Meet the Scientist Warning the World About the Next Pandemic

02/05/2025 Maayan Hoffman

In the first episode of “Trailblazers with Gary,” Global Health Matters podcast host Dr Garry Aslanyan sat down in South Africa with Professor Tulio de Oliveira — one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people in global health. Oliveira leads the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation at Stellenbosch University and was part of the […] Continue reading ->

How More Informed ‘Self-Care’ Could Reduce Major Burden of Chronic Disease

27/04/2025 Maayan Hoffman

Self-care can be a key strategy in tackling the global crisis of non-communicable diseases that are responsible for three-quarters of premature deaths globally and 86 percent of early deaths (before age 70) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Moreover, dentists, pharmacists and community health workers are trained professionals who can provide innovative forms of self-care […] Continue reading ->

Why 3.5 Billion People Lack Basic Oral Care—and What Needs to Change

13/04/2025 Maayan Hoffman

Half of the world’s population has no access to any kind of oral care and lives with untreated oral disease every day, according to Dr. Habib Benzian, a dentist and professor of epidemiology and health promotion at New York University. “There’s no other disease group that affects so many people,” Benzian said. In fact, oral […] Continue reading ->

Mothers’ Message at World Air Pollution Conference: Behind Every Statistic is a Child Struggling to Breathe

01/04/2025 Editorial team

From Warsaw to Mexicali, a group of mothers from six cities worldwide came together to create and present a quilt highlighting the threat of dirty air to their children at the World Health Organization (WHO) Conference on Air Pollution and Health held in Cartagena, Colombia last week. Each block of the quilt tells the story […] Continue reading ->

How ‘Everyday Heroes’ in Nigeria Are Cleaning Up Their Communities

24/03/2025 Abdullahi Jimoh

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 ->

Why Do Health Inequality Solutions Keep Failing?

15/03/2025 Maayan Hoffman

How can health inequality be reduced? This was the topic of the most recent episode of the Global Health Matters podcast with Dr. Garry Aslanyan. Understanding Health Inequality “Health inequity is produced by and within social relations that govern the production and exchange of concrete material things that we need to survive and flourish, to […] Continue reading ->

‘I Cried Every Day’—How a Noma Survivor Turned Tragedy Into Triumph

15/03/2025 Maayan Hoffman

“There is ability in disability,” says Mulikat Okanlawon, a Noma survivor from Nigeria. Okanlawon shared this message on a recent episode of the Global Health Matters podcast with Dr. Garry Aslanyan. The episode was one of two focused on the real-life experiences of people living with neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Noma primarily affects children. The […] Continue reading ->

Brain Health is a Challenge That Needs Global Collaboration

23/01/2025 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

DAVOS, Switzerland – While the United States decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization has thrown the world of global health into turmoil, former US Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy remains hopeful that a “more thoughtful” conversation can be held with the new US Administration of President Donald Trump once the political dust has settled. […] Continue reading ->

Is ‘White Saviorism’ Blocking Progress in Global Health?

18/01/2025 Maayan Hoffman

How do you define “white saviorism?” According to Themrise Khan, white saviorism is “imprinted psychologically in the minds of anyone who wants to be a saviour, anyone who thinks that they are superior to others and thinks that it is only them who can bring betterment into the lives of others.” This phenomenon often manifests […] Continue reading ->

The ‘Soft Power’ of Public Health; Global Coalition of Deans Etches A Way Forward

23/12/2024 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

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 ->