The Global Diabetes Compact aims to improve diagnosis, care, and access to life-saving medications for those with diabetes. Already, countries in high-burden regions have improved along these key metrics. But as the number of people living with diabetes is projected to increase nearly 50% globally by 2050, much more needs to be accomplished.  In a […] Continue reading ->
Steatotic liver disease (SLD) was recognized as a “missing piece” of the global noncommunicable disease response in a milestone World Health Assembly resolution last week. With countries making extraordinary progress in combating viral hepatitis, SLD, formerly known as fatty liver disease, is now the fastest-growing chronic liver disease – but far less recognized. Experts and […] Continue reading ->
Three emerging threats to health: the commercial, digital, and climate determinants of health played centre stage at an event 40 years after a WHO charter shifted the focus of health from individual lifestyle choices to broader social and environmental determinants. Commercial formula company practices are just one case study of how structural factors like marketing […] Continue reading ->
While the health harms of biomass cookstoves, and the smoke they produce inside the homes of developing countries has received significant attention in the past two decades, a wide range of chemical and pathogenic air pollutants create hazards in modern homes and buildings – also threatening health. Investments in ventilation, air filtration, monitoring, and clean […] Continue reading ->
The White House has fired all 24 members of the National Science Board (NSB), the group that advises the National Science Foundation (NSF), in what some observers described as another example of the Trump Administration’s ‘blunt force approach’ to reshaping the nation’s science-based institutions.  As of Monday evening, the White House still had not provided […] Continue reading ->
US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr offered contradictory responses that the country’s new leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would be able to make decisions independent of political interference, especially around vaccines. The White House announced late last week its fourth pick in a year for CDC director, […] Continue reading ->
A joint announcement by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) on microplastics made inaccurate claims about how many plastic particles exist in the brain, while providing an unclear regulatory plan to address this. But a study published in Nature Health found microplastics in nearly every one of its 191 […] Continue reading ->
The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) will soon unveil a new Roadmap on Air Quality and Health, following on from a meeting with countries and other stakeholders in February in Mexico.  The PAHO strategy dovetails with an ambitious new regional action plan by the UN Environment Programme – which supports the work of environment ministries.  While […] Continue reading ->