The world is facing a health financing emergency, according to Dr. Kalipso Chalkidou, Director for Health Financing and Economics for the World Health Organization (WHO).
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: UK Parliament Votes to Decriminalize Abortion; Gardening宎 in the Gut; Funding Disruptions Threaten Ugandas HIV Fight
June 18, 2025
Pro-choice protestors gather near Parliament, where MPs were voting on the decriminalization of abortion. June 17. London, U.K. Alishia Abodunde/Getty
UK Parliament Votes to Decriminalize Abortion
The UK House of Commons voted 379137 yesterday to decriminalize abortion in England and Walesthe most significant change to abortion law in ~60 years, .
Details: The amendment removes the threat of prosecution for women who seek to terminate pregnancies.
Whats next: The amendment is part of a broader crime bill expected to pass the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Related:
Ohio lawmakers to introduce bill banning abortion, criminalizing the procedure
A brain-dead Georgia woman is set to be taken off of life support after her baby was delivered
Abortion Bans Worsen Violence in Relationships, Study Finds EDITORS NOTE No GHN Tomorrow, June 19 Please note that our office will be closed tomorrow in observance of the Juneteenth holiday. Well be back with more news on Monday, June 23!
The Editors GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners Global conflict levels are the highest theyve been since the end of World War II, with 59 active conflicts in 35+ countries, according to the ; the report also shows declining geopolitical influence of the U.S., Russia, and China as smaller countries emerge as regional powers.
A group of bat viruses related to MERS could be one mutation away from being capable of spilling over into humans, that focuses on the virus group, known as HKU5.
U.S. alcohol guidance could be soon changed from recommending one or two drinks per day to a brief statement encouraging drinking in moderation, in what could be a major win for the alcohol industry; the updates to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines are still under development by the HHS and USDA.
Microplastics in coastal waters could heighten cardiometabolic disease risk among nearby residents, , which found significantly higher rates of type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, and stroke among U.S. residents living near highly polluted waters compared with people who lived near less-polluted waters. GHN EXCLUSIVE Q&A 622A_cecum: Section through a healthy mouse cecum stained with Haematoxylin-eosin. Courtesy of Emma Slack Gardening宎 in the Gut
The pipeline for new drugs to fight antibiotic-resistant infections is rife with challenges, but one promising solution offers a workaround: tackling drug-resistant bacteria in the gut.
The method combines oral vaccinations with harmless bacteria that outcompete the bacteria for food and starve them out, Emma Slack, a professor at ETH Zurich and the University of Oxfords Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, told GHN.
It may be five to 10 years from clinical use, but the method could one day be applied to anything where immunosuppression is one of the side effects, says Slack. Patients could be treated before transplant surgery, or during high-risk pregnancies to head off the risk of infection in premature babies.
The most exciting prospect: reversing the antimicrobial resistance crisis for gut-colonizing, opportunistic pathogens, says Slack. GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HIV/AIDS Funding Disruptions Threaten Ugandas HIV Fight
Since 1987, the Rakai Health Sciences Program (RHSP) in Uganda has achieved remarkable milestones. In areas it serves, the program has:
Related: HIV-ending drug could be made for just $25 per patient a year, say researchers OPPORTUNITY HUMAN RIGHTS The Oppressors at Home
In the Talibans Afghanistan, oppression against women has led to men being foot soldiers against their female relatives.
Vice and virtue laws, which include strict rules that women must cover themselves, not talk too loudly, or appear in public without a male escort, are meant to be enforced by morality police. But often, husbands and brothers take on this role.
Rising fear: Under the Taliban, male relatives could face fines or prison if women are caught breaking morality laws. This has led to a rise in domestic violence, isolation, and psychological damage to Afghan women.
Related: Over 400 health centers shut down in Afghanistan following US aid
suspension ALMOST FRIDAY MINI DIVERSION QUICK HITS IOM Reports 60 Migrants Missing in Two Deadly Shipwrecks off Libya
How Trump's travel ban could disrupt the way knowledge about health is shared
Via the False Claims Act, NIH Puts Universities on Edge
Indonesia steps up efforts to eliminate malaria by 2030
Kraft Heinz to remove artificial dyes from U.S. products by end of 2027
Study: Early antibiotics tied to higher risk of childhood infections, antibiotic use, and asthma
Scientists uncover how ticks fight off and carry a virus deadly to humans
Threat in Your Medicine Cabinet: The FDAs Gamble on Americas Drugs
Could the answer to the male fertility crisis be lurking in your cats litter tray? Issue No. 2744
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
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You can or .
The UK House of Commons voted 379137 yesterday to decriminalize abortion in England and Walesthe most significant change to abortion law in ~60 years, .
Details: The amendment removes the threat of prosecution for women who seek to terminate pregnancies.
- However, the current legal framework for procuring an abortion remains, including requiring two doctors approval and a 24-week limit. Doctors who breach regulations can still face prosecution.
- UK medical groups and advocacy groups hailed the change as a victory for women, while anti-abortion groups argued it would open the door to abortion at any stage of pregnancy.
Whats next: The amendment is part of a broader crime bill expected to pass the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Related:
Ohio lawmakers to introduce bill banning abortion, criminalizing the procedure
A brain-dead Georgia woman is set to be taken off of life support after her baby was delivered
Abortion Bans Worsen Violence in Relationships, Study Finds EDITORS NOTE No GHN Tomorrow, June 19 Please note that our office will be closed tomorrow in observance of the Juneteenth holiday. Well be back with more news on Monday, June 23!
The Editors GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners Global conflict levels are the highest theyve been since the end of World War II, with 59 active conflicts in 35+ countries, according to the ; the report also shows declining geopolitical influence of the U.S., Russia, and China as smaller countries emerge as regional powers.
A group of bat viruses related to MERS could be one mutation away from being capable of spilling over into humans, that focuses on the virus group, known as HKU5.
U.S. alcohol guidance could be soon changed from recommending one or two drinks per day to a brief statement encouraging drinking in moderation, in what could be a major win for the alcohol industry; the updates to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines are still under development by the HHS and USDA.
Microplastics in coastal waters could heighten cardiometabolic disease risk among nearby residents, , which found significantly higher rates of type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, and stroke among U.S. residents living near highly polluted waters compared with people who lived near less-polluted waters. GHN EXCLUSIVE Q&A 622A_cecum: Section through a healthy mouse cecum stained with Haematoxylin-eosin. Courtesy of Emma Slack Gardening宎 in the Gut
The pipeline for new drugs to fight antibiotic-resistant infections is rife with challenges, but one promising solution offers a workaround: tackling drug-resistant bacteria in the gut.
The method combines oral vaccinations with harmless bacteria that outcompete the bacteria for food and starve them out, Emma Slack, a professor at ETH Zurich and the University of Oxfords Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, told GHN.
- The pairing was significantly more effective than using vaccines or harmless bacteria on their own, testing the method in mice.
It may be five to 10 years from clinical use, but the method could one day be applied to anything where immunosuppression is one of the side effects, says Slack. Patients could be treated before transplant surgery, or during high-risk pregnancies to head off the risk of infection in premature babies.
The most exciting prospect: reversing the antimicrobial resistance crisis for gut-colonizing, opportunistic pathogens, says Slack. GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HIV/AIDS Funding Disruptions Threaten Ugandas HIV Fight
Since 1987, the Rakai Health Sciences Program (RHSP) in Uganda has achieved remarkable milestones. In areas it serves, the program has:
- Reduced new HIV infections by 90%.
- Extended antiretroviral (ARV) coverage to 90% of people living with HIV.
- Medication access interruptions and clinic closures in January prompted HIV rebound fears; though services were quickly restored, experts warn that sustained disruptions could reverse hard-won gains.
- Ugandas plan to shift HIV treatment from specialized rural clinics to primary care clinics could also disrupt access and medication adherence, as some patients may face longer travel.
Related: HIV-ending drug could be made for just $25 per patient a year, say researchers OPPORTUNITY HUMAN RIGHTS The Oppressors at Home
In the Talibans Afghanistan, oppression against women has led to men being foot soldiers against their female relatives.
Vice and virtue laws, which include strict rules that women must cover themselves, not talk too loudly, or appear in public without a male escort, are meant to be enforced by morality police. But often, husbands and brothers take on this role.
Rising fear: Under the Taliban, male relatives could face fines or prison if women are caught breaking morality laws. This has led to a rise in domestic violence, isolation, and psychological damage to Afghan women.
Related: Over 400 health centers shut down in Afghanistan following US aid
suspension ALMOST FRIDAY MINI DIVERSION QUICK HITS IOM Reports 60 Migrants Missing in Two Deadly Shipwrecks off Libya
How Trump's travel ban could disrupt the way knowledge about health is shared
Via the False Claims Act, NIH Puts Universities on Edge
Indonesia steps up efforts to eliminate malaria by 2030
Kraft Heinz to remove artificial dyes from U.S. products by end of 2027
Study: Early antibiotics tied to higher risk of childhood infections, antibiotic use, and asthma
Scientists uncover how ticks fight off and carry a virus deadly to humans
Threat in Your Medicine Cabinet: The FDAs Gamble on Americas Drugs
Could the answer to the male fertility crisis be lurking in your cats litter tray? Issue No. 2744
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
Almost 4.5 million maternal, stillborn and newborn deaths were recorded in 2023. What if there was a clear path to saving 83 percent of these people? To saving 3.7 million mothers, unborn children and babies annually?
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: The Mystery of Chronic Mountain Sickness; Dogs as Weapons; and The Decline of Anti-Girl Bias
June 17, 2025
GHN EXCLUSIVE REPORT
The Andes mountain range between Lima and Cerro de Pasco east of Canta. DeAgostini/Getty
The Mystery of Chronic Mountain Sickness
HUAYLLAY, PeruAbout 510% of people who have lived their whole lives at high altitude eventually come down with the last illness they would expect: altitude sickness.
Research history: Scientists like Le籀n-Velarde have been trying to understand the cause of CMS since it was first described by Peruvian doctor Carlos Monge in 1925.
A U.S. judge ordered ~800 terminated NIH research projects, cited in a lawsuit by U.S. researchers and a coalition of 16 states, to be reinstated, calling the cuts discriminatory; the government will likely appeal the ruling.
Fewer than half of young men in the U.K.46%believe that abortion should be legal, compared with 71% of the general population, per a new poll ahead of a parliamentary vote today on whether to decriminalize abortion.
Cornell University researchers have identified an antibiotic, rifampin, that is 99.9% effective against Salmonella Typhi, the bacterium that causes typhoid fever, ; drug-resistant strains of the bacterium claim 150,000+ lives a year. U.S. and Global Health Policy News South Africa Built a Medical Research Powerhouse. Trump Cuts Have Demolished It.
Rising Refugee Suicides in West Nile Linked to Food Shortages and Aid Cuts
Kenya's war on HIV, TB and malaria faces setback as funding drops sharply
Researchers warn U.S. is on the precipice of brain drain as Trump cuts federal grants CONFLICT Dogs as Weapons
Military and police dogs are being utilized against civilians in Palestine, say human rights groups, who report the use of canines against Palestinians has led to injuries and deaths.
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES POPULATIONS The Decline of Anti-Girl Bias
In one of the most important social shifts of our time, the long-held sex preference for boys at birth has dramatically shifted worldwide.
Over the past 25 years, the number of annual excess male births has fallen from a peak of 1.7 million in 2000 to ~200,000, a biologically standard birth ratio, .
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Nigerian agriculture ministry workers told to fast and pray to end hunger crisis
Ending nuclear weapons, before they end us
The cost of staying alive could become a lot more expensive for millions of Americans
Too often, Black patients get late diagnoses of deadly skin cancer
Eight things you need to know about the new Nimbus and Stratus COVID-19 variants
How the cholera bacterium can outsmart a virus
New opioid testing techniques could lead to better therapies
How technology is helping African countries fight malaria from the skies Issue No. 2743
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
HUAYLLAY, PeruAbout 510% of people who have lived their whole lives at high altitude eventually come down with the last illness they would expect: altitude sickness.
- While there are no exact numbers, ~7 million people living above 2,500 meters (~8,200 feet) are at risk of chronic mountain sickness (CMS), in the journal High Altitude Medicine & Biology.
- Characterized by low levels of oxygen saturation (hypoxia) and excessive amounts of hemoglobin (polycythemia), CMS can start with blue-tinged fingertips or lips.
- But the illness can progress to life-threatening pulmonary or cerebral edema.
Research history: Scientists like Le籀n-Velarde have been trying to understand the cause of CMS since it was first described by Peruvian doctor Carlos Monge in 1925.
- But recent research that led to a 2019 Nobel Prize may offer new insights into the origins of CMS.
A U.S. judge ordered ~800 terminated NIH research projects, cited in a lawsuit by U.S. researchers and a coalition of 16 states, to be reinstated, calling the cuts discriminatory; the government will likely appeal the ruling.
Fewer than half of young men in the U.K.46%believe that abortion should be legal, compared with 71% of the general population, per a new poll ahead of a parliamentary vote today on whether to decriminalize abortion.
Cornell University researchers have identified an antibiotic, rifampin, that is 99.9% effective against Salmonella Typhi, the bacterium that causes typhoid fever, ; drug-resistant strains of the bacterium claim 150,000+ lives a year. U.S. and Global Health Policy News South Africa Built a Medical Research Powerhouse. Trump Cuts Have Demolished It.
Rising Refugee Suicides in West Nile Linked to Food Shortages and Aid Cuts
Kenya's war on HIV, TB and malaria faces setback as funding drops sharply
Researchers warn U.S. is on the precipice of brain drain as Trump cuts federal grants CONFLICT Dogs as Weapons
Military and police dogs are being utilized against civilians in Palestine, say human rights groups, who report the use of canines against Palestinians has led to injuries and deaths.
- Euro Med Human Rights Monitor has documented 146 cases of attack dogs being used against civilians since October 2023.
- The UN has also decried the use of military dogs against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention, citing .
- Israels specialist canine unit, Oketz, has said that the dogs are only deployed in anti-terrorism campaigns.
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES POPULATIONS The Decline of Anti-Girl Bias
In one of the most important social shifts of our time, the long-held sex preference for boys at birth has dramatically shifted worldwide.
Over the past 25 years, the number of annual excess male births has fallen from a peak of 1.7 million in 2000 to ~200,000, a biologically standard birth ratio, .
- The reduction in female infanticide and sex-selective abortions has led to the survival of ~7 million girls, the analysis found.
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Nigerian agriculture ministry workers told to fast and pray to end hunger crisis
Ending nuclear weapons, before they end us
The cost of staying alive could become a lot more expensive for millions of Americans
Too often, Black patients get late diagnoses of deadly skin cancer
Eight things you need to know about the new Nimbus and Stratus COVID-19 variants
How the cholera bacterium can outsmart a virus
New opioid testing techniques could lead to better therapies
How technology is helping African countries fight malaria from the skies Issue No. 2743
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
UN Aid Cuts Force Hyper-prioritized宎 Plan; Deaths on the Street in Portland; and Memory Cafes Bridge a Gap
Brutal funding cuts leave us with brutal choices, said Tom Fletcher, undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs.
June 16, 2025
Tents serve as temporary shelters for displaced Palestinians along the coastline of Gaza City, on June 10. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Getty Images
UN Aid Cuts Force Hyper-prioritized宎 Plan
The UN has slashed its 2025 humanitarian aid appeal from $44 billion to $29 billion, as the agency contends with to the aid sector, .
Only $5.6 billion (13%) has been raised so far after severely reduced contributions from the U.S. and others.
Existing aid under attack: Meanwhile, a UN expert is urging the General Assembly to authorize the deployment of armed peacekeepers to protect humanitarian transport and distribution, as aid workers continue to be targeted in areas including Gaza, Sudan, Haiti, and Central African Republic, .
COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1 could now make up more than 1 in 3 cases across the U.S., the ; the variant has been linked to a surge of hospitalizations in parts of Asia, and the CDC's airport surveillance program detected cases of it in arriving international travelers last month.
The U.S. health care workforce has recovered from widespread job losses of early 2020, with employment now matching pre-pandemic projections, ; but recovery is uneven, with doctors offices exceeding pre-pandemic employment growth while skilled nursing facilities contend with understaffing.
Dengue survivors face an elevated risk for post-infection multi-organ complications, hospitalization, and death, that analyzed 55,870 cases of adults infected between 2017 and 2023.
The FDA has expanded approval of Modernas RSV vaccine mResvia to include adults ages 1859 who are at high risk of severe illness from the virus; previously the vaccine was licensed for use only in adults 60+. HOMELESSNESS Increased Deaths on the Street in Portland
As the homeless population in Portland grew during the pandemic, the city responded with a $1.3 million plan to reprioritize public health and safety among homeless Portlanders.
Across the U.S., 600+ memory cafes offer low-cost social support for dementia patients and caregivers, helping alleviate isolation and stress through regular gatherings.
And with $11 billion in federal health funding for state and local health departments now on the chopping block, grassroots-led memory cafes may soon play a critical role for families needing help navigating the struggles of dementia care.
Growing need: U.S. Alzheimers cases are projected to double from 6.9 million now to 13.8 million by 2060, while the number of family caregivers is declining.
SUICIDE Curbing Pesticides to Save Lives
Suriname has one of the world's highest suicide rates, largely due to the pesticide paraquatwhich is lethal even in tiny doses and is widely available in homes across the country.
Global perspective: Pesticides are one of the leading means of suicide in agricultural areas of developing nations, leading to 100,000+ suicides annually.
Banning paraquat and other pesticides has led to dramatic drops in suicide rates in other countries including Sri Lanka (70%+), South Korea (~50%), and China (60%).
Ongoing efforts: The charity Open Philanthropy funded the launch in 2017 of the , and the was formed in 2023 to phase out use of the deadliest pesticides in agricultural areas where risks have not been managed.
QUICK HITS As mpox escalates in Sierra Leone, activity in other countries reflects mixed picture
An oral cholera vaccination campaign aims to reach more than 2.6 million people in Sudans Khartoum State
US pharma bets big on China to snap up potential blockbuster drugs
Small towns are growing fast across Ghana but environmental planning isnt keeping up (commentary)
Ancient miasma theory may help explain Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine moves
How Covid-19 Changed Hideo Kojimas Vision For Death Stranding 2 Issue No. 2742
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
The UN has slashed its 2025 humanitarian aid appeal from $44 billion to $29 billion, as the agency contends with to the aid sector, .
Only $5.6 billion (13%) has been raised so far after severely reduced contributions from the U.S. and others.
- Brutal funding cuts leave us with brutal choices, said Tom Fletcher, undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs.
Existing aid under attack: Meanwhile, a UN expert is urging the General Assembly to authorize the deployment of armed peacekeepers to protect humanitarian transport and distribution, as aid workers continue to be targeted in areas including Gaza, Sudan, Haiti, and Central African Republic, .
- A record 360+ humanitarian workers were killed last year, as aid restrictions and starvation are increasingly used as weapons of war.
COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1 could now make up more than 1 in 3 cases across the U.S., the ; the variant has been linked to a surge of hospitalizations in parts of Asia, and the CDC's airport surveillance program detected cases of it in arriving international travelers last month.
The U.S. health care workforce has recovered from widespread job losses of early 2020, with employment now matching pre-pandemic projections, ; but recovery is uneven, with doctors offices exceeding pre-pandemic employment growth while skilled nursing facilities contend with understaffing.
Dengue survivors face an elevated risk for post-infection multi-organ complications, hospitalization, and death, that analyzed 55,870 cases of adults infected between 2017 and 2023.
The FDA has expanded approval of Modernas RSV vaccine mResvia to include adults ages 1859 who are at high risk of severe illness from the virus; previously the vaccine was licensed for use only in adults 60+. HOMELESSNESS Increased Deaths on the Street in Portland
As the homeless population in Portland grew during the pandemic, the city responded with a $1.3 million plan to reprioritize public health and safety among homeless Portlanders.
- And yet: Deaths of homeless people quadrupled from 113 in 2019 to 450+ in 2023.
- One 2023 showed that such sweeps raise the risk of overdose by up to 22% for people who inject drugs.
Across the U.S., 600+ memory cafes offer low-cost social support for dementia patients and caregivers, helping alleviate isolation and stress through regular gatherings.
And with $11 billion in federal health funding for state and local health departments now on the chopping block, grassroots-led memory cafes may soon play a critical role for families needing help navigating the struggles of dementia care.
Growing need: U.S. Alzheimers cases are projected to double from 6.9 million now to 13.8 million by 2060, while the number of family caregivers is declining.
SUICIDE Curbing Pesticides to Save Lives
Suriname has one of the world's highest suicide rates, largely due to the pesticide paraquatwhich is lethal even in tiny doses and is widely available in homes across the country.
Global perspective: Pesticides are one of the leading means of suicide in agricultural areas of developing nations, leading to 100,000+ suicides annually.
Banning paraquat and other pesticides has led to dramatic drops in suicide rates in other countries including Sri Lanka (70%+), South Korea (~50%), and China (60%).
Ongoing efforts: The charity Open Philanthropy funded the launch in 2017 of the , and the was formed in 2023 to phase out use of the deadliest pesticides in agricultural areas where risks have not been managed.
QUICK HITS As mpox escalates in Sierra Leone, activity in other countries reflects mixed picture
An oral cholera vaccination campaign aims to reach more than 2.6 million people in Sudans Khartoum State
US pharma bets big on China to snap up potential blockbuster drugs
Small towns are growing fast across Ghana but environmental planning isnt keeping up (commentary)
Ancient miasma theory may help explain Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine moves
How Covid-19 Changed Hideo Kojimas Vision For Death Stranding 2 Issue No. 2742
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
Since conflict erupted in Sudan, more than a million people have fled to neighbouring South Sudan, seeking refuge from escalating violence that has displaced 12.4 million people and plunged over half the Sudanese population into food insecurity.
Categories: Global Health Feed
Escalating gang violence in Haiti has displaced a record 1.3 million people, UN human rights chief Volker T羹rk said on Friday.
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW Mercury Rising in World宎s Rivers; RFK Jr.s New Committee Picks; and Who Squashed the Veg Sculpture Competition?
Mercury increase poses a growing risk to people living near affected waterways, study warns.
June 12, 2025
A child in a canoe near a home on a tributary of the Amazon River near Breves, Para state, Brazil, on Sept. 21, 2022. Jonne Roriz/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Mercury Rising
Mercury carried downstream by rivers has increased nearly 3X worldwide since the Industrial Revolution, surging from 390 to 1,000 megagrams annually due to coal combustion, mining, and manufacturing, .
The mercury increase poses a growing risk to people living near affected waterways, as the neurotoxin has been linked to cancer, heart disease, and developmental harm in children, .
The study: Researchers used computer models and sediment data to establish a pre-industrial mercury baseline before 1850 and simulate mercury transport in rivers, .
Key findings: The data show the most dramatic increases in mercury pollution occurred in North and South America, contributing to 41% of the global increase in riverine mercury since 1850, followed by Southeast Asia (22%) and South Asia (19%).
Last month was the worlds second warmest May on record, per the EUs Copernicus Climate Change Servicecreating especially dry conditions across Europe as drought concerns rise.
Unethical experiments conducted on Black inmates were used in the development of the antimalarial primaquine in the 1950s and 60s, particularly around genetics role in adverse drug reactions, by an ethicist-led research team.
A bill to protect the privacy of womens reproductive health data, including tracking apps around menstruation, pregnancy, and abortion, has been introduced by three Democratic members of Congress who say such a measure is necessary to protect women in the post-Roe v. Wade era.
Fetuses more exposed to certain air pollutants experience changes in the size of specific brain structures, especially during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, that drew from data collected from 754 mother-fetus pairs between 2018 and 2021. U.S. POLICY RFK Jr.s New Committee Picks
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has appointed eight new members to the CDCs independent vaccine advisory committee after removing all 17 previous members earlier this week.
Whats next: It is unclear if Kennedy plans to appoint any more members to new ACIP. The panel will meet June 25-27 to review recommendations on vaccines, including for HPV and COVID-19 shots.
More U.S. Policy News:
Kennedys ouster of US vaccine advisors puts pharma ties under scrutiny
Vaccine board purge stokes talk of CDC alternatives
Top RFK Jr. aide attacks US health system while running company that promotes wellness alternatives
RFK Jr. to tell medical schools to teach nutrition or lose federal funding
A promising new HIV vaccine was set to start trials. Then came Trump's latest cuts
Senators press NIH director on killed grants and proposal to slash agencys funding GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES WEAPONS The Physical Toll of Less-Lethal Force
Tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper spray like those used against demonstrators in Los Angeles this past week may not be designed to kill, but they can cause serious injuries, health problems, and even death.
Tear gas and pepper spray can have both short- and long-term effects, ranging from eye and skin irritation and vomiting to extreme respiratory distress and damage to vision or the nervous system.
Rubber bullet risks: Often made of hard plastic or metal, rubber bullets have caused blindness, brain injury, and death in some cases.
Research gaps: Much existing research into tactics like tear gas is limited to military research of young men in the 1950s-70s, and doesnt account for modern weapons technology or potential health effects on a broader civilian population.
ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Who Squashed the Competition?
Last week we celebrated a wax .
Now, another installment of England-making-things-look-like-other-things: a cornucopia of vegetable likenesses.
At the Lambeth Country Show, held last weekend in London宎s Brockwell Park, revelers to enjoy sheep shearing, livestock competitions, and most of all: vegetable sculptures and vegetable puns.
Every year, this is what we get so excited about, .
Voting is now closed, but you can still pick your favorite.
Will it be ? Or its Vatican-themed rival, Butternut squash channeling ? ? Broccoli-based ?
All are healthy choices. QUICK HITS Scientists mapped what happens if a crucial system of ocean currents collapses. The weather impact would be extreme
Global action needed as progress stalls on disability-inclusive development goals UN News
Journalist, advocate, policy adviser? My strange role in the fight against superbugs
As a health crisis looms in Vietnam, now is the time for a sugary drink tax: WHO
36% of Jamaicans tested for NCDs in health ministry campaign present abnormal result
World Food Safety Day : Putting Science into Action to Improve Nutrition and Protect Health in Africa
Homicide Rates Near Supervised Consumption Sites: A Study from Canada
Word of the Week: how a bacterium unrelated to fish got its name 'salmonella' Issue No. 2740
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
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Mercury carried downstream by rivers has increased nearly 3X worldwide since the Industrial Revolution, surging from 390 to 1,000 megagrams annually due to coal combustion, mining, and manufacturing, .
The mercury increase poses a growing risk to people living near affected waterways, as the neurotoxin has been linked to cancer, heart disease, and developmental harm in children, .
The study: Researchers used computer models and sediment data to establish a pre-industrial mercury baseline before 1850 and simulate mercury transport in rivers, .
Key findings: The data show the most dramatic increases in mercury pollution occurred in North and South America, contributing to 41% of the global increase in riverine mercury since 1850, followed by Southeast Asia (22%) and South Asia (19%).
- In the Amazon region, mercury levels have soared due to both increased mining activities and soil erosion from deforestation.
Last month was the worlds second warmest May on record, per the EUs Copernicus Climate Change Servicecreating especially dry conditions across Europe as drought concerns rise.
Unethical experiments conducted on Black inmates were used in the development of the antimalarial primaquine in the 1950s and 60s, particularly around genetics role in adverse drug reactions, by an ethicist-led research team.
A bill to protect the privacy of womens reproductive health data, including tracking apps around menstruation, pregnancy, and abortion, has been introduced by three Democratic members of Congress who say such a measure is necessary to protect women in the post-Roe v. Wade era.
Fetuses more exposed to certain air pollutants experience changes in the size of specific brain structures, especially during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, that drew from data collected from 754 mother-fetus pairs between 2018 and 2021. U.S. POLICY RFK Jr.s New Committee Picks
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has appointed eight new members to the CDCs independent vaccine advisory committee after removing all 17 previous members earlier this week.
- The new appointees to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) include some who have been critics of vaccinesespecially COVID-19 vaccines and mRNA technologyand pandemic lockdowns.
Whats next: It is unclear if Kennedy plans to appoint any more members to new ACIP. The panel will meet June 25-27 to review recommendations on vaccines, including for HPV and COVID-19 shots.
More U.S. Policy News:
Kennedys ouster of US vaccine advisors puts pharma ties under scrutiny
Vaccine board purge stokes talk of CDC alternatives
Top RFK Jr. aide attacks US health system while running company that promotes wellness alternatives
RFK Jr. to tell medical schools to teach nutrition or lose federal funding
A promising new HIV vaccine was set to start trials. Then came Trump's latest cuts
Senators press NIH director on killed grants and proposal to slash agencys funding GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES WEAPONS The Physical Toll of Less-Lethal Force
Tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper spray like those used against demonstrators in Los Angeles this past week may not be designed to kill, but they can cause serious injuries, health problems, and even death.
Tear gas and pepper spray can have both short- and long-term effects, ranging from eye and skin irritation and vomiting to extreme respiratory distress and damage to vision or the nervous system.
Rubber bullet risks: Often made of hard plastic or metal, rubber bullets have caused blindness, brain injury, and death in some cases.
Research gaps: Much existing research into tactics like tear gas is limited to military research of young men in the 1950s-70s, and doesnt account for modern weapons technology or potential health effects on a broader civilian population.
ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Who Squashed the Competition?
Last week we celebrated a wax .
Now, another installment of England-making-things-look-like-other-things: a cornucopia of vegetable likenesses.
At the Lambeth Country Show, held last weekend in London宎s Brockwell Park, revelers to enjoy sheep shearing, livestock competitions, and most of all: vegetable sculptures and vegetable puns.
Every year, this is what we get so excited about, .
Voting is now closed, but you can still pick your favorite.
Will it be ? Or its Vatican-themed rival, Butternut squash channeling ? ? Broccoli-based ?
All are healthy choices. QUICK HITS Scientists mapped what happens if a crucial system of ocean currents collapses. The weather impact would be extreme
Global action needed as progress stalls on disability-inclusive development goals UN News
Journalist, advocate, policy adviser? My strange role in the fight against superbugs
As a health crisis looms in Vietnam, now is the time for a sugary drink tax: WHO
36% of Jamaicans tested for NCDs in health ministry campaign present abnormal result
World Food Safety Day : Putting Science into Action to Improve Nutrition and Protect Health in Africa
Homicide Rates Near Supervised Consumption Sites: A Study from Canada
Word of the Week: how a bacterium unrelated to fish got its name 'salmonella' Issue No. 2740
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
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Categories: Global Health Feed
With over half of the Sudanese population in need of aid and lean season rapidly approaching, the UN Chief for Humanitarian Affairs once again sounded the alarm about the crisis unfolding in Sudan on Thursday.
Categories: Global Health Feed
Two counties in the Upper Nile State of South Sudan are sliding into famine, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned in a new report released Thursday.
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: Declining Reproductive Agency and Fertility Rates; Rescripting Traumatic Memories; Meth Smuggling in the Golden Triangle
June 11, 2025
A doll on a stroller is pictured on a playground in Bicentennial Park, in the commune of Vitacura. Santiago, Chile, September 5, 2024. Raul Bravo/AFP via Getty
A Lack of Reproductive Agency as Global Fertility Declines
The unprecedented drop in global fertility stems from social and economic barriersnot a rejection of parenthood.
Key finding: 1 in 5 adults say they expect to have fewer children than they want due to financial barriers and insecurity about the future.
Key factors preventing people from starting families, :
Related:
China to make all hospitals offer epidurals to incentivise childbirth
Advocates, Clinics Anxiously Ask: When Will Trump Release IVF Recommendations? GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners Louisiana lawmakers have passed a bill targeting out-of-state doctors and activists who prescribe, mail, or coordinate the sale of abortion pills to residents within the state, where abortion is banned with few exceptions.
Childhood trauma has been linked to a 20% increased risk of developing endometriosis later in life, , which included hundreds of thousands of women in Sweden.
Dementia risk can be tied to vascular risk factors including hypertension, diabetes, or smoking, , which suggests that up to 44% of dementia cases could be attributed to such preventable factors in mid- and late life.
The FDA will use AI to radically increase efficiency in approving new drugs and devices, per a ; the adoption of the technology comes after the agency cut nearly 2,000 employees. U.S. and Global Health Policy News Vaccine board purge stokes talk of CDC alternatives
White House says it will spare some AIDS programs that were on the chopping block
Big changes are being proposed for a US food aid program
Sciences reform movement should have seen Trumps call for gold standard science coming, critics say
NIH chief stands by funding cuts to politicized science at tense hearing
The Bleach Community Is Ready for RFK Jr. to Make Their Dreams Come True DATA POINT
1 in 5
漍漍漍漍
Afghans live in areas littered with landmines and unexploded ordnance. MENTAL HEALTH Rescripting Memories to Treat PTSD
Finding effective treatments for PTSD in veterans is an ongoing quest for psychologists and one with high stakes, as veterans with the condition .
One therapy getting more attention: Reconsolidation of Traumatic Memories (RTM), a structured process that aims to reduce PTSD symptoms by visualizing trauma as a movie, rewinding and adjusting elements to lessen emotional impact over time.
The process differs from the dominant treatment, prolonged exposure therapy, by approaching memories less directly, thereby lessening distress and leading to a higher completion rate.
Further study needed: Initial data are promising, with ~70% of those receiving RTM therapy no longer meeting PTSD criteria. But critics say the studies are limited and need more rigor.
Related: Mental healthcare reform 2.0: learning from the global south GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES DRUG TRAFFICKING Meth Smuggling Crisis in the Golden Triangle
Thai authorities are struggling to stem a flood of synthetic illicit drugs coming into the country from neighboring war-torn Burma, where drug production is surging.
Meth on the rise: Thailand intercepted 130 tons of meth in 2024, nearly half of the 236 tons seized in East and Southeast Asia.
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Motsoaledis big HIV treatment jump: Is it true?
Arizona confirms first measles cases as totals rise in other states
Why Texas is spending millions to research an illegal psychedelic
Vi廙t Nam confirms global family planning commitment through 2030
How to speak to a vaccine sceptic: research reveals what works
How Composting Protects Public Health and Our Planet
Music festivals have become more open to harm reduction initiatives. How far will it go?
Word of the Week: how a bacteria unrelated to fish got its name salmonella Issue No. 2739
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
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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 unprecedented drop in global fertility stems from social and economic barriersnot a rejection of parenthood.
Key finding: 1 in 5 adults say they expect to have fewer children than they want due to financial barriers and insecurity about the future.
- The issue is lack of choice, not desire, UNFPA head Natalia Kanem .
Key factors preventing people from starting families, :
- Economic insecurity: 39% of respondents cited financial limitations including high housing and childcare costs as the main reason for having fewer children.
- Fear for the future: 19% cited worries around climate change and conflict.
- Gender and labor dynamics: 13% of women cited unequal division of labor as a barrier to having children.
Related:
China to make all hospitals offer epidurals to incentivise childbirth
Advocates, Clinics Anxiously Ask: When Will Trump Release IVF Recommendations? GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners Louisiana lawmakers have passed a bill targeting out-of-state doctors and activists who prescribe, mail, or coordinate the sale of abortion pills to residents within the state, where abortion is banned with few exceptions.
Childhood trauma has been linked to a 20% increased risk of developing endometriosis later in life, , which included hundreds of thousands of women in Sweden.
Dementia risk can be tied to vascular risk factors including hypertension, diabetes, or smoking, , which suggests that up to 44% of dementia cases could be attributed to such preventable factors in mid- and late life.
The FDA will use AI to radically increase efficiency in approving new drugs and devices, per a ; the adoption of the technology comes after the agency cut nearly 2,000 employees. U.S. and Global Health Policy News Vaccine board purge stokes talk of CDC alternatives
White House says it will spare some AIDS programs that were on the chopping block
Big changes are being proposed for a US food aid program
Sciences reform movement should have seen Trumps call for gold standard science coming, critics say
NIH chief stands by funding cuts to politicized science at tense hearing
The Bleach Community Is Ready for RFK Jr. to Make Their Dreams Come True DATA POINT
1 in 5
漍漍漍漍
Afghans live in areas littered with landmines and unexploded ordnance. MENTAL HEALTH Rescripting Memories to Treat PTSD
Finding effective treatments for PTSD in veterans is an ongoing quest for psychologists and one with high stakes, as veterans with the condition .
One therapy getting more attention: Reconsolidation of Traumatic Memories (RTM), a structured process that aims to reduce PTSD symptoms by visualizing trauma as a movie, rewinding and adjusting elements to lessen emotional impact over time.
The process differs from the dominant treatment, prolonged exposure therapy, by approaching memories less directly, thereby lessening distress and leading to a higher completion rate.
Further study needed: Initial data are promising, with ~70% of those receiving RTM therapy no longer meeting PTSD criteria. But critics say the studies are limited and need more rigor.
Related: Mental healthcare reform 2.0: learning from the global south GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES DRUG TRAFFICKING Meth Smuggling Crisis in the Golden Triangle
Thai authorities are struggling to stem a flood of synthetic illicit drugs coming into the country from neighboring war-torn Burma, where drug production is surging.
Meth on the rise: Thailand intercepted 130 tons of meth in 2024, nearly half of the 236 tons seized in East and Southeast Asia.
- In the past, to catch like 100,000 methamphetamine tablets was a big deal. Now we catch more than a million pills, and its just a normal day, said one Thai military official.
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Motsoaledis big HIV treatment jump: Is it true?
Arizona confirms first measles cases as totals rise in other states
Why Texas is spending millions to research an illegal psychedelic
Vi廙t Nam confirms global family planning commitment through 2030
How to speak to a vaccine sceptic: research reveals what works
How Composting Protects Public Health and Our Planet
Music festivals have become more open to harm reduction initiatives. How far will it go?
Word of the Week: how a bacteria unrelated to fish got its name salmonella Issue No. 2739
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
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You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
With 2024 confirmed as the hottest year on record, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a stark warning: the climate crisis is also a health crisis and its already claiming lives.
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: RFK Jr. Clears Out Vaccine Experts; Argentinas Scientists Struggle; and Lesotho Mothers on the Front Lines
June 10, 2025
A paramedic administers a dose of the measles vaccine at a health center. Lubbock, Texas. February 27. Ronald Schemidt/AFP via Getty
RFK Jr. Clears Out Vaccine Experts
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. yesterday removed all experts on a vaccine advisory committee that guides the CDCand will replace them with members he selects.
We have post-vaccination syndrome. We are tired of being used to score anti-vax points
FDA Review of Novavaxs COVID-19 VaccineRegulatory Integrity and Deviations From Standard Practice
Widespread Decline Seen in MMR Vaccination Rates After COVID-19 GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners The WHO has extended its designation of mpox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern amid a recent surge of cases in West Africa; the emergency, first confirmed in August 2024, now affects 25 countries in Africa.
Youth firearm deaths rose considerably in U.S. states that passed more lenient gun laws after a 2010 Supreme Court ruling limited local governments capacity to limit gun ownership, ; in states with stricter laws, gun deaths held steady or even felland dipped significantly in four: California, Maryland, New York, and Rhode Island.
Canadian wildfires have forced 27,000+ Canadians in three provinces to evacuate, while smoke from the fires is causing very unhealthy conditions in the American Midwest and even reaching Europe; in Minnesota, hospitals are reporting more patients with respiratory symptoms.
A new celiac disease blood test could be a game-changer, that found the test highly accuratewhile sparing people from weeks of potentially painful and debilitating tests that require them to consume gluten. U.S. and Global Health Policy News NIH walks back ban on new grants for universities with DEI programs or Israel boycotts
Trump budget proposes killing nursing research institute
The cartels and clans are ecstatic: How USAID cuts have emboldened Colombias narcos
Domestic abusers could have easier path to getting gun rights back under Trump proposal
Trump Bills Caps on Grad School Loans Could Worsen Doctor Shortage POLICY Argentinas Scientists Struggle
After decades of cyclical crises, extreme currency fluctuations, and sky-high inflation, Argentine scientists have had to learn to be creative with limited funds: They bargain with suppliers, recycle materials, and look for cheaper alternatives when the equipment they want is too expensive.
But even their ingenuity is becoming insufficient after a year and a half of aggressive government cuts to public spending.
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RIGHTS How Misoprostol Transformed Abortion in Latin America
In the 1990s, abortion activism in Latin America was revolutionized by the word-of-mouth spread of a safe, new self-managed abortion method: the drug misoprostol.
Strict anti-abortion laws were in place throughout the region, but underground networks of activists soon found ways to get misoprostol in the hands of women, and to instruct them how to use it.
Related: A Day With One Abortion Pill Prescriber SUBSTANCE USE Lesotho Mothers on the Front Lines
In Lesotho, alarming trends in youth drug use are spurring mothers to push for greater interventions.
Hotspotting takes hold: As crystal meth usage has grown, more young people are participating in hotspotting or bluetoothingthe practice of drawing blood from a drug-intoxicated person, then injecting it in others in order to spread the high.
Related: Drug deaths plummet among young Americans as fentanyl carnage eases OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Measles holiday warning as cases rise in Europe
A Palestinian doctor in Israel helps people on both sides
These Gazan families came to Quebec for safety. Now, they face life without health coverage
Two Women Faced Chemo. The One Who Survived Demanded a Test to See if It Was Safe. Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe!
Suicidal ideation across three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark identifying vulnerable subgroups using COH-FIT data
Eliminating malaria in Nigeria: insights from Egypt's success and pathways to sustainable eradication
Open-access revolution is squeezing scientific societies budgets, survey shows
What does it mean for workplaces to treat COVID-19 like the common flu Issue No. 2738
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
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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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. yesterday removed all experts on a vaccine advisory committee that guides the CDCand will replace them with members he selects.
- Kennedy argued in that the 17-member committee has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine.
- The next meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will be held June 25-27, though its not clear when new members will be announced, .
- This is one of the darkest days in modern public health history," said Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), . Science does not matter to Mr. Kennedy.
- Well look back at this as a grave mistake that sacrificed decades of scientific rigor, undermined public trust, and opened the door for fringe theories rather than facts, said Tom Frieden, Resolve to Save Lives president and CEO, and former CDC director, per AP.
- With a refigured committee of like-minded individuals to the secretary, doctors, nurses, pharmacists who provide advice are going to be in big trouble, Richard Besser, former CDC acting director, .
We have post-vaccination syndrome. We are tired of being used to score anti-vax points
FDA Review of Novavaxs COVID-19 VaccineRegulatory Integrity and Deviations From Standard Practice
Widespread Decline Seen in MMR Vaccination Rates After COVID-19 GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners The WHO has extended its designation of mpox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern amid a recent surge of cases in West Africa; the emergency, first confirmed in August 2024, now affects 25 countries in Africa.
Youth firearm deaths rose considerably in U.S. states that passed more lenient gun laws after a 2010 Supreme Court ruling limited local governments capacity to limit gun ownership, ; in states with stricter laws, gun deaths held steady or even felland dipped significantly in four: California, Maryland, New York, and Rhode Island.
Canadian wildfires have forced 27,000+ Canadians in three provinces to evacuate, while smoke from the fires is causing very unhealthy conditions in the American Midwest and even reaching Europe; in Minnesota, hospitals are reporting more patients with respiratory symptoms.
A new celiac disease blood test could be a game-changer, that found the test highly accuratewhile sparing people from weeks of potentially painful and debilitating tests that require them to consume gluten. U.S. and Global Health Policy News NIH walks back ban on new grants for universities with DEI programs or Israel boycotts
Trump budget proposes killing nursing research institute
The cartels and clans are ecstatic: How USAID cuts have emboldened Colombias narcos
Domestic abusers could have easier path to getting gun rights back under Trump proposal
Trump Bills Caps on Grad School Loans Could Worsen Doctor Shortage POLICY Argentinas Scientists Struggle
After decades of cyclical crises, extreme currency fluctuations, and sky-high inflation, Argentine scientists have had to learn to be creative with limited funds: They bargain with suppliers, recycle materials, and look for cheaper alternatives when the equipment they want is too expensive.
But even their ingenuity is becoming insufficient after a year and a half of aggressive government cuts to public spending.
- Projects studying rare diseases and RNA-based therapeutics are stalled or dramatically scaled back, while scientists face dwindling supplies and collapsing purchasing power due to inflation exceeding 300% since late 2023.
- International collaborations, once a safety net, are also at risk as U.S. science budgets tighten. Argentine scientists are used to brain drainseeing their colleagues emigrate when funding gets scarcea possibility that is now raising alarms in the U.S.
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RIGHTS How Misoprostol Transformed Abortion in Latin America
In the 1990s, abortion activism in Latin America was revolutionized by the word-of-mouth spread of a safe, new self-managed abortion method: the drug misoprostol.
Strict anti-abortion laws were in place throughout the region, but underground networks of activists soon found ways to get misoprostol in the hands of women, and to instruct them how to use it.
- Groups like Las Libres in Mexico and Socorristas en Red in Argentina offered free pills, guidance, and support. Activists in Ecuador and Argentina started hotlines and published widely read manuals.
Related: A Day With One Abortion Pill Prescriber SUBSTANCE USE Lesotho Mothers on the Front Lines
In Lesotho, alarming trends in youth drug use are spurring mothers to push for greater interventions.
Hotspotting takes hold: As crystal meth usage has grown, more young people are participating in hotspotting or bluetoothingthe practice of drawing blood from a drug-intoxicated person, then injecting it in others in order to spread the high.
- The practice increases the risk of HIV and other infections in a country already facing one of the worlds highest HIV rates.
Related: Drug deaths plummet among young Americans as fentanyl carnage eases OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Measles holiday warning as cases rise in Europe
A Palestinian doctor in Israel helps people on both sides
These Gazan families came to Quebec for safety. Now, they face life without health coverage
Two Women Faced Chemo. The One Who Survived Demanded a Test to See if It Was Safe. Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe!
Suicidal ideation across three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark identifying vulnerable subgroups using COH-FIT data
Eliminating malaria in Nigeria: insights from Egypt's success and pathways to sustainable eradication
Open-access revolution is squeezing scientific societies budgets, survey shows
What does it mean for workplaces to treat COVID-19 like the common flu Issue No. 2738
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
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You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
The global fertility slump isnt down to young people turning their backs on parenthood its due to social and economic pressures stopping them from having the children they want, says a new UN report.
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: Sierra Leones Mpox Surge; Climate and Kidney Disease; and Standing Up to Stigma
June 9, 2025
A crowd of people at Dove Cot Market. Freetown, Sierra Leone, May 1.
Patrick Meinhardt/AFP via Getty
Sierra Leones Mpox Surge
Mpox infections are rapidly rising in Sierra Leone, overwhelming the nations health systems and raising fears of a wider spread in densely populated West Africa, .
Outbreak overview: In the past month, Sierra Leone has reported 15 deaths and 3,000+ mpox infectionsmore than half of Africas new cases.
Viral skincare routines aimed at teenagers on TikTok carry both dermatological and psychological risks and offer little to no benefit, , which also found that content creators ages 718 apply an average of six skincare products daily.
U.S. mothers mental health worsened between 2016 and 2023 across all socioeconomic groups, finds a that analyzed self-reported mental health ratings from some 198,000 mothers.
As global measles surveillance is threatened by U.S. funding cuts, philanthropies are trying to keep the Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network, known as Gremlin, afloat. U.S. and Global Health Policy News In Axing mRNA Contract, Trump Delivers Another Blow to US Biosecurity, Former Officials Say
He led George W. Bush's PEPFAR program to stop AIDS. Now he fears for its future
How Trump Administration Can Tackle America's Addiction Problems: Experts
Whos in charge? CDCs leadership crisis apparent amid new COVID-19 vaccine guidance
NIH asks for proposals for $50M autism data project
Palantirs Collection of Disease Data at C.D.C. Stirs Privacy Concerns CLIMATE Climate and Kidney Disease
Since the late 1990s, researchers have been studying an epidemic of young, otherwise healthy workers suddenly struck with kidney failurea condition dubbed chronic kidney disease of unknown cause, or CKDu.
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HIV/AIDS Standing Up to Stigma
In Rwanda, where approximately 300,000 people live with HIV, stigma can lead to social isolation, especially in school-age children. But new protective measures are supporting students living with HIV.
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Gaza health system extremely fragile as aid point killings increase: ICRC
Monthly prescription rule blocks ADHD treatment for SA kids
World must start screening for prostate cancer to stop men being left behind
Salmonella outbreak tied to eggs sickens dozens across 7 states
Stigmatised for being deaf: Z矇nabou's story
Local, organic, and bipartisan: How Vermont is challenging Big Food
How a dog aging project can help pets and humans live healthier lives Issue No. 2737
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
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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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Mpox infections are rapidly rising in Sierra Leone, overwhelming the nations health systems and raising fears of a wider spread in densely populated West Africa, .
Outbreak overview: In the past month, Sierra Leone has reported 15 deaths and 3,000+ mpox infectionsmore than half of Africas new cases.
- The actual number of infections may be 4X higher than reported, genomic analysis suggests.
- The outbreak is driven by clade IIbthe same strain behind the global outbreak that began in 2022, and separate from the clade Ib strain driving the outbreak in the DRC.
- The country has received limited vaccine doses, and global funding cuts are further hampering research and response.
- 40 cases have now been reported, and one infant has died.
Viral skincare routines aimed at teenagers on TikTok carry both dermatological and psychological risks and offer little to no benefit, , which also found that content creators ages 718 apply an average of six skincare products daily.
U.S. mothers mental health worsened between 2016 and 2023 across all socioeconomic groups, finds a that analyzed self-reported mental health ratings from some 198,000 mothers.
As global measles surveillance is threatened by U.S. funding cuts, philanthropies are trying to keep the Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network, known as Gremlin, afloat. U.S. and Global Health Policy News In Axing mRNA Contract, Trump Delivers Another Blow to US Biosecurity, Former Officials Say
He led George W. Bush's PEPFAR program to stop AIDS. Now he fears for its future
How Trump Administration Can Tackle America's Addiction Problems: Experts
Whos in charge? CDCs leadership crisis apparent amid new COVID-19 vaccine guidance
NIH asks for proposals for $50M autism data project
Palantirs Collection of Disease Data at C.D.C. Stirs Privacy Concerns CLIMATE Climate and Kidney Disease
Since the late 1990s, researchers have been studying an epidemic of young, otherwise healthy workers suddenly struck with kidney failurea condition dubbed chronic kidney disease of unknown cause, or CKDu.
- First seen in El Salvador, CKDu is now known to affect laborers worldwide, especially in hot, humid regions.
- Tens of thousands have likely died from the disease, say researchers.
- Youre having this acute kidney injury day after day, said Catharina Giudice, an emergency medicine physician at Harvard University.
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HIV/AIDS Standing Up to Stigma
In Rwanda, where approximately 300,000 people live with HIV, stigma can lead to social isolation, especially in school-age children. But new protective measures are supporting students living with HIV.
- The Rwanda Biomedical Centre has trained 383 school officials on supporting students who are HIV-positive. 139 officials will receive similar training in June.
- Youth-driven anti-AIDS clubs that provide awareness and support, which have stalled in the past, are being revived.
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Gaza health system extremely fragile as aid point killings increase: ICRC
Monthly prescription rule blocks ADHD treatment for SA kids
World must start screening for prostate cancer to stop men being left behind
Salmonella outbreak tied to eggs sickens dozens across 7 states
Stigmatised for being deaf: Z矇nabou's story
Local, organic, and bipartisan: How Vermont is challenging Big Food
How a dog aging project can help pets and humans live healthier lives Issue No. 2737
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
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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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Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: Europes Surge of Synthetic Drugs; Scotland宎s Mission to Banish Cervical Cancer; and This Sausage Roll Tastes Like Wax
New drugs report reveals constantly evolving challenges, and a rise in synthetic drugs and cocaine
June 5, 2025
The head of Section III of UDYCO Central, Alejandro Martin-Blass, explains the details of the operation to dismantle the largest cocaine base paste processing laboratory in Europe, at the Canillas Police Complex, on April 13, 2023, in Madrid, Spain. Eduardo Parra/Europa Press via Getty
Europes Surge of Synthetic Drugs
A widespread influx of synthetic opioids and recreational designer drugs are putting European health care systems under strain, finds as a constantly evolving" European drug market forces officials to overhaul response strategies, .
The health risks of many synthetic drugs remain poorly understood due to their novelty and shifting composition, . Key synthetic drug trends include:
Polysubstance usetaking multiple drugs at onceremains the main cause of drug deaths.
10.9 million
漍漍漍漍
The number of Americans who would lose health insurance under Trumps tax cut bill, per the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The Latest One-Liners
Haiti has been elected to the WHO Executive Board for the first time, with the nations health minister saying the country would be a committed voice in shaping global health policy even as the country grapples with its own public health crises, including gang-related violence and undermined health infrastructure.
Women using weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro are being after 40 women have reported becoming pregnant while taking the medications, a U.K. regulatory agency warns.
Extended marriage and maternity leave will be offered in China's southwestern Sichuan province, as officials hope to create a fertility-friendly society in the face of flagging birth rates in China.
Childhood measles vaccination rates fell in ~80% of U.S. counties after the COVID-19 pandemic, ; the findings reflect trends seen at both state and national levels. GHN EXCLUSIVE All school pupils in Scotland are offered the HPV vaccine in their first year of secondary school. Courtesy of Public Health Scotland Scotland宎s Mission to Banish Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women globallybut in Scotland, an of a national, school-based HPV vaccination program launched in 2008 detected zero cases of the disease among women fully immunized against HPV at age 12 or 13.
The school-based program has consistently achieved HPV vaccination coverage of over 80% of Scottish pupilswell above the European average.
How do they do it?
Prioritize communication: We try to make sure that everybody has the same information that will allow parents to make an informed decision about having their child vaccinated, Kirsty Roy, the study宎s lead author, told GHN in an exclusive Q&A.
Tackle vaccine inequalities: Roy says that the program is constantly trying to better understand gaps in vaccine coverage between the most and least deprived areas, from the misperception that the vaccine only benefits girls to school absenteeism that prevents some pupils from accessing the vaccine.
Play the long game: While the program has seen successes, it still aims to go further: We are working towards eliminating cervical cancer in Scotland, , says Roy.
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES SUBSTANCE USE Why Alcohol Needs a Cancer Warning Label
More than . But know that theyre while theyre doing it.
Updating the U.S. alcohol health warning labelwhich hasnt changed since 1989could help to raise awareness, experts say.
Other countries have been more aggressive about their warnings: Beginning in 2026, Ireland will require prominent labels with red capital letters on all containers of beer, wine, and liquor sold in the country.
Alcohol consumption is the in the U.S., after tobacco and obesity, and leads to a higher risk of .
ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION This Sausage Roll Tastes Like Wax
Everyone knows there宎s only one true sign of celebrity: Being cast in wax.
Think David Attenborough, Beyonc矇, William Shakespeare and now, some sausage wrapped up in pastry, .
Ahead of a holiday that apparently existsan iconic snack from the British bakery chain Greggs claimed a top spot at Madame Tussauds wax museum in London, where it is now lounging atop a blue velvet pillow.
How the sausage is made: The one-of-a-kind replica Sausage Roll was handcrafted by studio artists who studied dozens of real-life rolls to capture its flaky layers and unmistakable golden glaze, .
Following the science: New researchwhich we couldn宎t find a link toapparently ranked the Greggs Sausage Roll among the country宎s most beloved cultural icons. It even outranked the affable cast of Gavin & Stacey () and the .
But even a wax sausage roll has a limited shelf life. The exhibit expires at the end of June. OPPORTUNITY
Researchers warn of bird flu survival in raw milk
US valley fever cases may be 18 times higher than reported
Call for experts to develop a WHO guideline on consumption of ultra-processed foods
Measles Is Scary, Says Lubbocks Top Health Official. So Is Government Upheaval.
Baby saved by gene-editing therapy 'graduates' from hospital, goes home Issue No. 2736
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
A widespread influx of synthetic opioids and recreational designer drugs are putting European health care systems under strain, finds as a constantly evolving" European drug market forces officials to overhaul response strategies, .
The health risks of many synthetic drugs remain poorly understood due to their novelty and shifting composition, . Key synthetic drug trends include:
- Nitazenes, synthetic opioids that can be stronger than heroin or fentanyl, have been linked to increasing overdose deaths.
- Cathinones, stimulants also known as bath salts, are increasingly being manufactured on the continent, with Poland emerging as a key hub.
- Semi-synthetic cannabinoids: ~18 new semi-synthetic cannabinoids were detected in 2024; most are sold legally as their molecules are not explicitly banned.
Polysubstance usetaking multiple drugs at onceremains the main cause of drug deaths.
- 7,500 drug-induced deaths occurred in 2023, mostly from opioids.
10.9 million
漍漍漍漍
The number of Americans who would lose health insurance under Trumps tax cut bill, per the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The Latest One-Liners
Haiti has been elected to the WHO Executive Board for the first time, with the nations health minister saying the country would be a committed voice in shaping global health policy even as the country grapples with its own public health crises, including gang-related violence and undermined health infrastructure.
Women using weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro are being after 40 women have reported becoming pregnant while taking the medications, a U.K. regulatory agency warns.
Extended marriage and maternity leave will be offered in China's southwestern Sichuan province, as officials hope to create a fertility-friendly society in the face of flagging birth rates in China.
Childhood measles vaccination rates fell in ~80% of U.S. counties after the COVID-19 pandemic, ; the findings reflect trends seen at both state and national levels. GHN EXCLUSIVE All school pupils in Scotland are offered the HPV vaccine in their first year of secondary school. Courtesy of Public Health Scotland Scotland宎s Mission to Banish Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women globallybut in Scotland, an of a national, school-based HPV vaccination program launched in 2008 detected zero cases of the disease among women fully immunized against HPV at age 12 or 13.
The school-based program has consistently achieved HPV vaccination coverage of over 80% of Scottish pupilswell above the European average.
How do they do it?
Prioritize communication: We try to make sure that everybody has the same information that will allow parents to make an informed decision about having their child vaccinated, Kirsty Roy, the study宎s lead author, told GHN in an exclusive Q&A.
Tackle vaccine inequalities: Roy says that the program is constantly trying to better understand gaps in vaccine coverage between the most and least deprived areas, from the misperception that the vaccine only benefits girls to school absenteeism that prevents some pupils from accessing the vaccine.
Play the long game: While the program has seen successes, it still aims to go further: We are working towards eliminating cervical cancer in Scotland, , says Roy.
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES SUBSTANCE USE Why Alcohol Needs a Cancer Warning Label
More than . But know that theyre while theyre doing it.
Updating the U.S. alcohol health warning labelwhich hasnt changed since 1989could help to raise awareness, experts say.
- On January 3, then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued and recommended that the warning label on alcohol containers be changed to reflect the connection.
- In February, the WHO issued a .
Other countries have been more aggressive about their warnings: Beginning in 2026, Ireland will require prominent labels with red capital letters on all containers of beer, wine, and liquor sold in the country.
Alcohol consumption is the in the U.S., after tobacco and obesity, and leads to a higher risk of .
ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION This Sausage Roll Tastes Like Wax
Everyone knows there宎s only one true sign of celebrity: Being cast in wax.
Think David Attenborough, Beyonc矇, William Shakespeare and now, some sausage wrapped up in pastry, .
Ahead of a holiday that apparently existsan iconic snack from the British bakery chain Greggs claimed a top spot at Madame Tussauds wax museum in London, where it is now lounging atop a blue velvet pillow.
How the sausage is made: The one-of-a-kind replica Sausage Roll was handcrafted by studio artists who studied dozens of real-life rolls to capture its flaky layers and unmistakable golden glaze, .
Following the science: New researchwhich we couldn宎t find a link toapparently ranked the Greggs Sausage Roll among the country宎s most beloved cultural icons. It even outranked the affable cast of Gavin & Stacey () and the .
But even a wax sausage roll has a limited shelf life. The exhibit expires at the end of June. OPPORTUNITY
The Spring Issue of HBPH Is Available
The new special issue of documents the broad and emerging impacts of U.S. government funding cuts on a wide range of research and projects in the U.S. and abroad, the scientists who conduct that work, and the people who benefit from it. It also highlights public health in action, and shares stories with lessons that can help us navigate the current moment.
.
QUICK HITS Neglected tropical diseases further neglected due to ODA cutsResearchers warn of bird flu survival in raw milk
US valley fever cases may be 18 times higher than reported
Call for experts to develop a WHO guideline on consumption of ultra-processed foods
Measles Is Scary, Says Lubbocks Top Health Official. So Is Government Upheaval.
Baby saved by gene-editing therapy 'graduates' from hospital, goes home Issue No. 2736
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
AIDS-related deaths have dropped to their lowest level since 2004, but progress remains precarious, with the disease still claiming one life every minute. The impact of funding cuts is severe, causing widespread disruption to HIV services and threatening hard-won gains.
Categories: Global Health Feed
As hostilities rage in Sudan, access constraints and devastating funding cuts are isolating rape survivors and pregnant women from essential health services, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency UNFPA said on Thursday.
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: Assaults on Aid as Sudans Hunger Crisis Deepens; Scientific Journals Navigate New Challenges; and The Clay Floor Advantage
June 4, 2025
Displaced people queue for food rations in a makeshift encampment near the town of Tawila, in Sudan's Darfur region. April 13. AFP via Getty
Assaults on Aid as Sudans Hunger Crisis Deepens
A 15-truck convoy delivering lifesaving supplies to famine-stricken North Darfur was attacked in a horrendous ambush Monday night, killing five humanitarian workers, injuring others, and blocking desperately needed humanitarian supplies, .
Details: The convoy, led by World Food Programme and UNICEF contractors, would have been the first to reach El Fasher in over a year, as hundreds of thousands of people in the region face malnutrition and starvation amid Sudans ongoing conflict, .
Rise of refugees in Chad: The number of Sudanese refugees in Chad has risen 3X+ in just over two years, , with 1.2 million people fleeing to the country.
1.6 million
漍漍漍漍
People fall ill daily from unsafe food globally, warns the WHO.
The Latest One-Liners
Guidance requiring hospitals to provide emergency abortions for women needing medical stabilization has been revoked by the Trump administration; the Biden administration had issued the guidance to preserve emergency abortion care, even in states with near-total bans.
The CDC official overseeing updates to the agencys COVID-19 vaccine recommendations has resigned, saying she could no longer help the most vulnerable members of our population after HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s order to change the agencys vaccine guidance.
Vietnam will end its longstanding policy limiting families to two children as the country aims to reverse a declining birth that has dropped below the replacement level for three consecutive years.
Misinformation around cancer care is leading to a rise in alternative treatments like coffee enemas, raw juice diets, and other potentially dangerous social mediadriven trends, said doctors at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, warning that such misinformation has acutely worsened in the past decade. U.S. and Global Health Policy News Trump asks Congress to repeal $9 billion from NPR, PBS and global aid
Research cuts conflict with MAHA's stated goals
Kennedy has ordered a review of baby formula. Heres what you should know
Dismantling CDCs chronic disease center looks pretty devastating to public health experts HUMAN RIGHTS Perus Forced Sterilization Victims Seek Justice
Peruvian women sterilized decades ago under the governments forced sterilization campaign are finally having their day in court, as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held its first public hearing on the abuses in the case Celia Ramos v. Peru. Ramos died 19 days after receiving an unwanted tubal ligation.
Background: Between 1996 and 2001, ~270,000 Peruvian women were sterilized under then-President Alberto Fujimoris reproductive policy.
Researchers and editors of federally funded scientific journals say they are facing new challenges of interference, fear, self-censorship, and dissent due to the U.S. governments crackdown on DEI language.
Confusion and cuts: Federal directives to remove specific words and data, followed by major research funding cuts, have created upheaval in standard procedures around publishing.
Related: US veterans agency orders scientists not to publish in journals without clearance ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH The Clay Floor Advantage
In Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya, the nonprofit EarthEnable is reducing dust and parasites in homes by installing clay-based flooringwhich delivers health and environmental benefits over dirt floors at less than half the price of concrete.
Thanks for the tip, Dave Cundiff! OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS UK not ready for major animal disease outbreak
COVID vaccine changes confuse and upset some parents and families
Moderna will test new COVID shot against placebo, RFK Jr. says
New mRNA vaccine is more effective and less costly to develop, study finds
Abortion laws are Victorian era, says grieving mum
Anorexia in Middle Age and Beyond
How extreme heat affects America's most vulnerable
Annual cost of insuring a family tops $35,000 Issue No. 2736
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
A 15-truck convoy delivering lifesaving supplies to famine-stricken North Darfur was attacked in a horrendous ambush Monday night, killing five humanitarian workers, injuring others, and blocking desperately needed humanitarian supplies, .
Details: The convoy, led by World Food Programme and UNICEF contractors, would have been the first to reach El Fasher in over a year, as hundreds of thousands of people in the region face malnutrition and starvation amid Sudans ongoing conflict, .
- It remains unclear who is behind the attack, with agencies calling for an investigation.
- Meanwhile, damage to civilian infrastructure has worsened a cholera outbreak.
Rise of refugees in Chad: The number of Sudanese refugees in Chad has risen 3X+ in just over two years, , with 1.2 million people fleeing to the country.
- Over 9 million people have been displaced in the conflict.
1.6 million
漍漍漍漍
People fall ill daily from unsafe food globally, warns the WHO.
The Latest One-Liners
Guidance requiring hospitals to provide emergency abortions for women needing medical stabilization has been revoked by the Trump administration; the Biden administration had issued the guidance to preserve emergency abortion care, even in states with near-total bans.
The CDC official overseeing updates to the agencys COVID-19 vaccine recommendations has resigned, saying she could no longer help the most vulnerable members of our population after HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s order to change the agencys vaccine guidance.
Vietnam will end its longstanding policy limiting families to two children as the country aims to reverse a declining birth that has dropped below the replacement level for three consecutive years.
Misinformation around cancer care is leading to a rise in alternative treatments like coffee enemas, raw juice diets, and other potentially dangerous social mediadriven trends, said doctors at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, warning that such misinformation has acutely worsened in the past decade. U.S. and Global Health Policy News Trump asks Congress to repeal $9 billion from NPR, PBS and global aid
Research cuts conflict with MAHA's stated goals
Kennedy has ordered a review of baby formula. Heres what you should know
Dismantling CDCs chronic disease center looks pretty devastating to public health experts HUMAN RIGHTS Perus Forced Sterilization Victims Seek Justice
Peruvian women sterilized decades ago under the governments forced sterilization campaign are finally having their day in court, as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held its first public hearing on the abuses in the case Celia Ramos v. Peru. Ramos died 19 days after receiving an unwanted tubal ligation.
Background: Between 1996 and 2001, ~270,000 Peruvian women were sterilized under then-President Alberto Fujimoris reproductive policy.
- The women, who were mostly poor and Indigenous, faced coercion, threats, and physical violence when they resisted.
- Its been over 28 years of uncommitted and unaccountable governments, said survivor Mar穩a Elena Carbajal.
Researchers and editors of federally funded scientific journals say they are facing new challenges of interference, fear, self-censorship, and dissent due to the U.S. governments crackdown on DEI language.
Confusion and cuts: Federal directives to remove specific words and data, followed by major research funding cuts, have created upheaval in standard procedures around publishing.
- Journals overseen by federal agencies now face additional vetting, and federal researchers who publish in outside journals say they have received inconsistent guidance on what they are able to submit.
Related: US veterans agency orders scientists not to publish in journals without clearance ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH The Clay Floor Advantage
In Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya, the nonprofit EarthEnable is reducing dust and parasites in homes by installing clay-based flooringwhich delivers health and environmental benefits over dirt floors at less than half the price of concrete.
- Dirt floors are associated with poor hygiene, breathing irritations, pathogens, and the spread of parasitic fleas called jiggers.
- The clay floors, which are durable and sealed, also emit less carbon in production than concrete; the cement industry accounts for a large proportion of Ugandas carbon emissions.
Thanks for the tip, Dave Cundiff! OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS UK not ready for major animal disease outbreak
COVID vaccine changes confuse and upset some parents and families
Moderna will test new COVID shot against placebo, RFK Jr. says
New mRNA vaccine is more effective and less costly to develop, study finds
Abortion laws are Victorian era, says grieving mum
Anorexia in Middle Age and Beyond
How extreme heat affects America's most vulnerable
Annual cost of insuring a family tops $35,000 Issue No. 2736
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: Zambia Drags Heels on Mercury Amalgam Ban; May Recap; and Cigarettes in France: From Romanticized to Restricted
June 3, 2025
Zambia celebrated World Oral Health Day with a parade through Bauleni Compound, Lusaka, Zambia. March 20. Kennedy Phiri
Zambia Drags Heels on Mercury Amalgam Ban
LUSAKA, ZambiaSome nations have already taken decisive steps to ban mercury amalgam in dental fillingsbut in Zambia, despite the dangers, progress has stalled.
Health risks: Mercury amalgam, a common material used to fill cavities, consists of liquid mercury mixed with silver, tin, and copper, and emits low levels of mercury vapor, which, when inhaled, can be absorbed in the lungs and cause harm among some groups, including young children.
Environmental risks: Just 0.6 grams of mercurythe average amount can pollute 100,000 liters of water, about the size of a swimming pool, and .
Zambia is especially vulnerable to harmful impacts of mercury on its limited resources due to inadequate mitigation processes such as improper disposal systems.
Ed. Note: Thanks to Michael Musenga, of the Childrens Environmental Health Foundation in Livingstone, Zambia, for the idea for this story, which won an honorable mention in the , co-sponsored by GHN and the Consortium of Universities for Global Health. GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
In Starr County, Texas, dementia affects about 1 in 5 adults on Medicaremore than 2X the national rate.
Why? Researchers say dementia risk factorsgenetics, environment, and chronic health conditionshave accumulated in Starr County.
The High Cost of Vietnams Cheap Cigarettes
Vietnams tobacco products remain cheap and widely accessible compared to other countries, leading to high usage and health impacts.
South Africas Backstreet Abortion Problem
Although abortion is legal in South Africa, unsafe abortion clinics are thriving because of scammers, social media misinformation, and a lack of knowledge about legal options. 16% of deaths from miscarriages were attributed to unsafe abortion, . But thats likely an undercount.
Magic solutions: Scammers and unlicensed clinics advertise womb cleaning and sonar pills that endanger pregnant people.
Real information: Science-based efforts on social media seek to flip the script.
by Elna Sch羹tz JOHANNESBURGU.S. government research funding cuts stopped a seminal mRNA HIV vaccine study, part of the BRILLIANT consortium, mere days before its planned start in March 2025. Instead, vaccine doses sit unused. Such a vaccine could fundamentally change the HIV burden for South Africa and the world.
by Cheena Kapoor DELHI, India, in the countrys south, supported a TB buddy system of guides who help tuberculosis patients with documentation, offer emotional support, and ensure patients complete their treatment. Continuing support for the TB buddy project ended with USAID funding cuts.
by Paul Adepoju IBADAN, NigeriaNigeria bears the worlds highest malaria burden, accounting for a quarter of all cases globally. A steady flow of donorfunded supplies meant that Nigerians could receive free rapid tests and artemisininbased combination therapy (ACT) malaria medications. Those supplies were made possible by a finely tuned supply chain. But withdrawal of U.S. funding could endanger the countrys successes against the disease, including a 13% reduction in mortality rates since 2017.
by Lucien Chauvin LIMA, PeruSoaring gold prices and plunging U.S. government funds have set off a gold rush in Peru that has led to destroyed forests, mercury poisoning, and fast-spreading infectious diseases. U.S.-supported efforts had sought to limit illegal mining and its impacts on the environment and human health. Projects also reduced illicit activities intertwined with illegal mining, such as drug and wildlife trafficking. MAYS BEST NEWS Scaling Up Desalination
Millions of people in the Arabian Gulf now have access to a stable source of safe drinking water, as innovations in desalination lower barriers.
Solar-powered reverse osmosis and other technologies have lowered costs from $5 to under $0.50 per cubic meter over a decade.
SMOKING Cigarettes in France: From Romanticized to Restricted
France, long the home of glamorized smoking, will soon usher in a sweeping smoking ban as cultural attitudes shift around tobacco use.
New rules: Starting July 1, France will ban smoking in most outdoor public areas where children may gather, including parks, beaches, bus stops, and sports venues. Fines may reach 135 ($153).
WHO resolution helps reframe skin diseases as a 'global public health priority,' not a 'cosmetic issue'
At least 20 Planned Parenthood clinics shutter amid political turbulence
Gates To Direct Majority Of $200 Billion Pledge To Africa
Investigating generics: They say their ADHD meds aren't working. They're not imagining it
Ending the HIV epidemic among adolescents in southern Africa
Virus Hunter Peter Piot: How a Chance Encounter Sparked His Life Mission Issue No. 2735
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
LUSAKA, ZambiaSome nations have already taken decisive steps to ban mercury amalgam in dental fillingsbut in Zambia, despite the dangers, progress has stalled.
Health risks: Mercury amalgam, a common material used to fill cavities, consists of liquid mercury mixed with silver, tin, and copper, and emits low levels of mercury vapor, which, when inhaled, can be absorbed in the lungs and cause harm among some groups, including young children.
Environmental risks: Just 0.6 grams of mercurythe average amount can pollute 100,000 liters of water, about the size of a swimming pool, and .
Zambia is especially vulnerable to harmful impacts of mercury on its limited resources due to inadequate mitigation processes such as improper disposal systems.
- ~10% of Zambias dentists still offer mercury fillings, though the real figure may be higher.
- Zambia signed the 2013 Minamata Convention on Mercury, which encourages replacement of mercury in dental amalgam with environmentally friendly alternatives, but has failed to implement an official ban.
Ed. Note: Thanks to Michael Musenga, of the Childrens Environmental Health Foundation in Livingstone, Zambia, for the idea for this story, which won an honorable mention in the , co-sponsored by GHN and the Consortium of Universities for Global Health. GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
Cancer death rates in the UK have fallen by about a fifth since the early 1970sfrom 326 per 100,000 people in 1971 to 254 per 100,000 in 2021 that also found diagnoses are on the rise.
Younger generations are less likely to have dementiaat any agethan earlier groups, suggests a study in JAMA Network Open that compared eight birth cohorts; University of Queensland researchers also found that the trend is more pronounced in women.
COVID-19 vaccination prevented the deaths of 12,800 Belgians ages 65 and older from January 2021 to January 2023, and reduced mortality by 54%, .
University of Warwick researchers have demonstrated a proof of concept for a new diagnostic assay to detect snake venom, ; the glycopolymer-based ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) test could be an inexpensive, quick alternative to current antibody assays.
In Starr County, Texas, dementia affects about 1 in 5 adults on Medicaremore than 2X the national rate.
Why? Researchers say dementia risk factorsgenetics, environment, and chronic health conditionshave accumulated in Starr County.
- ~1 in 3 people live in poverty.
- The county is almost entirely Hispanica population that faces a significantly higher dementia risk.
The High Cost of Vietnams Cheap Cigarettes
Vietnams tobacco products remain cheap and widely accessible compared to other countries, leading to high usage and health impacts.
Low tax, high usage: Vietnams tobacco retail tax rate is just 36%, half WHOs recommended rate of 7075%.
- Affordability means cigarettes are easily accessible to first-time users and even children.
Health burden: Tobacco use causes ~104,000 deaths annually there.
Reform needed: Vietnams health leaders are urging regular tax hikes to align with international standards.
South Africas Backstreet Abortion Problem
Although abortion is legal in South Africa, unsafe abortion clinics are thriving because of scammers, social media misinformation, and a lack of knowledge about legal options. 16% of deaths from miscarriages were attributed to unsafe abortion, . But thats likely an undercount.
Magic solutions: Scammers and unlicensed clinics advertise womb cleaning and sonar pills that endanger pregnant people.
Real information: Science-based efforts on social media seek to flip the script.
- On TikTok, posts videos like how to put on a condom and how to avoid getting scammed by illegal abortion providers.
by Elna Sch羹tz JOHANNESBURGU.S. government research funding cuts stopped a seminal mRNA HIV vaccine study, part of the BRILLIANT consortium, mere days before its planned start in March 2025. Instead, vaccine doses sit unused. Such a vaccine could fundamentally change the HIV burden for South Africa and the world.
by Cheena Kapoor DELHI, India, in the countrys south, supported a TB buddy system of guides who help tuberculosis patients with documentation, offer emotional support, and ensure patients complete their treatment. Continuing support for the TB buddy project ended with USAID funding cuts.
by Paul Adepoju IBADAN, NigeriaNigeria bears the worlds highest malaria burden, accounting for a quarter of all cases globally. A steady flow of donorfunded supplies meant that Nigerians could receive free rapid tests and artemisininbased combination therapy (ACT) malaria medications. Those supplies were made possible by a finely tuned supply chain. But withdrawal of U.S. funding could endanger the countrys successes against the disease, including a 13% reduction in mortality rates since 2017.
by Lucien Chauvin LIMA, PeruSoaring gold prices and plunging U.S. government funds have set off a gold rush in Peru that has led to destroyed forests, mercury poisoning, and fast-spreading infectious diseases. U.S.-supported efforts had sought to limit illegal mining and its impacts on the environment and human health. Projects also reduced illicit activities intertwined with illegal mining, such as drug and wildlife trafficking. MAYS BEST NEWS Scaling Up Desalination
Millions of people in the Arabian Gulf now have access to a stable source of safe drinking water, as innovations in desalination lower barriers.
Solar-powered reverse osmosis and other technologies have lowered costs from $5 to under $0.50 per cubic meter over a decade.
- Some Gulf nations now rely on desalination for up to 90% of their drinking water.
SMOKING Cigarettes in France: From Romanticized to Restricted
France, long the home of glamorized smoking, will soon usher in a sweeping smoking ban as cultural attitudes shift around tobacco use.
New rules: Starting July 1, France will ban smoking in most outdoor public areas where children may gather, including parks, beaches, bus stops, and sports venues. Fines may reach 135 ($153).
- Freedom to smoke stops where childrens right to breathe clean air starts, said health minister Catherine Vautrin.
- ~75,000 people die from tobacco-related illnesses in France each year.
WHO resolution helps reframe skin diseases as a 'global public health priority,' not a 'cosmetic issue'
At least 20 Planned Parenthood clinics shutter amid political turbulence
Gates To Direct Majority Of $200 Billion Pledge To Africa
Investigating generics: They say their ADHD meds aren't working. They're not imagining it
Ending the HIV epidemic among adolescents in southern Africa
Virus Hunter Peter Piot: How a Chance Encounter Sparked His Life Mission Issue No. 2735
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
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