In April 2022, amidst the continuing uproar of the COVID pandemic, four deans of schools of public health from the USA, China, Switzerland and Singapore, first got on a call with each other to see how they could ramp up cooperation – remotely. Barred by lockdowns from the usual academic meetings and conferences, the urge […] Continue reading ->
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s last countrywide anti-polio drive of 2024 is set to conclude on 22 December but eradicating polio remains a challenge for the government, and this year’s surge in cases has resulted in calls for an independent audit of the program. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries in the world battling to […] Continue reading ->
Brazil’s National Congress approved a selective tax on tobacco, soft drinks, and alcohol this week as part of wide-ranging fiscal reform that also saw a reduction in taxes on healthy foods. The trio of unhealthy consumables is now located in the same tax category as harmful goods and products including coal, vehicles and betting. The […] Continue reading ->
Although malaria, compounded by malnutrition, seems the most likely cause of the mysterious illness in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), haemorrhagic fever syndrome has not been ruled out. Dr Ngashi Ngongo, mpox lead for Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), told a media briefing on Thursday that there were two “working […] Continue reading ->
Medical institutions were the last hope for Afghan girls and women seeking higher education since the Taliban banned schools and universities for women “Why do you torture us every day? Just give us poison and end it all,” a heartbroken Afghan medical student told Taliban forces, expressing the despair of thousands of girls whose dreams […] Continue reading ->
New evidence shows that one in four deaths between 2009 and 2019 is linked to PM 2.5, one of the most dangerous pollutants commonly monitored. NEW DELHI – In November Delhi recorded its worst day of air pollution since 2019. As concerned citizens expressed outrage, authorities scrambled for answers – and it seems that the […] Continue reading ->
Robert Kennedy Jr, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the United States health system, arrived in Washington, D. C. on Monday to rally support from lawmakers for his candidacy amid fears from health experts that the anti-vaccine activist and lawyer could roll back hard-won public health gains credited with saving millions of lives and protecting […] Continue reading ->
Some two million people may get access to lenacapavir, the twice-yearly antiretroviral injection that prevents HIV injection, within the next three years, thanks to the Global Fund and United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The initiative is contingent upon regulatory approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), national pharmaceutical regulators, […] Continue reading ->
Climate change, unplanned urbanization, sprawling cities, and the El Nino effect all converged to make 2024 a “historic” year for dengue transmission. With increased opportunities for Aedes aegypti mosquitoes–the insects that carry dengue– to breed, cases reached a record 12.7 million cases in the WHO’s Americas Region, nearly three times more than in 2023. This translates […] Continue reading ->
Some 75% of heat-related deaths occurred amongst people under the age of 35 , and one-third of such deaths were young adults between the ages of 18 to 35, according to a new study on heat mortality in Mexico. This contradicts previous assumptions that the elderly are the most vulnerable to heat. “We project, as […] Continue reading ->