WASHINGTON, DC—In mid-May, the US National Security Advisor assembled a team of top advisors to discuss the mysterious illness emerging in Germany and Venezuela, with hundreds of cases and dozens of deaths since mid-April. Patients, including US military members, were…
Although malaria deaths have been nearly halved since 2000, the global health community is hardly in a celebratory mood on this World Malaria Day. The reason: Progress against malaria has recently stalled. “We are now at a turning point, warned WHO Director-General Tedros…
The few photos I have seen in newspaper clippings are remarkably similar: Small children with wet faces; their heads cranked back and their lifeless mouths open like dead fish. In one video, a young father tightens his face as he struggles to hold back his tears. The…
Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a massive government-funded program in India that will bring health insurance to more than 500 million people. The program includes establishing 150,000 health centers and providing access to secondary and tertiary care.…
If humanity is lucky, the next flu virus with pandemic potential will unfold somewhere quick to catch and contain the threat—a country with a strong public health service and well-stocked hospitals.
Around the world, from Asia to Africa, tens of millions of women have gained access to contraception in the past 5 years, making it possible for them to avoid unsafe abortions, unintended pregnancies and maternal deaths. This progress, reported last month by Family Planning…
Leading big changes in global health requires systems thinking, a desire to work outside of silos and across cultures—and humility, says Barbara Bush, CEO and founder of Global Health Corps. In a wide-ranging discussion, Bush compares notes with Krishna Rao, PhD, MSc, a…
In public health terms, 1000 isn’t a big number. There are 7.6 billion people in the world. $4.3 billion in the last WHO biennium budget. Some 37 trillion cells in your body... So, 1000 may not seem that big, but it is to us. At least today. If you read all the way to the…
Influenza preys on weak immune systems—and weak health systems. When the next flu pandemic hits, a nation’s successful response depends on strong health resources, infrastructure and leadership.
Does a 250-pound male linebacker need the same flu vaccine as a 120-pound female dancer? Probably not. Biomedical research has established that factors such as gender, age and body composition can affect the body’s immune responses prompted by vaccination. Pregnancy, a…
