Public health ended 2025 in one of its weakest positions in living memory – not because of a surge in disease, but because of a collapse in political, financial, and cultural support. Vaccination policies long considered settled science are being reversed, and industry-backed “junk science” is shaping legislation to derail proven nutrition policies. Even as […] Continue reading ->
The 12th Better Air Quality conference opened with a call to treat clean air as vital economic infrastructure, highlighting the large benefit-cost return – but financing clean-tech is a challenge in developing nations. BANGKOK – Short-term impacts of bad air quality don’t just cause high economic costs but also lead to children scoring poorly in […] Continue reading ->
Battered by a 58% cut from France, a delayed European Union (EU) pledge, and a US pullback, the Global Fund faces a significant shortfall, securing $12.64 billion against its $18 billion target during the 8th replenishment. According to the organization, reaching the full target would have prevented roughly 400 million new AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria […] Continue reading ->
US President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on “elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicide” is facing renewed scrutiny for potentially shielding a controversial weapon of war. The order promotes the domestic production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate. Elemental phosphorus is the raw material used in white phosphorus weapons, which cause severe burns and tissue damage, and […] Continue reading ->
Funding cuts over the past year have created a crisis for multilateral health institutions. Which institutions emerge from this crisis, and in what form, will have real consequences for the health of people in countries like South Africa. In recent weeks, there has been a glut of articles from global health big-hitters, all concerned with […] Continue reading ->
While air pollution claims more than eight million lives annually, the burden of proving exactly which air polluters or tailpipes caused a specific lung cancer or child’s asthma attack has rested firmly on the shoulders of the sick. That is about to change, according to a landmark United Nations (UN) report by Astrid Puentes Riaño, […] Continue reading ->
The United States was isolated in its opposition to the adoption of “agreed conclusions” at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on Tuesday, recording the only “no” vote at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Monday. There were 37 votes in favour and six abstentions from Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic […] Continue reading ->
The 12th Better Air Quality conference in Bangkok, which opens on Wednesday, is the first large climate and air quality gathering since the US and Israel attacked Iran, triggering an oil and gas-energy crisis. BANGKOK – The ‘Gulf War 3’ threatens to slow down climate action and the move to cleaner air. However, in the […] Continue reading ->
The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) began its 10-day session in New York on Monday, amid efforts by the United States to weaken women’s rights proposed in the draft outcome document. The theme of the CSW, the world’s biggest global meeting on women’s rights, is “ensuring and strengthening access to justice […] 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 ->