workers focused on food safety and medical devices – The Guardian

Former CDC director: Two programs reportedly on the chopping block must be saved – STAT (commentary)

Censored Science Can’t Save Lives – The New York Times (commentary; gift article)  SEXUAL VIOLENCE Online Daters Kept in the Dark 
Online romance titan Match Group, owner of over a dozen dating apps, first received reports of Stephen Matthews assaulting another member in September 2020. Numerous reports followed for three years—until he was finally arrested and sentenced to 158 years’ incarceration for offenses against 11 women. 
 
But why didn’t Match ban him after the first report?

• Users reported for assault are “banned” from all Match platforms—but members can easily rejoin or switch apps.


• The company has concealed data on users reported for drugging, assaulting, or raping their dates since at least 2016, internal documents show—and a transparency report on the offenses, which Match said would be released in 2020, has still not materialized.

The 19th  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Plastic Credits Predicament
The growing plastic credits sector is designed to address the tide of plastic waste. 

• Corporations pay for the collection and disposal of plastic waste as a way to offset their environmental footprint—ideally in a process that will result in recycled material.

But far too much plastic is unrecyclable and is burned by industries like cement plants as alternative fuel, despite mounting concerns about health risks from toxic chemicals and carbon emissions.

Worst affected: Developing countries with limited waste management, like Cambodia. 

The bigger problem: The system does nothing to stop or incentivize buyers to cease producing or using unrecyclable plastic. 

AFP via Yahoo News QUICK HITS UN rights office warns of ‘dangerous tipping point’ as abuses surge in Sudan – UN News

U.S. reverses plan to shut down free covid test program – The Washington Post (gift article) 

The wind may be partly to blame for bird flu spread between farms, a new study suggests – CNN

Japanese encephalitis virus – JEV – detected at two Queensland piggeries – ABC Australia

Landmark Study of Chagas Disease in Paraguay Supports Use of Rapid Tests to Improve Access to Diagnosis – IS Global Barcelona Institute of Public Health

Meet the ‘lepers’ of Somerset - battling stigma from the West Country – The Telegraph

The Pandemic Treaty's True Cost – Think Global Health (commentary)

Influencers to urge young people to not vape as part of UK government campaign – The Guardian Issue No. 2678
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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The UN World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday that the mass polio vaccination campaign in Gaza which began successfully last year, will continue in the coming days.

96 Global Health NOW: Stifled Oxygen Access; Gaps at Planned Parenthood; and ‘Egg-Harvesting Scheme’ Shocks Surrogacy Sector View this email in your browser February 18, 2025 Forward Share Post Babies receiving oxygen at Damascus Hospital on January 28 in Damascus, Syria. Spencer Platt/Getty Stifled Oxygen Access
COVID-19 laid bare the need for medical oxygen—and inequities in access, the New York Times notes (gift article), leading to the formation of a Lancet Global Health Commission on medical oxygen security.
 
Now—weeks after the Trump administration freeze on aid programs, including some that could have improved oxygen access—the commission has published its findings, detailing stark disparities:

• Fewer than 1 in 3 people who need medical oxygen—for respiratory diseases, surgical complications, trauma, and maternal and child health emergencies—receive it, per Business Standard.


• Most of the ~5 billion people without oxygen access—nearly 82%—live in LMICs; coverage gaps are even higher in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

Rising need: Oxygen demand is rising, driven by a growing and aging population and air pollution, the committee authors note. 
 
Call for investment: Medical oxygen is as cost-effective as routine childhood immunization, and if access is expanded, it could “benefit many health goals simultaneously,” the committee found. 
 
The collection includes articles detailing innovative solutions—including one pointing to successes in Ethiopia and another on embedding nursing involvement. GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Noncommunicable diseases will cause more deaths in sub-Saharan Africa than infectious diseases by 2030, researchers announced at the recent 4th Global NCD Alliance Forum in Kigali, Rwanda; NCDs are linked to 74% of global deaths, per WHO. The Nation
 
Confirmed illnesses caused by contaminated food in the U.S. rose to 1,392 last year, a 25% increase over 2023, per a new US Public Interest Research Group report; almost all of the cases involved either Listeria, Salmonella, or Escherichia coli. CIDRAP

A U.S. pain management company called Pain MD engaged in a long-term fraud scheme that generated millions of dollars in revenue by giving patients 700,000 expensive, unnecessary injections; company president Michael Kestner was convicted of 13 health care fraud felonies in October. KFF Health News

An apparent spillover from wild birds to dairy cattle has made Arizona the 17th U.S. state in which H5N1 has been detected in dairy herds; the virus has been found in nearly 970 herds nationwide since March 2024. STAT Trump Administration News __________________________________________________
  South Africa has more people living with HIV than any other country. Trump’s aid freeze has hit hard – AP

​​STAT is backing up and monitoring CDC data in real time: See what's changing – STAT

N.I.H. Research Grants Lag $1 Billion Behind Last Year’s – The New York Times (gift article)

Health agencies lose staff in key areas as Trump firings set in – NPR  Shots

Trump’s Plan to Defund the NIH Will Ruin a National Treasure – The Nation (commentary)

The Erasing of American Science – The Atlantic REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE Gaps at Planned Parenthood
Many Planned Parenthood clinics are in crisis, as funding shortages have led to a “dire need” of upgrades, employee turnover, and lapses in patient care, an investigation by The New York Times has found. 

Lack of resources: The organization has seen its funding strained as its patient population declines, and as state governments block its clinics from receiving Medicaid payments.

• Despite a fundraising boom since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, most of that money is spent on legal and political battles. 

Impacts: Employee turnover is hovering around 50% annually because of “rock-bottom salaries.” And a growing number of patients have filed malpractice suits, alleging botched procedures and misdiagnoses.

And yet: Employees say they are hesitant to speak out due to the threat facing American reproductive rights: “We’re afraid of damaging the mission,” said Damien Hamblin, a former Planned Parenthood medical assistant. 

The New York Times (gift link) 

Related: 

Republican States Claim Zero Abortions. A Red-State Doctor Calls That ‘Ludicrous.’ – KFF Health News

Prayer and prosecutions: the US ‘hate group’ waging war over Britain’s abortion clinic buffer zones – The Guardian GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HUMAN RIGHTS ‘Egg-Harvesting Scheme’ Shocks Surrogacy Sector
The Georgian Interior Ministry has launched an investigation into human trafficking after several women who sought work there as surrogates reported being forced to have their eggs removed. 

Background: Last month, three Thai women were reportedly rescued from a house in Tbilisi. Thai police said the women were brought to Georgia by a Chinese criminal syndicate under the pretense of surrogacy—and were then forced to have their eggs removed for others’ IVF procedures. 

Impact: The accusations have sent “shockwaves” through the international surrogacy industry in Georgia, which has seen a boom since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. 

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty QUICK HITS With 10 Days Of Talks Left, It's 'Now Or Never' For Pandemic Agreement – Health Policy Watch
 
Guillain Barre Syndrome cases rise to 207: Over half of cases are in 5-km radius from Sinhagad Road, shows health dept data – The Indian Express
 
Updated bird flu vaccine for poultry gets license – Axios

Woman in cancer remission for record 19 years after CAR-T immune treatment – Nature
 
The Lingering Trauma of COVID Coverage for Italian Journalists – Nieman Reports

The Coming Democratic Baby Bust – The Atlantic

Report Recommends States Adopt Firearm Purchaser Licensing Laws That Include Five Core Components – Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

How an Abba classic raised millions and saved thousands of children from abuse – The Telegraph

What are the best AI tools for research? Nature’s guide – Nature Issue No. 2677
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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Co-Principal Investigators Manisha Pahwa, CIHR Research Excellence, Diversity, and Independence Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, and Professor Ananya Banerjee, from McGill's Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, have been awarded $449,604 from the Canadian Cancer Society’s Health Equity Research Grant

Co-Principal Investigators Manisha Pahwa, CIHR Research Excellence, Diversity, and Independence Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, and Professor Ananya Banerjee, from McGill's Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, have been awarded $449,604 from the Canadian Cancer Society’s Health Equity Research Grant

Co-Principal Investigators Manisha Pahwa, CIHR Research Excellence, Diversity, and Independence Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, and Professor Ananya Banerjee, from McGill's Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, have been awarded $449,604 from the Canadian Cancer Society’s Health Equity Research Grant

Co-Principal Investigators Manisha Pahwa, CIHR Research Excellence, Diversity, and Independence Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, and Professor Ananya Banerjee, from McGill's Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, have been awarded $449,604 from the Canadian Cancer Society’s Health Equity Research Grant

Co-Principal Investigators Manisha Pahwa, CIHR Research Excellence, Diversity, and Independence Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, and Professor Ananya Banerjee, from McGill's Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, have been awarded $449,604 from the Canadian Cancer Society’s Health Equity Research Grant

Co-Principal Investigators Manisha Pahwa, CIHR Research Excellence, Diversity, and Independence Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, and Professor Ananya Banerjee, from McGill's Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, have been awarded $449,604 from the Canadian Cancer Society’s Health Equity Research Grant

Co-Principal Investigators Manisha Pahwa, CIHR Research Excellence, Diversity, and Independence Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, and Professor Ananya Banerjee, from McGill's Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, have been awarded $449,604 from the Canadian Cancer Society’s Health Equity Research Grant

Co-Principal Investigators Manisha Pahwa, CIHR Research Excellence, Diversity, and Independence Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, and Professor Ananya Banerjee, from McGill's Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, have been awarded $449,604 from the Canadian Cancer Society’s Health Equity Research Grant

Co-Principal Investigators Manisha Pahwa, CIHR Research Excellence, Diversity, and Independence Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, and Professor Ananya Banerjee, from McGill's Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, have been awarded $449,604 from the Canadian Cancer Society’s Health Equity Research Grant

96 Global Health NOW: U.S. Agencies Brace for More Cuts; Launching a Vaccine Trial During an Ebola Outbreak; and The ‘Wild West’ of Antivenoms in Africa View this email in your browser February 17, 2025 Forward Share Post People at a "Save the Civil Service" rally hosted by the American Federation of Government Employees outside the U.S. Capitol. February 11, Washington, D.C. Kent Nishimura/Getty U.S. Health and Aid Agencies Brace for (More) Impact
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary last week amid upheaval at the nation’s health agencies, as deep staffing cuts were announced and the future of international aid and research funding remains tenuous.

 Scientists and health leaders say they expect more turmoil.

• Kennedy has said he will prioritize research on chronic diseases and would give infectious disease research at the NIH “a break” for eight years, reports Nature. 


• The HHS announced Friday that 5,200 workers across the department would be terminated, reports Science—a move one senior CDC scientist described as “taking a wrecking ball to both the deep institutional knowledge of the agency and its future.”

A closer look: 

• NIH: Layoffs currently total 1,165 people, reports Reuters.


• CDC: Hundreds of agency staffers have been terminated, including “disease detectors” who trained laboratory staff; the agency expects ~1,300 layoffs, reports NBC. 


• FDA: Firings appear to focus on employees assessing food safety, medical devices, and tobacco products, reports the AP.

Meanwhile, a federal judge ordered a pause on the foreign aid freeze, saying it was unlawful for the Trump administration to renege on approved funds that predated his administration, reports Roll Call.

• But widespread cuts to USAID-funded staff and treatments and other aid organizations are already in effect—and deeply felt in places like Zimbabwe, which has seen HIV care halted, reports The Guardian. 

Related:

Tens of thousands go hungry in Sudan after Trump aid freeze – AFP

The mess inside Rubio's 'lifesaving' waivers – Devex

Researchers face impossible decisions as U.S. aid freeze halts clinical trials – Science

Trump Firings Impact 'Front Line of Surveillance' for Bird Flu Outbreak – Rolling Stone

'My wife fears sex, I fear death' - impacts of the USAID freeze – BBC GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   A measles outbreak in rural west Texas continues to spread, with 49 cases confirmed, most among unvaccinated school-age children; officials suspect the true number of infections is closer to 200–300 cases. NBC

Rural Americans face “significantly shorter, less healthy lives” than their urban counterparts—with rural men in particular facing shorter life spans due to obesity, smoking, and chronic conditions such as heart disease, per research published last year in the Journal of Rural Health. PBS NewsHour

Louisiana public health officials will stop promoting vaccination, the state’s attorney general announced in a news release—citing the need for the government to “pull back its tentacles from the practice of medicine.” CIDRAP

President Donald Trump directed his administration to evaluate the “threat” to children posed by antidepressants, stimulants, and other common psychiatric drugs as part of an executive order signed Thursday establishing a commission led by newly confirmed health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has criticized the use of those drugs. The Washington Post GHN EXCLUSIVE A nurse injects a dose of an Ebola virus vaccine at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, on Feb. 3. Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua via Getty Images Launching a Vaccine Trial During an Ebola Outbreak   Just four days after Uganda’s Ministry of Health announced a new Ebola outbreak on Jan. 30, a team of local and international investigators began a trial of a vaccine candidate against the Sudan virus.
 
Swati Gupta, IAVI vice president, shares details in an interview with GHN about how the clinical trial was launched so quickly. Key points:

• “Part of the reason that we could get the trial started so quickly is because there was already Sudan virus vaccine in country, and the WHO also had pre-approved protocols and other documentation,” said Gupta.


• There is currently no licensed vaccine for Sudan virus, which causes severe hemorrhagic fever disease and has an average case fatality rate of up to 50%.


• The trial of IAVI’s VSV Sudan vaccine involves the WHO, Makerere University, the Uganda Virus Research Institute, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and others.

Read the full article for information on the trial’s use of the ring vaccination strategy and other details.
  
Brian W. Simpson, Global Health NOW GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES NEGLECTED DISEASES The ‘Wild West’ of Antivenoms in Africa
In sub-Saharan Africa, a venomous snakebite is too often a death sentence: ~20,000 people in the region are killed each year, with rural populations especially impacted by lack of access to care and by severe antivenom shortages. 

But even getting an antivenom is no guarantee of survival, finds a deep dive by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism: 

• Diluted and fraudulent antivenoms have flooded the poorly regulated market. 


• Some corporations knowingly sell ineffective products—such as antivenoms made for Indian snakes, which are ineffective in Africa. 

The Quote: “It’s a cowboy show out there. Some of them are selling stuff that honestly, you may as well just pour down the drain,” said Thea Litschka-Koen, a leading snakebite expert in Eswatini. 

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism  OPIOID CRISIS Overdose Deaths—Through the Lens of One County
Hamilton County, Ohio, has long battled a staggering opioid overdose epidemic. But that is starting to change. 

The county—which includes Cincinnati—saw a sharp drop in overdose deaths, from 393 in 2023 to ~270 in 2024.

Reflecting a national trend: National overdose deaths decreased by 20%+ in 2024, per provisional CDC data.

Behind the drop: Researchers and frontline responders point to a “confluence of factors,” including:

• Broadened access to naloxone and opioid addiction treatment


• More outreach programs


• Crackdowns on Chinese chemical suppliers and Mexican criminal groups manufacturing fentanyl


• And potentially—a diminished population of at-risk people because so many have already succumbed to overdoses

The Washington Post (gift link)  QUICK HITS Dispatch: Children reduced to skin and bones in war-torn Sudan’s forgotten famine – The Telegraph

Landmark Vaccine Deals Signal Africa's Shift Toward Local Manufacturing – Health Policy Watch

Trump Will Withhold Money From Schools That Require Covid Vaccines – The New York Times (gift article)

U.S. bird flu hospitalizations rise to 4 after Ohio discloses case – CBS 

The teen loneliness machine – Axios

New Polling: Majority of voters want compassion, not cruelty, for refugees – Asylum Seeker Resource Centre

Empathy for other peoples' pain peaks in young adulthood – University of Kent via ScienceDaily

Are PhDs losing their lustre? Why fewer students are enrolling in doctoral degrees – Nature Issue No. 2676
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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96 Global Health NOW: Eyes on RFK Jr; Re-mapping Medicine in Burma; and Cat Diplomat Naps on the Job The U.S. Senate will vote today on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation as the nation’s Health Secretary. View this email in your browser February 13, 2025 Forward Share Post RFK Jr., President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, arrives for his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on January 29, in Washington, D.C. Anna Moneymaker via Getty Eyes on RFK Jr. 
The U.S. Senate is poised to vote on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation as the nation’s Health Secretary today, amid concerns about his vaccine skepticism and conflicts of interest, reports the AP. 

Dynamics at play: Despite some Republicans’ skepticism about Kennedy’s views, he is expected to be confirmed, with most GOP senators embracing Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” vision. 

• Democrats, however, oppose Kennedy, and it is unclear whether he will win support from Sen. Mitch McConnell, a polio survivor and vaccine supporter, reports The Washington Post (gift link).

“Following the science”—in certain directions: When senators pressed Kennedy about his support of the theory that vaccines cause autism, he responded: “I just want to follow the science.” 

• But The New York Times (gift link) reports that the paper Kennedy cites was funded by an anti-vaccine organization and published in a fringe journal run by people with ties to Kennedy—raising larger fears that Kennedy will “have wide powers to advance his favored research studies,” said Lawrence O. Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University. 

• Critics have also voiced concern over Kennedy financially benefiting from his oversight; he has profited from referring clients to a law firm suing the makers of Gardasil. 

Looking ahead: If confirmed, Kennedy will oversee $1.7 trillion for public health programs, including health insurance programs, food and drug supply, and infectious disease response. 

• He has vowed to overhaul agencies like the NIH, FDA, and CDC.

More Trump Transition News:

Medicare removes sexual orientation, gender identity questions from enrollment forms – STAT

US actions have serious impact on global health, WHO chief says – Reuters

This is what happens to the body when HIV drugs are stopped for millions of people – AP GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
83% of mpox cases in the DRC’s outbreak have been linked to sex work, finds a new study of Clade 1b’s epidemiologic and genomic evolution published in Nature Medicine. CIDRAP

Multidrug-resistant TB in children is rising, especially in low-income regions, finds a new study published in Pediatric Research; younger children were found to be at the highest risk of mortality. News Medical

The reemergence of dengue virus serotype 3 in Brazil after 17 years could lead to new outbreaks of the disease, as the population there has not been immunized against that type, warns an article published in the Journal of Clinical Virology. EurekaAlert

Once-weekly semaglutides used to treat obesity could help curb alcohol cravings, a small new study published in JAMA Psychiatry has found; researchers say the findings bear further study. AP CONFLICT Re-mapping Medicine in Burma
Health care in Burma “is in collapse,” following four brutal years of civil war, per a recent UN situation report. 

But a “patchwork of facilities” in opposition-held territory have sprung up, where displaced doctors aim to provide care in wartime conditions. 

Background: Tens of thousands of doctors and nurses refused to work for the military junta after its coup in 2021. But a violent crackdown targeted those health workers—leading many to seek refuge in regions controlled by opposition groups. 

They are now building a new health infrastructure despite a host of obstacles, including attacks on health care, a rise in communicable diseases, and the U.S. aid freeze—which doctors say could “prove a near-fatal blow” for the fledgling operations. 

The Telegraph GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES GUNS Disarming Domestic Abusers
In Tennessee, ~40% of women killed in domestic violence shootings were shot by someone who was barred from having a gun at the time of the crime.

Proposed legislation seeks to prevent that—using simple changes in enforcement.

Background: While Tennessee prohibits those convicted of domestic violence from owning firearms, it does not require them to disclose the names of the people they gave the guns to—which would allow for follow-up or recourse if a convicted abuser maintains access, 2023 reporting by ProPublica and WPLN found.  

Effective intervention: Follow-up reporting highlighted the efforts of rural Scott County, which requires gun-dispossession forms to include the names of gun recipients. The new GOP-sponsored bill is modeled on this policy and requires more transparency. 

ProPublica ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Cat Diplomat to Nap on the Job 
​​“Sorry, Iʼm retired” is a great way to avoid pesky requests. But if the new gig is in Bermuda … that may change things.
 
It did for Palmerston the cat, former chief mouser at the UK Foreign Office.
 
Because a “quieter and easier” life in the British countryside wasnʼt relaxing enough, the diplomat came out of retirement to join his adoptive father for the “purr-fect” gig in the pink sand paradise, The Independent reports.
 
Key cat asset: Itʼs well known that humans just want to be liked by cats, and Palmerstonʼs feline air of indifference could derail diplomatic talks with a single side-eye. Not to mention his considerable soft—and fluffy—power. “I just welled up over a cat retiring,” gushed one fan after his 2020 departure from official duties.

Now heʼs back, but with boundaries. In a silent attack on ʼthis could have been an emailʼ-ism, Palmerston “will attend only the meetings he deems important, offering advice when necessary,” between naps.  QUICK HITS J&J, Sanofi stop E.coli vaccine trial due to low effectiveness – Reuters 

Some red states report zero abortions. Doctors and researchers say it's not true – KFF News via NPR Shots

MSF urges govt to prioritise, eliminate noma disease – The Guardian Nigeria

As Oropouche cases continue in the Americas, PAHO urges countries to keep their guard up – CIDRAP

An asteroid could hit Earth in 2032. Don't panic — yet  – Axios Issue No. 2675
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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96 Global Health NOW: ‘Catastrophic’ Interruptions in HIV/AIDS Care; Judge Orders Agencies to Restore Health Data; The ‘Queen of Cholera’ View this email in your browser February 12, 2025 Forward Share Post Sister Sally Naidoo administers an HIV test on a young boy at the Right To Care AIDS clinic. January 27, 2012, Johannesburg, South Africa. Foto24/Gallo Images via Getty ‘Catastrophic’ Interruptions in HIV/AIDS Care

The American aid freeze is already disrupting HIV/AIDS care and research that could cost lives and “set back efforts to beat the AIDS epidemic by years,” reports the Telegraph.

Current landscape: Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said there would be a 90-day reprieve for “life-saving” HIV treatment funded by PEPFAR—but many programs have already closed.

• The reprieve does not cover prevention services; preventive anti-HIV medicine is available only to pregnant and breastfeeding women. Condom services and educational programs also remain shuttered. 

• Plus: Major African HIV vaccine and prevention trials are on hold. 

South Africa in the spotlight: The Trump administration’s decision to target South Africa for funding cuts is a major blow to the country with the highest number of people living with HIV globally, reports Bloomberg.

• While PEPFAR-funded projects are allowed to apply for waivers, many clinics are uncertain if they are eligible, reports Bhekisisa. 

Impact on women and girls: In sub-Saharan Africa, the aid freeze is having a “catastrophic” impact on women and girls—who are disproportionately affected by the virus, reports NBC News.

• Toll: The UN AIDS agency said this week that dropped U.S. support could lead to 6.3 million AIDS deaths by the end of the decade. 

Related:

How the gutting of USAID is reverberating around the world: Worry, despair, praise – NPR Goats and Soda

How USAID dismantling could impact noncommunicable diseases – Devex

OPPORTUNITY Join GHN in DC for an Evening of Remarkable Stories    GHN and the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health will host a special live storytelling event spotlighting the remarkable experiences of refugees in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health community.

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

Frances Stead Sellers, an associate editor of the Washington Post and a host of Washington Post Live, will moderate the event. Sellers has reported extensively on public health and disaster response. 

All are welcome for this evening of inspiring stories. If you are in the D.C. area, we hope youʼll join us. 

Registration is required. Reception to follow.

Extraordinary Journeys: Stories of Refugees Fleeing Conflict and Shaping Global Health

• Wednesday, March 5, 6–7:30 p.m. 
• Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C. (555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW)

The Latest Childhood cancer medications will be distributed by a new program created by the UN and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, in an effort to treat 120,000 children in 50 countries “where needs are greatest” over the next five to seven years. UN News

Doctors and patients in China are raising alarms over what they say are ineffective generic drugs procured through a process favoring the lowest cost—a system that could encourage manufacturers to cut corners to win contracts. BBC

Most U.S. workers with chronic conditions that need to be managed during work hours—such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and asthma—haven’t told their employers, a new Harvard poll has found. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

STI cases in Europe spiked in 2023, with notable increases among young people, per a new annual report from the European CDC; gonorrhea in particular surged 31%, and antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea was cited as an emerging threat. Euronews GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES DATA Judge Orders Agencies to Restore Health Data  
A U.S. federal judge yesterday ordered federal health agencies to restore websites and datasets pulled late last month by the Trump administration, NPR Shots reports.
 
Judge John Bates said the sudden loss of the data jeopardizes the work of clinicians and public health, ultimately harming everyday Americans. He issued the temporary restraining order in response to a lawsuit filed by advocacy groups representing physicians and consumers. 
                 
Data slated to return:

• Information for patients about HIV testing and HIV prevention medication.


• Guidance on contraceptives.


• Datasets that show vulnerability to natural disasters and emergencies.


• An action plan to improve enrollment of underrepresented populations in clinical trials.

Post-purge changes: Many web pages that were pulled have since reappeared on CDC, FDA, and HHS websites, but it’s unclear how much has been modified; scientists have said that some CDC data have been altered and some pages have been removed.
 
The big question: Will the Trump administration comply with court orders? The Christian Science Monitor reports that the Trump administration is adopting a combative stance, arguing that it’s the judiciary that’s overstepping—calling into question the longstanding balance of powers.
 
More headlines:
 
Democrats unveil legislation in bid to halt USAID elimination – The Hill
 
Johns Hopkins leaders: NIH cuts put lifesaving medical research and care at immediate risk – The Hub
 
Trump’s NIH challenges the model that underlies U.S. scientific dominance – The Washington Post INFECTIOUS DISEASES The ‘Queen of Cholera’
The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) is known internationally as a crown jewel of South Asian science. 

Its queen? Firdausi Qadri, who has spent her career studying enteric diseases—focusing mainly on demonstrating the benefits of simple, cheap oral cholera vaccines and advocating for their use. 

But her work is an uphill battle. Oral vaccines have not eliminated cholera, and plans to curtail the disease both globally and in Bangladesh are off track:

• The number of available vaccines is limited, due to global demand.


• Bangladesh’s government isn’t investing in vaccination.


• The vaccine’s protection window is limited.


• Many cholera-prone countries still lack clean drinking water and sanitation.

Qadri, 73, works six days a week and remains undaunted—and confident that cholera can be vanquished.

Science
 
Related: Dirty water and endless wars: why cholera outbreaks are on the rise again – The Guardian GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES QUICK HITS Survey shows nurses around the world suffered high levels of pandemic stress – CIDRAP

As vaccination rates decline, widespread outbreaks of diseases like measles and polio could reemerge – CBS

Cash as medicine: How Brazil slashed TB by tackling poverty – The Telegraph

In one of the Marines’ most iconic jobs, a stunning pattern of suicide – The Washington Post (gift article)

‘The new generation is different’: In Djibouti, activists lobby to end female genital mutilation – UN News

Your brain is full of microplastics: are they harming you? – Nature

For Many, Weight-Loss Drugs Are Pricey. Expanding Access Is Hard. – Undark

Asian five-year-olds in England 70% more likely to have tooth decay than average – The Guardian

Want to Smoke Outdoors in Milan? Better Be Far From Other People. – The New York Times (gift article) Issue No. 2674
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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  Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.


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The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed deep concern over the impact of US funding cuts on critical global health initiatives, warning they pose a direct threat to public health efforts worldwide.

96 Global Health NOW: Disappearing Databases; Judge Halts NIH Payment Cuts; and Sweden’s Influx of Firearms View this email in your browser February 11, 2025 Forward Share Post A CDC worker at the Emergency Operations Center activated to assist public health partners in responding to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Courtesy James Gathany/CDC; photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images Disappearing Databases 
Researchers are alarmed by the Trump administration’s removal of crucial health data from federal websites—and fear other databases may follow, reports Undark. 

• Regular CDC reports that have been delayed or are incomplete include FluView and HIV surveillance data. 

Muddled MMWR: The administration has also exerted “unprecedented influence” over the CDC’s medical research publication, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, reports CBS News. 

• The release of three bird flu studies has been stalled for weeks. 

Impact: “It’s that sort of disruption that is equally endangering our ability to do research and evaluation to understand what’s going on in our community,” said Amy O’Hara, president of the Association of Public Data Users. 

• Teams of researchers are rushing to compile their own datasets and DIY sites.

Related: NOAA told to search grant programs for climate-related terms – Axios GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Ugandan journalists report a blackout on news about the country’s Ebola cases, linking the government’s lack of clear communication to a spread of disinformation about the virus and expressing concern that business interests are influencing the flow of information. The Independent Uganda
 
Fifteen measles cases—mostly in school-aged children—have been reported in South Plains, Texas, a small county with one of the state’s highest rates of vaccine exemptions; some of the cases appear to be connected to private religious schools. AP
 
PAHO warned of an increased risk of dengue outbreaks amid increased circulation of serotype three (DENV-3) in the southern hemisphere of the Americas. Prensa Latina

Nevada confirmed the state’s first human infection from H5N1 avian flu yesterday in a Churchill County dairy farm worker exposed to sick cows; while the report didn’t specify a genotype, the D1.1 genotype—different than the B3.13 involved in early dairy cattle outbreaks—was identified in the county’s cattle recently. CIDRAP Trump Transition News US foreign aid freeze wreaks havoc for HIV treatment in Africa – The World

U.S. exit from WHO: Potential impacts for smallpox virus biosafety – IDSA Science Speaks (commentary)

The USAID "Lifesaving" Waiver Is a Mirage Without Sufficient Staffing – Think Global Health (commentary)

USAID and CDC Halt of Support to Global Polio Eradication Threatens Worldwide Campaign – Health Policy Watch

US decision to cut ties with WHO hurting polio eradication efforts – Devex

Trump’s USAID cuts raise concerns over Ebola outbreak in Uganda – Anadolu Ajansı

The World Health Organization makes us all safer – Bangor Daily News

Don’t expect the courts to save us from Donald Trump – Vox RESEARCH Judge Halts NIH Payment Cuts  
In response to a lawsuit by 22 states attorneys general, a federal judge yesterday temporarily stopped the Trump administration from making dramatic cuts to NIH payments for research.

• Judge Angel Kelley in Boston set a hearing for Feb. 21, STAT reports


• The AGs said the change that caps at 15% payments for indirect costs—including administrative and facilities costs—would have “immediate and devastating” effects, Inside Higher Ed reports. Average indirect costs are 28% of direct research cost.

More legal action: Two more lawsuits were filed yesterday:

• Associations connected to the nation’s medical, pharmacy, and public health schools, as well as hospitals in Boston and the New York area filed the second lawsuit, STAT reports. In response, late last night Judge Kelley ordered a nationwide temporary pause on the NIH plans to slash the indirect cost payments, per STAT.


• The third lawsuit came from education organizations and public and private universities.

Republican senator speaks out: The NIH’s attempt to cut the payments is a “poorly conceived directive” that potentially violates federal law, said Maine Sen. Susan Collins, per The Hill.

The Quote: “If the NIH notice remains in effect, SUNY institutions will face a Sophie’s Choice—either redirect funding from other essential programs or be forced to end lifesaving NIH-funded research programs prematurely,” said Ben Friedman, chief operating officer of the Research Foundation for the State University of New York, said in a statement to the court.

Related: Trump maintains funding freeze at NIH, defying court order – Popular Information (commentary) GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES GUNS Sweden’s Influx of Firearms
As Sweden faces its worst mass shooting in history, the country is being forced to reckon with a growing gun violence scourge.

• The shooting at an adult education campus in Orebro killed 11, and highlights Sweden’s shift from a “peaceful, high-trust society” to one struggling with gang-related crime, right-wing nationalism, and easier firearm access. 


• “You ask yourself, ‘Can you be safe in today’s Sweden?’” said Andreas Sundling, a student at the school. 

Shifting landscape: In the early 2000s the number of annual gun murders in the country was in single digits. Now, as illegal firearms are being trafficked in from the Balkans, violence has risen: In 2024, there were 296 shootings, resulting in 44 deaths and 66 injuries.

The Times NEGLECTED DISEASES How Guinea Stopped Sleeping Sickness 
Twenty years ago, Guinea was once the country with the highest number of sleeping sickness cases in West Africa. But as of this year, the country managed to eliminate the NTD as a public health problem, the WHO announced.

What did it take? Shifting strategies—and a great deal of perseverance.

Background: Sleeping sickness, or Human African Trypanosomiasis, is transmitted by the Trypanosoma parasite spread by tsetse flies. The disease can lead to sleep disorders and psychosis—and can be fatal.

• Initial elimination efforts—including mass screening and treatment—were ineffective. From 2012 onward, the focus shifted to vector control.

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

Treatment gains traction: The development of the drugs fexinidazole and acoziborole offers further hope that the disease can be vanquished.  

El Pais OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS ‘Left like luggage’: Disabled, sick and injured victims flee Sudan’s genocide – The Telegraph

Cholera Outbreak Kills Over 100 in Angola – Ministry – News Central Africa

Flu season in the US is the most intense it’s been in at least 15 years – AP

As measles cases rise, a new book warns parents not to underestimate the disease – NPR Shots

Hundreds Of Russian Soldiers Hospitalized, Treated In North Korea, Report Says – RFE / RL

Man dies of asthma attack after inhaler cost skyrockets to more than $500 – The Washington Post (gift article)

Congestion Relief Zone is Also a CRASH Relief Zone: Data – Streetsblog NYC (commentary)

Zimbabweans try to outpace death at an exercise club in a cemetery – AP Issue No. 2673
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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

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ABOUT
SUPPORT US
NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
  CONTACT US
  Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.


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A new UN-partnered project to distribute essential childhood cancer medicines has begun in Uzbekistan and Mongolia, the first rollout for a project due to be piloted in six countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

Projects include important research on Parkinson’s, glioblastoma and dementia

 

Projects include important research on Parkinson’s, glioblastoma and dementia