Global Health Programs aggregator

��VR��Ƶ Faculty of Medicine news: Unleashing natural killer cells against cancer

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 11:50:22 -0400

Scientists have developed a strategy to boost the cancer-fighting power of natural killer (NK) cells, part of the immune system’s first line of defence. NK cells can detect and destroy cancer cells, but tumours often create a protective barrier that blocks them, allowing cancer to grow.

Researchers at ��VR��Ƶ’s Rosalind & Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, in collaboration with the Research Institute of the ��VR��Ƶ Health Centre, found that suppressing two specific proteins helps NK cells overcome this blockage, turning them into more potent cancer killers.

World Health Organization: For every generation, vaccines work and they have saved over 150 million lives: WHO

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

Over the past 50 years, vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives, as ordinary people chose to protect themselves, their children and their communities from diseases like measles, diphtheria, pertussis, polio, and rotavirus.

World Health Organization: Two-thirds of global hunger concentrated in 10 conflict-hit countries

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

A growing share of global hunger is becoming entrenched in a small group of conflict-hit countries, with two-thirds of people facing acute food insecurity concentrated in just 10 nations, a major international report backed by UN agencies warns.

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Europe’s ‘Narrowing Window’ for Climate Action; and Burkina Faso’s Psychiatric Care Deficit

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 09:40:01 -0400

Global Health NOW: Europe’s ‘Narrowing Window’ for Climate Action; and Burkina Faso’s Psychiatric Care Deficit

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April 23, 2026


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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’s ‘Narrowing Window’ for Climate Action

Extreme heat, drought, vector-borne illnesses, and other climate-driven health risks are rapidly escalating across Europe, finds the 2026 Europe report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change—which warns that political action and public will are not keeping pace with the need for urgent interventions, reports Euronews.

“The health impacts of climate change are intensifying faster than our response is keeping up,” said Joacim Rocklöv, 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 “need to be accelerated” 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 – The Guardian

MENTAL HEALTH

Burkina Faso’s 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.

Bhekisisa

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—Take 60—to encourage 60-second hourly screen breaks to help reduce digital eye strain and support better focus and overall eye health.

We hope you’ll give it a try ... after scrolling down to read the Thursday Diversion!

Follow the campaign on social media

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION

Gullfoss, a waterfall on the Hvítá 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—But 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 take this photo?

There’s a prize for that—and it comes with “possible worldwide recognition” and a trip to Iceland.

Icelandair is seeking the “world’s worst amateur photographer” to prove that this supermodel of a country has no bad angles—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity where “a lack of skill makes you ideal for this task.”

We admire Icelandair’s optimism, but suspect there’s 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’s us.

Apply to the contest by April 30

Thanks for the tip, Lindsay Smith Rogers!

QUICK HITS

Why these treatments for one of the deadliest cancers are stirring such hope – The Washington Post (gift link)

Residents in rural Sudan say the Iran war has made it harder to get medicines – AP

Pace of N.I.H. Funding Slows Further in Trump’s Second Year – The New York Times (gift link)

In hearings, RFK Jr claims no responsibility for measles spread – CIDRAP

Two common drugs may reverse fatty liver disease, study finds – University of Barcelona via Science Daily

Britain’s £8bn bet on the developing world – The Telegraph

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 Facebook and follow us on Instagram @globalhealth.now and X @GHN_News.

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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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World Health Organization: WHO says billions saw health gains in 2025 despite funding cuts

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

Despite significant funding cuts, the World Health Organization (WHO) was able to support significant national health gains for hundreds of millions of people in 2025, according to its annual Results Report released on Thursday.

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: The Civilian Impact of War in Iran; and A Disease-Busting House Design

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 09:43:35 -0400

Global Health NOW: The Civilian Impact of War in Iran; and A Disease-Busting House Design

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April 22, 2026


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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’s already-fragile natural resources, infrastructure, and health systems is “pushing one of the world’s most environmentally vulnerable regions toward catastrophe,” per a new report from the Center for American Progress (CAP).

So far, 1,700+ civilians—including at least 254 children—have been killed, per the latest figures from HRANA.

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’s 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 “compounding harms” from strikes on oil facilities and industrial sites—leading to long-term ecological risks from air, water, and soilcontamination.

Water scarcity, “food catastrophe”: Attacks on water infrastructure threaten access to drinking water across the region. Meanwhile, analysts say the conflict’s impact on global food prices could lead to “catastrophe,” as shipping disruptions lead to shortages in oil and fertilizer needed for agricultural production, reports Al Jazeera.

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—including surveillance for chronic disease, soil recovery, and investments in more resilient water systems.

Related: Geopolitics and Humanitarian Health in Iran, Cuba, and Ukraine – Public Health On Call (podcast)

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

ARCHITECTURE

A Disease-Busting House Design

Well-designed “Star Homes”—which promote airflow, block insects, and feature outdoor latrines and rainwater collection systems—can reduce child mortality, demonstrates a randomized controlled trial in southern Tanzania, published in Nature Medicine.

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’t to prove that millions of Star Homes should be built.

The study showed that “if you use better principles in building, you can probably achieve a massive effect,” he said.

Science

OPPORTUNITY

QUICK HITS

‘It’s a powder keg’: Romania leads EU measles cases as vaccination rates collapse – The Guardian

As measles takes toll on kids, anti-vaxxers in US have change of heart – Bloomberg via The Straits Times

Pentagon ends mandatory flu vaccines for service members – Politico

‘The next opioid epidemic’: Gambling legalization outpaces public health response to addiction – Fierce Healthcare Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe!

Priya Pal: If pregnancy centers get public money, they should meet

medical standards – Missouri Independent (commentary)

French activists sue 'deceptive' laughing gas suppliers – Le Monde

A specialized tour at the Berlin Zoo brings joy to people living with dementia – AP

Issue No. 2903

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World Health Organization: Long hours, stress and harassment are causing hundreds of thousands of early deaths, says UN labour agency

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

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).

World Health Organization: Extreme heat pushing global food systems to the brink, UN agencies warn

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

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.

��VR��Ƶ Faculty of Medicine news: NSERC awards two ��VR��Ƶ professors $1.65 million each to prepare the next generation of researchers

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 12:07:07 -0400

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

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: The Questions Surrounding Zambia’s Future HIV Fight; and Omaha’s Lag in Lead Testing

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 09:19:06 -0400

Global Health NOW: The Questions Surrounding Zambia’s Future HIV Fight; and Omaha’s Lag in Lead Testing

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April 21, 2026


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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’s 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, reports Foreign Policy.

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

These “cooperative agreements” 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’t be rushed, Zambian health leaders argue: The shift has been a long process that involved data-driven oversight and services integrated with NGO support.

“If you speed up change, chances are that you may actually end up with an outcome that you didn’t desire,” 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’s mineral resources, reports DW.

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 — now, foreign aid has changed – NPR

DATA POINT

90%
———

HPV vaccine uptake in girls in three European nations: Iceland, Norway, and Portugal, per ECDC; 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. —CIDRAP

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Omaha’s Lag in Lead Testing

The largest residential lead cleanup site in the U.S. is a 27-square-mile Superfund area in Omaha, Nebraska—a 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’s 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.

ProPublica

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

QUICK HITS

The real ‘nanny tax’? Not being able to breastfeed your own baby – Bhekisisa

After Decades of Quiet Rumbling, an Epidemic Is Erupting Among California Stoneworkers – In These Times

Where U.S. science has been hit hardest after Trump’s first year – The Washington Post (gift link)

Microplastics: Brain Study Confirms Health Risks, Challenges Kennedy’s Claims – Health Policy Watch

Democrats Demand Trump Administration Halt Plan To Collect Federal Workers’ Health Data – KFF Health News

There's new evidence for how loneliness affects memory in old age – Wired

‘Oscar of science’ awarded to team behind gene therapy that restores lost vision – The Guardian

Issue No. 2902

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Global Health Programs aggregator

��VR��Ƶ Faculty of Medicine news: Unleashing natural killer cells against cancer

World Health Organization: For every generation, vaccines work and they have saved over 150 million lives: WHO

World Health Organization: Two-thirds of global hunger concentrated in 10 conflict-hit countries

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Europe’s ‘Narrowing Window’ for Climate Action; and Burkina Faso’s Psychiatric Care Deficit

TOP STORIES

IN FOCUS

Europe’s ‘Narrowing Window’ for Climate Action

MENTAL HEALTH

Burkina Faso’s Psychiatric Care Deficit

OPPORTUNITY

Take a Load Off ... Your Eyes

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION

Your Photos May Be Bad—But Are They Bad Enough?

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2903

World Health Organization: WHO says billions saw health gains in 2025 despite funding cuts

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: The Civilian Impact of War in Iran; and A Disease-Busting House Design

TOP STORIES

IN FOCUS

The Civilian Impact of War in Iran

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

ARCHITECTURE

A Disease-Busting House Design

OPPORTUNITY

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2903

World Health Organization: Long hours, stress and harassment are causing hundreds of thousands of early deaths, says UN labour agency

World Health Organization: Extreme heat pushing global food systems to the brink, UN agencies warn

��VR��Ƶ Faculty of Medicine news: NSERC awards two ��VR��Ƶ professors $1.65 million each to prepare the next generation of researchers

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: The Questions Surrounding Zambia’s Future HIV Fight; and Omaha’s Lag in Lead Testing

TOP STORIES

IN FOCUS

The Questions Surrounding Zambia’s Future HIV Fight

DATA POINT

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Omaha’s Lag in Lead Testing

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2902

Global Health Programs aggregator

����VR��Ƶ Faculty of Medicine news: Unleashing natural killer cells against cancer

World Health Organization: For every generation, vaccines work and they have saved over 150 million lives: WHO

World Health Organization: Two-thirds of global hunger concentrated in 10 conflict-hit countries

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Europe’s ‘Narrowing Window’ for Climate Action; and Burkina Faso’s Psychiatric Care Deficit

TOP STORIES

IN FOCUS

Europe’s ‘Narrowing Window’ for Climate Action

MENTAL HEALTH

Burkina Faso’s Psychiatric Care Deficit

OPPORTUNITY

Take a Load Off ... Your Eyes

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION

Your Photos May Be Bad—But Are They Bad Enough?

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2903

World Health Organization: WHO says billions saw health gains in 2025 despite funding cuts

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: The Civilian Impact of War in Iran; and A Disease-Busting House Design

TOP STORIES

IN FOCUS

The Civilian Impact of War in Iran

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

ARCHITECTURE

A Disease-Busting House Design

OPPORTUNITY

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2903

World Health Organization: Long hours, stress and harassment are causing hundreds of thousands of early deaths, says UN labour agency

World Health Organization: Extreme heat pushing global food systems to the brink, UN agencies warn

����VR��Ƶ Faculty of Medicine news: NSERC awards two ����VR��Ƶ professors $1.65 million each to prepare the next generation of researchers

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: The Questions Surrounding Zambia’s Future HIV Fight; and Omaha’s Lag in Lead Testing

TOP STORIES

IN FOCUS

The Questions Surrounding Zambia’s Future HIV Fight

DATA POINT

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Omaha’s Lag in Lead Testing

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2902

��VR��Ƶ Faculty of Medicine news: Unleashing natural killer cells against cancer

��VR��Ƶ Faculty of Medicine news: NSERC awards two ��VR��Ƶ professors $1.65 million each to prepare the next generation of researchers