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Tue, 11/04/2025 - 09:17
96 Global Health NOW: An Epidemic of Inequality; and GHNs Untold Stories Contest November 4, 2025 TOP STORIES The long-besieged cities of al-Fashir in Darfur and Kadugli in Sudan's south are officially in famine, according to the U.N.-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.  

928 million women in 128 low- and middle-income countries want to avoid pregnancy, according to one of two Guttmacher reports released at yesterdays opening of the International Conference on Family Planning in Bogot獺, Colombia.     
A common malaria test in Asia and South America is providing false negatives, potentially delaying treatment for people with the disease, ; the WHO has been investigating the finding since April.  
The Maldives has banned the purchase or even use of tobacco by anyone born after Jan. 1, 2007, making the island nation the first country to enact a generational smoking ban.   IN FOCUS A homeless person sleeps rough on the street outside The Hamilton Live venue, just a few hundred meters from the White House, in Washington, D.C., on May 27. STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images An Epidemic of Inequality    Economic inequality leads to entrenched disease that drives further economic vulnerability and hollowed-out health carea vicious cycle that increasingly threatens global stability and outbreak response, released ahead of this months G20 meetings in Johannesburg.    COVID-19, AIDS, Ebola, and mpox have all become deadlier and longer lasting because of unequal access to critical health care, housing, and work. Historically, epidemics have led to a persistent increase in inequality that peaked ~5 years later, found the Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics, .     A snapshot of disparity: The COVID-19 pandemic pushed 165 million people into poverty and raised the debt burden of low-income countries to $3 trillion+, .  
  • Meanwhile, the worlds richest gained 25% more wealth during COVID-19. 
  • The rich had a very good pandemic while poorer people got poorer, said Michael Marmot, director of the Institute of Health Equity at University College London. 
Breaking the cycle: The reports policy recommendations include:  
  • Remove debt. 
  • Invest in social determinants of health like housing and education. 
  • Ensure fair access to medicines and technology. 
  • Strengthen community-led disease response. 
Inequality is not inevitableits a political choice, said Monica Geingos, co-chair of the council.   OPPORTUNITY Traditional floating market at Lok Baintan River, Indonesia. iStock/Getty A Chance for the Spotlight 
Know of an underreported issue in global health? , co-sponsored by the  and .  
  How it works: Just explain your ideawhether its something youve worked on or come across in your travelsand why you think it deserves more attention in 150 words or less. If you win, well help you shine a spotlight on your issue. 
Extra incentive: The winner receives a free registration for the CUGH annual meeting in Washington, DC, April 912, 2026. 
  • Nominations Deadline: November 24, 2025 
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES QUICK HITS Trump says SNAP will be half funded in November. What does that mean? &紳莉莽梯;     New deaths, hospitalizations reported in connection with listeria outbreak tied to ready-to-eat pasta     Young Russians are being seduced by a cheap, dangerous weight-loss pill called Molecule     First clinical trial of pig kidney transplants gets underway     Specific human gene can help the heart repair itself from heart attack or heart failure   Issue No. 2816
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

Mon, 11/03/2025 - 09:14
96 Global Health NOW: Devastating Upheaval in the Obamacare Marketplace; and Preventing Preterm Births in Australia November 3, 2025 TOP STORIES Mpox has spread in 17 countries in Africa over the past six weeks, , with ~2,860 cases and 17 deaths between Sept. 14 and Oct. 19; Malaysia, Namibia, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain have also detected Clade Ib mpox for the first time since the last report.      Support for the MMR vaccine has dropped among U.S. adults from 90% to 82% within just a few months, at the University of Pennsylvania, which also found that 43% of adults do not know whether HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recommends the MMR vaccine.     The WHO is giving new guidance for countries to respond to the global health funding crisis as aid from the U.S. and other countries is cut this year by ~30%50%; suggested measures include protecting essential health services and prioritizing health care accessed most by the poorest.     Autism diagnosis rates are higher among children born to mothers who tested positive for COVID-19 during pregnancy, , which analyzed 18,000+ births in Brigham health system from March 2020 to May 2021; risk differences were most pronounced among boys and when infection occurred in the third trimester.   IN FOCUS The healthcare.gov website, where millions of Americans buy their health insurance, seen on a laptop in Norfolk, Virginia, on November 1. Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images  Upheaval in the Obamacare Marketplace    The ~24 million Americans relying on health insurance provided through state- and federally run marketplaces commonly known as Obamacare are facing steep price hikes and confusion as open enrollment kicks off amid political turmoil, expiring subsidies, and the government shutdown, .    The marketplaces, including Healthcare.gov, opened Saturday for 2026 coverage, and the sticker shock varies from state to statewith average premiums rising 114%,     Factors at play:    Subsidy standoff: Democrats and Republicans have clashed over extending pandemic-era enhanced subsidies that expire Dec. 31. 
  • Depending on how states step in to cover subsidies, the increased amount enrollees will pay varies widelyfrom 30% in Maryland to 175% in New Jerseywithout the extension.  
Rising prices: Premium spikes were already expected to be some of the highest in the marketplaces history, , with ACA insurance providers raising prices by an average of ~26%, .     States are left in limbo as they oversee the rollout of new plans while also planning for a potential agreement in Congress that could alter prices.  
  • Its devastating. Weve gotten to the point that real people are in the middle of this now, said Jessica Altman, executive director of Californias state exchange. 
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH Preventing Preterm Births in Australia    Australia has significantly curbed preterm births since introducing a landmark prevention program in 2018, with the national rate dropping 7%10%or ~4,000 fewer early births each year, .     The federally funded initiative was supported all the way down through to individual hospitals, explained John Newnham, who led the program. Key strategies include:  
  • No elective deliveries before 39 weeks without medical justification. 
  • Measuring cervix length at all mid-pregnancy scans. 
  • Interventions including progesterone and surgical procedures.  
  • Smoking cessation support if needed. 
  • Continuity of care from a known midwife. 
  QUICK HITS Child bride faces execution in Iran unless she pays 瞿80,000 in blood money &紳莉莽梯;      FDA restricts use of kids' fluoride supplements, citing emerging health risks     FDAs top drug regulator resigns after federal officials probe serious concerns about his conduct     Firms ordered to reduce forever chemicals in drinking water sources for 6 million people     Alzheimers might be powered by a broken sleep-wake cycle     Why this clinical trial is offering some young cancer patients hope   Issue No. 2815
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

Thu, 10/30/2025 - 09:35
96 Global Health NOW: U.S. Enters Uncharted Territory on Hunger; and Double, Double, Toil and Bubbles 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫 簫


October 30, 2025 | ISSUE 2814

泭TOP STORIES



Sudans paramilitary Rapid Support Forces killed 460 people, including patients, Tuesday in a North Darfur hospital, the latest atrocity in a two-year civil war that has left at least 40,000 dead.


Flu, COVID-19, and other viral infections have been linked to increased risk of heart disease and stroke, ; it found risk of heart attack spikes 3X within weeks after a COVID-19 infection and 4X after a flu infection.


A newly discovered antibiotic is 100X stronger against superbugs and so far shows no signs of resistance, ; the potent compound, called pre-methylenomycin C lactone, had been hiding in plain sight in a familiar bacterium. 泭


Generic versions of biologics (medications derived from living organisms) will be developed under an expedited timeframe, , as a part of a Trump administration plan to lower pharmaceutical costs.

泭IN FOCUS


Federal workers impacted by the government shutdown, including TSA officers and air-traffic controllers, line up to receive food parcels at Newark Liberty International Airport, in New Jersey, on October 27. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

U.S. Enters Uncharted Territory on Hunger 泭



U.S. families who rely on federal food assistance are facing deep uncertainty this week. On Nov. 1, 40 million+ people risk losing critical food benefits as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) runs out of money due to the government shutdown. That funding crisis comes as new SNAP work requirements go into effectmeaning 2.4 million Americans may lose eligibility for the program, even as food prices rise. 泭


Amid the confusion, experts working in hunger and nutrition are also losing a roadmap they have relied on for 30 years: the Household Food Security Survey and the corresponding annual report, which has informed food assistance policy for three decades. 泭


Background: The hunger survey and report were launched in 1996 to better understand food insecurity in the U.S. and to assess whether food assistance programs were working. That data shaped the countrys . 泭


Report rescinded: In September, the USDA discontinued the report, with Trump administration officials calling it redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous. 泭

  • Researchers and advocates warn that the decision eliminates the only continuous, nationally representative data on food insecurityand harms the countrys chances of ending hunger. 泭


  • Theres no other data set in the United States where this has been consistently assessed for over 30 yearsand were going to be losing that, says Craig Gundersen, an economics professor at Baylor University. 泭




Related: What Is SNAP? And Why Does It Matter?

泭DATA POINT

518,000+

漍漍漍漍

Number of cholera cases reported across 32 countries from January through September; 6,508 deaths have been reported, surpassing last years toll. 泭

泭ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Double, Double, Toil and Bubbles 泭 泭


Even on sunny days, car wash tunnels have an ominous enter-if-you-dare feel about them: the lashing water, the slapping tentacles of curtain mitts, the fee-fi-fo-thump of giant brushes. Black out the windows and switch on a fog machine, and suddenly seems like an entirely viable threat. 泭


Such rinse-and-repeat nightmares have become standard at many such haunted car washes as the Halloween trend picks up across the U.S., .


Something wicked this way comes with a squeegee:

  • At , doomed drivers enter under a sign cheerfully declaring Its Your Time to Shine DIE before being terrorized by ghoulish figures staring in windows and yanking door handles. 泭


  • A grinning skeleton in a trucker hat haunts ; while a terrifying nun darts among the soap nozzles at .


All the terror translates to a bolstered bottom line, with some car washes doubling business the week before Halloween: a veritable graveyard smash.

泭QUICK HITS



Teens who use weed before age 15 have more trouble later, a study finds


Trump surgeon general nominee Casey Means faces US Senate hearing


Trump administration seeks to study health effects of offshore wind


Scans shed light on changes in brain when we zone out while tired

泭

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

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Categories: Global Health Feed

Wed, 10/29/2025 - 09:51
96 Global Health NOW: Meeting Clear and Present Climate-Driven Dangers and GHNs Transformation October 29, 2025 TOP STORIES Hurricane Melissa slammed Cuba today after the Category 5 hurricane devastated western Jamaica yesterday; the full extent of the damage in Jamaica is not yet clear, though the prime minister said some loss of life should be expected.     A Rwanda-style genocide is unfolding in real time in Sudanwith a scale of violence unseen since the mass killings in Bosnia, Srebrenica, and, a generation ago, in Darfur, say Yale Humanitarian Research Lab observers.     Indias 7-year-old nationwide health insurance plan has brought medical care within reach of 800+ million peoplebut the governments failure to pay $11.2 billion to providers is endangering the plans future.       The U.S. Veterans Affairs agency is making it hard for male veterans with breast cancer to get care because of an executive order signed by President Trump that seeks to restore biological truth in government.   EDITOR'S NOTE Hey Readers,     Theres no standing still in todays turbulent media environment. So were not.     In the coming weeks, well be trying new approaches to GHN. Today, were frontloading the latest breaking and important news. And In Focus will dive deep into a major news story, an exclusive article, or a thoughtful commentary. Well also publish fewer individual summaries to deliver a more readable, shareable newsletter.      Tell us what you think: Look for our upcoming surveys and email us your feedback.       Change can be hard, but I assure you one thing wont change: Our commitment to deliver the essential news and views in global health.     Thanks,     Brian W. Simpson   Editor in Chief, Global Health NOW  bsimpso1@jhu.edu  IN FOCUS Firefighters extinguish wildfire in the peatlands of Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, on September 26. Al Zulkifli/AFP via Getty Meeting Clear and Present Climate-Driven Dangers    As the world heads toward COP30 in Brazil, the stakes for human health are clear. Climate change is an escalating health emergency that is already claiming millions of human lives and reshaping communities worldwide, with especially deepening risks for Indigenous groups.     Intensifying toll: All health risks of climate change are worsening at once, said Marina Romanello, executive director of the , which estimates that 2.5 million people die each year from air pollution linked to fossil fuels, .  
  • Heat-related deaths have risen 23% since the 1990s. 
  • Dengue transmission risk increased up to 49%.  
  • 12 of 20 tracked health indicators reached record lows for the second year in a row. 
In , UN head Ant籀nio Guterres said an inevitable overshooting of the 1.5C target in the Paris Agreement will have devastating consequences for the worldurging countries to change course immediately.      Indigenous impact: In a from tropical forest nations, 60%+ interviewees reported declining community healthciting droughts, floods, and mercury contamination, .     Policy prioritieshuman vs. planet? Meanwhile, , Bill Gates argued for a strategic pivot in shifting climate efforts from emission cuts toward reducing human suffering through poverty reduction and disease prevention.  
  • But critics say both goals should advance together, : Both are utterly feasible, and readily so, if the Big Oil lobby is brought under control, said Jeffrey Sachs, with Columbia Universitys Center for Sustainable Development. 
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES NEGLECTED DISEASES Two Decades of Gains Against Overlooked Diseases    It has been 20 years since the WHO adopted a unified approach to tackling 20 neglected tropical diseases, consolidating disease-specific programs into a coordinated effort.    In that time, eradication initiatives have gained significant traction, freeing large sectors of populations from these ancient diseases,  
  Milestones: Since 2010, the number of people needing NTD interventions has fallen by 32%, from 2.2 billion to 1.5 billion in 2023.  
  • 50+ countries have eliminated at least one NTD in the past decade, and NTD-related deaths have dropped from 139,000 to 119,000. 
Sustainability: By the end of 2024, 14 African countries had NTD plans.    Challenges: Funding has declined 41% since 2018, and major equity gaps persist.      OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS

Analysis: Last year's COVID vaccines protected well against severe illness

Black women with fibroids face delays and poor care in the UK, says report

Scientists had to change more than 700 grant titles to receive NIH funding. Health disparities researchers fear whats next

HHS Employees Now Being Measured By Loyalty To Trump's Policies

As Americans Develop More Preventable Diseases, Lifesaving Data Remains Underused

Schools close and island life is under threat as Greece reckons with low birth rates  

Issue No. 2813
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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  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

Tue, 10/28/2025 - 09:36
96 Global Health NOW: U.S., Canada Risk Measles-Free Status; WHO Warns of Tobacco Treaty Interference; and Brazil's Teen Pregnancy Turnaround October 28, 2025 A nurse demonstrates how to put on a mask at a measles screening point at Victoria Hospital, in London, Ontario, on July 9. Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty U.S., Canada Risk Measles-Free Status
The consequences of teetering government commitments to vaccines and falling vaccination rates are emerging across North America.    Measles-free no more: Canada and the U.S. are poised to lose their status as countries that have eliminated measles, . Canadas year of continuous measles transmission and its 5,000+ cases this year make it likely that a November PAHO meeting will determine the country is no longer measles free. The U.S. may soon get the same label.      Muzzled experts: Doctors and public health experts in Florida have been reluctant to speak out about a state plan to end required childhood vaccinations, . 
  • Pediatricians are afraid of losing business, county health department officials refer reporters to state officials, and University of Florida infectious disease experts were told not to speak to reporters without supervisor approval.  
Needed: Its really those vaccine champions from communities that help improve vaccination, spread awareness about the need for vaccination, and kind of create the positive change that we need in order to ensure that these outbreaks dont persist and dont continue to happen, 51勛圖厙 epidemiologist Nicole Basta .     Not needed: When a reporter asked Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo if his team had created computer models of potential outbreaks after the policy change, he replied absolutely not, and added that parents freedom of choice wasnt a scientific matter.     Related: 
Threat to U.S. vaccines as CDC staff supporting key advisory panel laid off &紳莉莽梯;     Kansas City health experts say confusing CDC vaccine guidance risks wider spread of infections      Measles outbreak in South Carolina grows; Canadas elimination status threatened &紳莉莽梯; DATA POINT

9 of 10
漍漍漍
Portion of air pollution-linked deaths attributable to noncommunicable diseases in 2023.
  The Latest One-Liners   The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia is committing grave atrocities in Darfurs regional capital, El Fasher, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) warns, citing ethnically motivated killings, summary executions of civilians attempting to flee the area, and attacks on humanitarian volunteers attempting to administer aid.
  Thousands of stillbirthsnearly 30%occur without clear warning signs or clinical risk factors, of ~2.8 million U.S. pregnancies that documented ~19,000 stillbirths between 2016 and 2022with Black families and poorer communities bearing a disproportionate toll.     Cigarette butts are an overlooked yet potent vector for antibiotic resistance genes, that detected 95 potential pathogens in cigarette butts collected from 105 urban green spaces and 35 cities across China.
  Weight loss drugs are lowering the U.S. obesity rate, albeit slowlyfrom a high of 39.9% three years ago to 37% of U.S. adults this year, that shows a doubling in the number of people taking the drugs over the past year and a half.   BIG TOBACCO WHO Urges Vigilance Against Tobacco Treaty Interference  
The tobacco industry is ramping up efforts to undermine an international treaty to reduce smoking and vaping, ahead of a key meeting in Geneva next month, .

Background: The meeting will involve updates to the , a 20-year-old treaty with 183 signatories that includes policies on advertising limits, health warnings, and smoking bans.

Big Tobacco tactics: But ahead of the meeting, the WHO is urging governments to remain vigilant to various ways the tobacco industry is infiltrating and manipulating delegations, including posing as consumer, economic, or scientific groups to promote misinformation in a deliberate strategy to try to derail consensus.    Meanwhile, in the UK: A British lawmaker who is pushing against a proposed ban on tobacco to anyone born after 2008 has a relative who is very high up at British American Tobacco, .  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES FAMILY PLANNING Brazil Turns Around its Teen Pregnancy Epidemic    Brazil once had one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Latin America, with ~750,000 Brazilian girls ages 1519 giving birth in 2000.     But over 25 years, births among that age have plummeted 44%, falling below 400,000 in 2019, with ~281,000 projected for 2025.    Contraception intervention: The primary driver for the reversal has been the rapid expansion of birth control access, with free birth control, condoms, and IUDs provided by the countrys national health system, Sistema Unica de Saude.     Outreach: Community health program Saude da Familia sends educators door to door to share family planning options.     Broader change: Poverty reduction, improved education, and expanded internet access have transformed opportunities for young women.       OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Texas sues Tylenol company over autism claims

Behind the Dismantling of the C.D.C.: Reform or Humiliation?

This 'minor' bird flu strain has potential to spark human pandemic &紳莉莽梯;

Anti-abortion pregnancy centers are looking to offer much more than ultrasounds and diapers     Some viruses can play a deadly game of hide and seek inside the human body     Clocks to go back: Three impacts Daylight Saving Time changes can have on you - what the science says     Picture of health: going to art galleries can improve wellbeing, study reveals   Issue No. 2812
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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Mon, 10/27/2025 - 09:58
96 Global Health NOW: Diphtherias Dangerous Return; Bird Flu Rebounds; and Model of Healthy Architecture October 27, 2025 Pediatrician Mohamud Omar examines a childs tonsils in the diphtheria ward of Demartino Public Hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia, last month. Brian Otieno/The New York Times Diphtherias Dangerous Return    Diphtheria, a deadly bacterial disease long controlled by vaccines, is spreading again in regions destabilized by conflict and climate-driven displacement, as hospital wards throughout parts of Africa and the Middle East fill with children struggling to breathe.    Fueling factors: Mass displacement, COVID-19 pandemic disruptions, and vaccine hesitancy have left millions of children vulnerableespecially in regions with hollowed-out health systems.  
  • And global aid cuts this year have contributed to severe malnutrition and the shuttering of immunization programs.  
Global spread: Outbreaks have erupted in Chad, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen; sporadic cases are appearing in Europe among refugee and migrant communities.  
  • While the U.S. rarely sees travel-related cases, full kindergarten vaccination rates including diphtheria coverage from 95% in 2020 to 92% in 202425. 
High danger, urgent intervention: Diphtheria now kills up to 1 in 4 infected children in low-resource settings, prompting Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to create emergency vaccine funding for boosters. 
  • We didnt even have a diphtheria support modality, because we didnt need one. And now we have to build out a whole new process to help countries respond, said Katy Clark, a diphtheria expert with Gavi.  
  THE QUOTE
  "What is very sad is many people were cheering in the streets because they were happy there was a peace deal. Imagine, (some of) those same people are dead after they were told the war is over." 漍漍漍漍 Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general: Gaza health 'catastrophe' will last for generations &紳莉莽梯; The Latest One-Liners
Gun violence is trending downward for more than three-quarters of U.S. cities with the most shootingsincluding Chicago, Baltimore, Memphis, and Los Angelesper an analysis of 150 U.S. cities; the trend holds across red and blue cities and states in every region of the country.  
  South Africa regulators have approved lenacapavirmaking it the first African country to register the twice-yearly anti-HIV injection, and at record speed (within 65 days); distribution could roll out as early as February 2026. Thanks for the tip, Elna Schutz!    
NHS England is trialing a 15-minute blood test that distinguishes between bacterial and viral infections, allowing faster diagnoses and reducing the overprescription of antibiotics; the trial among children will run in three EDs through March.  

The recycling process increased levels of toxic chemicals in polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a type of plastic commonly used for food packaging, that suggests a direct tie between recycling intensity and the level of chemical contamination in recycled products. INFECTIOUS DISEASES Bird Flu Rebounds    After a lull in cases for the past several months, bird flu is rapidly making a comeback worldwide, leading scientists to warn of a potentially severe viral season.     In Europe, early outbreaks are being reported in the highest number of countries in at least a decade, . From August to mid-October, 56 outbreaks have been reported in 10 EU countries and Britain, with the most reported in Poland, the top EU poultry producer.     In the U.S., the virus has hit dozens of poultry flocks since the start of September, killing , including 1.3 million turkeys that will impact Thanksgiving supply, . Idaho, Nebraska, and Texas have reported . And .   
  • But the government shutdown and federal health cuts are causing scientists to question whether the U.S. has an adequate response plan and communication, .   
Related:    Bird flu prevention zone measures introduced to prevent disease's spread     Germany culls over 400,000 poultry amid bird flu outbreak     What does it mean if a deadly strain of bird flu has been found on Australia's Heard Island?   GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH How Ants Model Healthy Architecture    To gain fresh insights into health-based building design, scientists just had to think a little smaller.  
  • Black garden ants can quickly adapt their nest architecture to limit the spread of deadly fungal infections, .
Disease defense on demand: Ants infected with the lethal fungus Metarhizium brunneum isolate themselves while others restructure their nest to include more compartments, longer and more winding paths, and fewer connections to reduce contact and protect the queen and larvae. 
  Scaling up: Scientists say such dynamic and collective strategies could one day inspire public space designs that can reduce disease transmission in humans.      OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS UN alarmed by terrifying situation in Sudans El Fasher, calls for immediate ceasefire      DRC: Cholera Epidemic Rapidly Spreading Across The Country     Meet the nurse in Uganda who climbs a 1,000-foot ladder to save lives     WHO Report Raises Alarm on Clinician Mental Health, Working Conditions      New Initiative Aims To Bring Doctors Up To Speed On Down Syndrome Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe!     AI chatbots are sycophants researchers say its harming science   Issue No. 2811
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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Thu, 10/23/2025 - 09:53
96 Global Health NOW: Cancer Besieges Lebanon; The Untold Stories Contest of 2026 Has Launched, and A Jaw-Dropping Face-Off October 23, 2025 A flock of birds flies over a cloud of smog. Beirut, Lebanon, August 14. Joseph EID/AFP via Getty Cancer Besieges Lebanon    Beirut is often shrouded in smog pumped out by unregulated vehicles and diesel generators. Cigarette smoke permeates public places.  
  The toxic air and smoke have contributed to a staggering cancer crisis in Lebanon, , which analyzes the cancer burden worldwide from 1990 to 2023 and forecasts the cancer burden up to 2050. 
  The survey projects that cancer cases and deaths will rise worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries. But Lebanons crisis is particularly acute, :  
  • The country has the fastest increase in cancer incidence and deaths worldwide, with new cancer cases up 162% and deaths by 80% over the period covered in the survey.  
Systemic inaction: Lebanon has no anti-smoking or health education campaigns. And few people seek out available screening tools due to low awareness.  
  • Cancer is killing Why have you been waiting so long to take action? study coauthor Ali Mokdad asked of the Lebanese government. 
Meanwhile, a rise of several cancers in adults of all ages worldwide could be driven by obesity, finds a separate global cancer study published in the , which recorded an uptick in cancer incidence rates from 2003 to 2017, .     Related: Of Corn and Cancer: Iowas Deadly Water Crisis  Thanks for the tip, Cecilia Meisner! GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners

1,600+ measles cases in the U.S. have been reported this year, , as an linked to two schools with low vaccination rates expands to 20 cases.

Major methane leak alerts from the worlds oil and gas sectors are often ignored by companies and governments, despite improved satellite detection from the UN Environment Programme, , which determined that just 12% of alerts lead to responsive action.

Pregnant detainees in ICE facilities in Louisiana and Georgia are not receiving adequate care, says the ACLU, which called on U.S. officials to release expectant and postpartum mothers from federal detention facilities.  

Members of Gen Z are significantly underrepresented in clinical trials and health studies, meaning millions of young people could miss out on new treatments for health conditions, or may risk using unsafe or ineffective medication due to low participation in medical research.  

UNTOLD STORIES CONTEST OF 2026 Boatmen sleep inside mosquito nets on their boats on the Buriganga River. Dhaka, Bangladesh, June 24. Syed Mahamudur Rahman/NurPhoto via Getty Send in Your Untold Stories 
! A joint effort between GHN and the Consortium of Universities for Global Health, this annual contest is your chance to spotlight an underreported issue that you care about. 
  • Nominate an issue you feel deserves a broader audience, whether youve worked on it firsthand or come across it in your travels. 
  • If you win, we'll send a reporter to cover your story and help it get the spotlight it deserves. 
Pro tip for Professors: Having students write a short (50-word max) pitch makes a great assignment. Students have won in some of our previous years!  
  Looking for inspiration? Check out some of our , including , reported by Lucien Chauvin, and , covered by Joanne Silberner. 
  • Deadline: November 24, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. EST
  •  
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH When a Menstrual Cycle Brings Mental Chaos    Millions of people worldwide experience premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) marked by extreme mood changes, irritability, and thoughts of self harm.  
  • of ~3,600 women with PMDD found that 82% had suicidal thoughts , and 25% had tried to end their lives   
Despite symptoms that typically impair a persons daily life, diagnosis is inconsistent. Clinicians often debate whether PMDD falls under gynecology or psychiatry.  
  • By , 90% of women with PMDD are mistakenly thought to have another condition. 
Treatment options vary widelyfrom hormonal contraceptives, , and therapy to drug-induced menopause or surgical removal of reproductive organs.    Despite the high burden, PMDD research and funding lag behind comparable womens health conditions.      ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION A Jaw-Dropping Face-Off    Like all elite athletes, competitors in the World Gurning Championships all seek the optimal physique: A flexible forehead with extremely muscular eyebrows. A lower lip that can stretch over the nose. And a bug-eyed stare befitting a Halloween mask.    After all, a win hinges on the grotesqueness of the grimace contenders make onstage, per the official rules of this centuries-old reverse beauty pageant a fixture of the annual Egremont Crab Fair in Egremont, England, . 
  • Gurning is another word for making the kind of face your mother warns will freeze like that; the sort of grimace people make when they bite into the sour crab apples for which is named. 
The rules: Competitors contort their faces while framed with a horse collar called a baffin. Per the official rules, no hands or excessive makeup may be used; however, thrashing around onstage and making wild, animal-like noises is acceptable. To an extent:  
  • You've got to make people laugh without scaring the children, organizer Lesley Rogers told . 
QUICK HITS Hundreds of thousands of NHS workers urge Starmer not to cut support for Global Fund  
'An urgent public health crisis': Why so many people are struggling to get medicine  
How Did Dengue Go Global? This Mosquito Species Might be to Blame.  
Nicholas Kristof: Opinion: Trump Revives Foreign Aid, Helping Needy Billionaires  
HIV specialists in short supply, especially in the South  
Updated CPR guidelines provide expanded recommendations for managing choking and opioid overdose  
Why Women Feel Unsafe in Nature: The Gender Gap in Green Spaces &紳莉莽梯; Issue No. 2810
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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Wed, 10/22/2025 - 09:30
96 Global Health NOW: Anti-Science Bills Sweep U.S; Azithromycin Trial Has No Impact on Infant Deaths; and Gut-Healing Food Treats Malnutrition October 22, 2025 Crates of freshly bottled raw milk at the Lolans Farm stand. Middleborough, Massachusetts, March 17. David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Anti-Science Bills Sweep State Legislatures     A wave of legislation aiming to weaken or roll back public health protections has been introduced in U.S. states this year, , which of 420+ bills, and found that ~30 such bills have already been adopted in 12 states.     Most of the laws focus on three categoriesvaccines, raw milk, and water fluoridationand cover a range of directives, including:  
  • Anti-vaccine bills: Make it easier to get vaccine exemptions; prohibit vaccine requirements; place more restrictions on certain vaccines or programs.  
  • Raw milk: Remove restrictions on raw milk sales.  
  • Fluoride: Ban fluoride in drinking water or make fluoridation a ballot measure.  
Organized effort: While campaigns behind such legislation typically frame themselves as grassroots, found that most are backed by well-funded national organizations tied to HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and include members benefiting politically and financially.    Conspiracy-to-policy pipeline: The trend signals the normalization of an anti-vaccine movement that has already led to falling vaccination rates and the comeback of preventable diseases like measles and whooping cough.  
  • The march of conspiracy thinking from the margins to the mainstream now guiding public policy should be a wake-up call for all Americans, said Devin Burghart, president of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. 
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   DRCs cholera outbreak has spread to 20 of the countrys 26 provinces, with 58,000+ suspected cases and 1,700+ deaths so far this year, M矇decins Sans Fronti癡res reports; separately, the UN issued a warning that incidents of rape and conflict-related sexual violence in the country have surged by a third compared to last year. ;  
Ambulances supplied to Malawi by the UK Aid Match Maternal Health program from 2015 to 2018 were sold off to fund repairs for officials cars, drawing outrage from locals and civil society groups; one official defended the move, claiming that the vehicles were faulty and would be costly to fix.  
A hepatitis A outbreak in the Czech Republic is among the worst the country has seen in decades, with 21 deaths and 1,842 cases recorded earlier this month; centered in Prague, the outbreak has begun to spread to other regions.  
  Men who use plastic tableware have a higher accumulation of microplastics in their semen and lower sperm counts, that studied samples from ~200 men of reproductive age in Chongqing, China.   U.S. and Global Health Policy News   The Pentagon Retreats from Climate Fight as Heat and Storms Slam Troops  

Its been a month. And we still dont know much about Kennedys long COVID consortium      Government shutdown means many CDC experts are skipping a pivotal meeting on infectious disease     The Deceptive Phrase Behind Trumps Medicaid Purge INFANT MORTALITY Mass Azithromycin Trial Has No Impact on Infant Deaths    A major trial in Mali that aimed to help reduce infant mortality through mass antibiotic distribution had no impact on infant death rates, findings that could change WHO-recommended intervention tactics.     Background: After a 2018 trial showed that administering the commonly used antibiotic azithromycin 2X per year reduced deaths in 15-year-olds, the WHO recommended the intervention for infants.     The study: 149,000+ infants ages 111 months received either a placebo every three months, or azithromycin, distributed 2X or 4X per year.  
  • Mortality rates were nearly identical across all groups.  
Implications: Researchers suggest that broader age groups may need to be targeted to see a benefitthough that could raise antibiotic resistance risks.          Related: I fear we are sitting on a time bomb. Scientists debate mass distribution of antibiotics in Africa    GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES MALNUTRITION The Growing Impact of a Gut-Healing Food    A food supplement for undernourished children that also seeks to repair the gut microbiome is gaining recognition after .    Feeding the bodyand bacteria: Severe childhood malnutrition can lead to the maldevelopment of digestive bacteria critical for growth and immunity.  
  • The new food formulation, dubbed MDCF-2 (microbiome-directed complementary food), blends chickpea, soybean, and peanut flours with green banana into an affordable combination that nourishes this microbiome.  
  • The therapeutic food was the result of a collaboration between researchers studying malnutrition at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) and those studying the gut microbiome at Washington University in St. Louis.  
Global reach: Studies of MDCF-2 are currently underway in India, Mali, Pakistan, and Tanzania.       OPPORTUNITY Community Reporters from ICFP and the Family Planning News Network (FPNN) interview Indigenous activists in Riohacha, Colombia, in August 2025. Courtesy of ICFP Its Not Too Late to Register for ICFP    The fight for sexual and reproductive health and rights is happening nowand you can be part of it.    Join the International Conference on Family Planning 2025 virtually to connect with advocates, learn from global leaders, and add your voice to a movement shaping the future of health and equity worldwide. 
  • November 16, 2025
  •  
QUICK HITS Dangerous or life-saving? Why drug programs that stop disease are under fire.     More Europeans are dying from HIV now than 15 years ago  
Eight countries added to methanol poisoning warning list     WHO warns $1.7bn funding shortfall threatens polio eradication efforts     More people are freezing their eggs but most will never use them      How one Michigan town is putting partisanship aside in pursuit of clean water     Bird flu hiding in cheese? The surprising new discovery   Issue No. 2809
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

Tue, 10/21/2025 - 09:44
96 Global Health NOW: High Costs of Malaria Funding Cuts; Navigating Taliban Taboos to Care for Women; and Irans Transgender Care Paradox October 21, 2025 Women breastfeed their babies while waiting to have them vaccinated against malaria at the launch of a vaccination campaign for children from zero to 23 months. Abidjan, C繫te d'Ivoire, July 15, 2024. Sia Kambou/AFP via Getty High Costs of Malaria Funding Cuts       Draconian cuts to malaria prevention programs could translate to 990,000 more deaths in the next five years,  by the African Leaders Malaria Alliance and Malaria No More UK. 
  • Even a 20% reduction in support to the Global Fund in its upcoming replenishment could lead to 33 million more cases and 82,000 more deaths by 2030. 
  • Beyond lives lost, that Global Fund shortfall would mean a $5.14 billion hit to Africas GDP by 2030.  
  • Malaria currently kills ~600,000 peoplemostly children under fiveevery year.  
Fundraising in doubt: 
  • The Global Fund, which delivers nearly two-thirds of all international funds for fighting malaria, convenes its supporters on November 21. It aims to raise $18 billion in the next three years, . 
  • Germany committed $1 billion to the Global Fund last week, but that amount is  than its previous commitment, .   
  • The UK is poised to make a similar funding reduction.   
The takeaway: The report underscores both the human and economic impact of an era defined by wealthy countries retreat from international commitments.      The Quote: Cutting funding risks the deadliest resurgence weve ever seen, warned Malaria No More UKs Gareth Jenkins, per The Guardian.     Related:     Malaria resurgence could kill 750,000 children and wipe $83 billion from Africa's GDP by 2030, new report warns     New Insights into Malaria Could Reshape Treatment     Innovation: The unique programme protecting children against malaria   GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   A groundbreaking retinal implanta tiny photovoltaic microchip, thick as a human hairallowed 27 out of 32 participants in to see well enough to read again, offering hope to people with an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration.     Pregnancy and breastfeeding trigger the accumulation of protective immune cellsT cells that can live for decades postpartumthat lower the chances of breast cancer, per a Melbourne-based study in humans and mice that sheds light on the mechanism underpinning breastfeeding as a known cancer risk reducer.     Cancer patients who received an mRNA COVID vaccine within 100 days of beginning immunotherapy lived significantly longer than those who didnt; research presented Sunday at the 2025 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Berlin suggests the vaccine may act like a flare to activate the immune system and boost cancer-fighting responses.     Shingles vaccination may reduce the risk of heart disease, dementia, and death in adults aged 50 and older, matched cohort study presented at IDWeek 2025 (not yet published); compared to the pneumococcal vaccine, shingles-vaccinated adults had a 50% lower risk of vascular dementia, 25% lower risk of heart attack or stroke, and 21% lower risk of death.   DATA POINT  

887 million
漍漍漍漍
Peoplenearly 80% of the worlds poorwho live in regions that are exposed to extreme heat, flooding, and other climate hazards.
  DISASTER RESPONSE: AFGHANISTAN Navigating Taliban Taboos to Care for Women     In the days following deadly earthquakes in eastern Afghanistan in August, aid agencies trying to help women were forced to navigate strictand often contradictoryTaliban gender-based regulations.     Women bear the brunt: The majority of the 2,200+ people who died were women and girls, who were more likely to sleep inside structures that collapsed. 
  • Taliban restrictions prevented men from aiding many injured women, forcing the few female workers available to travel treacherous terrain with male guardians. 
  • Womens exclusion from medical schools also meant a diminished female health workforce to assist in the crisis. 
Seeking workarounds: The crisis has also exposed tensions between Taliban hardliners enforcing bans and pragmatic officials who urged international female aid workers to head to earthquake zones to help women.


Related: Let Afghan women work: maternal health depends on it    GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HUMAN RIGHTS Irans Transgender Care Paradox     Despite Irans widespread discriminatory policies against LGBTQ+ people, the country is billing itself as a global destination for gender-affirming surgerywith medical tourism agencies offering low-cost operations and luxury stays in an advertising push that aims to generate ~$7 billion annually.    But the promotion diminishes often-contradictory cultural attitudes toward trans and gay rights and hides the grim reality of ongoing stigma, say advocates.    Background: Iran is one of the few places in the Muslim world that permits gender-affirming care, with religious leaders legalizing transition surgeries ~40 years ago as a legitimate medical need.     Abusive tool: But gay and gender-nonconforming people have also been coerced into unwanted procedures, under threat of violence or the death penalty, to maintain strict gender binaries and suppress gay rights.       OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Sexual violence, torture and betrayal: Life under Putins occupation     My life with ALS: A week in Brooke Eby's life behind the phone camera lens     New Leaders' Initiative Aims To Drive Investment In Health &紳莉莽梯;    New medical school center set to investigate healthy aging with HIV &紳莉莽梯; 

Medical Care in the Hardest Places: Dr. Jill Seaman's Three Decades in South Sudan  
Mosquitoes found in Iceland for first time as climate crisis warms country Thanks for the tip, Cecilia Meisner!   Issue No. 2808
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

Mon, 10/20/2025 - 09:36
96 Global Health NOW: The Resistance to Ending UNAIDS; Gazas Ecological Wounds; and Spreading the Benefits of Child Spacing in Nigeria October 20, 2025 Headquarters of the WHO and UNAIDS. Geneva, Switzerland, May 16, 2009. Gunter Fischer/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty The Resistance to Ending UNAIDS    A growing number of voices are decrying a proposal made by UN Secretary-General Ant籀nio Guterres last month to sunset UNAIDS by the end of 2026four years earlyas part of a broader UN restructuring plan, .     Background: The single-sentence proposal appeared without warning in a UN80 reform plan released in September.    Sounding the alarm: UNAIDS officials and member states argued at the World Health Summit last week that such a timeline could be the nail in the coffin of global HIV response, and especially dangerous given destabilization this year from funding cuts by the U.S. and other countries, . 
  • Sunsetting can be good if you stand in a beautiful sunset. And it can be terrifying if youre standing by yourself, and it just all of a sudden gets dark, said Christine Stegling, deputy executive director of UNAIDS, at the summit.   
  • 1,000+ civil society organizations worldwide at the proposal. 
Voices from vulnerable regions: Health leaders from sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia have described how dismantling critical UNAIDS assistance like surveillance and advocacy could quickly lead to a resurgence in HIV transmission.  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   The last Ebola patient in the DRC was released yesterday from a treatment center in Kasai province; the outbreak, which began Sept. 4 and numbered 64 cases with 45 deaths, will be declared over if no new cases occur in the next 42 days.
  Fiji has earned WHO validation for eliminating trachoma as a public health problem, following surveys and studies to improve understanding of the disease as well as school WASH initiatives; it is the 26th country to achieve the milestone, and its the first NTD to be eliminated in Fiji.
  The FDA will expedite reviews for a round of nine experimental drugs that align with U.S. national interests, including drugs for pancreatic cancer, infertility, deafness, and vaping addiction.
  Peanut allergies have declined sharply among children since pediatric guidelines issued in 2017 encouraged parents to introduce infants to peanuts rather than avoid them, , which found the rate of peanut allergies among children under 3 plunged from 1.46% in 20122015 to 0.93% in 20172020. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Gazas Ecological Wounds     Two years of bombardment have left Gaza facing ecological disaster, with contaminated ground, air, and water that threaten residents safety. 
  • What we are witnessing is not just a humanitarian catastrophe but an ecological collapse that threatens the very possibility of recovery, said study author David Lehrer.   
Toxic rubble: ~200,000 destroyed buildings have left behind ~61 million tons of rubble contaminated with asbestos, heavy metals, and industrial chemicals. 
  Afflicted air: Airborne rubble particles and open waste burning have filled Gazas air with hazardous dust, raising risks of cancer and respiratory illness, especially for children. 
  Waste-filled water: Gazas water supply is critically low and heavily polluted, leaving just 8.4 liters of water daily per person for drinking and sanitationwell below emergency standards.     GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES FAMILY PLANNING Spreading the Benefits of Child Spacing in Nigeria     Nigerias Kano State has one of the countrys highest fertility rates at 5.8, and modern contraceptive use remains low at just 10.6%leading to rapid population growth that strains the regions fragile economy. 
Child spacing, the practice of timing pregnancies around safe and manageable intervals, is a key tool in family planning effortsbut most messaging targets women.    Meeting men: To address this gap, MSI Nigeria Reproductive Choices, a sexual and reproductive health care services provider, is actively engaging men through targeted discussions about child spacing and contraceptive use during traditional social gatherings known as Majalisa.     And supporting women: The organization is reaching Kano women through 100+ door-to-door community health workers called MS Ladies.       Related: Trump Administration Decimates Birth Control Office in Layoffs   OPPORTUNITY Attention Humanitarian Workers: Apply to the H.E.L.P. Course     The Health Emergencies in Large Populations (H.E.L.P) course, offered by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is accepting applications for the January 2026 session.      For 25+ years, the H.E.L.P. course has offered humanitarian workers intensive training in the public health principles of disaster preparedness and disaster management, drawing participants from a variety of civil society, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movementincluding nurses, physicians, public health professionals, lawyers, journalists, managers, planners, logisticians, and aid workerssome with many years of experience, and others just beginning their careers.
  • The virtual course will run January 516, 2026, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern time.
  • Both noncredit and academic credit options are available.
  • More questions? Email helpcourse.jhsph@gmail.com 
QUICK HITS Sudan hit by triple outbreak of deadly diseases     You Could Treat a Child for a Few Dollars. Now Those Clinics Are Gone.     New study shows faster way to cure vivax malaria Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health     Overdose in America: analysis reveals deaths rising in some regions even as US sees national decline     Global Health Leaders Urge Fewer Agencies Amid Funding Crisis     Is academic research becoming too competitive? Nature examines the data     Surrey-developed colour-changing label will prevent vaccine waste     Its a Bird! Its a Plane! Its a Chemtrail? New Conspiracy Theory Takes Wing at Kennedys HHS   Issue No. 2807
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

Thu, 10/16/2025 - 09:41
96 Global Health NOW: Upending Lesothos HIV Fight; The Danger of America First in Global Health; and A Series of Very Fortunate Events October 16, 2025 Upending Lesothos HIV Fight    Over two decades, U.S. funding helped Lesotho, a small nation with one of the worlds highest HIV rates, build an effective health network that allowed it to make lifesaving gains to set it on track for AIDS elimination by 2030.  
  • Last year Lesotho reached UNAIDSs 95-95-95 target of HIV-positive people aware of their status, in treatment, and reporting a suppressed viral load. 
But that progress has quickly unraveled in the months following the Trump administrations abrupt freeze on foreign aid and the dismantling of USAID. Lesotho officials estimate that the country has been set back 15 years and that thousands of lives are at risk.    Through and , the consequences of cuts and subsequent chaos come into sharp focus: 
  • Everyone who is HIV-positive in Lesotho is a dead man walking, said Hlaoli Monyamane, a 32-year-old miner with HIV.  
Pivotal PEPFAR funds slashed: Lesotho lost 23% of its PEPFAR fundingone of the hardest-hit nations in terms of the share of such funding cuts. The immediate cutoff led to shuttered clinics and labs, widespread layoffs among health workers, and the sudden halt of prevention programs, including ones targeting mother-to-baby HIV transmission.  
  • "When a child who was receiving treatment stops getting treatment, it feels like a crime against humanity, said Catherine Connor, with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation 
Temporary reinstatement, persistent uncertainty: The U.S. State Department has since announced bridge programs to resume lifesaving HIV services, but restarting the programs is slow and fear remains high. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Uruguay has legalized euthanasia, making it one of the first countries in Latin America to pass such legislation; it is now among a dozen countries worldwide to allow assisted suicide.     Abortion access in Costa Rica has now been restricted to cases when the mothers life is in danger after a rule change made by the countrys president that required no legislative approval.     ~700 drugs used in the U.S. depend on chemicals solely produced in China, ; experts fear that such heavy reliance on China could leave American patients vulnerable if the country curtails exports.   A New York resident with chikungunya is the states first known locally acquired case, health officials say; the U.S. hasn't seen a locally acquired infection since 2019. U.S. and Global Health Policy News Democratic governors form a public health alliance in a rebuke of Trump     How Texas Planned Parenthood is surviving without public funds &紳莉莽梯;    Foreign Aid Cuts Halt Migrant and Refugee Health Project in Peru Partners In Health     Trump Rattles Vaccine Experts Over Aluminum   GHN EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY A pharmacist stocks PrEP medicine at a pharmacy in a community center operated by LoveYourself, a nonprofit impacted by U.S. foreign aid cuts. February 19, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. Ezra Acayan/Getty The Danger of America First in Global Health    The recently released  presents a bold vision of U.S. leadership while overlooking the realities on the ground that determine whether lives are saved or lost, in an exclusive commentary for GHN. 
The argument: 
  • The strategy equates health leadership with dollars spent and medical products exported. However, among high-income nations, the U.S. health system has the  ($13,432 per person) and the  (78.4 years).  
  • The strategy correctly notes that U.S. foreign assistance programs are often inefficient, but it offers misguided solutions including privatization, conditional aid, and bilateral agreements.  
  • Its narrow focus on infectious diseases reflects yesterdays battles, not todays realities.  
  • The report overlooks the pivotal role of soft diplomacy yet concedes that programs like PEPFAR and smallpox eradication did more than save lives.  
  • The authors are most concerned by the strategys retreat from multilateralism. Global health crises cannot be contained through a patchwork of bilateral agreements, the pair argues.  
The takeaway: If implemented, the strategy would worsen the very problems it seeks to solve, write Crawford, a Stanford University clinical professor, and Barry, senior associate dean for Global Health at Stanford.    GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES SUBSTANCE USE Irelands Alcohol Labels Dry Up    Passed in 2018, Irelands Public Health (Alcohol) Acta law that would require cancer warnings on all alcohol containerswas due to take effect in 2026.     But in July, the Irish government quietly postponed the measure until 2028.    Why? Newly obtained documents reveal a campaign by alcohol companies to delay the laws implementation.     How did they do it? 
  • Weaponizing trade disputes by calling the proposed legislation a non-tariff trade barrier. 
  • Insisting that future labeling requirements are best pursued at the European level. 
  • Using sciencebased reports to downplay alcohols cancer risks. 
Health experts expressed concern the label rollout may never materialize.         ICYMI: Why Alcohol Needs a Cancer Warning Label &紳莉莽梯;

Related: When men drink, women and children pay the price   ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION A Series of Very Fortunate Events    To connect with fellow humans, some people get together for dinner, coffee, or a walk. Others make art from pork scraps, or celebrate the birth of someone long dead.    It seems that no matter the hobby, theres a gathering to match. It just may be on the other side of the planet.     Some options:    Put a fork in it: Pudding mit GabelGerman for I eat pudding wrong, is the ideal meetup if you want to eat the soupy treat with a fork.    Pork art: In Pennsylvania, theres a , an iconic but infamous porcine delicacy that marries meat scraps and cornmeal in a loaf to eat or, better yet, use for arts and crafts.     Lipstick on a water buffalo: For the bovine enthusiast, a Chonburi, Thailand, festival to the humble, and probably unsuspecting, . Yes, that is its official scientific name.    Posthume drama: Everyone except Jane Austen herself seemed to descend on Bath, England, many in costume, to celebrate the . Being honored with a 10-day, 2,000-guest extravaganza sounds exhausting. Fortunately for Austen, she is already asleep.    QUICK HITS Proposed UK cuts to global aid fund could lead to 300,000 preventable deaths, say charities     'I can't afford to save both twins': Sudan's war left one mother with an impossible choice     Study finds no link between mRNA COVID vaccines early in pregnancy and birth defects     Nearly 70% of U.S. adults considered obese under new definition, study finds     California to ban ultra processed foods from school meals     Tiny brain nanotubes found by Johns Hopkins may spread Alzheimers &紳莉莽梯;    Did lead poisoning doom Neanderthals? &紳莉莽梯;   Issue No. 2806
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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Wed, 10/15/2025 - 09:46
96 Global Health NOW: Demanding Justice for Health Workers; Rehabilitation: The Forgotten Frontline; and Triple Triumph in the Maldives October 15, 2025 A portrait of Viktoriia, a nurse who was injured on July 8, 2024, when a Russian missile struck the Ohmatdyt National Children's Hospital where she worked. Lviv, Ukraine, September 28, 2024. Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Demanding Justice for Health Workers    U.K. medical leaders are urging the government to back International Criminal Court prosecutions for war crimes targeting health workers, patients, and medical facilities.    comes in the wake of that details the rising incidence of violence against health workers, and the deep and lasting scars left on communities through such brazen attacks, as described by nurses working under threat in Afghanistan, Burma, Gaza, and Lebanon.  
  • What is the point of international law if they murder our colleagues and dont face consequences? asked one senior nurse quoted in the report.  
Key details of the report:  
  • Killings of health workers spiked 5X over a decade, from 175 in 2016 to 932 in 2024, driven by conflicts in Palestine, Ukraine, Lebanon, and Sudan. 1,200+ attacks have been reported this year. 
  • Working under intimidation from family members and authorities has become common in places like Afghanistan.  
  • Health infrastructure collapse and severe shortages hinder the ability to provide basic care.  
A need for action: Along with calling for international partners to investigate and prosecute health law violations, nursing leaders are also calling for restored foreign aid for health systems.  
    GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Cannabis use and addiction have been associated with genes also linked to bipolar disorder, obesity, and other traits, ; while the findings may one day lead to treatments for cannabis use disorder, researchers caution that clinical application is years away.     The Sudanese city of El Fasher has been declared uninhabitable, which described tens of thousands of people trapped inside pushed to the edge of survival as they face severe malnourishment, total destruction of infrastructure, and a cutoff from humanitarian aid amid ongoing artillery and drone attacks.     120+ people have been hospitalized in Gabes, Tunisia, for respiratory distress related to fumes from a nearby chemical factory that residents say is emitting toxic fumes.      Safety of childrens toys will be more closely regulated by the EU, which will now require all toys sold online to include a digital product passport that will allow consumers and regulators to check each toys compliance with EU laws.   GHN EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY A member of China Search and Rescue Team provides medical consultations for local residents in Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), April 5. Cai Yang/Xinhua via Getty Rehabilitation: The Forgotten Frontline     Following a disaster, like the March 28 earthquake that shook the Sagaing region in Burma (Myanmar), rehabilitation services are often an afterthoughtbut they should be introduced far earlier in the response, , a physiotherapy student at Gulf Medical University, UAE.  
  These are not optional extras; they are medically proven, evidence-based interventions, writes Ijaz. For many survivors, the real challenge begins after surgery, she notes: Without the aid of early rehabilitation, they face a greater risk of long-term disability, pain, and, critically, the loss of independence. 
  Yet rehabilitation is one of the most overlooked elements of disaster response. Despite international guidelines confirming the need for early introductionideally within the first few daysearly rehab is still seen as optional or secondary and is systemically excluded from emergency response plans, Ijaz says. 
  Success stories: Examples that could serve as models include the ICRCs deployment of rehabilitation professionals within weeks following the 2020 Beirut Port blast in Lebanon, and the Norwegian Afghanistan Committees efforts following the August earthquake in Afghanistan.   GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES MATERNAL & CHILD HEALTH Triple Triumph in the Maldives    
The Maldives has officially become the first country in the world to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of three diseases: hepatitis B, HIV, and syphilis.    Recipe for success: 
  • 95% of pregnant women receive antenatal care.  
  • 95% of newborns receive hepatitis B vaccinations on time.  
  • Free antenatal care, vaccines, and diagnostic servicesincluding testing for HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis Bare included in the Maldives universal health coverage. 
A model to follow: Mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B, HIV, and syphilis still affects millions worldwide. But the Maldives elimination efforts are a strong example of elimination strategies for others moving forward.        EVENT A Call to Action for Youth Mental Health     Join the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Mental Health for A Call to Action for Youth Mental Health, a hybrid convening to mark the U.S. launch of the Second Lancet Commission Report, spotlighting the urgent need to address the global adolescent mental health crisis.     This gathering will bring together young people, researchers, and decision-makers to develop an agenda of actionable change for adolescent mental health in the U.S. while highlighting lessons from the Global North and South. 
  • October 2728 at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in D.C.
  •   (A detailed agenda and logistics information will follow upon confirmation)
  •  
QUICK HITS They Fought Outbreaks Worldwide. Now Theyre Fighting for New Lives.     Scientists lose jobs and grants as US government shutdown takes a toll   
  Health of world's forests at 'dismal' levels, causing threat to humanity, report warns     This Nobel Peace Prize front-runner didn't win but did get the 'alternative Nobel' &紳莉莽梯;    On the Front Line of the Fluoride Wars, Debate Over Drinking Water Treatment Turns Raucous     Shamans openly using psychedelic drugs for treatment in South Africa     Microplastics are everywhere. You can do one simple thing to avoid them.      Ditch shrink it and pink it womens trainer design, say experts   Issue No. 2805
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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Tue, 10/14/2025 - 09:32
96 Global Health NOW: ICE Hinders U.S. Care; A WWII Ghost Fleet Poses a Current Threat; and Reporting Beyond the Crash October 14, 2025 People rally outside Glendale Memorial Hospital during the "Good Trouble Lives On" vigils for civil rights icon John Lewis. July 17, Glendale, California. David McNew/Getty ICE Hinders U.S. Care     The latest stressor for overburdened U.S. nurses and other health workers: Masked, armed ICE agents in hospitals.      Health workers have reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have interfered with care for some patients, including ICE detainees, .     On their own: Nurses and doctors are unsure how to protect patients because of a lack of direction from hospitals. 
  • But some health workers have erased white boards that list patient names and hidden medical records.  
Recent examples of ICE interference:
  • ICE agents have refused to step away from confidential medical conversations between detainees and health care providers. 
  • Los Angeles doctors said they cant do follow-up care for patients taken to an ICE processing facility, . 
  • ICE agents also prevented an emergency nurse from assessing the health of a screaming detainee, . 
Arent hospitals safe havens? No,  a Biden-era sensitive locations policy that banned immigration enforcement in hospitals, schools, and churches, per Axios.     The Quote: We have an ethical and moral duty to provide excellent medical care and to serve the patients interest, an LA doctor told LAist, but armed agents presence in the hospital has made it very difficult to do that.     Related:     Know Your Rights: Immigrant Safety in Hospitals and Clinics &紳莉莽梯;     Health Care Providers and Immigration Enforcement: Know Your Rights, Know Your Patients Rights &紳莉莽梯;  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Heavy flooding that swept across Mexicos Gulf Coast and central states last week killed 64 people; dozens more are missing and 100,000+ homes were destroyed as the government faces criticism over response time and failure to issue alerts or order evacuations.     Aging mens brains shrink more quickly than those of aging womens, per published in PNAS yesterday; the finding indicates womens brains age more slowly than mens, but it doesnt explain why Alzheimers is more common in women.    
   Middle-aged people who stop smoking can effectively erase the habits negative impact on cognitive skills such that, after 10 years, they have the same risk for dementia as those who never smoked, per a study involving 9,436 people published in yesterday.     The WHO and partners launched an upgraded version of its public health intelligence system to aid early detection of public health threats; the 2.0 Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS) system incorporates new data sources and AI functionalities and is offered as a public good, free of charge to member states and eligible organizations.   DATA POINT

680,000
漍漍漍漍
Children in Haiti uprooted from their homes by violencea doubling over last years figures.
  POLLUTION A WWII Ghost Fleet Poses a Current Threat    Oil leaking from a World War II-era Japanese warship poses a growing environmental risk in waters off Micronesiaand officials worry its just the start of a burgeoning crisis with historical origins.     The Rio de Janeiro Maru, which sank in the Chuuk Lagoon in 1944, began to leak last month, initially releasing ~4,000 liters of oil per day. 
  • Fishinga critical source of food and incomehas been halted in the region, with residents warned not to consume affected food or water. 
Ticking time bombs: The 60+ WWII wrecks remaining in the lagoon contain ~39.5 million liters of oil and toxins, and their containment tanks are expected to begin failing within five years without urgent international intervention, say local officials. 
    GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ROAD SAFETY Reporting Beyond the Crash    Africa is home to the worlds highest road fatality rates.    But news articles about crashes across the continent all too often miss the big pictureblaming victims actions and failing to account for unsafe infrastructure, weak laws, and other factors that contribute to preventable deaths.     Shifting framework: That problematic pattern, of ~1,000 news reports in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania, is driving to report on crashes as a public health crisis rather than isolated accidents.      A new narrative: So far, ~5,000 journalists have been trained worldwide in solutions-based reporting, leading to more expansive stories, investigations, and documentaries.     (commentary)  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Africa: Beyond Malaria - Uncovering the Overlapping Crisis of Long Covid in Ethiopia and Uganda  

Torture, blackmail, extortion: the dangers of queer online dating in Ghana  

Africas floods and droughts are messing with our minds. Researchers are trying to figure out how &紳莉莽梯;  
  Lessons from Peru: what Australia can learn about the growing risk of dengue fever &紳莉莽梯;    Innovation in medicines for global health: a 20-year landscape analysis &紳莉莽梯;  
HEPA purifiers not tied to less viral exposure in elementary classrooms, analysis finds &紳莉莽梯;    Kids who use social media score lower on reading and memory tests, a study shows      What the Anti-Sunscreen Movement Misses   Issue No. 2804
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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Mon, 10/13/2025 - 09:27
96 Global Health NOW: Post-Pandemic Picture of Health; Lowest Layer of Hell for Burmese Refugees; and Superbugs Stalk Ukraines Hospitals An emerging crisis of youth deaths. October 13, 2025 A view of the "Silent Struggle" statue, an art project by artist Sazza created to break the taboo surrounding suicide, decorated with photos and candles, in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, on November 4, 2024. Ana Fernandez/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty A Post-Pandemic Picture of Health    The top causes of mortality around the world are shifting away from COVID-19 and back to increasingly urgent noncommunicable threats like heart disease, and in Berlinthe first snapshot of global health since the height of the pandemic, .     Highlights of the 2023 report, drawing from 300,000+ data sources across 204 countries, include:     Chronic conditions on top: Heart disease is once again the worlds leading cause of death, eclipsing COVID-19, which fell from 1st in 2021 to 20th in 2023.  
  • Other NCDs like stroke, diabetes, and COPD now account for two-thirds of global deaths and disability, while deaths from infectious disease continue to decline.  
Rising youth mortality: The world faces an emerging crisis of rising deaths among teenagers and young adults, . 
  • In North America and parts of Latin America, deaths from suicide, drug overdoses, and alcohol use are on the rise among people ages 2039.  
Global life expectancy rates have also recovered from the pandemic dipbut stark disparities remain, with life expectancy ranging from 83 years in high-income regions to 62 years in sub-Saharan Africa, .  
  • That gap is sure to widen with international aid cuts this year, warned senior author Emmanuela Gakidou. 
Preventable loss: Nearly half of all global death and disability is linked to modifiable risk factors like high blood sugar, poor diet, and smoking.                                                                                          GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
Rift Valley Fever has killed 17 in Senegal in an outbreak that has led to 119 cases in the countrys northern livestock-producing region, per the nations health ministry.     Antibiotic resistance is increasing sharply among common hospital infections, , which found that 40%+ of antibiotics lost potency against infections between 2018 and 2023, and 1 in 6 bacterial infections were resistant to antibiotic treatments in 2023.

Overdose deaths among adults 65+ from fentanyl mixed with stimulants surged 9,000% from 2015 to 2023, according to findings presented at the Anesthesiology 2025 annual meeting; the research used CDC data to reveal the trend among older adults, who are often left out of overdose analyses.     ~600 U.S. CDC workers have been terminated as part of the Trump administration's mass layoffs of federal agency workers; while the administration rescinded more than half of ~1,300 termination notices it originally sent Friday, upheaval at the agency is ongoing.   GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES REFUGEES Aid Cuts Deepen the Lowest Layer of Hell in Burma    Burmese families that have endured years of conflict and displacement now face even more acute suffering after U.S. aid cuts deprive them of essential food and medical aid. 
  • We are in the lowest layer of hell already, said an advocate with one shuttered aid group.  
  • Now, increasingly desperate refugees along the Thailand-Burma border are forced to scour jungles and rivers for even menial sources of sustenance. 
Vast need: The UN estimates ~40% of Burmas population now requires humanitarian aid, with children especially vulnerable to malnutrition and starvation.     Void left behind: The U.S. was once the largest aid donor to this population before the abrupt cuts. Aid groups are now seeking new lines of support, with little traction.       OPPORTUNITY ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE The Superbugs Stalking Ukraines Hospitals    Drug-resistant infections are surging among Ukraines wounded and spreading beyond hospitals into the general population as overwhelmed trauma wards, poor infection control, and misguided antibiotic use fuel spread. 
  Especially notorious: Klebsiella pneumoniae, a once-rare bacterium, is now the signature pathogen of the war, and an often-untreatable threat.     New tactics: Doctors have been deploying a range of new strategies against the superbugs, including doubling up on antibiotic regimens, using faster genetic testing to ID strains, and improving antibiotic stewardship.     Stemming from the start: A new pilot program aims to treat battlefield wounds like bioweapon exposure, using hazmat gear and improved antiseptics to prevent infections.  
  • We cant afford to lose more limbs and more lives, said Hailie Uren, a clinician who led antimicrobial resistance efforts in Lviv. 
   QUICK HITS Germany announces billion-euro investment to fight AIDS and malaria  
Why Fiji has the world's fastest growing HIV epidemic     A brain test may predict antidepressant-related sexual problems, early research suggests      In Kenya, a search for links between a changing climate and mental health      Bangladesh launches typhoid vaccination drive to combat drug-resistant threat     Maryland failed to document many deaths from suspected child abuse or neglect     Post-monsoon dengue outbreak risk high: Experts      Your nose gets colder when you're stressed. These thermal images show the change    Issue No. 2803
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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Thu, 10/09/2025 - 09:31
96 Global Health NOW: In Gaza, Fragile Hope for Peace Amid Deepened Devastation; Toxic Textile Recycling; and Egyptian Strongman in Ship Shape When the fighting stops, a new struggle will begin": WHO October 9, 2025 Palestinians gather outside Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital on October 9 to celebrate the announcement of a ceasefire agreement expected to take effect soon, in Gaza City, Gaza. Hamza Z. H. Qraiqea/Anadolu via Getty Images Fragile Hope for Peace Amid Deepened Devastation     Israel and Hamas are inching toward a deal that could end two years of war, raising fragile hopes for an imminent ceasefireand relief for both Israeli hostage families and 2 million Gaza civilians living in dire humanitarian conditions.     But even as hopes build, the health crisis for Gazans amid two years of relentless war continues to deepen, adding urgency to the already-daunting path toward recovery.  
  Acute malnourishment: 54,600+ children in Gaza are acutely malnourished12,800 severely so, ; and ~16% of preschool-age children are suffering from life-threatening wasting, .  
  Shattered health system: Rebuilding Gazas decimated health system will be critical to lasting stability and peace, , as Gazas health services are near total collapse. Rebuilding will cost $7 billion+, per WHO estimates.  
  • When the fighting stops, a new struggle will beginto rebuild Gazas health system and rescue an entire population from the edge of famine and despair, said Hanan Balkhy, WHO Director for the Eastern Mediterranean.  
  • Only 14 of 36 hospitals are partially functioning, , even as a constant stream of trauma patients seek help in Gaza City.  
Aid still lacking: Despite famine declarations, essential aid including food and medicine, and critical medical supplies remain scarce, , describing three premature babies on a bed sharing oxygen due to a lack of incubators.     Whats next: With talks ongoing, the UN has said it is poised to deliver aid to Gaza as soon as possible, .   GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
Drinking even a single diet beverage a day may up the risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) by 60%, while consuming a sugary beverage could increase the risk by 50%, of 123,788 people without baseline liver disease; the research, not yet peer-reviewed or published, was presented at the United European Gastroenterology Week conference in Berlin Monday.  

The Ebola outbreak in southern DRC is starting to be contained, the WHO said yesterday, with no new cases reported in 10 days; as of October 5, the total case count was 64 (53 confirmed, 11 probable) and 43 deaths (32 confirmed,11 probable).     59% of Americans surveyed disapproved of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s job performance as HHS secretary, according to ; but Republicans surveyed reported they trusted RFK Jr. as much as their own health care provider.     Scientists in Japan have identified a potential biological cause of long COVID-19 brain fog; the that people with the condition experience widespread increases in activity related to AMPA receptors, a type of molecule crucial for learning and memory. MALARIA Lessons from Surinames Success  
Twenty-five years ago, Suriname had the highest malaria transmission rates in the Americas. This summer, it was the first Amazon nation , thanks to innovative measures that could be a model for neighboring countries, say epidemiologists.     Community-based approach: Suriname embraced a strategy that put rapid testing, treatment, and training in the hands of local communities in remote areas.    Targeting the marginalized: Health workers also created a treatment model for transient gold miners working illegally in the rainforest, who are especially susceptible to malaria.  
  • The Malakit Project distributed self-testing and treatment kits directly to minerscontributing to a 43% reduction in malaria cases between 2018 and 2020.  
Its about how we treat these vulnerable, often invisible populations, said Patricia Sanchez with the UN Foundation.      GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH The Toxicity of Textile Recycling    Panipat, India, is gaining global prominence as a hub of textile recycling, where factories process ~1 million tons of international textile waste annually, shredding old fabrics and spinning them into new fiber.  
But the lack of both labor and environmental protections has led to mounting health problems and water pollution.    Health crises: Doctors in Panipat report high rates of lung disease, skin conditions, and cancer linked to continuous inhalation of lint and dust containing microfibers and microplastics. 
  • The factories often lack basic protections like adequate ventilation and protective masks.  
Environmental fallout: Hundreds of bleaching and dyeing facilities, many unregulated, discharge toxic wastewater into the ground, contaminating local water sources.       ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION An Egyptian Strongman in Ship Shape
Pulling a locomotive and a truck wasnt enough to convince the Egyptian wrestler Ashraf Mahrousaka Kabongathat he was the worlds strongest man.  
  • So, seeking a Guinness world record, hes now pulled a 700-ton ship with only the rope clenched between his teeth. 
Why? While Kabonga grew up hauling his friends around for fun, it was when they saw him push a car using only a finger that they encouraged him to get serious, .  
Today, he trains daily at a Cairo gym and puts away at least a dozen eggs, two whole chickens, and 11 pounds of fish. Impressivebut were convinced his success hinges not just on strength, but on mind games: I spoke to [the ship], saying It's either me or you today.  
His next goal: pulling a plane with his eyelid muscles. QUICK HITS Indian police arrest owner of cough syrup company linked to deaths of 17 children      Do young people need Covid boosters? Research shows more protection for ages 65 and older 
  Pharmacies facing angry patients over Covid jab confusion     Pig liver transplant into a living person edges it closer to the norm      Measles warning in WA's Pilbara as confirmed cases rise       In Paul Farmers Beautiful Garden of Global Health Equity: Reflections on the Third Remembrance of His Passing   Issue No. 2802
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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Wed, 10/08/2025 - 09:48
96 Global Health NOW: Revised Recommendations for COVID-19 Vaccines; Conscripting Chatbots in the HIV Fight; and Pets as Heralds of Chemical Exposures October 8, 2025 Ruth Jones, an immunization nurse, holds a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Borinquen Health Care Center. Miami, Florida, May 29. Joe Raedle/Getty Revised Recommendations for COVID-19 Vaccines
   COVID-19 vaccine guidance in the U.S. is finally becoming clearer after months of confusion, .     Who is eligible? The CDC now recommends updated COVID-19 shots for everyone 6 months+, expanding on the FDAs narrower recommendations in August.  
  • The CDC says everyone seeking a shot should first have a conversation with a health care professional about risks and benefits.  
  • But prescriptions or even a doctors appointment arent required; pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens are allowing self-attestation of eligibility.  
What about children? The new requirement could prove more challenging for parents seeking to vaccinate their children, .  
  • Childrens shots are typically administered in doctors offices, which may not be consistently stocked, especially after the delayed guidance.   
  • Major pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS typically offer vaccines only to children older than a set threshold like 3 years, 5, or higher, depending on the state.  
Does insurance cover the shot? All major insurance, including Medicaid and Medicare, will cover the shots. The Vaccines for Children program, which provides vaccines to 40% of U.S. children, has begun shipping doses.     Meanwhile, in England, criteria have been limited this year so that only those age 75+, and younger patients with weakened immune systems are being offered free boosters, . 
  • Between a third and a half of people who arrive for vaccination appointments are being turned away, leading to angry outbursts, report pharmacists. 
Related: Acting CDC director says to break up MMR shot   DATA POINT

90,000
漍漍漍
Additional microplastic particles ingested each year by bottled water drinkers, compared with tap water drinkers.
  The Latest One-Liners   200+ health facilities in eastern DRC have exhausted their supplies due to conflict-related looting, disruptions, and humanitarian funding declines, the ICRC reports today; in a survey last month, 85% of facilities reported medicine shortages, and 40% reported staffing shortages.  
  Nearly 28,000 injuries on the job in the U.S. each year are linked to hot weather, led by George Washington University and Harvard researchers that indicated that workers in states with workplace heat exposure standards had a lower risk of injury on hot days.     A taste-based flu test has been developed by researchers who chemically engineered a sensor that reacts to viral activity in a patient's saliva and releases a tasteable reporter upon detection, ; however, additional clinical studies with direct human testing are needed.     The U.S.s federal organ transplant network has been ordered to stop some monitoring of transplant and donation outcomes amid the government shutdown, and ~25% of the staff of the nonprofit United Network for Organ Sharing, contracted by the government to manage most network functions, have been furloughed.   HIV/AIDS Conscripting Chatbots in the HIV Fight     In South Africa, the rollout next year of the injectable anti-HIV drug lenacapavir has the potential to dramatically reduce the viruss transmissionbut only if millions of people take it.  
  • Convincing them to do so will involve a concerted push from doctors, nurses and AI chatbots.  
AI ally: The countrys health department has endorsed a new chatbot, Self-Cav, a WhatsApp-based AI system devoted to helping young South Africans navigate questions about HIV, sex, and other health topics.     Target demographic: Health advocates are especially trying to reach young women ages 1524, who account for ~40% of new HIV infections despite making up just 8% of the population. 
    GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Pets as Heralds of Chemical Exposures    Understanding how pollution affects pets could yield insights that improve both animal and human health, researchers say.  
  • Because pets share our air, water, and homes but live shorter lives, typically in one location, they may help scientists trace environmental risks more clearly. 
One example: Lead-screening clinics for local dogs, in Flint, Michigan, identified several animals, all living in the same household, whose results were of extreme concern. Officials subsequently found that the lead level of the homes drinking water posed a clear danger to both people and animals.    Because they spend a lot of time on the ground, dogs and cats could be at elevated risk from other chemical contaminantsmaking them especially good sentinel species.  
    OPPORTUNITY Stanford Global and Planetary Health Research Convening     The will be held in-person on January 28, 2026, at Stanford Universitybringing together students, faculty, staff, and researchers working in global and planetary health from Stanford and beyond. There will be no virtual option to attend.      This years theme, Reimagining Global and Planetary Health, explores potential solutions and strategies to help address global and planetary health challenges and build resilience; researchers are invited to submit abstracts to be considered for presentation.  
  • Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 9 a.m.3 p.m. PT at the , Stanford University 
  •  
  •  
QUICK HITS Darfur: ICC convicts Janjaweed leader of war crimes and crimes against humanity     Trump slashed funding for universities that helped create these vital drugs     Past surgeons general warn HHS Secretary Kennedy must go     The rise of nightmare bacteria: antimicrobial resistance in five charts     Public Health Response to the First Locally Acquired Malaria Outbreaks in the US in 20 Years     Promise and gaps in America First strategy for global health &紳莉莽梯;     Lessons from a historic quest to heal spider bites are helping to fight neglected tropical diseases today     Podcast: How to Cover Science Under Trump Issue No. 2801
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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Tue, 10/07/2025 - 09:33
96 Global Health NOW: Tobacco Use Falls, Industry Pivots; Aid Cuts Hit Yemen Amid Measles Crisis; and Conversion Therapy Goes Before the Court October 7, 2025 A customs officer burns cigarettes seized from illegal trade during a press conference in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on July 22. Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP via Getty Tobacco Use Falls, Industry Pivots    Global tobacco use is continuing its decades-long fall, released yesterday, but the industry is fighting back by marketing new nicotine products to young people.    Positive trendlines:  
  • Prevalence of tobacco use among those 15+ was 19.5% last year, dropping from 26.2% in 2010, and 33.1% in 2000. 
  • Men in Southeast Asia using tobacco plummeted to 37% last year from 70% in 2000. 
Not so positive: 
  • 24.1% of adult Europeans used tobacco in 2024the worlds highest prevalence, .  
  • In Bulgaria, nearly 36% of people smoke Europes highest prevalence. 
New wave of addiction: 
  • 100 million+ people globally vape, including 86 million adults and 15 million youths ages 1315, per WHO estimates. .  
  • WHOs Etienne Krug warned of e-cigarettes new wave of nicotine addiction, , saying: They are marketed as harm reduction but, in reality, are hooking kids on nicotine earlier and risk undermining decades of progress.  
WHO advice: Governments must act faster and stronger in implementing proven tobacco-control policies, said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.    Related: How Milwaukee smoke shops are handling Wisconsins new vape law as confusion persists   GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   The deaths of at least 14 children in India have been linked to contaminated cough syrup, the Indian-made Coldrif Syrupwhich allegedly contained up to 500X the permissible limit of a toxin called diethylene glycol; Indian police have opened a manslaughter investigation into the deaths.  
  The U.S. has become increasingly reliant on other countries for antibiotics over the past several decades, by Johns Hopkins University researchers that shows that China supplies more than 60% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients U.S. antibiotics manufacturers needand, since 2020, nearly a third of the finished antibiotics imported by the U.S. come from India.  
  Suicides among Gen Z adults who are now entering their late 20s are exceeding the number of millennials suicides a decade ago, per a Stateline analysis of CDC data; 85% of the increase is among Black and Hispanic men.  
  A historic phase 3 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of antimalarial drugs in the first trimester of pregnancyaimed at addressing a longstanding gap in malaria researchenrolled its first patient; the trial is being conducted in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Kenya.   U.S. and Global Health Policy News CDC stops recommending COVID-19 shots for all, leaves decision to patients 

CDC signs off on fall Covid shots. It may not be easy to get one, depending on where you live.     Exclusive: ex-CDC director talks about why she was fired     Psychiatrists call for RFK Jr. to be replaced as health secretary   GHN EXCLUSIVE Q&A A nurse records vital signs for a measles patient in the M矇decins Sans Fronti癡res isolation ward at Al-Wahda hospital, Dhamar, Yemen. May 27. Mohammed Khawamel/MSF Aid Cuts Hit Yemen Amid Measles Crisis    Even before conflict in Yemen escalated a decade ago, only about half the countrys population had access to health services. Today, amid gaps in routine immunization programs and the loss of U.S. aid fundingwhich accounted for over 50% of the countrys humanitarian response plan funding in 2024.    The detrimental impact [of the cuts] cannot be overstated, Marisa Lister, a M矇decins Sans Fronti癡res medical coordinator based in Sanaa, told GHN in a Q&A.    Key challenges:  
  • MSF facilities encounter vaccine-preventable diseases daily, including measles, diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus.  
  • Measles cases at MSF facilities in Yemen have risen 470% since 2022. From April through July 2025, MSF saw 1,400+ measles patientsmore than half of them children under 5. 
  • Health care needs rise during the peak disease season (JulyOctober). 
  • Widespread malnutrition further exacerbates the challenges of treating measles. In one hospital, nearly half of all people treated for measles were classified as severely malnourished.     
For a disease as contagious as measles, case management alone cannot and will not stop an outbreak, says Lister. Instead, the root causesoften inadequate vaccination coverage and poor water and sanitationneed to be tackled.        DATA POINT

15 million
漍漍漍漍
Number of deaths per year that could be prevented by adoption of a planetary health diet, which could also head off a climate disaster.
  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HUMAN RIGHTS Conversion Therapy Goes Before the Court    This week the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments around Colorados conversion therapy ban in a case that could have nationwide implications not only for LGBTQ+ protections, but also for how states regulate medical care, .     Details: is a challenge to a 2019 state law that bans licensed therapists from trying to change a young persons sexual or gender identitya practice known as conversion therapy that is widely condemned by major psychological and medical groups as ineffective and dangerous. Colorado is one of 20 states with such a ban.  
  • But plaintiff Kaley Chiles, a counselor represented by conservative Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), argues that the ban violates therapists First Amendment rights.  
Coopted evidence: Meanwhile, researchers say ADF has profoundly misrepresented their research on sexual fluidity in the arguments to support conversion therapy, .    OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Bangladesh dengue cases top 50,000 in 2025     Haiti battles rabies with vaccines and vigilance      A three-pronged approach to combat malaria in Burundi      Their parents never got them vaccinated. As young adults, they faced a choice.     Pediatricians Cant Bear These Costs     A bold doctor sent her kids away and helped beat one of the world's deadliest viruses     He Was Expected to Get Alzheimers 25 Years Ago. Why Hasnt He?   Issue No. 2800
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

Mon, 10/06/2025 - 09:37
96 Global Health NOW: A Nobel Prize for Illuminating the Immune System; Mississippis Maternal Care Emergency; and Fishing for Parasites October 6, 2025 A screen displays the portraits of the winners of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine at a Karolinska Institute press conference. Stockholm, Sweden, October 6. Atila Altuntas/Anadolu via Getty A Nobel Prize for Illuminating the Immune System      Three scientists who conducted groundbreaking research into the human immune system were today, with the awards committee calling their discoveries fundamental to our understanding of immunology, .    Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi made key discoveries to unlock an understanding of peripheral immune tolerancehow the body regulates its immune system, how immune cells are typically prevented from attacking the body, and what happens when they do.     Ongoing impact: Their discoveries have laid the foundation for a new field of research and spurred the development of new treatments, for example for cancer and autoimmune diseases, .     Interlocking discoveries: The three decades of research began in 1995, when Sakaguchis experiments with mice led to the discovery of a previously unknown set of immune cells, now known as regulatory T cells or T-regs, which protect the body against autoimmune diseases, .  
  • In 2001 Brunkow and Ramsdell discovered a mutation in Foxp3, a gene linked to rare human autoimmune disease, which was later found to control the development of those T-regs. 
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   A baby in Alberta, Canada, died of measles late last week, marking the countrys first death from the outbreak that began last spring; the babys mother contracted measles during pregnancy, and the baby, born prematurely, died shortly after birth.     Invasive mosquitoes capable of carrying dengue, chikungunya, and Zika have been located in England for the first time, ; the findings demonstrate the new threat posed by the insects as they move northward through Europe amid rising temperatures.     Brazilians are avoiding liquor as officials investigate a surge in methanol poisoning cases that includes 11 confirmed cases tied to alcohol, 116 suspected cases, and one death.     A generic form of the abortion medication mifepristone was approved by the FDA ahead of the government shutdown, ; it is the second generic version to reach the market.   U.S. and Global Health Policy News Renowned U.S. climate center trims staff ahead of expected budget cuts

Trump Canceled 94 Million Pounds of Food Aid. Heres What Never Arrived. -

After Trump's Medicaid Cuts, Patients at Rural Maine Clinics Feel the Fallout

Exclusive: After months in limbo, four NIH institute directors fired   THE QUOTE
  My work isnt dangerous, but stopping research that could lead to cures could be. 漍漍漍漍 Sarah Stanley, a University of California, Berkeley tuberculosis researcher, in a STAT commentary:
  MATERNAL HEALTH Mississippis Maternal Care Emergency     Last year, Mississippi reported its highest rate of infant deaths in over a decade: 10 deaths per 1,000 births. Among Black babies, the rate was markedly higher: 15.2.    The uptick led the state to declare a in August.  
  • If having babies dying at the rate that our babies are dying is not a public health emergency, I don't know what is, said Daniel Edney, Mississippis health officer.  
Convergence of crises: Cost and lack of insurance are major barriers to care, as the state resisted Medicaid expansions; and more than half of Mississippi's counties are considered maternity care deserts.    Bigger picture: Mississippis crisis is a warning for the rest of the U.S., say obstetricians, as cutting Medicaid expansions in other states could lead ~6 million women to lose coverage.        GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES NTDs: SOLUTIONS Fishing for Parasites     Africas Lake Victoria is infested with schistosomes, parasites that can infiltrate the skin and cause schistosomiasis, or bilharzia, a disease that affects 200 million people, kills ~10,000 people a year, and impairs childrens physical and cognitive development. 
  • The schistosomes thrive within the lakes abundant snail population.  
A new angle in angling: To reduce the snail (and parasite) population, scientists have turned to catfisha natural predator that has steadily disappeared from the lake in recent years, .  
  • Restocking catfish cut snail numbers by 57% and bilharzia infections by 55%. 
   OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS All in one super Covid vaccines could slow next pandemic, study finds

Russia spiralling into an HIV crisis

Afghanistan: Ban on Girls Education Linked to Rise in Forced and Child Marriage

Yes, Amish people do have autism, but we still dont know how many do

Fresh Insights Into the Stubborn Problem of Lead Water Pipes

Millions could be living with hidden smell loss after COVID without knowing

Cannabis and Breastfeeding: Whats the Harm?

With makeshift jump ropes and hide and seek, kids play to cope with crisis Issue No. 2799
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

Thu, 10/02/2025 - 09:27
96 Global Health NOW: The Collapse of Malaria Care in Cameroon; Whats Driving Turkeys Diabetes Spike? And The Fattest Fat Bear Week October 2, 2025 A nurse prepares a dose of malaria vaccine at a district hospital. Soa, Cameroon. April 17, 2024. Kepseu/Xinhua via Getty The Collapse of Malaria Care in Cameroon     For families in places like northern Cameroon, the cascading effects of U.S. aid cuts have resulted in a simple, stark reality: When their children contract malaria, there is increasingly nowhere to turn.     The unraveling of care in the region, where the U.S. had played a leading role in the malaria response for ~10 years, has led to a ~15% spike in malaria deaths in the first half of this yearnotably among babies, medical workers say.     The current overview:     Loss of community health care: Today, 2,100+ of 2,354 U.S.-funded community health workers in Northern Cameroon are inactivemeaning no one is traveling to the region's most remote villages to administer care.     Critically low stocks of injectable artesunate, a lifesaving malaria drug once supplied through U.S. funds, mean that even families who reach health clinics have limited options for care.     Unknown toll: Even as cases and deaths escalate, researchers say they dont know the true number, as data collection is also a casualty of funding cuts. As the toll of similar disruptions becomes clear in other African nations, health experts warn that years of hard-won gains in malaria control risk being reversed. 
  • Cameroon had previously seen major progress, with deaths dropping from 1,519 in 2020 to 653 in 2024, largely thanks to funding from the U.S. Presidents Malaria Initiative. That fund now faces a 47% cut in the 2026 budget.  
  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   59 people are still missing after an Indonesian school collapsed Monday in the town of Sidoarjo, but rescuers say theyre not seeing any more signs of life under the rubble; at least five students have been confirmed killed and ~100 injured after the buildings foundation pillars buckled during an unauthorized expansion.   
  The DRC has reported seven new Ebola virus cases in the latest outbreakmaking 64 cases total and 42 deathsbut there are signs that transmission is lessening, credited to surveillance and clinical care improvements,  this week.       Australia pulled ~20 more sunscreens from shelves after a regulatory investigation exposed more brands for falling short of their advertised protection levels and raised significant concerns about a testing laboratory at the center of the scandal that started in June; the country has the worlds highest rates of skin cancer.     The Trump administration plans to block funding to groups that promote diversity policies abroad, in the same vein as the Mexico City Policy that prevents foreign groups receiving any U.S. global health funding from providing or promoting abortionseven if those activities are paid for with non-U.S. government funding.   NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES Whats Driving Turkeys Diabetes Spike? 
Diabetes rates in Turkey have risen sharply over the last 20 years, from 9.9% in 2002 to 16.6% in 2022double the EU average, and the highest rate in the European region.    A range of factors is driving the rapid surge, say doctors and researchers, including:   
  • Poor management: Many cases go undiagnosed or poorly treated; hospitalizations for uncontrolled diabetes far exceed OECD averages.
  • Inadequate policy: Weak food industry regulations have led to an influx of cheap, sugary foods and drinks, and a lack of public health intervention means many people remain unaware of risks. 
  • Obesity: 66.8% of Turkeys population is overweight or obese, per a putting more people at risk for developing diabetes. 
   RIP JANE GOODALL DISASTERS Infections in the Wake of Pakistans Floods    Cholera, diarrhea, malaria, and dengue are surging as floodwaters recede in Pakistanputting millions of displaced people at risk, say doctors.     Deadly deluge, widespread displacement: ~2.5 million people have been displaced by massive flooding along the Chenab River; the monsoon rains that started in June have now led to the deaths of ~1,000 people, including 250 children, .    Overcrowded camps, overwhelmed hospitals: Millions are now crammed into camps where poor sanitation, limited clean drinking water, and stagnant standing water create conditions for rapidly spreading disease.  
  • And nearby hospitals in Multan report a doubling of cholera and malaria cases, with doctors treating ~100 patients daily for gastrointestinal issues. 
   ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION The Fattest Fat Bear Week     was launched in 2014 to raise awareness of the ursine excellence in Alaskas Katmai National Park. With a record 1.5 million public votes under its ever-expanding belt this year, its safe to say: Were aware. 
  • The contest tracks and celebrates Katmai bears widening waistlines as they prepare for winter hibernation.  
Weighing in at over 1,200 pounds, a voluptuous veteran, the  32 Chunk triumphed despite a broken jaw that threatened his salmon intake. 
  Undeterred, Chunk ended up gaining girth beyond what anybody could have possibly imagined with that injury, beamed superfan Naomi Boak, . 
  Votes have closed for the year, but the  is still live. In this corner of the internet, you may peep a majestic bear sitting pensively on a rockor just an endless stream of a stream. Either way, its the ultimate diversion.  QUICK HITS A new documentary about a dastardly worm and a heroic effort by Jimmy Carter &紳莉莽梯;    Reproductive health challenges in coastal Bangladesh: a silent threat of water salinity &紳莉莽梯;    Risk of long COVID in children may be twice as high after a second infection &紳莉莽梯;    Walmart plans to remove artificial colors and other food additives from store brands by 2027 &紳莉莽梯;    Black mamba venom has a deadly hidden second strike &紳莉莽梯;    You cant see what youve never had to liveCultivating imagination and solution spaces in global health and development &紳莉莽梯;     These 99 'lab hacks' will make your scientific work easier &紳莉莽梯;  Issue No. 2798
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

Wed, 10/01/2025 - 09:09
96 Global Health NOW: U.S. Government Shutdown Centers on Health Care; Bangladesh Bets on British Malaria Vaccine; and Inside Chinas Detention Camps Plus: President Trump's deal with Pfizer to lower Medicaid drug prices October 1, 2025 The U.S. Capitol at dawn on October 1, in Washington, D.C. Al Drago/Getty Images Health Care Hangs in the Balance as U.S. Government Shuts Down    Funding for the U.S. government has halted amid a Congressional deadlock over federal health spendingfurther imperiling health agencies in an already tumultuous period, .    Subsidies at the center: The impasse centers on Affordable Care Act subsidies, set to expire after 2025. Democrats want an extension, as well as a restoration of Medicaid cuts enacted over the summer; Republicans demand reforms first. 
  • Without renewed subsidies, insurers warn of double-digit premium increases.  
Health services at risk: If a shutdown drags on, impacts to health operations include:  
  • ~40% of HHS workers furloughed 
  • NIH clinical trials put on hold 
  • FDA food safety efforts curtailed  
  • Disease surveillance and local CDC support disrupted 
  • Community health centers at risk of closure 
Drug price deal: Meanwhile, yesterday President Trump announced a deal with Pfizer to lower Medicaid drug prices and sell discounted drugs via a direct-to-consumer site dubbed TrumpRx.gov, part of an effort to align drug prices in the U.S. with those in other countries.  
  • U.S. patients often pay nearly 3X more for prescription drugs than patients in other developed nations, where governments set rates, .  
  • Prices on the TrumpRx site, launching in 2026, follow a most-favored-nation model, matching the lowest rates in other developed countries. The deal targets uninsured consumers, and experts say most Americans will see limited savings overall. 

More U.S. Health Policy News:     Trump orders $50M for AI in pediatric cancer research     Medicaid work requirements have not boosted insurance coverage or employment, study finds   GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
A surge of visceral leishmaniasis, also known as Kala-azar, has led a Kenyan county to declare a public health emergency; 850 infections of the deadly parasitic disease were recorded between June 2024 and August 2025.     Rohingya urgently need an influx of international support, says the UNs refugee chief, as in Myanmar they continue to live with the threat of arbitrary arrest and detention, with restricted access to health care and education; at the same time, the humanitarian response to the 1.2 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh remains chronically underfunded.     Mpox response across Africa is being analyzed at a gathering of countries health officials and Africa CDC officials in Addis Ababa this week, ; meanwhile, vaccine experts are warning that waning immunity to smallpox ~50 years after the last vaccination campaign is leading to increased vulnerability to mpox, .    The rise of early-onset cancers in U.S. adults could be due to increased detection and overdiagnosis rather than a true spike in the disease, , which looked at the eight cancers with the fastest-rising incidence among adults under 50.   MALARIA Bangladesh Bets on British Vaccine    Over the last decade, Bangladesh has made huge strides against malaria: Cases in the south Asian nation dropped from ~57,000 in 2014 to 13,000 in 2024. 
  • But the disease has a final stronghold: The Chittagong Hill Tracts, a region bordering India and Myanmar, where ~90% of Bangladeshs remaining malaria cases are found.   
In an attempt to eliminate the disease, researchers are traveling across the remote region to immunize thousands of villagers, in the first mass rollout in Asia of the British malaria vaccine R21.  
  • Researchers say the approach could speed up elimination efforts in hard-to-reach areas exponentially, allowing more countries to follow the likes of China, Sri Lanka, and Belize in wiping out the illness. 
  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HUMAN RIGHTS Inside Chinas Detention Camps    A former schoolteacher coerced into working in mass detention camps in Xinjiang, China, has publicly spoken about the conditions inside, which included torture, forced labor, and forced sterilization.  
  • Over 1 million Muslims from ethnic groups such as the Uyghurs have been detained in these high-security camps, which the Chinese government claims are vocational centersbut rights groups allege involve genocide. 
Eyewitness testimony: Qalbinur Sidiq, who is ethnically Uzbek, was a Chinese elementary school teacher before she was forced to work as a Chinese teacher in two camps. Sidiq, 55, was eventually sterilized against her will and reports seeing young women forcibly sterilized.     Sidiq received asylum in the Netherlands in 2019. Now, she speaks out against Chinas policies toward Uyghurs and Muslim minorities.       QUICK HITS Will my baby be born in a tent? Will it have food?: what its like to be pregnant in Gaza     Listeria found in Walmart, Trader Joes meals may be linked to deadly outbreak     Kentucky has kicked people off food benefits using data that doesnt tell the full story     AI-generated participants can lead social science experiments astray, study finds      Should the Autism Spectrum Be Split Apart? &紳莉莽梯; 

Manifesting isn't all "woo-woo." Science says you can train your brain  Issue No. 2797
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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