Influential conservatives have long sought to curtail the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) – and the actions of four nurses in Mozambique may have inadvertently given them the ammunition to do just that. Deeply uncomfortable with the sexual dimension of HIV transmission, the powerful Heritage Foundation, which authored the conservative Project […] Continue reading ->
In 2024, the world reached an alarming milestone: the hottest global temperatures ever recorded. Floods, heat waves, tropical storms, hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires are affecting everyone, everywhere, with devastating consequences.  But behind the headlines of environmental catastrophe lies a quieter crisis: the health impacts of climate change on women, families and newborns, and the health […] Continue reading ->
From being a largely unknown pathogen, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is now almost a household word – and a fearful one for families with infants and young children at risk. But new solutions, such as long-acting monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and maternal vaccination, both recently recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), could dramatically alter the […] Continue reading ->
Last week, stakeholders gathered in Bangkok for the first-ever Regional Congress on Self-Care in the Asia-Pacific to discuss the importance of interventions and policies within the region. Throughout the proceedings, it was gratifying to see how increasing awareness and support for self-care is resonating regionally – as well as at national and global levels. WHO […] Continue reading ->
This week, experts and policymakers are convening at the Union’s World Conference on Lung Health to discuss tuberculosis (TB), the world’s deadliest and most neglected infectious disease. Since the turn of the 20th century, over one billion people have died from TB – a death toll greater than that from malaria, smallpox, HIV/AIDS, cholera, plague […] Continue reading ->
US President-elect Donald Trump railed against “globalists” during his election campaign, and his victory will have serious ramifications for global health – particularly for action against climate change, scientific institutions and regulatory bodies, United Nations agencies and sexual and reproductive health. 1. Climate denial “We will drill, baby, drill,” Trump told the Republican National Convention […] Continue reading ->
In 2021, I lost a close friend to tuberculosis (TB), the world’s most lethal infection. But I cannot say anything else about this friend, where I met him or when we became close.  The stigma surrounding tuberculosis is too impenetrable and, unfortunately, it would not be fair to my friend’s family. Still, for me, his […] Continue reading ->