Global Health Programs aggregator

World Health Organization: New round of polio vaccinations begins in Gaza

Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:00 -0500

The latest round of a large-scale polio vaccination campaign in Gaza targeting nearly 600,000 young children got underway on Saturday.

World Health Organization: Explainer: 5 common myths about child marriage

Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:00 -0500

Every day, almost one in five young women are married off while still children, according to the UN reproductive and sexual health agency, UNFPA, which is urging countries to say “I don’t” to child marriage, an illegal practice that is almost universally condemned and yet remains widespread globally.

Dr. Pai Forbes: Paul Farmer’s Moral Clarity Offers Hope, Amidst Chaos And Darkness

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:51:39 -0500

On the 3rd anniversary of Dr Paul Farmer's death, several leaders reflect on his lessons for dealing with the ongoing crisis in global health and development

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: A Deeper Look at Global Suicide; Why Latin America Needs Its Own CDC; and All Verklempt Over a Fishʼs Ascent

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:34:35 -0500

Global Health NOW: A Deeper Look at Global Suicide; Why Latin America Needs Its Own CDC; and All Verklempt Over a Fishʼs Ascent

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February 20, 2025


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A mother who lost her 19-year-old son gives a speech next to the "Silent Struggle" statue—an art project created to break the taboo surrounding suicide, in Nijmegen, Netherlands, November 4, 2024. Ana Fernandez/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty

A Deeper Look at Global Suicide

Over the past 30 years, the global age-standardized suicide mortality rate fell ~40%—”indicating that intervention and prevention are working,” per the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington—which yesterday published “the most comprehensive analysis of the global burden of suicide to date” in The Lancet Public Health.

But: ~740,000 suicides are reported annually worldwide—which equals one death every 43 seconds.

And progress is not universal, with increases reported across Central Latin America, Andean Latin America, tropical Latin America, and high-income North America.

Background: The analysis draws from 204 countries and territories, and expands on previously published data spanning from 1990 to 2016.

Key findings include:

More deaths among men: The number of deaths for males was 2X+ that for females.

Later in life: The mean age of death at the time of suicide has been steadily rising. Researchers posited that one reason may be suicide prevention efforts focused on younger people.

The firearms factor: Firearms are considered the most lethal means of suicide, with the US, Uruguay, and Venezuela reporting the highest proportion of firearm-related suicide deaths.

Related: Is suicide prevention finally working in India? Lancet study shows how suicide death rate went down by 30% from 1990 to 2021 — The Indian Express

EDITORSʼ NOTE

Ready for CUGH!

GHN has landed in Atlanta for the 16th annual Consortium of Universities for Global Health conference. If you’re here too, let us know—we’d love to hear from you!

Stop by GHN’s exhibit booth (#20) to say hi, let us know what you’re up to, and share any story ideas.

Find out who won this year’s Untold Global Health Story contest at the awards ceremony (Saturday, Feb. 22, 3–4 p.m., Salon West and East at the Hilton Atlanta).

Cap off your conference and practice pitching your ideas at the Pulitzer-GHN Communications Workshop (Sunday, Feb. 23, 1:30 p.m., Room 205–207).

If you’re here, please give us a shout and send along any tips: bsimpso1@jhu.edu and dkerecm1@jhu.edu

All best,
Dayna and Brian

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

The Latest

One-Liners

Mass polio vaccination in Gaza is set to continue next week, as health officials aim to reach 591,000+ children under age 10 in response to the recent detection of poliovirus in wastewater samples there. WHO

Muscle-building supplement use has been associated with muscle dysmorphia among Canadian adolescents and young adults, per a new study published in PLOS Mental Health; the study found that muscle dysmorphia symptoms increased as the number of supplements used grew. CNN

Malaria susceptibility can vary among ethnic groups due to genetic and lifestyle factors that influence immune responses, finds a new study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, which compared immune cells of children from two West-African ethnic groups. Medical Xpress

Cash rewards for mosquito captures are being offered by a village near Manila, as the Philippines faces a 40% increase in dengue cases in the country; health officials fear the move could backfire if people try to propagate mosquitos for the reward. The Guardian

Trump Administration News

RFK Jr. targets transgender protections in one of first moves at HHS – The Washington Post

Administration Fires Border Health Inspectors Who Screen For Diseases – KFF

Trump Administration Reverses Plan to End Free COVID Test Program – U.S. News & World Report

What’s next for the World Health Organization? US exit could reshape agency – Nature

Trump’s dismantling of USAid raises risk of mpox global emergency, experts warn – The Guardian

GHN EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY

A nurse takes care of a dengue fever patient at the Sergio Bernales National Hospital, in the outskirts of Lima, Peru, on April 17, 2024. Juan Carlos CISNEROS/AFP via Getty

Why Latin America Needs Its Own CDC—Now More Than Ever

Latin American governments must champion the creation of a regional CDC, recognizing that preparedness is essential for health security, three public health leaders from Mexico and Peru argue in an exclusive GHN commentary.

Pandemic lesson: When COVID-19 swept through Latin America, it exposed the region’s lack of coordinated public health response mechanisms.

Despite being home to 8.2% of the world’s population, Latin America accounted for 10% of global COVID-19 cases and 25% of deaths.

But: Latin America today remains structurally vulnerable to the next pandemic, write Patricia J. García, Jorge Saavedra, and Ariel García.

The unprecedented surge in dengue cases in the region over the past year have again exposed the limitations of fragmented national responses, they write.

The Africa CDC Model: Launched in 2017, the Africa CDC facilitated during COVID the joint procurement of vaccines and medical supplies, coordinated emergency responses, and strengthened surveillance across the continent.

Latin America needs a similar regional agency that would work alongside PAHO to ensure faster, more efficient responses to health emergencies, according to the authors.

Read the full commentary for details on next steps required for making the Latin America CDC a reality.

Patricia J. García, Jorge Saavedra, and Ariel García for Global Health NOW

Editor’s note: Drs. Garcia and Saavedra will discuss the challenges and benefits of creating a LATAM CDC during a Feb. 21 session at the Consortium of Universities for Global Health conference in Atlanta.

Nota del editor: GHN ha publicado una versión en español del comentario.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

USAID

Mass Health Care Layoffs Across Africa

In health systems across Africa, tens of thousands of doctors, nurses, lab technicians, and other health workers at U.S.-funded programs have been laid off, as the fallout continues from the Trump administration’s abrupt freeze on foreign funding.

In Uganda, ~3,000 doctors, nurses, and other health personnel have lost their jobs, per the Ugandan Medical Association.

In Kenya, hundreds of layoffs have already taken effect at key hospitals; ~41,000 health workers in the country are employed with funding from USAID or PEPFAR, health officials estimate.

The Quote: “It is the patients who will suffer the most,” said Salome Kimani, a physician at Gikambura Hospital in Kenya, who said that despite a U.S. federal judge’s ruling to lift the freeze, health workers’ futures remain in limbo.

The Telegraph

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION

All Verklempt Over a Fishʼs Ascent

We usually advise readers to follow the science. Today weʼre making an exception, choosing to believe that a humpback anglerfish made her way to the oceanʼs surface not because she was sick, but because she wanted to take her last breath while basking in the sun.

The viral "black sea monster," aka the fish with the lightbulb on its head, usually lives thousands of feet into the depths of the ocean.

Burying the lede almost as deep, CBS News celebrated the rare surface sighting in a run-of-the-mill “Tuesday night creature feature.” Then TikTok got to the throbbing heart of the story, and now we canʼt stop crying.

Much like the little anglerfish rising from the deep, TikTokkersʼ tears welled up from their emotional depths, along with many theories.

While one wildlife biologist figured that the sick fish simply couldn’t “maintain zero buoyancy,” others linked her ascent to magical feminine resilience. “She finally saw a light she didnʼt have to make herself,” sobbed one user.

Who do you believe?

QUICK HITS

Three years of full-scale war in Ukraine roll back decades of progress for women’s rights, safety and economic opportunities – UN Women

mRNA vaccines show promise in pancreatic cancer in early trial – NBC News

Africa’s cholera resurgence exposes funding failures SciDev.Net

Norovirus: UK cases reach record high as hospitals struggle with capacity – The Times

Fog harvesting could provide water for arid cities – BBC

The WHO's Funding Gap: Filling the Medical Diplomacy Void – Think Global Health

Is This Common Herbicide Harming Your Health? – The New York Times (gift link)

Issue No. 2679

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

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

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

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

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Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Measles Gains Ground in Texas; Online Daters Kept in the Dark; and Plastic Credits Predicament

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 09:21:25 -0500

Global Health NOW: Measles Gains Ground in Texas; Online Daters Kept in the Dark; and Plastic Credits Predicament

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February 19, 2025


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A road sign delineating the Texas state line and welcoming visitors to Gaines County, Texas. Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty

Measles Gains Ground in Texas

A swiftly spreading measles outbreak in West Texas has grown to 58 cases, and an additional eight people in neighboring eastern New Mexico also have been diagnosed, reports the AP.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

The Latest

One-Liners

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

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

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

President Trump issued an executive order aimed at expanding access to IVF yesterday; he directed his assistant for domestic policy to draft policy ideas to protect IVF access and “aggressively” reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for the treatment within 90 days. NPR Shots

Health and Science Cuts: The Latest

______________________________________________

Mass firings decimate U.S. science agencies – Science

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

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

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

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

Censored Science Can’t Save Lives – The New York Times (commentary; gift article)

SEXUAL VIOLENCE

Online Daters Kept in the Dark

Online romance titan Match Group, owner of over a dozen dating apps, first received reports of Stephen Matthews assaulting another member in September 2020. Numerous reports followed for three years—until he was finally arrested and sentenced to 158 years’ incarceration for offenses against 11 women.

But why didn’t Match ban him after the first report?

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

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

The 19th

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Plastic Credits Predicament

The growing plastic credits sector is designed to address the tide of plastic waste.

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

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

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

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

AFP via Yahoo News

QUICK HITS

UN rights office warns of ‘dangerous tipping point’ as abuses surge in Sudan – UN News

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

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

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

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

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

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

Influencers to urge young people to not vape as part of UK government campaign – The Guardian

Issue No. 2678

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World Health Organization: UN to continue Gaza vaccination campaign against polio

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 07:00:00 -0500

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

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Stifled Oxygen Access; Gaps at Planned Parenthood; and ‘Egg-Harvesting Scheme’ Shocks Surrogacy Sector

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:28:38 -0500

Global Health NOW: Stifled Oxygen Access; Gaps at Planned Parenthood; and ‘Egg-Harvesting Scheme’ Shocks Surrogacy Sector

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February 18, 2025


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Babies receiving oxygen at Damascus Hospital on January 28 in Damascus, Syria. Spencer Platt/Getty

Stifled Oxygen Access

COVID-19 laid bare the need for medical oxygen—and inequities in access, the New York Times notes (gift article), leading to the formation of a Lancet Global Health Commission on medical oxygen security.

Now—weeks after the Trump administration freeze on aid programs, including some that could have improved oxygen access—the commission has published its findings, detailing stark disparities:

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

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

Rising need: Oxygen demand is rising, driven by a growing and aging population and air pollution, the committee authors note.

Call for investment: Medical oxygen is as cost-effective as routine childhood immunization, and if access is expanded, it could “benefit many health goals simultaneously,” the committee found.

The collection includes articles detailing innovative solutions—including one pointing to successes in Ethiopia and another on embedding nursing involvement.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

The Latest

One-Liners

Noncommunicable diseases will cause more deaths in sub-Saharan Africa than infectious diseases by 2030, researchers announced at the recent 4th Global NCD Alliance Forum in Kigali, Rwanda; NCDs are linked to 74% of global deaths, per WHO. The Nation

Confirmed illnesses caused by contaminated food in the U.S. rose to 1,392 last year, a 25% increase over 2023, per a new US Public Interest Research Group report; almost all of the cases involved either Listeria, Salmonella, or Escherichia coli. CIDRAP

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

An apparent spillover from wild birds to dairy cattle has made Arizona the 17th U.S. state in which H5N1 has been detected in dairy herds; the virus has been found in nearly 970 herds nationwide since March 2024. STAT

Trump Administration News

__________________________________________________

South Africa has more people living with HIV than any other country. Trump’s aid freeze has hit hard – AP

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

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

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

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

The Erasing of American Science – The Atlantic

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE

Gaps at Planned Parenthood

Many Planned Parenthood clinics are in crisis, as funding shortages have led to a “dire need” of upgrades, employee turnover, and lapses in patient care, an investigation by The New York Times has found.

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

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

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

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

The New York Times (gift link)

Related:

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

Prayer and prosecutions: the US ‘hate group’ waging war over Britain’s abortion clinic buffer zones – The Guardian

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

HUMAN RIGHTS

‘Egg-Harvesting Scheme’ Shocks Surrogacy Sector

The Georgian Interior Ministry has launched an investigation into human trafficking after several women who sought work there as surrogates reported being forced to have their eggs removed.

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

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

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

QUICK HITS

With 10 Days Of Talks Left, It's 'Now Or Never' For Pandemic Agreement – Health Policy Watch

Guillain Barre Syndrome cases rise to 207: Over half of cases are in 5-km radius from Sinhagad Road, shows health dept data – The Indian Express

Updated bird flu vaccine for poultry gets license – Axios

Woman in cancer remission for record 19 years after CAR-T immune treatment – Nature

The Lingering Trauma of COVID Coverage for Italian Journalists – Nieman Reports

The Coming Democratic Baby Bust – The Atlantic

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

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

What are the best AI tools for research? Nature’s guide – Nature

Issue No. 2677

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��о�� Faculty of Medicine news: ��о�� researchers receive funding from the Canadian Cancer Society for cancer equity research

Mon, 17 Feb 2025 15:31:39 -0500

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

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: U.S. Agencies Brace for More Cuts; Launching a Vaccine Trial During an Ebola Outbreak; and The ‘Wild West’ of Antivenoms in Africa

Mon, 17 Feb 2025 10:03:41 -0500

Global Health NOW: U.S. Agencies Brace for More Cuts; Launching a Vaccine Trial During an Ebola Outbreak; and The ‘Wild West’ of Antivenoms in Africa

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February 17, 2025


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People at a "Save the Civil Service" rally hosted by the American Federation of Government Employees outside the U.S. Capitol. February 11, Washington, D.C. Kent Nishimura/Getty

U.S. Health and Aid Agencies Brace for (More) Impact

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary last week amid upheaval at the nation’s health agencies, as deep staffing cuts were announced and the future of international aid and research funding remains tenuous.

Scientists and health leaders say they expect more turmoil.

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

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

A closer look:

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

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

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

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

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

Related:

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

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

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

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

'My wife fears sex, I fear death' - impacts of the USAID freeze – BBC

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

The Latest

One-Liners

A measles outbreak in rural west Texas continues to spread, with 49 cases confirmed, most among unvaccinated school-age children; officials suspect the true number of infections is closer to 200–300 cases. NBC

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

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

President Donald Trump directed his administration to evaluate the “threat” to children posed by antidepressants, stimulants, and other common psychiatric drugs as part of an executive order signed Thursday establishing a commission led by newly confirmed health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has criticized the use of those drugs. The Washington Post

GHN EXCLUSIVE

A nurse injects a dose of an Ebola virus vaccine at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, on Feb. 3. Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua via Getty Images

Launching a Vaccine Trial During an Ebola Outbreak

Just four days after Uganda’s Ministry of Health announced a new Ebola outbreak on Jan. 30, a team of local and international investigators began a trial of a vaccine candidate against the Sudan virus.

Swati Gupta, IAVI vice president, shares details in an interview with GHN about how the clinical trial was launched so quickly. Key points:

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

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

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

Read the full article for information on the trial’s use of the ring vaccination strategy and other details.

Brian W. Simpson, Global Health NOW

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

NEGLECTED DISEASES

The ‘Wild West’ of Antivenoms in Africa

In sub-Saharan Africa, a venomous snakebite is too often a death sentence: ~20,000 people in the region are killed each year, with rural populations especially impacted by lack of access to care and by severe antivenom shortages.

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

Diluted and fraudulent antivenoms have flooded the poorly regulated market.

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

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

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism

OPIOID CRISIS

Overdose Deaths—Through the Lens of One County

Hamilton County, Ohio, has long battled a staggering opioid overdose epidemic. But that is starting to change.

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

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

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

Broadened access to naloxone and opioid addiction treatment

More outreach programs

Crackdowns on Chinese chemical suppliers and Mexican criminal groups manufacturing fentanyl

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

The Washington Post (gift link)

QUICK HITS

Dispatch: Children reduced to skin and bones in war-torn Sudan’s forgotten famine – The Telegraph

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

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

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

The teen loneliness machine – Axios

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

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

Are PhDs losing their lustre? Why fewer students are enrolling in doctoral degrees – Nature

Issue No. 2676

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Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Eyes on RFK Jr; Re-mapping Medicine in Burma; and Cat Diplomat Naps on the Job

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 09:40:11 -0500

Global Health NOW: Eyes on RFK Jr; Re-mapping Medicine in Burma; and Cat Diplomat Naps on the Job

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February 13, 2025


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RFK Jr., President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, arrives for his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on January 29, in Washington, D.C. Anna Moneymaker via Getty

Eyes on RFK Jr.

The U.S. Senate is poised to vote on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation as the nation’s Health Secretary today, amid concerns about his vaccine skepticism and conflicts of interest, reports the AP.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More Trump Transition News:

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

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

This is what happens to the body when HIV drugs are stopped for millions of people – AP

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

The Latest

One-Liners

83% of mpox cases in the DRC’s outbreak have been linked to sex work, finds a new study of Clade 1b’s epidemiologic and genomic evolution published in Nature Medicine. CIDRAP

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

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

Once-weekly semaglutides used to treat obesity could help curb alcohol cravings, a small new study published in JAMA Psychiatry has found; researchers say the findings bear further study. AP

CONFLICT

Re-mapping Medicine in Burma

Health care in Burma “is in collapse,” following four brutal years of civil war, per a recent UN situation report.

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

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

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

The Telegraph

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

GUNS

Disarming Domestic Abusers

In Tennessee, ~40% of women killed in domestic violence shootings were shot by someone who was barred from having a gun at the time of the crime.

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

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

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

ProPublica

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION

Cat Diplomat to Nap on the Job

“Sorry, Iʼm retired” is a great way to avoid pesky requests. But if the new gig is in Bermuda … that may change things.

It did for Palmerston the cat, former chief mouser at the UK Foreign Office.

Because a “quieter and easier” life in the British countryside wasnʼt relaxing enough, the diplomat came out of retirement to join his adoptive father for the “purr-fect” gig in the pink sand paradise, The Independent reports.

Key cat asset: Itʼs well known that humans just want to be liked by cats, and Palmerstonʼs feline air of indifference could derail diplomatic talks with a single side-eye. Not to mention his considerable soft—and fluffy—power. “I just welled up over a cat retiring,” gushed one fan after his 2020 departure from official duties.

Now heʼs back, but with boundaries. In a silent attack on ʼthis could have been an emailʼ-ism, Palmerston “will attend only the meetings he deems important, offering advice when necessary,” between naps.

QUICK HITS

J&J, Sanofi stop E.coli vaccine trial due to low effectiveness – Reuters

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

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

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

An asteroid could hit Earth in 2032. Don't panic — yet – Axios

Issue No. 2675

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Issue No. 2675

��о�� Faculty of Medicine news: ��о�� researchers receive funding from the Canadian Cancer Society for cancer equity research