There is an urgent need for a more comprehensive pandemic risk monitoring system that tracks threats and preparedness in real time, according to the WHO-hosted Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, in a report launched at the World Health Summit. This followed the release of a new World Health Organization data documenting the sharp global rise in […] Continue reading ->
Beyond the rehabilitation of bodies, mind and critical Gaza health, housing, water and sanitation infrastructure, both Israelis and Palestinians need to confront the darks side of their respective narratives around the two-year war in Gaza in order to advance a cease-fire and, beyond that, a more durable peace. As hopes of a cease-fire between warring […] Continue reading ->
While deaths from malaria have fallen by 29% since over the past two decades, mortality could rise again this year due to the cuts in global health funding seen recently, says Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. “There has been a significant impact…and I suspect that we […] Continue reading ->
A new White House “pocket rescission package” threatens to throw the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Americas branch of the World Health Organization, into a financial crisis – if it is not stopped by the US Congress before the end of September. The White House order, announced on the eve of the long US […] Continue reading ->
Canada’s struggle with substance use is more than a health issue—it’s a matter of language, policy, and public trust, said Dr. Kwame McKenzie in the latest episode of the Global Health Matters podcast with Dr. Garry Aslanyan. McKenzie, CEO of the Wellesley Institute and Director of Health Equity at Canada’s Centre for Addiction and Mental […] Continue reading ->
After 2024 became the warmest year on record, with temperatures rising 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels for the first time ever, humanity is “moving into the unknown,” said Andy Haines, professor of environmental change and public health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. “We are now above the Paris Agreement’s preferred target […] Continue reading ->
The global childhood vaccination rate in 2024 held steady with 85% of infants and children receiving three doses of the vaccine for diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (DPT), used as a global benchmark for immunization rates overall. However large, continued gaps in coverage are propelling outbreaks, including the highest rate of measles cases since 2019. “In […] Continue reading ->
Dr Joanne Liu, a veteran humanitarian and former international president of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has seen the front lines of global health crises—from Ebola in West Africa to bombed-out hospitals in Afghanistan. But her message today is clear: “An imperfect solution is better than no solution.” Speaking on the Global Health Matters podcast, Liu […] Continue reading ->
As the world observes World Zoonoses Day, it’s important to remember that human health is intimately tied to the health of animals, wild and domesticated. Five years after COVID-19, the world remains alert to health threats that can cross over from animals to people. Alongside growing concerns over high-profile spillovers like avian influenza, the silent […] Continue reading ->
The world faces a global health funding crisis, but John-Arne Røttingen believes the solution goes beyond money. It lies in stronger partnerships between governments, researchers, and citizens. “Science is not enough to change the world,” said Røttingen, the newly appointed CEO of Wellcome, one of the world’s largest global health foundations. “It must be allied […] Continue reading ->