Independent journalism is increasingly important to understanding the political and financial forces shaping global health, yet the reporters covering these decisions face growing pressure and an uncertain financial future, according to Priti Patnaik, founder and editor of Geneva Health Files. Speaking with Dr Garry Aslanyan on the Global Health Matters podcast’s Trailblazers with Garry series, […] Continue reading ->
As countries continue negotiating the unfinished WHO Pandemic Agreement, one of the original accord’s architects warns that delays could put the process itself at risk. “I think it’s quite risky to have a too-long negotiation because that means that we will lose diplomats and public health experts who were involved at the very beginning,” said […] Continue reading ->
“We have better tools now. We can, if we work together and work better, we can conquer AIDS.” For Dr. Magda Robalo, a public health physician and former Minister of Health of Guinea-Bissau, the science behind the HIV response has advanced dramatically, but the social and political environment surrounding the disease may be moving in […] Continue reading ->
“When you aim to deliver zero, and that is the goal of eradication, what it means is every person, every community, every village is equally important.” That is how Dr. Jamal Ahmed, WHO Director for Polio Eradication, explains why eliminating a disease requires a fundamentally different level of ambition than simply controlling it. Speaking on […] Continue reading ->
“Those are people who are being killed socially.” That is how Dr. Marcus Lacerda, Director of the WHO-hosted Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), describes children whose futures are shaped by repeated bouts of vivax malaria. Lacerda, who joined TDR in March 2026, has spent more than 25 years studying […] Continue reading ->
“It wasn’t unusual for shells and missiles to smash through the upper floors, leaving sizeable holes. Every time we were hit, we’d wonder if we should close the hospital.” That is how Dr. Amani Ballour, a Syrian paediatrician and the first female director of a hospital in a Syrian war zone, recalls working in an […] Continue reading ->
People typically think of pandemics in terms of their biological consequences, but science journalist Laura Spinney argues that their impact is shaped just as much by human behaviour and language. On a recent episode of “Dialogues,” part of the Global Health Matters podcast series, Spinney joined host Garry Aslanyan to discuss the lessons of the […] Continue reading ->
Global health is facing a funding crisis. Aid is shrinking, debt is rising, and the needs are only increasing. According to Christoph Benn of the Joep Lange Institute and Patrik Silborn of UNICEF Afghanistan, health systems will need to fundamentally rethink how they finance and sustain care. On a recent episode of the Global Health […] Continue reading ->
Global health leaders say the world needs to rethink how it approaches health, arguing that outdated systems, narrow thinking, and lack of coordination are slowing progress at a time of growing challenges. Speaking on the Global Health Matters podcast, Axel Pries, president of the World Health Summit, told host Dr Gary Aslanyan that improving health […] Continue reading ->
Global health is facing a crisis not only in funding, leadership, and trust, but also in information integrity, according to speakers on the first episode of The Inside Track, a new series from the Global Health Matters podcast. Host Garry Aslanyan was joined by Catherine Kyobutungi and Ricardo Baptista Leite for a conversation on how […] Continue reading ->