The Department of Health and Human Services will cut an additional 10,000 full-time employees, bringing total reductions to nearly a quarter of the federal workforce responsible for Americans’ health. HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., who rose to prominence as the leader of the world’s largest anti-vaccine activist group before taking control of the US health […] Continue reading ->
Air pollution has been linked to poor brain development, as well as a higher risk of dementia and stroke. A link has also been established between exposure to air pollution and depression as well as higher suicide rates. The subject received attention at the second WHO’s global conference on air pollution and health in Cartagena, […] Continue reading ->
Leaders of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) held a five-hour meeting with Dr Susan Monarez, newly appointed head of the US CDC, and other US officials on Wednesday – for the first time since the US slashed funding to Africa’s health sector. Discussion centred on health security, funding for Africa […] Continue reading ->
CARTAGENA, Colombia – From toxic methane flares in the Amazon rainforest to the death of a nine-year-old girl from London smog, the second WHO Conference on Air Pollution and Health opened Tuesday with a series of emotional testimonials on the deadly effects of smog. Behind the human stories, however, stands a mounting array of evidence […] Continue reading ->
The United States plans to stop funding the global vaccine alliance, Gavi, which assists developing countries to buy vaccines to protect their children, according to a spreadsheet obtained by the New York Times. Gavi is one of the 5,341 US Agency for International Development (USAID) grantees that the US intends to cut, according to the […] Continue reading ->
CARTAGENA, Colombia – A small group of climate pollutants– including the air pollutants black carbon, methane, and ozone – are responsible for nearly half of global temperature increases to date. Reducing these emissions, which only remain in the atmosphere for a few weeks to decades, could serve as the “emergency brake” critical to halting runaway […] Continue reading ->
Civil society organisations (CSOs) globally face investigation, restrictions and harassment in dozens of countries after US President Donald Trump claimed that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) was run by “radical left lunatics” and Elon Musk claimed that several grantees supported terror organisations. This is according to a recent survey carried out by the […] Continue reading ->
The US Congress’s one-year reauthorisation of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) expires on Tuesday (25 March) and there is no clarity about its future – other than that it is likely to be slashed. The only Bill up for discussion on this date that has any connection to PEPFAR is the Reorganizing […] Continue reading ->
OSOGBO, Nigeria – A few years back, when the bustling Alekuwodo market in Osogbo in Osun State quietened down at night, the chaos of the day lingered. Crushed tomatoes, discarded papers, plastic wrappers, bean husks, watermelon rinds and other fruit scraps turned the market square into a suffocating mess. As the sun set, the stench […] Continue reading ->
CARTAGENA, Colombia – A tour bus emits a cloud of black diesel smoke in front of Cartagena’s glittering white conference center. It is a vivid reminder that from the hottest tourist destinations to the slums of Latin America, Asia and Africa, nine out of ten people on the planet breathe dangerously unhealthy levels of air […] Continue reading ->