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Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Ukraine Births Under Siege; and Slovenia’s Preventive Care Pays Off

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 09:49:56 -0500

Global Health NOW: Ukraine Births Under Siege; and Slovenia’s Preventive Care Pays Off

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December 11, 2025


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Bogdana Zhupanyna surveys the damage to her apartment days after it was struck by a drone during a Russian bombardment. July 23, Kharkiv, Ukraine. Scott Peterson/Getty

Ukraine Births Under Siege

Childbirth in Ukraine has grown increasingly perilous, as relentless bombardments and displacement fuel a maternal mortality crisis and contribute to plunging birth rates that threaten the country’s future.

Dangerous delivery: Maternal deaths in Ukraine spiked 37% between 2023 and 2024, reaching 25.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, reports France24.

Doctors report a sharp increase in complications, including more premature births, a 44% rise in uterine ruptures, and dangerous spikes in C-section rates—up to 46% in frontline regions like Kherson.

Compromised care: 80+ maternity centers across Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed since Russia’s 2022 invasion, putting pregnant women and newborns at severe risk and forcing hundreds of births to occur in underground shelters, warns the UN Population Fund.

Last week, a maternity hospital in Kherson was attacked, further compromising severely strained medical services, per the WHO.

Power outages and supply shortages further contribute to rising risks.

Demographic disaster: Ukraine now has the highest death rates and lowest birth rates in the world, measuring three deaths for every birth, reports Reuters.

That has led to fears of population collapse, with the country’s population plummeting from 42 million in 2022 to a projected 25 million by 2051.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES

Slovenia’s Preventive Care Pays Off

More than 20 years ago, Slovenia adopted a chronic disease prevention strategy that is now showing impressive results—and becoming a model for other countries.

The basics: Slovenia’s system emphasizes primary care, screening, and coaching—and, per Rade Pribaković, of the country’s National Institute of Public Health, “kind of nagging the population,” to have regular checks at health promotion centers which reach ~50,000 Slovenians a year.

Such hubs are staffed with community nurses, dentists, gynecologists, and other specialists, and offer workshops on topics like nutrition, stress, and obesity.

Results: Slovenia’s chronic disease death rates have fallen sharply, and its life expectancy has steadily increased: Last year, it reached 82.3 years—higher than the EU average of 81.7 years and the U.S. average of 78.4 years.

STAT

CORRECTION

The Cause of Cholera

In yesterday’s GHN, in a story about the DRC’s cholera outbreak, we referred to the disease as a virus, but cholera is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. We regret the error. Thanks to Hasanain Odhar for pointing out the mistake!

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION

Will This Christmas Kill ‘Last Christmas’?

Think of it as the GameStop short squeeze—but for a Christmas song. And no one gets rich.

After decades of relentless overplay from Halloween til Christmas, a group of pals in Europe has organized the masses in a takedown of the loathed holiday track.

The first rule of Whamageddon: Don’t play the song—unless it’s a cover.

Us versus the airwaves: Refereed only by the honor system, players
must publicly forfeit themselves if they’re “hit” by the signature synth. WHAMbushing others is a no-no and radio hosts, who can send countless players to dreaded “Whamhalla” with a single play, have been shamed for this “lowest of the low acts.”

Full disclosure: Until now, we actually didn’t realize we were supposed to hate the song and are now trying to catch up. If you’re in the same boat, defer to this scathing, line-by-line takedown of its “inanity” and narrative incoherence.

But we will say: If making sense is how this YouTube scrooge rates music, we’d love to hear his take on ‘I Am The Walrus.’

QUICK HITS

The fight to beat neglected tropical diseases was going well. 2025 could change that – NPR Goats and Soda

Meta shuts down global accounts linked to abortion advice and queer content – The Guardian

U.S. mass killings drop to 20-year low. Some policy shifts might be helping. – The Christian Science Monitor

EU officials acted to aid tobacco giant abroad, documents show – The Examination

Climate Change Is an Information Crisis; Public Health Already Knows How to Fight Those – Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (commentary)

Japan turns to AI, robot caregivers to tackle dementia crisis – Firstpost

Issue No. 2836

Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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

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

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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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World Health Organization: Gaza’s maternal and newborn health system ‘decimated’, UN warns

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 07:00:00 -0500

Gaza’s health system for mothers and newborns has been “decimated”, the UN said on Thursday, with Israeli attacks destroying almost all hospitals, cutting off medical supplies and driving sharp rises in maternal deaths, miscarriages and newborn fatalities amid mass displacement and hunger.

World Health Organization: WHO expert group reaffirms no link between vaccines and autism

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 07:00:00 -0500

A World Health Organization (WHO) expert committee has again confirmed that there is no causal link between vaccines and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), following a new review of global scientific evidence.

51�Թ��Faculty of Medicine news: Amazing Brain Science Talks 2025: Exploring Brain-Heart Connections

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 15:41:49 -0500

On Saturday, November 8, 2025, Healthy Brains, Healthy Lives (HBHL) presented the third edition of the Amazing Brain Science Talks, in partnership with Brain Canada Foundation and the Brain-Heart Interconnectome. Held at the Grande Bibliothèque in Montreal, the event attracted over 100 attendees for an engaging afternoon discussing popular topics in brain health.

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: COVID Vaccines’ Safety Confirmed Amid U.S. Scrutiny; and How to Read a Scientific Study

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 09:23:28 -0500

Global Health NOW: COVID Vaccines’ Safety Confirmed Amid U.S. Scrutiny; and How to Read a Scientific Study

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December 10, 2025


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IN FOCUS

People waiting to receive a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Clermont-Tonnerre military hospital in Brest, France. April 6, 2021. Loic Venance/AFP via Getty

COVID Vaccines’ Safety Confirmed Amid U.S. Scrutiny

A major French study is offering one of the clearest looks yet at the long-term safety of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, concluding that the vaccines did not increase mortality rates in France, reports Radio France Internationale.

The research arrives amid renewed debate of the vaccines’ safety in the U.S. sparked by an FDA memo that alleged vaccine-related deaths—claims rejected by former FDA leaders and unsupported by data.

The study: The “enormous” study published in JAMA Network Open analyzed the health records of 28.7 million adults ages 18–59 in the French health system; 22.8 million of those received an mRNA vaccine in 2021, reports IFLScience.

The team tracked all causes of death for four years—far longer than most prior studies.

Key results: Vaccinated people had a 74% lower risk of dying from COVID-19 in the hospital, and all-cause mortality over those four years was also lower: 0.4% among the vaccinated versus 0.6% among the unvaccinated.

Meanwhile in the U.S.: The FDA has broadened an internal review into whether COVID-19 vaccines may be linked to deaths in adults as well as children, reports The Washington Post (gift link), following FDA head Vinay Prasad’s unsubstantiated claims that the shots caused at least 10 pediatric deaths.

Prasad also said he plans to implement tighter vaccine-approval standards, though it is unclear what data sources the FDA is using to assess the safety of the vaccines or the approval process, reports CNN.

Related: Doctor groups form united front against RFK Jr’s efforts to limit vaccine access – CIDRAP

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

RESEARCH

How to Read a Scientific Study

Research studies are no longer limited to an audience of scientists—they are now a frequent feature of podcasts, YouTube videos, and social media posts.

How can nonscientists avoid falling for oversimplification, distortion, or manipulation?

The first step: Learn how to read the studies. Epidemiologist Emily Gurley offers some key guidance, including:

Eye the essentials: Know the journal and its quality; understand the abstract section; look at the introduction to understand the study’s purpose, and read the discussion section to learn more about how to interpret the study.

Consider possible limitations, including sample size, participant demographics, and what needs further study.

Distinguish between correlation and causation.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

QUICK HITS

How a rare drug made from scientists’ blood saves babies from botulism – AP

Synthetic chemicals in food system creating health burden of $2.2tn a year, report finds – The Guardian

After NIH grant cuts, breast cancer research at Harvard slowed, and lab workers left – NPR Shots

What to know about the surprising MERS coronavirus cases discovered in France – Axios

Punished for bleeding: How periods in prison become a trap – The 19th

Malaria No More taps Trump insider for ‘new era’ of global health – Devex

Five important financial moves for PhD students – Nature

Issue No. 2835

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World Health Organization: Traditional medicine use is now a global reality: WHO

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 07:00:00 -0500

The vast majority of World Health Organization (WHO) member States say 40 to 90 per cent of their populations now use traditional medicine.

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Polio: An Influx of Cash—and a Funding Shortfall

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 09:49:07 -0500

Global Health NOW: Polio: An Influx of Cash—and a Funding Shortfall

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December 9, 2025


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IN FOCUS

A child is vaccinated against polio by Thane Municipal Corporation Health Department on December 8, 2024, in Mumbai, India. Praful Gangurde/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Polio: An Influx of Cash—and a Funding Shortfall

International donors committed to $1.9 billion against polio yesterday, but is it enough?

The funds will be used to vaccinate 370 million children against polio each year as well as build up health systems, per the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).
The Gates Foundation pledged $1.2 billion, and Rotary International committed to $450 million, CNN reports.

Shortfall: Despite the pledges, there’s still a $440 million gap in support for GPEI through 2029.

The U.K., Germany, and other countries have pulled back plans for development assistance and health funding in 2026, and U.S. support for polio efforts is unclear for 2026.

GPEI expects to cut its budget by 30% next year because of the global retreat in foreign aid, per Reuters.

The Quote: Without the full $6.9 billion needed for GPEI’s strategy, “children will be left unprotected against polio,” GPEI spokesperson Ally Rogers told CNN.

Polio memories: In a new study in Vaccine X, the University of Toronto Mississauga’s Madeleine Mant interviewed 65 people who had polio between 1941 and 1977. Their message: Young people shouldn’t have to experience polio or other vaccine-preventable diseases, per Medical Xpress.

Related: Bill Gates renews call to eradicate polio and malaria with UAE as key partner – The National (UAE)

DATA POINT

4.6 billion
—————–

The estimated number of people worldwide who still lack access to essential health services; while countries have advanced toward universal health coverage, major challenges remain. —WHO

HEALTH SYSTEMS

A Health Care Breakdown in a Health Care Town

Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital is southwest Georgia’s largest health provider—but also the region’s dominant employer and economic power center.

And yet: Locals describe a system fraught with access limitations, poor outcomes, high prices, and fractured care—including dismissive treatment reported by uninsured residents.

Inflection point: When the region became one of the nation’s first COVID-19 hot spots in 2020, the crisis exposed frayed relationships between the hospital and the community, especially poor and Black residents who suffered the worst outcomes.

Bigger picture: The more hospitals operate as behemoth businesses, “the fewer incentives there are to lower costs or improve quality and the less communities can do about either.”

ProPublica

QUICK HITS

More Americans refusing vitamin K shots for newborns, new study finds – The Hill

Warning issued after new mpox strain identified in England – The Independent

Why Some Doctors Say There Are Cancers That Shouldn’t Be Treated – The New York Times (gift link)

Surprise! Your health care provider added a fee for that questionnaire you filled out – North Carolina Health News

Zimbabwe’s only female heart surgeon on medicine, misogyny and making a difference – The Guardian

Issue No. 2834

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World Health Organization: First Person: Small acts, lasting impact, boost dignity for women in Lao PDR

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 07:00:00 -0500

Supporting colleagues facing potential sexual exploitation or abuse (PSEA) in the workplace, may start with small acts of recognition but can have lasting positive impacts, according to a UN member of staff working in the Southeast Asian country, Lao People's Democratic Republic.

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: The Hepatitis B Vote: A Pivotal Moment for U.S. Vaccine Policy

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 09:09:02 -0500

Global Health NOW: The Hepatitis B Vote: A Pivotal Moment for U.S. Vaccine Policy

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December 8, 2025


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IN FOCUS

Members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at the CDC headquarters. Atlanta, Georgia, December 5. Megan Varner/Bloomberg via Getty

The Hepatitis B Vote: A Pivotal Moment for U.S. Vaccine Policy

It’s a tectonic shift in U.S. immunization policy: The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted Friday to withdraw a long-standing recommendation that newborns receive a hepatitis B vaccination at birth.

The decision was made without new evidence and against the strong consensus of medical groups that the change puts children at unnecessary risk, reports Health Policy Watch.

New recommendations, established efficacy: The panel now suggests delaying the first hepatitis B dose until at least two months for infants born to virus-negative mothers.

But the vaccine’s safety is well established, reports Nature, which outlines the history of the shot, its timing, and its role in bringing down infections in young people by 99%.

Sharp pivot: ACIP’s 8-3 vote sets the stage for broader reconsideration of childhood immunization policy, reports STAT.

President Trump weighed in Friday, urging health officials to review the entire childhood vaccine schedule, calling the U.S. an “outlier,” reports The Washington Post (gift link).

What’s next: The decision about actually changing the vaccine guidelines now sits with the CDC’s acting director.

But states are already pushing back against ACIP’s recommendation: New York declared that it would not change guidance, and Ohio officials criticized the move.

Related:

4 fact-checks after CDC vaccine panel ends universal newborn hep B vaccine recommendations – Politifact

Three-fourths of Americans support hepatitis B vaccine for newborns, poll finds – reports CIDRAP

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

CHILD HEALTH

Australia’s Sweeping Social Media Ban

A strict ban on social media accounts for users under 16 takes effect in
Australia this week, prompting platforms like Meta, TikTok, Snap, and YouTube to deactivate hundreds of thousands of accounts, reports Reuters via The Straits Times.

Other governments worldwide are watching the move, which Australian officials call the “first domino” in such regulation.

Details of the ban: Unlike current age-restrictions that are easy to work around and difficult to enforce, Australia has multiple compliance requirements, reports The Atlantic (gift link), including:

A “layered safety approach,” including AI-informed age detection, activity-pattern analysis, and mandatory age verification.

Protections to block circumvention attempts, and parent reporting.

Fines of up to $49.5 million for platforms.

The Quote: “Social media was a big social experiment. In some ways, this is an antidote social experiment,” said eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant.

QUICK HITS

Trump DoJ ‘immediately’ stops enforcing prison rape protections for trans and intersex people, according to leaked memo – The Independent

Faulty glucose monitors linked to 7 deaths and more than 700 injuries, FDA warns – AP

'Very concerning': Opioids for sickle cell pain often not administered fast enough in ED – Healio

How the new H-1B visa fee is upending health care in rural America – The Washington Post (gift link)

Editors’ pick 2025: Our favourite essays and longform stories on public health in South Africa – Bhekisisa

Ashish Jha to leave Brown University School of Public Health – The Brown Daily Herald

‘One bite and he was hooked’: from Kenya to Nepal, how parents are battling ultra-processed foods – The Guardian

Issue No. 2833

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51�Թ��Faculty of Medicine news: 51�Թ��moves up to third overall in Research Infosource rankings, maintains its No. 2 position for medical research

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 12:27:43 -0500

The University continues to be recognized as one of Canada’s top research institutions and drivers of innovation

Global Health Programs aggregator

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Ukraine Births Under Siege; and Slovenia’s Preventive Care Pays Off

TOP STORIES

IN FOCUS

Ukraine Births Under Siege

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES

Slovenia’s Preventive Care Pays Off

CORRECTION

The Cause of Cholera

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION

Will This Christmas Kill ‘Last Christmas’?

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2836

World Health Organization: Gaza’s maternal and newborn health system ‘decimated’, UN warns

World Health Organization: WHO expert group reaffirms no link between vaccines and autism

51�Թ���Faculty of Medicine news: Amazing Brain Science Talks 2025: Exploring Brain-Heart Connections

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: COVID Vaccines’ Safety Confirmed Amid U.S. Scrutiny; and How to Read a Scientific Study

TOP STORIES

IN FOCUS

COVID Vaccines’ Safety Confirmed Amid U.S. Scrutiny

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

RESEARCH

How to Read a Scientific Study

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2835

World Health Organization: Traditional medicine use is now a global reality: WHO

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Polio: An Influx of Cash—and a Funding Shortfall

TOP STORIES

IN FOCUS

Polio: An Influx of Cash—and a Funding Shortfall

DATA POINT

HEALTH SYSTEMS

A Health Care Breakdown in a Health Care Town

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2834

World Health Organization: First Person: Small acts, lasting impact, boost dignity for women in Lao PDR

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: The Hepatitis B Vote: A Pivotal Moment for U.S. Vaccine Policy

TOP STORIES

IN FOCUS

The Hepatitis B Vote: A Pivotal Moment for U.S. Vaccine Policy

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

CHILD HEALTH

Australia’s Sweeping Social Media Ban

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2833

51�Թ���Faculty of Medicine news: 51�Թ���moves up to third overall in Research Infosource rankings, maintains its No. 2 position for medical research

51�Թ��Faculty of Medicine news: Amazing Brain Science Talks 2025: Exploring Brain-Heart Connections

51�Թ��Faculty of Medicine news: 51�Թ��moves up to third overall in Research Infosource rankings, maintains its No. 2 position for medical research