Ongoing conflicts and vaccine hesitancy are undermining efforts to immunize all children, according to a report tabled at the World Health Organization’s Executive Board meeting. Over 120 million people were displaced by conflicts in 2024 alone, according to the WHO. Countries will have to put in significant efforts to achieve the 2030 target of averting […] Continue reading ->
Countries are significantly off track in meeting global targets set to transform mental health systems, according to the latest Director-General report tabled at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Executive Board meeting. Around 1.1 billion people were estimated to be living with a mental health disorder, according to the latest WHO data available for 2021. Financial […] Continue reading ->
“You start with, as in my case, with the loss of three generations of my family to various forms of Alzheimer’s or dementia.” Those were the words of George Vradenburg. For him, brain health is not an abstract policy issue. It is a lived reality that mirrors a fast-growing global crisis. This issue was the […] Continue reading ->
In the latest episode of Trailblazers with Garry, Garry Aslanyan visits Accra, Ghana, to speak with Professor John Owusu Gyapong, Secretary General of the African Research Universities Alliance. Gyapong took on the role in 2024, leading efforts to strengthen research collaboration across African universities. His work focusses on building capacity within the continent and supporting […] Continue reading ->
The United States said Thursday that it had officially completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO). But WHO member states are not obliged to accept the US departure as legally binding until it pays up on some $260.6 million in dues owed for 2024- and 2025, WHO’s Director General contends in a report […] Continue reading ->
The Gates Foundation and OpenAI announced a $50 million “pilot” on Wednesday to “advance AI capabilities for health” in Africa. Horizon 1000 promises “funding, technology, and technical support” to roll out AI solutions to 1,000 African primary healthcare clinics by 2028. “AI is going to be a scientific marvel no matter what, but for it […] Continue reading ->
One year ago today (20 January), the Trump administration exploded the global health sector by immediately “pausing” all aid for 90 days – and dispensing with 83% of US Agency for International Development (USAID) projects six weeks later. Trillionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) “chainsawed” at USAID projects and contracts, folding […] Continue reading ->
LAGOS – On 6 January, literary icon Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie lost one of her 21-month-old twin boys at Euracare, an elite private hospital in Lagos, Nigeria. Adichie alleges “criminal negligence”, specifically an overdose of propofol and oxygen deprivation, leading to the death of her son, Nkanu Nnamdi. The hospital maintains it followed “international standards” and […] Continue reading ->
The $9.4 billion package agreed to by the US Senate and House Appropriations Committees, is more than double the $3.7 billion requested by the Trump Administration, and signals bipartisan support for maintaining significant global health aid – although the package still must be approved by both Senate and House, and could also be vetoed by […] Continue reading ->
Stigma remains one of the most under-examined yet damaging forces shaping global health policy and practice, according to anthropologist Alex Brewis, who argues that shame-based approaches often undermine the very outcomes health interventions aim to achieve. In a recent episode of Dialogues, a special program of the Global Health Matters Podcast hosted by Dr. Garry […] Continue reading ->