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96 Global Health NOW: Europe鈥檚 鈥楴arrowing Window鈥� for Climate Action; and Burkina Faso鈥檚 Psychiatric Care Deficit Plus: Your Photos May Be Bad鈥擝ut Are They Bad Enough? April 23, 2026 TOP STORIES 21 African countries are battling measles outbreaks, and 493 deaths associated with the disease have been registered, reports the Africa CDC鈥攚hich highlighted that 72% of all cases and 95% of the deaths have occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  

The CDC will not publish a report showing the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines; sources familiar with the blocked report say it showed the vaccines reduced hospitalizations and emergency department visits 鈥宎mong 鈦爃ealthy adults by about half this past winter.     A revamped suicide and crisis hotline, 988, has been associated with an 11% drop in suicides among adolescents and young adults in U.S. compared with projected rates since the shortened number was launched in 2022, ; states with the biggest increases in answered calls also saw the largest decline in suicide rates.    A UK generational smoking ban passed this week in Parliament following a yearslong campaign; the directive means that children born after Dec. 31, 2008, will be banned from ever buying cigarettes.   IN FOCUS Locals and forest firefighters try to battle a wildfire in the village of Veiga das Meas, in northwestern Spain, on August 16, 2025. Miguel Riopa/AFP via Getty Europe鈥檚 鈥楴arrowing Window鈥� for Climate Action
Extreme heat, drought, vector-borne illnesses, and other climate-driven health risks are rapidly escalating across Europe, 鈥攚hich warns that political action and public will are not keeping pace with the need for urgent interventions, .  

• 鈥淭he health impacts of climate change are intensifying faster than our response is keeping up,鈥� said Joacim Rockl枚v, co-director of the Lancet Countdown Europe. 

Heat-related harms: Compared with the 1990s, extreme heat alerts are up 318%, and nearly all monitored European regions saw an increase in deaths attributable to heat.  

• Heat is also exacerbating sleep disruption and complications in chronic diseases and birth outcomes. 

Accelerating disease: The overall average risk of dengue outbreaks in Europe has quadrupled over the last decade, and reported cases of West Nile virus, chikungunya, and Zika virus are also rising regionwide.  

Food insecurity: Meanwhile, drought is contributing to rising food prices, which pushed over a million more people into moderate or severe food insecurity in 2023 compared to past decades. 

Lagging political response: While Europe has been a global leader in climate policy progress, the report warns that political and public engagement are stalling, and urges further actions 鈥渘eed to be accelerated鈥� including:  

• Swifter transition away from fossil fuels to other energy sources.  

• Implementing early warning systems for heat and other climate dangers into health care.  

• Targeted adaptation measures including expanded green spaces. 

Related: Heatwaves, floods and wildfires pose rising threat to democracy, report finds 鈥�  

MENTAL HEALTH Burkina Faso鈥檚 Psychiatric Care Deficit     In Burkina Faso, access to mental health care is scarce, with just 11 psychiatrists available to a population of 20 million+ people.     Strained system: Mental health services were already fragile, but recent years of conflict and insecurity in the region have led to the withdrawal of NGOs that helped provide care.  

• Meanwhile, a key nurse training program has been suspended, and the country is dealing with an exodus of medical professionals to other countries.  

Cultural dynamics: A great deal of misinformation and stigma are still attached to mental health disorders, and families often turn to spiritual healers for help instead of medical care.    Hope on the horizon? The government has announced a plan to train and employ 60 psychiatrists over the next five years.      OPPORTUNITY Take a Load Off ... Your Eyes  
Prolonged screen use is a reality of daily life for many of us.     Students at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have launched a campaign鈥擳ake 60鈥攖o encourage 60-second hourly screen breaks to help reduce digital eye strain and support better focus and overall eye health.    We hope you鈥檒l give it a try ... after scrolling down to read the Thursday Diversion!    ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Gullfoss, a waterfall on the Hv铆t谩 River, in southwest Iceland, in November 2023. This photo was taken by GHN's Morgan Coulson, who spent just 24 hours in Iceland on her way to Ireland, and couldn't find a bad shot. Your Photos May Be Bad鈥擝ut Are They Bad Enough? 
Are you generally uninterested in photography, not good at it, and regularly disappointed with your own photos? Do you have no regard for composition and take portraits from below? Of people eating? Did you 
 
There鈥檚 a prize for that鈥攁nd it comes with 鈥減ossible worldwide recognition鈥� and a trip to Iceland.
 
Icelandair is seeking the 鈥溾�� to prove that this supermodel of a country has no bad angles鈥攁 once-in-a-lifetime opportunity where 鈥渁 lack of skill makes you ideal for this task.鈥�
 
We admire Icelandair鈥檚 optimism, but suspect there鈥檚 someone out there that can still make a glacier look like a murky pond, a majestic volcano resemble an anthill, and give the Geysir a double chin. And we hope it鈥檚 us.
 

 
Thanks for the tip, Lindsay Smith Rogers!  QUICK HITS Why these treatments for one of the deadliest cancers are stirring such hope 鈥�      Residents in rural Sudan say the Iran war has made it harder to get medicines 鈥�     Pace of N.I.H. Funding Slows Further in Trump鈥檚 Second Year 鈥�     In hearings, RFK Jr claims no responsibility for measles spread 鈥�     Two common drugs may reverse fatty liver disease, study finds 鈥�      Britain鈥檚 拢8bn bet on the developing world 鈥�   Issue No. 2903
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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96 Global Health NOW: The Civilian Impact of War in Iran; and A Disease-Busting House Design April 22, 2026 TOP STORIES Human rights violations are on the rise internationally at the hands of both states and non-state actors who largely face no accountability, ; despite the grim findings, the report praises the 鈥渕asterful work鈥� of diplomats and activists seeking to strengthen civil rights and liberties.     Nearly half of U.S. children breathe dangerous levels of air pollution, , which also warned that the Trump administration鈥檚 sweeping rollback of protections will worsen the outlook.      A major mRNA vaccine trial will launch soon in Britain as the country seeks to prepare for a potential bird flu pandemic; the trial, led by Moderna and the U.K. Health Security Agency, will recruit 3,000 participants to test the human vaccine鈥檚 effectiveness.      WHO-recommended antibiotics for neonatal sepsis are largely ineffective in low-resource nations, of antibiotic resistance, which found that antibiotics like ampicillin and gentamicin were active against only 25% of cases in which they were used and had 鈥渓imited coverage against locally prevalent, highly resistant pathogens.鈥�   IN FOCUS A woman looks out over Resalat Square, where photos of civilians killed in recent U.S.-Israeli strikes are displayed. Tehran, Iran, April 20, Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty The Civilian Impact of War in Iran   The war in Iran is taking a deepening toll on civilian life as widespread damage to the country鈥檚 already-fragile natural resources, infrastructure, and health systems is 鈥減ushing one of the world鈥檚 most environmentally vulnerable regions toward catastrophe,鈥� (CAP).     So far, 1,700+ civilians鈥攊ncluding at least 254 children鈥攈ave been killed, .  

• But the true toll is difficult to gauge due to restricted reporting, damage to hospitals, and widespread communications blackouts.  

Health systems hollowed out: Even before the war, Iran鈥檚 health care system was weakened by sanctions and violence from recent unrest. As of April 3, ~300 medical facilities had been damaged, further hampering care, per CAP.     Environmental emergency: Already strained by years of drought and climate impacts, the region now faces 鈥渃ompounding harms鈥� from strikes on oil facilities and industrial sites鈥攍eading to long-term ecological risks from air, water, and soilcontamination.     Water scarcity, 鈥渇ood catastrophe鈥�: Attacks on water infrastructure threaten access to drinking water across the region. Meanwhile, analysts say the conflict鈥檚 impact on global food prices could lead to 鈥渃atastrophe,鈥� as shipping disruptions lead to shortages in oil and fertilizer needed for agricultural production, .  

• Such impacts will be most deeply felt by low-income countries in Africa and Asia.  

Call for humanitarian intervention: The report calls for urgent aid, but also long-term remediation centered on environmental harm鈥攊ncluding surveillance for chronic disease, soil recovery, and investments in more resilient water systems. 

Related:  Geopolitics and Humanitarian Health in Iran, Cuba, and Ukraine 鈥�  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ARCHITECTURE A Disease-Busting House Design
Well-designed 鈥淪tar Homes鈥濃�攚hich promote airflow, block insects, and feature outdoor latrines and rainwater collection systems鈥攃an reduce child mortality, demonstrates a randomized controlled trial in southern Tanzania, .    Per the research, led by Lorenz von Seidlein of the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit: 

• Children under 13 living in Star Homes were 44% less likely than those in the control group to suffer from malaria.

• Cases of diarrhea and respiratory infections were down by 30% and 18%, respectively.  

Drawbacks: The biggest barrier to broader application? The $8,800 price tag. But Seidlein says the goal wasn鈥檛 to prove that millions of Star Homes should be built. 

• The study showed that 鈥渋f you use better principles in building, you can probably achieve a massive effect,鈥� he said. 

  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS 鈥業t鈥檚 a powder keg鈥�: Romania leads EU measles cases as vaccination rates collapse 鈥�      As measles takes toll on kids, anti-vaxxers in US have change of heart 鈥�      Pentagon ends mandatory flu vaccines for service members 鈥�     鈥楾he next opioid epidemic鈥�: Gambling legalization outpaces public health response to addiction 鈥� Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe!    Priya Pal: If pregnancy centers get public money, they should meet   medical standards 鈥�      French activists sue 'deceptive' laughing gas suppliers 鈥�     A specialized tour at the Berlin Zoo brings joy to people living with dementia 鈥�   Issue No. 2903
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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More than 840,000 people die each year from health conditions linked to risks such as long working hours, job insecurity, workplace harassment and bullying, according to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO). 

Extreme heat is pushing global food and farming systems to the brink, threatening the livelihoods of over a billion people as rising temperatures and more frequent heatwaves redefine how food is produced worldwide, a new UN report warns.

Projects focusing on MedTech and genomics cut across disciplines while mobilizing expertise at 成人VR视频 and other Quebec institutions to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow 聽

96 Global Health NOW: The Questions Surrounding Zambia鈥檚 Future HIV Fight; and Omaha鈥檚 Lag in Lead Testing April 21, 2026 TOP STORIES RSV vaccination of pregnant women lowered the risk of hospitalization of their infant children by 81%, per a study of 289,000+ babies born in England; the findings were shared at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases on April 18.         Blue monkeys, a crowned eagle, a Nile monitor lizard, a leopard, and six other species were caught on video eating Egyptian fruit bats鈥攚hich carry the Marburg virus; the video from a cave in Uganda demonstrates how intermediate animals could acquire and spread the fatal virus.       The Lancet is convening its first-ever commission focused on global skin health; the experts will set goals for reducing skin diseases, improving skin health, and training health workers.       President Trump directed $50 million on April 18 to increase availability of psychedelic drugs like psilocybin and ibogaine for mental health treatment and ordered the FDA to speed their review.    IN FOCUS A man learns AIDS prevention know-how during an event marking World AIDS Day in Lusaka, Zambia, on December 1, 2022. Peng Lijun/Xinhua via Getty The Questions Surrounding Zambia鈥檚 Future HIV Fight
As Zambia has achieved dramatic HIV gains through PEPFAR-supported efforts, its Southern Province has spearheaded efforts to become less dependent on NGOs, . 

• Since 2019, PEPFAR funds have been channeled directly to the provincial government, instead of being routed through NGOs.  

• These 鈥渃ooperative agreements鈥� allowed the public sector to gradually take ownership of the HIV response.  

The U.S. now points to this approach as a model for direct-to-government aid funding, and moving away from NGOs.    But this transition can鈥檛 be rushed, Zambian health leaders argue: The shift has been a long process that involved data-driven oversight and services integrated with NGO support.  

• 鈥淚f you speed up change, chances are that you may actually end up with an outcome that you didn鈥檛 desire,鈥� said Callistus Kaayunga, the health director of Southern Province.  

Meanwhile, Zambia is hesitating to agree to the new U.S. funding model, in which the U.S. is making aid contingent on access to Zambia鈥檚 mineral resources, .  

• The country reportedly has until May to decide whether to sign a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. or lose funding.  

Related: She used to run U.S. AIDS relief 鈥� now, foreign aid has changed 鈥�   DATA POINT

90%
鈥斺赌斺赌�
HPV vaccine uptake in girls in three European nations: Iceland, Norway, and Portugal, ; all EU countries now recommend HPV vaccination for both adolescent girls and boys, and report a decreased incidence of cervical cancer among vaccinated women since 2020. 鈥�  ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Omaha鈥檚 Lag in Lead Testing    The largest residential lead cleanup site in the U.S. is a 27-square-mile Superfund area in Omaha, Nebraska鈥攁 state that does not require lead testing during childhood. Instead, it is up to the doctor or a health system to test on a case-by-case basis.     The result: Currently, <50% of kids under age 7 who live in the area near the cleanup site are tested for lead, public health officials say. 
Elsewhere: 13 states have passed laws requiring all children to receive lead testing.    What鈥檚 next? The Douglas County Health Department plans to propose an ordinance requiring health workers to test all kids up to age 7 who live in the affected area.     Lasting stakes: If high blood lead levels go undetected, the federal government may not remediate tens of thousands of properties in Omaha.     GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES QUICK HITS The real 鈥榥anny tax鈥�? Not being able to breastfeed your own baby 鈥�     After Decades of Quiet Rumbling, an Epidemic Is Erupting Among California Stoneworkers 鈥�     Where U.S. science has been hit hardest after Trump鈥檚 first year 鈥�     Microplastics: Brain Study Confirms Health Risks, Challenges Kennedy鈥檚 Claims 鈥�     Democrats Demand Trump Administration Halt Plan To Collect Federal Workers鈥� Health Data 鈥�     There's new evidence for how loneliness affects memory in old age 鈥�     鈥極scar of science鈥� awarded to team behind gene therapy that restores lost vision 鈥�   Issue No. 2902
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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96 Global Health NOW: Pakistan鈥檚 Infection Control Crisis; and The Hyperlocal Strategy to Curb Smoking April 20, 2026 TOP STORIES 9 out of 10 women in Liberia reported taking antibiotics monthly, per a survey of 109 women; many women said they used the antibiotics鈥攚hich are available without prescription鈥攖o 鈥渃leanse鈥� themselves after their menstrual cycle, a trend that has grown via widespread misinformation.     HIV testing in Russia should be expanded to one-third of the population each year in order to curb rapid rising infections, the nation鈥檚 health minister Mikhail Murashko said; the recommendation comes as Russia faces one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in Europe at 890 cases per 100,000 people.     A chikungunya therapy using monoclonal antibody technology has shown promise as both a treatment for the disease and as preexposure prophylaxis, say researchers who performed a first-in-human randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study presented at the ESCMID Global Congress.     Cerebral malaria and severe malarial anemia are tied to long-term cognitive impairment in children under 5, found a new prospective cohort study of 600 Ugandan children evaluated for overall cognitive ability, attention, and associative memory a year after hospitalization for severe malaria and then followed for another four to 15 years. IN FOCUS A Pakistani woman holds her HIV-positive child at a house at Wasayo village, in Rato Dero, in the southern Sindh province, on May 8, 2019. Rizwan Tabassum / Getty Pakistan鈥檚 Infection Control Crisis    At least nine people, including five newborns, have died in an mpox outbreak in Sindh province, Pakistan, as a burgeoning outbreak of the virus there tests a health system already failing to meet basic infection control standards, .     Mpox eruption: So far this year, health officials in the province have reported 122 suspected mpox cases. Until now, only sporadic, travel-related infections had been reported.  

• The deaths of infants in neonatal units have raised alarms about possible hospital-acquired transmission. 

Systemic lapses in safety: Health officials in Pakistan say health facilities across the country are failing to meet basic safety and hygiene standards, leading to further spread of HIV, typhoid, and other diseases, . 

• Health officials reported that HIV spiked 200% over the last decade, from 16,000 cases in 2010 to 48,000 by 2020.  

• 39% of HIV infections are now found in traditionally low-risk populations, including women and children, . 

鈥淚njection culture鈥�: Much of the HIV outbreak is being driven by unsafe medical practices, including syringe reuse by health care providers and unregulated clinics. Pakistan has one of the highest rates of therapeutic injections, with people receiving 8鈥�14 injections annually.    Related: San Francisco Reports Its First Clade I Mpox Case 鈥� What to Know and How to Find a Vaccine. 鈥�   THE QUOTE
  last Friday 鈥渟how us ... the deliberate unraveling of the elements of H.I.V. prevention and treatment service delivery that are essential to actually finish the job and defeat this pandemic,鈥� says Asia Russell, executive director of Health GAP.   鈥斺赌斺赌斺�斺赌斺赌斺�斺赌斺赌斺�斺�� New PEPFAR Data Show Worrying Declines in Testing and Treatment for H.I.V. 鈥�
  TOBACCO The Hyperlocal Strategy to Curb Smoking     Taking on Big Tobacco may seem like an uphill battle. But in Massachusetts, small-town health advocates are up for the challenge.     Grassroots push: Generational bans on tobacco sales鈥攚hich make it illegal for anyone born after a certain date to ever buy tobacco鈥攁re gaining traction in the state via local health ordinances that are harder for industry lobbyists to target.  

• In 2020, the city of Brookline passed such a ban, and similar ordinances have now spread to 21 towns, impacting 600,000+ residents.  

Massachusetts towns have a long history of pioneering anti-tobacco efforts: Brookline was among the first U.S. jurisdictions to ban smoking indoors, and Needham was the first U.S. town to raise the tobacco-buying age to 21.     Current target: Passing a statewide ban. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a long game,鈥� said longtime anti-tobacco advocate Maureen Buzby.       GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES Related: What Will Bring the Next Generation of Global Health Students Hope? 鈥� QUICK HITS Myanmar military regime widens sanitary towel ban, claiming rebels use them for first aid 鈥�     Humans may already have some immunity to H5N1 bird flu, study suggests 鈥�      Trump's new pick for CDC leader may face 鈥渢hreat to follow ideology over evidence,鈥� former surgeon general warns 鈥�  
RFK Jr. defends his health agenda and Trump鈥檚 proposed budget cuts in hearing 鈥�  
Politicians are using low teen birth rates to further restrict access to birth control, abortion 鈥�     Younger adult colon cancer deaths are concentrated in people with less education, study says 鈥�     The Great Ozempic Experiment 鈥� Thanks for the tip, Dave Cundiff!    KitKat, Gatorade or granola bars? What鈥檚 banned under new SNAP rules is mixed. 鈥�   Issue No. 2901
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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New data shows that nearly three in four countries in Europe now use Artificial Intelligence in their health services to make a diagnosis.

96 Global Health NOW Special Edition: Takeaways from CUGH In this special issue, we鈥檙e sharing some CUGH takeways that inspired us鈥攊ncluding this year鈥檚 Untold Global Health Stories Contest winners! April 17, 2026 SPECIAL ISSUE: CUGH 2026 TAKEAWAYS Panelists at the closing plenary of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health. Washington, D.C., April 12. Robb Cohen Photography & Video EDITORS鈥� NOTE A Memorable, and Inspiring, CUGH 
A big thank you to the Consortium of Universities for Global Health for an excellent conference last weekend in Washington, D.C. With this special edition of GHN, we鈥檙e sharing some of the takeways that inspired us鈥攊ncluding this year鈥檚 Untold Global Health Stories Contest winners! We鈥檒l be sharing interviews with our two grand prize winners soon, so keep an eye out for that.
 
We also want to thank all of the new readers who signed up at CUGH鈥攍et us know what you think, and if you find GHN useful, please share with your friends and colleagues. We always love to expand our circle.

鈥�Dayna dkerecm1@jhu.edu 
鈥�Brian bsimpso1@jhu.edu 
  IN FOCUS: GHN EXCLUSIVE From Rupture to Renaissance    If the global health order is broken, some global health leaders are primed to chart a new way forward.      Gathered last Sunday for the Consortium of Universities for Global Health annual meeting in Washington, D.C., they shared their concerns about the irrevocable changes in the structure, norms, and rules governing international relations鈥攂ut devoted most of their time to discussing how to respond.     For Olusoji Adeyi, president of Resilient Health Systems and a senior associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, global health funding cuts and disruptions to the field are an overdue opening to self-determination. Now, he said, global health groups should 鈥渟eize the opportunity and behave differently and do better.鈥�     Key takeaways:      A vision anchored by an African renaissance: 鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge opportunity here for Africa to take care of itself by raising resources, by strengthening the academic institutions on the continent, and by helping our government to plan better to prepare better for the future,鈥� said Nelson Sewankambo, former dean of Makerere University School of Medicine in Kampala, Uganda.     Building political will: Former NIH director Francis Collins challenged CUGH to 鈥渂ecome more of an activist organization,鈥� serving as incubator for bold initiatives and nurturing the next generation of global health scholars. 
An invigorated role for universities: 鈥淟et鈥檚 step forward and present ourselves to our governments and act as thinkers and advisers,鈥� Sewankambo said.

• Adeyi added that individual countries need to be encouraged to devise鈥攁nd debate鈥攖heir own plans. When global health experts 鈥渕eet in Washington or London or Brussels or Seattle and package things and expect them to just happen cleanly in Tanzania and Nepal and Sierra Leone,鈥� they deny those countries opportunities to shape their health systems.

As Teri Reynolds, the lead for the WHO鈥檚 Clinical Services and Systems Unit in the department of Integrated Health Services noted, 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of condescension embedded in the word 鈥榟elp.鈥欌��       UNTOLD STORIES CONTEST A young boy observes the entrance of the Tarajal beach, border between Morocco and Spanish territory of Ceuta. May 19, 2021. Diego Radames/Anadolu Agency via Getty A Banner Year for the Untold Global Health Stories Contest
Congrats to the winners of the Untold Global Health Stories contest, co-sponsored by CUGH and GHN! We鈥檒l be publishing interviews with the two grand prize winners in upcoming editions of GHN. 
Grand Prize Winners     A mental health crisis facing unaccompanied Moroccan boys in Ceuta, Spain Audrey Claire Benson, Barcelona Institute of Global Health / University of Pompeu Fabra / No Name Kitchen, Barcelona, Spain      Health disparities in widowhood: A global health blind spot Jackline Odhiambo, Maseno University, Kisumu, Kenya鈥傗��     Honorable Mentions 
Judicial experts as guardians of occupational health in Mexico Shaira Gabriela Camacho

Gaza鈥檚 alarming surge in Guillain鈥揃arr茅 Syndrome Yara Ashour
 
Health care abandonment of trans communities in the South and Appalachia Beau Morgan
 
Health care barriers for U.S. refugees with disabilities Mustafa Rfat
 
Modernizing medical education in the Balkans Timothy Gaul
 
The silent crisis of dengue in rural Bangladesh Amit Banik
 
Toxic heavy metal exposure among auto mechanics in Accra, Ghana Anushka Peer
  Thank you to everyone who contributed. The judging was harder than ever, given the caliber of ideas submitted. All of the stories deserve to be told.
  PULITZER CENTER 鈥� CUGH FILM FESTIVAL The Pulitzer Center upheld its tradition of hosting a film festival at CUGH, sharing a double feature of hard-hitting documentaries: An Atlanta News First documentary on a measles outbreak in Samoa, shared above, and a in central Kenya, by William Brangham and Molly Knight Raskin. THE QUOTE
  鈥淲hat gives me hope is the fact that people are willing to come together. They鈥檙e willing to convene, they鈥檙e willing to put their best foot forward. They鈥檙e willing to take their knowledge, capabilities, passions, and desires to be able to improve the health of people and the health of our planet.鈥� 鈥斺赌斺赌斺�斺赌斺赌斺�斺赌斺赌斺�斺�� Keith Martin, MD, PC, executive director, CUGH, interviewed at CUGH for The Havey Institute for Global Health's OPPORTUNITY Next Stop for CUGH: Lima, Peru
It鈥檚 an exciting first: Next year, the CUGH Annual Conference will be held outside the U.S.鈥撯�搃n Lima, Peru, February 25鈥�28, 2027. We hope you鈥檒l be there!  Issue No. 2900
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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96 Global Health NOW: Africa鈥檚 Monumental Vaccination Gains; and South Korea鈥檚 Deadly 鈥楨R Runaround鈥� Plus: A Fandom for the Greatest Fans April 16, 2026 TOP STORIES $1.5 billion for humanitarian aid in Sudan was pledged this week as international leaders met in Berlin on the third anniversary of the country鈥檚 civil war; the meeting sought to increase aid support and revive negotiations to end the fighting.    A review of Alzheimer鈥檚 drug studies spanning a decade concluded the drugs had negligible clinical benefit; but many Alzheimer鈥檚 experts criticized , saying it unfairly put a range of dissimilar drugs鈥攊ncluding failed drugs and two recently approved treatments鈥攊n one category.     Drug-resistant Shigella infections are on the rise in the U.S., ; the bacterial infection, which causes diarrhea, increased 8.5% from 2011 to 2023 and is a 鈥減ublic health threat鈥� due to its easy spread and lack of FDA-approved treatment.     Former Deputy U.S. Surgeon General Erica Schwartz has received HHS support to be the next CDC director, sources say; the CDC has been without a permanent director since August.   EDITORS' NOTE Tomorrow: A Special CUGH Takeaways Edition    We usually don鈥檛 publish on Fridays, but tomorrow we鈥檒l be sending a special edition of GHN with exclusive coverage from the Consortium of Universities for Global Health meeting鈥攊ncluding the announcement of this year鈥檚 Untold Global Health Stories contest winners! 鈥擳he Editors   IN FOCUS A community health worker administers an oral vaccine during a door-to-door polio immunization campaign in Mbezi Makabe, Tanzania, on May 21, 2022. Ericky Boniphace/AFP via Getty Africa鈥檚 Monumental Vaccination Gains    The first-ever comprehensive analysis of immunization in Africa has found that 500 million+ children have accessed routine vaccination since 2000, preventing 4 million+ deaths each year, . 
Key breakthroughs detailed in :  

• Measles vaccinations halved deaths from the virus, saving ~20 million lives since 2000, . 

• The eradication of wild poliovirus in 2020 was a 鈥渉istoric milestone.鈥� 

• Meningitis deaths have fallen by nearly 40%. 

• Maternal and neonatal tetanus have been eliminated in most countries.  

• In 2024 alone, vaccines saved ~2 million lives.  

But these advances are fragile, and threatened: 鈥淧rogress is uneven, and even slowing, leaving too many children unprotected as key targets are still missed,鈥� said Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa, . 

• 10 countries account for 80% of children who haven鈥檛 received any vaccine in the region, said Janabi, calling it 鈥渁 profound equity issue鈥� in a press briefing, per the AP.  

• Meanwhile, health systems face growing vulnerability amid drastic funding cuts, particularly from the U.S; and global conflicts including the Iran war are disrupting critical supply chains. 

EMERGENCY CARE South Korea鈥檚 Deadly 鈥楨R Runaround鈥�  
Patients seeking emergency services in South Korea increasingly struggle to access care amid stringent hospital entry policies, with fatal delays becoming more frequent.     Policy constrains paramedics: South Korean law requires first responders to gain hospital permission before transporting patients to an ER. But amid a shortage of ER doctors and overcrowding, paramedics must often call dozens of hospitals before finding a bed鈥攁 crisis dubbed 鈥淓R runaround鈥� and 鈥渁mbulance pingpong.鈥� 

• In 1,000+ incidents last year, ambulances had to call 20+ hospitals before finding beds for their patients. 

• The average time for major trauma patients to be accepted by an ER has doubled since 2019.  

Officials have pushed for reforms, including giving paramedics more authority to designate emergency hospitals, but ER doctors worry about staffing and liability risks.      Related: For Many Patients Leaving the ICU, the Struggle Has Only Just Begun 鈥�  Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe!   OPPORTUNITY Gain Skills to Respond to Humanitarian Emergencies 
Humanitarian workers and health professionals are invited to apply for the Health Emergencies in Large Populations (H.E.L.P.) course hosted virtually by the .    The H.E.L.P. course equips participants with practical knowledge and skills to respond to the health needs of populations affected by humanitarian crises, whether conflict, natural disasters, or complex emergencies.    Key areas covered: 

• Epidemiology 

• Communicable and noncommunicable disease control 

• Nutrition 

• Water and sanitation 

• Mental health and health systems in crises 

The course combines prerecorded lectures with interactive sessions and practical exercises, including crisis simulations.

• July 13鈥�24, 2026

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Kelsea Petersen/The Athletic; Jacob Kupferman/Getty, Icon Sportswire/Getty, Ric Tapia/Getty, Nur Photo/Getty A Fandom for the Greatest Fans  
Mascots have a weighty job. Their fuzzy, begloved hands carry the agony and ecstasy of fandom.  
 
But who is cheering them on? This month, it seems everybody is. 

One intense U.S. high school mascot tournament pitted animal, vegetable, mineral,  and  against each other in online voting, .     A more scientific approach: To predict which March Madness mascot would dominate in a real-world encounter, meteorologists, the staff of Chicago鈥檚 Lincoln Park Zoo, and other experts to judge a pool including 鈥渁 variety of dogs, Quakers, multiple birds, weather events, various historic military figures,鈥� and more.     Meanwhile, in mascot-saturated Pennsylvania, the governor鈥檚 office courted chaos by launching a tournament won by the Phillie Phanatic, : 鈥淲e are equal parts excited and terrified to see how  responds to this result.鈥�    Love to the moon and back: Leaving Artemis II鈥檚 beloved mini-moon plushie mascot behind was 鈥渘ot something I was going to do,鈥�  Flouting NASA鈥檚 post-splashdown checklist, he tucked the little guy in his pressure suit. The two have .  QUICK HITS Can you stop malaria crossing borders? One nation鈥檚 bid to wipe out the disease 鈥�     Two to three cups of coffee a day linked to lower risk of mental health disorders, study finds 鈥�      Black maternal mortality gap still persists in U.S. 鈥�      FDA to consider lifting restrictions on peptides touted by RFK Jr. 鈥�      After 'unprecedented' results, SF researchers get closer to HIV cure 鈥�      Would you save more lives or more years of life? A global study reveals how people really think 鈥�  Issue No. 2899
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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成人VR视频 researchers have developed an artificial intelligence tool that can identify small groups of cells most responsible for driving aggressive cancers.

The tool, called SIDISH, offers scientists a clearer path to designing targeted therapies by showing which cells inside a tumour are most strongly linked with poor patient outcomes, rather than treating all cancer cells as if they behave the same way.

96 Global Health NOW: Expanding Access to Lenacapavir; and Micromobility, and Major Injuries April 15, 2026 TOP STORIES Antisemitic attacks killed 20 Jews in 2025, the highest number in 30 years, ; the report also found that the total number of antisemitic incidents in every Western country remained significantly higher than in 2022, the year before the war in Gaza began.     The HPV vaccine can cut cancer risk in men by about half, , which involved 510,000 boys and men vaccinated between January 2016 and December 2024, ; the new findings support the case for widening sex-neutral HPV vaccination programs, which have historically prioritized protecting women and girls against cervical cancer, .     Taking Tylenol during pregnancy has no effect on later autism diagnoses, , which tracked 1.5 million+ children 鈥宐orn between 1997 and 2022 in Denmark鈥檚 national health registry; autism was diagnosed in 1.8% of children exposed to acetaminophen and 3% of those who weren鈥檛.     UK emergency rooms are 鈥渂eing clogged鈥� with women seeking emergency treatment after having to wait too long for routine procedures, as women still face 鈥渕edical misogyny鈥� and are deprioritized within the NHS, says the UK鈥檚 top gynecologist ahead of today鈥檚 release of a new government health plan for women.   IN FOCUS People march during the launch of lenacapavir, a long-acting HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug in Nakuru, Kenya, on March 26. James Wakibia/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Expanding Access to Lenacapavir   The long-acting HIV prevention drug lenacapavir will reach 3 million people in 24 lower-income countries over the next three years, up 50% from earlier targets, .  

• 鈥淚f we really want to make the most of this, we have to go bigger, and we have to go bigger faster,鈥� said Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, which detailed the rapid expansion in a joint announcement with the U.S. State Department.  

So far: ~135,000 people in nine African countries have received the twice-yearly injection.     Path to wider access: Twelve additional countries will also receive the medicine soon, : Benin, Botswana, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Georgia, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Morocco, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, and Thailand.     Generics on the horizon: Lenacapavir鈥檚 maker, Gilead, has licensed six generic manufacturers to supply 120 low-income countries, with rollout by mid-2027.     But limits remain: Advocates warn that the drug has remained unavailable in many middle-income countries and in those experiencing humanitarian crises.  

• They also warn that the current U.S. focus on preventing mother-to-child transmission could overlook key populations, such as people who inject drugs and men who have sex with men.  

The stakes are high at this juncture, . The advocacy group鈥檚 list of recommendations includes ensuring that appropriated funds for AIDS, TB, and malaria are spent for global health as Congress has specified, even as aid funding models shift.  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ROAD SAFETY Micromobility, and Major Injuries     As e-bikes and e-scooters proliferate on the streets of Canada鈥檚 large cities, emergency rooms are filling with patients being treated for concussions, fractures, and other traumatic injuries from crashes: 

• In Toronto, St. Michael鈥檚 Hospital saw e-scooter admissions rise 600% from 2020 to 2024, while SickKids pediatric hospital in treated 46 such cases in 2024, up from just one in 2020. 

• Montreal Children's Hospital reported a 10X increase in such injuries in one year. 

Outpacing regulation: The 鈥渕icromobility revolution鈥� has arrived more swiftly than lawmakers have been able to pass regulations for age limits, helmets, and traffic safety.       OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Idaho Cut Services for People With Schizophrenia. Then the Deaths Began. 鈥�      B.C. declared toxic drugs a public health emergency 10 years ago. Has it made a difference? 鈥�   
Indonesia orders food companies to label products high in sugar, salt, fat 鈥�  
Vaccine skepticism now the norm for many Americans 鈥�     Trump's budget hawk is still trying to slash medical research. Congress is saying no. 鈥�     How I harness research to inform humanitarian relief efforts 鈥�

You should be more freaked out by shingles 鈥� Issue No. 2898
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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Measles vaccinations have saved nearly 20 million lives in Africa since the year 2000 and more than 500 million children were protected through routine immunisation, but the continent remains offtrack in the fight against vaccine-preventable diseases. 

New funding fuels 成人VR视频-led breakthroughs on how gut viruses influence childhood health and how engineered proteins can prevent damaging oral bacterial biofilms.聽

96 Global Health NOW: A Cancer Super Drug鈥檚 High Costs; and An Oil Company鈥檚 Lethal Legacy April 14, 2026 TOP STORIES 167 people have died in Nigeria鈥檚 Lassa fever outbreak so far in 2026, with 663 confirmed infections鈥攁nd a 25.2% case fatality rate that marks a substantial rise from 18.5% in the same period in 2025, per the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention; however, new infections fell to 26 for the last week in March, compared with 51 the week prior.     Dangerous injection practices continued at a government hospital in Taunsa, Pakistan, according to a BBC Eye investigation, despite a 鈥渕assive crackdown鈥� in March 2025 on unsafe practices linked to an HIV outbreak that infected 331 children between November 2024 and October 2025.     The Iran war is disrupting water fluoridation for some U.S. water utilities, as Israel is one of the leading global exporters of fluorosilicic acid; the shortage is affecting hundreds of thousands of people in states, including Pennsylvania and Maryland, where fluoride is added in water systems to prevent tooth decay.     Human specialists with PhDs outperform even the best AI agents on scientific workflows, with AI counterparts scoring roughly half as well as the real deal, per an annual that also notes a nearly 30-fold increase in AI mentions in natural sciences publications between 2010 to 2025.   IN FOCUS Illustration of pembrolizumab (marketed under the name Keytruda), a drug that treats various types of cancers. Behnoush Hajian/Science Photo Library A Cancer Super Drug鈥檚 High Costs     An immunotherapy cancer drug is revolutionizing care, but the world鈥檚 bestselling medication is also draining coffers of the U.K.鈥檚 National Health Service (NHS), , part of an International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) investigation.  

• Keytruda hauls in $30 billion per year for U.S. pharma giant MSD (known as Merck in the U.S. and Canada). 

• NHS has been paying up to 5X more for the drug than it should, per the investigation. 

• While MSD said its medications deliver 鈥渃ost-effective health benefits鈥� in the U.K., the NHS is struggling to provide adequate care, with nearly 20,000 patients dying while waiting for treatment in 2024.   

Less means more: Researchers are questioning the standard dosage that MSD recommends, pointing to studies that have shown less Keytruda is needed. The WHO says $5 billion could be saved by 2040. 
Patent power: MSD 鈥渉as built a fortress of patents,鈥� securing 1,200+ patents across 50+ countries to shut out generic, less costly copies of the medication 鈥渇or 14 years after its original patents expire in 2028,鈥� . 
  鈥淎lmost like science fiction鈥�: The explosive revelations come at a time when cancer immunotherapy drugs herald a new era for treatment. 

• Personalized immunotherapy is delivering long-term cancer remission with fewer side effects that come with chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments, . 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ENVIRONMENT An Oil Company鈥檚 Lethal Legacy     Why does a remote village in northern Kenya have a strikingly high rate of gastrointestinal cancer?  

• The cancer rate in the community was 3X the national average by the early 2000s.  

The answer appears to lie near oil wells dug by Amoco in the 1980s鈥攑iles of a residual white clay substance filled with heavy metals and carcinogens.  
  Locals believed the substance to be salt and used it in cooking. The oil wells were also left unsealed, and high levels of carcinogenic toxic chemicals have seeped into the surrounding water supply.
   Seeking recourse: In 2020, residents sued the Kenyan national and county governments, demanding clean water and blaming the country for failing to police Amoco鈥檚 work. The lawsuit is ongoing.       OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Former CDC Director Shares the Hard Work Behind Outbreaks that Didn鈥檛 Happen 鈥�  
New report details safety issues that led to Miami organ recovery group鈥檚 closure 鈥�   
NSF names record number of graduate fellows, rebounding from 2025 dip 鈥�  
Mozambique approves law to curb tobacco use 鈥�  
End of community-wide treatment linked to resurgence of parasitic worm infections in Malawi 鈥�  
This detox may erase 10 years of social media brain damage, researchers say 鈥�  
What on earth is 鈥榲accine beer鈥� and could it possibly work? 鈥�      Issue No. 2897
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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96 Global Health NOW: The Widespread Risks of the Wildlife Trade; and Cultivating Hope Amidst Climate Change April 13, 2026 TOP STORIES Airstrike casualties in Lebanon are still buried under rubble, per health and humanitarian workers, who say that the 300+ count of people killed in the Israeli strikes last week will rise; they also decried threats of attacks on ambulances and warned of looming food shortages.        Burundi health officials are investigating an illness that has caused five deaths and sickened 35 people in Mpanda district in the north of the country; so far lab analysis of the illness鈥攚hich causes fever, vomiting, and diarrhea鈥攈as been negative for Ebola and Marburg viruses, Rift Valley fever, and others.      A police officer assigned to guard polio vaccination workers was killed in northwestern Pakistan last week by suspected militants who opened fire on the vehicle carrying the officers; four others were wounded in the firefight, which occurred as Pakistan begins a weeklong vaccination drive that aims to reach more than 45 million children under 5.
  The UK government rolled out plans to remove deep-fried foods and sharply restrict junk food and sweets from school lunch menus鈥攚hile boosting healthier options; the new guidelines, aimed at tackling childhood obesity and tooth decay, will be introduced incrementally between now and 2028.    EDITORS鈥� NOTE CUGH Shout Out!     We had an energizing and hopeful weekend in Washington, D.C., at the .  
  It began with a fast-paced, daylong communications workshop led by the CUGH Research Committee, the Pulitzer Center, and Global Health NOW on Thursday, April 9.  
  Watch GHN this week for news and announcements from the conference鈥撯�搃ncluding this year鈥檚 Untold Global Health Stories contest winners!  
  We enjoyed making new friends and signing up new GHN readers. Huge thanks, also, to all the loyal readers who stopped by to share how valuable GHN is to them. We鈥檙e collecting testimonials for GHN. We鈥檙e especially interested in hearing from faculty who use GHN in their classes. Please send us a quick note! 
See you next year in Lima! 
  All best, 
  Brian bsimpso1@jhu.edu  Dayna dkerecm1@jhu.edu  IN FOCUS A Malayan pangolin is seen out of its cage after being confiscated by the Department of Wildlife and Natural Parks. Kuala Lumpur, August 8, 2002. Jimin Lai/AFP via Getty The Widespread Risks of the Wildlife Trade    Wild mammals that are sold in the wildlife trade are significantly more likely to spread disease to humans, , which provides some of the clearest data yet on the widespread zoonotic spillover risks the trade poses, .     Comprehensive perspective: While scientists have long linked the wildlife trade to certain diseases like SARS, Ebola, mpox, and possibly COVID-19, the study provides the first quantitative analysis of its kind, as researchers created an 鈥渁tlas鈥� of pathogens based on 40 years-worth of data on the wildlife trade.  

• Of 2,000+ species analyzed, 41% of traded mammals carry at least one human pathogen, compared to 6.4% of non-traded species.  

• Overall, traded animals are about 1.5X more likely to share human pathogens. 

鈥淚t suggests that the trade is not just one of the things that promotes animal human pathogen transmission鈥攂ut it鈥檚 one of the most important ones,鈥� lead study author J茅r么me Gippet .     Behind the heightened risk: Close contact between animals in wildlife market settings鈥攅specially in unsanitary conditions鈥攁llows viruses to more easily jump between species. 

• The longer a species is traded, the greater the risk, with one new shared pathogen emerging every decade.  

Taking further steps: Researchers say the markets could be made safer through improved disease surveillance and regulated hygiene conditions; they caution that bans may push trade underground, increasing risks, .  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Cultivating Hope Amidst Climate Change   Outside the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital in northeast Nigeria, orchards full of papaya, banana, and plantain trees provide a green refuge鈥攁 recent public health intervention in a city grappling with rapidly rising heat.     Extreme temperatures surge: Maiduguri鈥檚 average temperature rose from 30.5掳C/87掳F to 37.1掳C/98.7掳F between 2014 and 2024. 

• And that rising heat is linked to dramatic health impacts, including dehydration, which now accounts for ~30% of daily clinic visits. 

Rooted resilience: The hospital鈥檚 826 trees were selected for their ability to withstand extreme heat, and planted last year with the hope that they could provide much-needed shade, food, and mental respite for a community facing conflict and environmental stress.      OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS What it takes to eat: new report reveals how war is cutting off access to food as hunger deepens in Sudan 鈥�     AVAC: Abrupt shutdown of US global health supply chain raises risks for HIV, TB and malaria programs 鈥�     Here鈥檚 how to make drug addiction a health issue, not a criminal one 鈥�

Too young for the MMR shot, babies become 鈥榮itting ducks鈥� in measles outbreaks 鈥�      Are your symptoms caused by the flu or measles? What to do before going to the doctor 鈥�     GSK reports promising early results in ovarian and womb cancer drug trial 鈥�      A dodgy drug-maker and corporate perks: how UK health aid is really being spent 鈥�   Issue No. 2896
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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96 Global Health NOW: A Long Road to Rehabilitation for Gaza鈥檚 Amputees; and New Rules for Digital Accessibility Plus: Houston, We Have a Cobbler April 9, 2026 TOP STORIES CDC leadership has delayed the publication of a report showing the COVID-19 vaccine鈥檚 effectiveness, including how the vaccine cut the likelihood of hospital and emergency room visits for healthy adults last winter by about half; scientists say they fear the report is being downplayed because it conflicts with HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚 criticism of the shot.     The EU has cut its contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, as global contributions to global health aid continue to drop; the European Commission has pledged 鈧�700 million to the Fund between 2027鈥�2029, a 鈧�15 million drop from what it provided from 2023 to 2025.     The U.S. teenage birth rate fell 7% in 2025, , a drop the lead author described as 鈥渆xtraordinary,鈥� continuing a decade of decline; potential contributing factors include higher use of contraception and lower sexual activity among youth.     Maternal psychological stress driven by crises like natural disasters can affect fetal development and birth outcomes,  that examined the birth outcomes of babies born to mothers in Japan who faced widespread anxiety about radiation exposure in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011.   IN FOCUS A young Palestinian amputee walks with a nurse outside the UAE Hospital Ship SSF Ania in the port of Arish, in northeastern Egypt, on February 5. AFP via Getty Images A Long Road to Rehabilitation for Gaza鈥檚 Amputees     For the hundreds of adults and children from Gaza who have undergone amputations since 2023, specialized prosthetic treatment remains a struggle to access鈥攚ith many stranded in neighboring Egypt indefinitely as they seek to regain both physical and social mobility there. 

• ~6,000 Palestinians have faced limb amputation during the conflict with Israel, ; at the conflict鈥檚 height in 2023, 10+ children lost one or both legs every day, .  

Legal limbo: Egypt is the primary destination for Palestinians needing amputation care, but most Palestinians treated there are unable to access formal residency permits or refugee status.  

• As a result, patients often live in temporary housing like hostels, are unable to work or open bank accounts, and face constant pressures and uncertainty while requiring specialized care for months and years. 

Dependent on NGOs: Long-term, high-tech prosthetic rehabilitation is almost impossible without the support of medical charities.  

• Orthomedics in Cairo has treated ~300 Palestinian patients since October 2023, mostly through NGO funding from groups like the Turkish charity Sadakata艧谋.  

  POLICY New Rules for Digital Accessibility
As colleges and universities increasingly rely on digital resources, the obstacles for students with disabilities have grown. 

• Many websites, apps, and digital learning materials have not been designed to accommodate people who are deaf or blind or have low vision.  

But revised regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act aim to change that. By the end of this month, large U.S. public institutions must meet updated accessibility standards for all digital materials鈥撯�搃mprovements that include captioned videos, color contrast, and more inclusive screen navigation.  

• Just as stairs can exclude people who use wheelchairs from accessing government buildings, inaccessible web content and mobile apps can exclude people with a range of disabilities, the rule states.  

• Institutions serving 50,000+ people have had two years to prepare; smaller institutions must comply by 2027. 

     Related: Digital Accessibility: Teaching and Learning Resources 鈥�   OPPORTUNITY Calling Current and Future Global Health Leaders
This month, join Unite For Sight鈥攁 nonprofit global health delivery organization committed to promoting high-quality care for all鈥攆or the 23rd annual Global Health & Innovation Conference in Connecticut.     The gathering brings together global health leaders and 鈥渄ives deep into bold ideas, transformative innovation, and responsible global engagement.鈥� 
 
: 

• Defining Purpose in Global Health 

• Designing Better Solutions for Global Health 

• What Real Impact Looks Like  

• Local Leadership and Global Partnerships  

April 18鈥�19, 2026; North Haven, CT 

. Sign up before April 10 for a reduced rate. 

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Houston, We Have a Cobbler
The crew of Artemis II may have boldly gone farther from Earth than any human, but they made sure the .     As the world watched a livestream of the crew hurtling towards that 252,752-mile record, the broadcast was interrupted by a full-sized jar of the chocolate hazelnut spread pirouetting in zero-G across the cabin, ; a relatable reminder that snacks are the real highlight of any professional venture.     Nutella is just one of  selected for the Artemis menu, which includes broccoli au gratin, cobbler, and . 

• Meanwhile, the Canadian Space Agency ensured their astronaut Jeremy Hansen .   

The food must be shelf-stable and as crumb-less as possible for microgravity, hence the inclusion of 58 tortillas, . Microgravity can also dull tastebuds, which is apparently why the space agency packed not one, but five different kinds of hot sauce.     Almost as important as oxygen?: 43 cups of coffee were allotted for the crew, 鈥攁 little more than 10 cups per astronaut over the 10-day mission. QUICK HITS Pesticides may wreak havoc on the gut microbiome 鈥�      Eye symptoms may signal higher-severity long COVID 鈥�   
Scientists Move Closer to Male Birth Control With No Hormones, No Snip 鈥�   

Patients scramble to find estrogen patches as shortage worsens after US FDA champions use 鈥�      Should鈥檝e put a ring on it? Maybe! Marriage is linked to lower risk of cancer 鈥�    Issue No. 2895
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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The scale and speed of destruction from the wave of airstrikes in Lebanon which began just hours after the US-Iran ceasefire announcement, has left the country鈥檚 already strained health system struggling to cope, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

96 Global Health NOW: A Better Solution for Sickle Cell Care in Africa Amid Aid Cuts?; and Immigration Raids Heightening Postpartum Isolation April 8, 2026 TOP STORIES Telehealth abortion will remain available in the U.S. for now, after a federal judge in Louisiana while the FDA completes its safety review of the drug, which has been used for 25+ years and is widely prescribed through telehealth appointments, which now account for more than 1 in 4 U.S. abortions.     Decades-old canned Alaska salmon dissected by researchers contained levels of tiny parasitic worms that signal that the fishes鈥� ecosystems were stable or recovering over a 40+-year span, ; researchers posited that the Clean Water Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, and warming oceans may all have played a role in increasing parasite levels.     AI chatbots spread misinformation about a fake disease called 鈥渂ixonimania,鈥� a skin condition invented by researchers in an experiment to see how false preprint studies can infiltrate medical literature and be treated as fact by AI鈥攁nd by other researchers relying on AI without checking source material.      Greece will ban social media access for children under 15 starting January 2027, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis saying the prohibition is health-driven and that 鈥渨hen a child is in front of screens for hours, their brain does not rest鈥�; the country follows Australia and Indonesia in implementing such a ban and will pressure the EU to follow suit, Mitsotakis said.   IN FOCUS: GHN EXCLUSIVE Catherine Nabaggala, MD, consoles Olivia Nansamba whose son Melvin had a blood transfusion to treat sickle cell disease. Joanne Cavanaugh Simpson A Better Solution for Sickle Cell Care in Africa Amid Aid Cuts?    KAMPALA, UGANDA鈥擮livia Nansamba sits on a narrow bed at Mulago National Referral Hospital, her 6-month-old son in her arms. Melvin, who has sickle cell disease, is pale, weak, and wailing. 
  鈥淪ickle cell disease is a very terrible disease,鈥� says Nansamba, lifting up her baby鈥檚 swollen, bandage-wrapped hand. 鈥淪ometimes there鈥檚 pain, pain, pain.鈥� 
  A brutal killer: Sickle cell disease can cause extreme pain crises, strokes, and organ damage. It claims  every year worldwide. About 80% of cases are in sub-Saharan Africa. 
  Barrier to care: A clinical mindset that only specialized hematologists and expensive interventions can help still prevails.  

• But restricting care to specialists and costly treatments grossly limits the number of children who can be helped, notes Joseph Lubega, MD, MPH, director of Texas Children鈥檚 Global Hematology-Oncology Pediatric Excellence program. 

A new approach: Lubega is seeking to radically boost access to treatment for sickle cell disease, per reporting in Uganda supported by the Pulitzer Center.  

• His project focuses on providing care in regular government clinics, where trained health care workers can screen and provide key meds to help children live longer, better lives. 

The Quote: 鈥淭here are many fancy things you can do, but primary care can take care of the bulk of the issues鈥撯�揳nd at a very low cost,鈥� Lubega says. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 our mission.鈥� 
  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS Immigration Raids Heightening Postpartum Isolation    In U.S. cities like Minneapolis that have faced intense immigration crackdowns, immigrant mothers have been forced into isolation, increasing risks to their physical and mental health and the well-being of their babies, advocates say.     A vulnerable time: Newly postpartum mothers are susceptible to a host of challenges, including postpartum depression as well as physical complications like hemorrhage, preeclampsia, or infection. Untreated, these can be deadly. 

• One-third of maternal deaths occur in the first year postpartum.  

The risks are even more acute for immigrant mothers, particularly Latinas, who are 2X as likely as white women to develop postpartum depression. 

• But many of these women are now forgoing the care of friends and family鈥撯�揳nd putting off important postpartum checkups鈥攊n an effort to avoid detention.  

  OPPORTUNITY Save the Date: World Immunization Week Webinar    Explore strategies and approaches to increase vaccination coverage and access across the life course, from infants and young children to adolescents, pregnant women, and adults, in a webinar featuring a distinguished panel of experts convened by the International Vaccine Access Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. 

• April 20, 2鈥�3 p.m. EDT 

QUICK HITS 鈥淚 Don鈥檛 Want to Die in India鈥�: The Hidden Corridor of East African Sex Trafficking 鈥�     Srinidhi Polkampally and Bhav Jain: What American hospitals can learn from India about waste 鈥�     Idaho Cut Services for People With Schizophrenia. Then the Deaths Began. 鈥�     From misdiagnosis to medical bias: Why women are living longer but not better 鈥�  
  Poll: Here鈥檚 what MAHA actually believes 鈥�  
Study advances safe, reversible male contraceptive without hormones 鈥�    Issue No. 2894
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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  Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.


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96 Global Health NOW: Food, Fuel, and Fertilizer Shortages Follow Iran War; and Eswatini鈥檚 Limited Access to a Livesaving Drug April 7, 2026 TOP STORIES Nearly 1,000 refugees and migrants have died so far this year in Mediterranean shipwrecks鈥攁nd while arrivals are down sharply, fatalities are rising compared to this period last year; the UN鈥檚 International Organization for Migration urges improved search and rescue capacity and expanded legal migration pathways to 鈥渞educe dangerous crossings.鈥�     UK doctors launched a six-day strike today, rejecting a government pay and staffing deal that the British Medical Association deems inadequate; the government withdrew 鈥宎 鈦燾ommitment to cover 1,000 additional specialty training positions contingent on the deal鈥檚 acceptance.  
Mexico faces a 鈥渢oxic crisis,鈥� warns UN special rapporteur Marcos Orellana, who conducted an 11-day investigative mission last month and says Mexico has become the U.S.鈥檚 鈥済arbage sink,鈥� citing pollution threats ranging from imported waste to dangerous pesticides, as well as lax environmental standards and lack of oversight.   
The California Bay Area is a rotavirus hotspot, , which tracks levels in 40 states; every region but the Midwest showed high levels of the gastrointestinal illness.   IN FOCUS The 芒Sakr芒 ship, carrying ~4,000 tons of food, shelter, medical, and humanitarian aid prepared by the UAE for delivery to Gaza, arrives at northeastern Egypt's Port of Al-Arish. February 5. Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Food, Fuel, and Fertilizer Shortages Follow Iran War     Critical humanitarian supplies needed in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia are not moving because of war-caused shipping limitations in the Strait of Hormuz, .      Major humanitarian efforts are running low on basic medications, food, fuel, and fertilizers, according to the International Rescue Committee, Save the Children, and other organizations.  

• The M茅decins Sans Fronti猫res team in Yemen has procured 100 tons of special foods to treat severe malnutrition in young children, but the supplies are languishing in Dubai's Jebel Ali Port.  

• IV fluids, malaria tests, antibiotics, and other supplies in the field are already running low, per Save the Children in Sudan. 

The Quote: "It鈥檚 extremely serious in countries that have very little resilience to shocks like this,鈥� the International Rescue Committee鈥檚 Bob Kitchen told NPR. 鈥淲henever one piece of the puzzle is missing or delayed, the consequences are very, very severe.鈥�      Disease risks: The WHO has already documented increases in chickenpox, shigellosis, and influenza, in affected countries,      An even greater concern: Concentrated attacks on desalination plants that Iran, Israel, and other countries rely on for drinking water could threaten countries whose water reserves would last only days or weeks.   
Related:     Iran鈥檚 Pasteur medical research centre 鈥榟eavily damaged鈥� in strike 鈥�     Karl Blanchet, Sultan Barakat, Bernadette Kumar, and Paul Spiegel: Iran's humanitarian crisis: war, legality, and the erosion of population health 鈥�   PUBLIC HEALTH EDUCATION The exterior of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, on Wolfe Street, in Baltimore. Johns Hopkins Tops Rankings of U.S. Public Health Schools    The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health again ranks #1 among public health schools and programs in the U.S., based on peer-assessment ratings unveiled this morning by U.S. News & World Report.      Rank/School   1  Johns Hopkins University   2  Emory University   2  University of North Carolina鈥擟hapel Hill    4  Harvard University   4  University of Michigan鈥擜nn Arbor    6  Columbia University   6  University of California鈥擝erkeley    6  University of California鈥擫os Angeles   9  Boston University    9  University of Washington      This year鈥檚 rankings include 224 schools and programs of public health accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health.   
      DATA POINT

1 in 4
鈥斺赌斺赌斺��
Black men in the UK will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives鈥�2X the rate of white men鈥攁nd 2,300+ men will die over the next decade of the disease, per Prostate Cancer UK; the UK government recently rejected proposals for a prostate cancer screening program for high-risk men, citing in part a lack of data on Black patients. 鈥�
  HIV/AIDS Eswatini鈥檚 Limited Access to a Livesaving Drug    The drug lenacapavir could make a huge difference in curbing HIV transmission in the small country of Eswatini鈥攊f clinics could get enough of the drug.     Background: Eswatini is home to one of the world鈥檚 highest prevalence rates of HIV, but in recent years it has steadily made progress in preventing new infections.     Game-changing drug: Lenacapavir injections began to arrive within the last few months, bringing fresh hope that the twice-yearly shots will make a major dent in transmission.     Limited supply: But only ~3,000 people have been able to start treatment, far below demand. With ~4,000 new infections annually, the supply is 鈥渘ot even a drop in the ocean,鈥� said Nkululeko Dube, programme director for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation Eswatini.       Related:     Our LEN is here. Now for quality checks in Ireland 鈥�     Congress gave money for global HIV work. The Trump administration isn't spending it 鈥�     鈥榃e fear the epidemic will return鈥�: Senegal鈥檚 harsh anti-gay law puts decades of HIV progress in jeopardy 鈥� QUICK HITS

WHO calls for action: 鈥淭ogether for health. Stand with science.鈥� to mark World Health Day 鈥�  

  Trump鈥檚 Foreign Aid Overhaul Sent Millions More Dollars to Big U.S.-Based Contractors 鈥�     Trump administration's secrecy on health deals alarms experts, governments 鈥�     A star scientist showed that better genetics lessons could reduce racism. It was the death knell for his career 鈥�     Iodised salt has become uncool but many of us need to eat more iodine 鈥�   Issue No. 2893
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

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  Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.


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