Each year, hundreds of thousands of women die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth that are well understood and largely preventable.  Most of these deaths occur in low and middle-income countries, with sub-Saharan Africa carrying the greatest burden. At the same time, millions of families continue to face financial barriers to essential health services, […] Continue reading ->
Andrew Ullmann and Michael Moore  For six decades, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants was a public health problem without a solution.  According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), an estimated 250,000 children under five are hospitalised each year across Europe due to RSV infection, overwhelming paediatric wards each winter, and […] Continue reading ->
Cervical cancer should no longer be killing women. It is one of the few cancers that we already know how to prevent, detect early, and treat effectively.  Yet it remains the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide, causing around 600,000 new cases and 340,000 deaths each year.  The tragedy is not just the scale […] Continue reading ->
The Human papillomavirus (HPV35), globally associated with only 2% of invasive cervical cancers (ICC), has a disproportionately higher prevalence in sub‐Saharan Africa, reaching rates of 22-30% in some countries among women with ICC lesions, according to a new study. Recently, a high-level panel called for redoubled efforts in HPV vaccination, screening and treatment to meet […] Continue reading ->
Climate-change related temperature increases are making physical exercise more uncomfortable and dangerous, especially for people in lower-and-middle income countries. A new study from The Lancet estimates this could lead to half a million more premature deaths and aboout $2.5 billion dollars a year in lost economic productivity. In a village in Upper Egypt, a women’s-only […] Continue reading ->
A United States judge has temporarily halted US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s anti-vaccine agenda, ruling on Monday that Kennedy’s firing of the country’s vaccine advisory committee and changes to childhood vaccinations were likely illegal. US District Judge Brian Murphy ruled that the January changes to the vaccination schedule and Kennedy’s firing of all […] Continue reading ->
In a landmark decision, the European Commission is allowing member states to utilize existing EU funds to finance access to safe abortions. This move represents a significant shift in European reproductive health, although it stops short of providing financial certainty for women seeking essential reproductive healthcare. “Behind every unsafe abortion is a woman forced to […] Continue reading ->
India launched the most extensive free Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination initiative in history to systematically combat the rising toll of cervical cancer. This ambitious 90-day campaign aims to inoculate nearly 12 million 14-year-old girls before the preventative shot is permanently integrated into the country’s universal immunization schedule. “India has joined the community of 160 countries […] Continue reading ->