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Global Health Now - Tue, 02/10/2026 - 09:25
96 Global Health NOW: Health Crisis in Gaza; and Supporting Breastfeeding Mothers in South Africa February 10, 2026 TOP STORIES 53 refugees and migrants from several African countries died after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya’s coast last Friday; the International Office for Migration reports that at least 375 people have been reported dead or missing in January.   
  The Trump administration plans to cut $600 million in public health funding in four Democrat-led states—California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota; the programs, deemed “inconsistent with agency priorities,” include HIV prevention and surveillance and disease outbreak management.   
  Mexico state officials announced stepped-up health screening and face mask recommendations in schools for the area, which borders Mexico City, in response to a spreading measles outbreak; the country had 2,143 confirmed cases and nearly 6,000 suspected cases as of last Friday, with the western state of Jalisco hardest hit.  
  The U.S. National Cancer Institute is investigating ivermectin as a possible cancer treatment, despite the lack of new evidence of the antiparasitic drug’s anti-cancer potential; “I am shocked and appalled,” one NCI scientist said.   IN FOCUS Palestinian patients prepare for evacuation to Egypt at the Red Cross Hospital. Khan Yunis, Gaza, February 2. Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Health Crisis in Gaza     Clashes over WHO reporting and the health situation in Gaza continue months after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire raised hopes for reconstruction and improved health. 
  • The WHO’s Executive Board voted down Israel’s proposal last week to consolidate the twice-annual health reports on the occupied Palestinian Territories, .   
The fierce debate exposed different perspectives on access to medical evacuation: 
  • 18,000 patients, including 4,000 children, have life-threatening conditions and need evacuation, according to Saudi Arabia’s delegate.  
  • Israel responded that it had approved the departure of thousands of Palestinians, but other countries weren’t accepting enough patients.  
Health situation:  
  • Delegates described 90% of hospitals destroyed, 1,600 health workers killed, inadequate sanitation, and extensive disease risks.  
  • Israel called such reports outdated and distorted. 
Older people at risk:   
  • 68% of 400+ older Gazans surveyed said they had reduced or stopped chronic disease treatment because of access problems, .  
  • 76% of respondents report living in tents. 
Individual stories: 
  • A kidney disease patient  about the difficulty of getting medicines and care in Gaza.    
  • An Israeli court on Feb. 8 turned down an appeal that would have allowed a 5-year-old cancer patient into Israel for treatment, . 
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES NEGLECTED DISEASES   Nigeria’s Fatal Antivenom Shortfall     The death of a high-profile Nigerian singer from a snakebite has ignited widespread outrage over the country’s inadequate supply of antivenom and the need for a national snakebite strategy, .    All-too-common tragedy: 26-year-old Nigerian singer Ifunanya Nwangene died at a hospital in the capital Abuja because the facility did not have the proper antivenom to treat her—a scenario public health experts say is disturbingly frequent in the country.  
  • Nigeria records ~43,000 snakebites and ~1,900 related deaths each year. Meanwhile, ~50% of Nigerian health facilities lack the capacity to treat snakebite envenoming, .  
  • Supply chain breakdowns, high treatment costs, and inadequately trained personnel have contributed to a scourge of avoidable deaths, .  
Call to action: Public health groups have urged government investment in antivenom stocks; free or subsidized antivenom; and local antivenom production to curb what the WHO describes as an “entirely preventable” crisis.  MATERNAL HEALTH   Supporting Breastfeeding Mothers in South Africa 
Women employed as domestic workers in South Africa often face a wrenching dilemma shortly after giving birth: Return to work at their employer’s home without their baby, or lose their job. 
  • Many women in this position are unable to breastfeed their babies, which the WHO recommends for the first six months, depriving them of numerous health benefits. 
Untapped resource: South Africa’s Unemployment Insurance Fund could help with partially paid maternity leave for up to four months. But just 20% of people register their domestic workers for the fund.    Maternal grants? Maternal health advocates have been pushing for a monthly maternity payment for low-income pregnant women from mid-pregnancy to three months after birth.     OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS By Slashing Foreign Aid, Trump Is Fueling the Spread of HIV in Uganda –      First human trials of locally-developed HIV jab begin in South Africa –     South Korea will boost medical school admissions to tackle physician shortage –     Traditional food could help reverse Nepal’s ‘diabetes epidemic’, studies suggest –     What Happens When Midwives Lead Abortion Care: Lessons from Sweden –      2 to 3 Cups of Coffee a Day May Reduce Dementia Risk. But Not if It’s Decaf. –     Olympic COVID restrictions are gone, but some athletes are still self-quarantining –   Issue No. 2861
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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Global Health Now - Mon, 02/09/2026 - 09:27
96 Global Health NOW: Life After Leprosy; and Few Resources for Migrating Minors February 9, 2026 TOP STORIES

Landmines and other explosives that are remnants of war in Afghanistan killed ~92 people and injured 379 others last year; more than two-thirds of the victims were children, per the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

A USAID division cut by the Trump administration, Development Innovation Ventures, was revived last week as an independent nonprofit: the DIV fund, which will continue the former program’s mission to fund and support international interventions, thanks to $48 million in private donor funding. 

Burundi has signed a bilateral agreement with the U.S. as a part of the ongoing rollout of the America First Global Health Strategy, which will result in $129 million in funding from the U.S. State Department over five years to support HIV/AIDS and malaria initiatives, and in Burundi increasing its domestic health funding by $26 million over the same time span. 

After facing years of litigation, U.S. chemical company Corteva will stop producing Enlist Duo, an herbicide containing a “toxic cocktail” of the Agent Orange chemical 2,4-D and glyphosate—which have both been linked to cancer and ecological harm; Corteva will still use 2,4-D in another of its products, Enlist One. 

IN FOCUS A woman looks out of her living quarters in a leprosy colony in New Delhi, on March 11, 2015. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Life After Leprosy 
At leprosy colonies throughout India, people who have long been cured of the disease continue to live and thrive inside the communities—a testament to the support systems there, and to the stigma that persists outside, .
  India is home to ~750 leprosy colonies today, where tens of thousands of former patients, their children, and grandchildren live.  
  • The colonies have long been places of exile: People who contracted the disease were segregated and forced to live in deep poverty and isolation. 
But today, leprosy is easily treated: The disease, also known as Hansen’s disease, can be cured with antibiotics; with attentive care, patients with nerve damage, amputations, and foot lesions are able to live fully. 
  • ~173,000 new leprosy cases were reported globally in 2024, .  
Communities of care: Meanwhile, conditions at the colonies have vastly improved over the years. Beyond medical care and housing, many also provide education and microfinancing systems.    But stigma remains strong, hampering reintegration efforts. Many former patients and their families still face job discrimination and social exclusion— “which can be more problematic than the disease itself,” said Yohei Sasakawa, WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination.  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES Related: FGM Laws Protect Girls. Who Heals the Women? –  DATA POINT

4 million+
—ĔĔĔĔĔ
Girls still at risk of female genital mutilation. — HEALTH SURVEILLANCE Few Resources for Migrating Minors    Children and juveniles migrating north through Mexico live in “precarious and unsafe” conditions, both in their place of origin and on their journey—with ongoing barriers to medical care, finds a 2024 study of 200 minors.     A range of adversities: Many children experience deterioration in their physical and mental health during transit, as they encounter “persecution, coercion, violence, and discrimination, as well as unsanitary living and transit conditions, food insecurity, and exposure to environmental hazards,” per the study.     A need for interventions: Researchers described a need for sustainable health and psychological programs for children at migratory shelters–and called for more civil society-led mobile clinics.       QUICK HITS Newly obtained emails undermine RFK Jr.'s testimony about 2019 Samoa trip before measles outbreak –  
  ‘Take the vaccine, please,’ Dr Oz urges amid rising measles cases in US –  
China criticizes U.S. for WHO pullout, accusing it of sidestepping international law –     Argentina: No Withdrawal from Pan American Health Organization – Despite Leaving WHO –     Women’s Preferences for Home-Based Self-Sampling or Clinic-Based Testing for Cervical Cancer Screening –     Federal Vaccine Advisers Take Aim at Covid Shots –     CDC study highlights growing threat of invasive E coli –     Inside the quest to make a safer football helmet –    Issue No. 2860
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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Global Health Now - Thu, 02/05/2026 - 09:51
96 Global Health NOW: Going on the Offensive Against Cholera; and Best in Show, First in Our Hearts February 5, 2026 TOP STORIES A South Sudan hospital has been hit by a government air strike, says Médecins Sans Frontières, which runs the facility; the attack in Lankien, Jonglei state, marks the tenth attack in 12 months on MSF-run medical facilities in the country amid a resurgence in fighting between soldiers and a coalition of opposition forces.    
Raw milk has been linked to the listeria death of a newborn in New Mexico, per state officials, who say that “the most likely source of infection was unpasteurized milk” the mother consumed during pregnancy.      Researchers identified a genetic mutation that helps malaria-spreading Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes resist pyrethroids—the main insecticides used to treat bednets; the research, led by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Cameroon’s Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases, also developed a DNA test to track the mutation across West and Central Africa.     A new rapid test can identify bacteria and effective antibiotics to use against them in just 36 minutes, per a study published in —a key tactic to fight antimicrobial resistance, say researchers.   IN FOCUS A member of the Syria Immunization Team holds cholera vaccination ampoules in Sarmada, Syria, on March 7, 2023. Anas Alkharboutli/picture alliance via Getty Going on the Offensive Against Cholera 
Preventive cholera vaccination programs will restart globally after a ~4-year hiatus—a signal that the global supply has seen significant recovery after critical vaccine shortages, .  
  • “Global vaccine shortages forced us into a cycle of reacting to cholera outbreaks instead of preventing them. We are now in a stronger position to break that cycle,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.  
Depletion: Preventive campaigns paused in 2022 amidst a global cholera surge that drove up demand for oral cholera vaccine stocks.  
  • That surge continues: 600,000+ cholera cases and ~7,600 deaths were reported to WHO last year—with children most at risk.  
  • Last month alone, 11,965 new cholera cases, and 126 new deaths globally were .  
Replenishment: Today, global supply of oral cholera vaccine has doubled from ~35 million doses in 2022 to ~70 million in 2025—a result of collaborative efforts by global agencies, manufacturers, and other stakeholders to expand production, .     Strategy: 20 million doses are being deployed at the outset, with 3.6 million doses delivered to Mozambique, where flooding has damaged water systems and heightened cholera risk for 700,000+ people, .  
  • 6.1 million doses have been sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and 10.3 million to Bangladesh—other high-risk regions. 
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HIV/AIDS A Lifesaving Drug—Soon Out of Reach   Thousands of people with HIV in Florida are expected to lose access to critical HIV medications after the state’s abrupt decision to severely restrict eligibility for its AIDS Drug Assistance Program on March 1. 
  • The income cap for benefits will be drastically lowered, putting medication out of reach for ~16,000 people.  
Lost subsidies, big impact: Officials say the cuts are driven by rising costs, reduced federal funding, and this year’s expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies—which is already spiking patients’ insurance costs.     Doctors and advocates warn that the restrictions could lead to more patients falling through the cracks and further viral spread.  
  • “It’s terrifying,” said Tori Samuel, a mother of three who has relied on the program for decades.  
  CORRECTION A Key Distinction

In our summary yesterday about cancer prevention, the projected 50% rise  is in cancer cases, not rates. We regret the error.  

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Best in Show, First in Our Hearts     God loves a terrier. It is a truth  crooned by legendary Norwich terrier owner Cookie Fleck, played by Catherine O’Hara in the 2000 mockumentary Best in Show.     But before the terrier group was judged Tuesday night at the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, all the love was focused on O’Hara herself, who died last week at 71—as organizers paid tribute to the actor with a video montage on the Madison Square Garden jumbotron, .    The tribute reflected just how beloved the film and O’Hara have become in that subculture, even though both “gently lampooned eccentricities and intensity” of dog shows.  
  • “The first time I watched it, I was highly insulted,” said David Fitzpatrick, this year’s best in show judge. “Then I watched it again and I started thinking, ‘Oh my God, they really have some of us pegged.’” 
This year’s top dog was Penny the Doberman pinscher—whose owner listed her favorite snacks as “everything,” . We love a relatable winner.  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS ‘We are dying’: Gaza’s cancer patients plead for a way out –     New Nipah-like bat virus in Bangladesh is becoming more deadly, scientists warn –     Study ties particle pollution from wildfire smoke to 24,100 US deaths per year –      RIP Nick White, 1951-2026 –  Thanks for the tip, Michael Macdonald!    How the new dietary guidelines could impact school meals –     New York City partners with WHO as U.S. withdraws from global effort –     Texas jails have more than 400 pregnant inmates monthly. The state is trying to understand what happens to them. –     Open-source AI program can answer science questions better than humans –    Issue No. 2859
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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World Health Organization - Thu, 02/05/2026 - 07:00
The UN agency leading the global effort to end HIV/AIDS worldwide welcomed legislative approval from the United States on Thursday for a $6 billion spending package to help tackle the disease, following nearly a year of sharp aid cuts.
Categories: Global Health Feed

2026 SCSD Research Day

Թ Faculty of Medicine news - Wed, 02/04/2026 - 14:51

Friday February 13 2026 • 3pm to 5pm
McIntyre Building, room 330, 3655 Promenade Sir-William-Osler, Montreal QC, H3A 1A3

Categories: Global Health Feed

2026 SCSD Research Day

Թ Faculty of Medicine news - Wed, 02/04/2026 - 14:51

Friday February 13 2026 • 3pm to 5pm
McIntyre Building, room 330, 3655 Promenade Sir-William-Osler, Montreal QC, H3A 1A3

Categories: Global Health Feed

Global Health Now - Wed, 02/04/2026 - 09:31
96 Global Health NOW: New Insights into Cancer Prevention; and Could Fish Farming Help Fight Schistosomiasis February 4, 2026 TOP STORIES Serious side effects and high cost have hindered the rollout of the first chikungunya vaccine, IXCHIQ, produced by French manufacturer Valneva, and shifted focus to a newer vaccine, Vimkunya, produced by Danish drugmaker Bavarian Nordic, which is expected to be safer for vulnerable groups.     Long COVID in children will be studied more closely in three clinical trials launching this year, including the largest pediatric long COVID trial to date—which will recruit 1,300 children, teens, and young adults for a randomized placebo-controlled trial of low-dose naltrexone to treat fatigue.  /     The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has recommended that surgeons delay “gender-related breast/chest, genital, and facial surgery” until a patient is 19 years old, , saying that there is “low certainty” in the risk-benefit ratio for such surgical interventions for children and adolescents.     The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services unveiled a $100 million pilot program to address homelessness and addiction in eight cities this week, including expanded funding for faith-based substance use treatment.   IN FOCUS: WORLD CANCER DAY A health worker administers an HPV vaccine to a girl during a HPV vaccination drive against cervical cancer in Karachi, Pakistan. September 24, 2025. Rizwan Tabassum/AFP via Getty New Insights into Cancer Prevention    Nearly 4 in 10 cancer cases worldwide are potentially preventable,  ahead of World Cancer Day today, .     What that means: ~7.1 million cancer cases in 2022 were linked to preventable causes per the analysis by the WHO and its International Agency for Research on Cancer, which looked at dozens of cancer types in ~200 countries and considered 30 modifiable risk factors including tobacco, alcohol, air pollution, and occupational exposure to toxins, .      Leading risk factors: Tobacco smoking was the leading contributor to cases (15%), followed by infections like HPV (10%) and alcohol (3%).     Zooming in: Preventable cancers were more common in men (45%) than women (30%), .  
  • In men, smoking was the leading risk factor, accounting for ~25% of the 4.3 million preventable cancer cases, and was the leading cause of cancer in men living in both low- and high-income regions.  
  • In women, infections such as HPV were leading drivers, especially in low- and middle-income regions, such as sub-Saharan Africa.  
Key takeaways: Tailoring interventions—like tobacco control or vaccination campaigns—to regional risk patterns could significantly cut global cancer rates, which have been projected to rise 50%+ by 2045, . 
  • “Addressing these preventable causes represents one of the most powerful opportunities to reduce the global cancer burden,” senior study author Isabelle Soerjomataram told the BBC. 
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES NEGLECTED DISEASES Fish Farming to Help Fight Schistosomiasis?   Researchers are testing a new approach to curb the parasitic disease schistosomiasis through a new intervention: snail-eating fish.     Background: Each year, 250 million+ people globally are treated for schistosomiasis, a disease transmitted through water contaminated by a parasite carried by snails. 
  • In places like Senegal, rice farmers are especially vulnerable, as they work in flooded fields where snails thrive.  
Sustainable solution? A pilot project led by Stanford University researchers will help rice farmers integrate native African catfish aquaculture as a potential way to curb the snail population.  
  • The hope is that catfish will help with snail control—and provide an added food source.  
  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS ‘Biblical Diseases’ Could Resurge in Africa, Health Officials Fear – 

A Year of Disruption: 5 Resources to Understand Foreign Aid Cuts – 

'Efficacy will be secondary': RFK Jr.'s vaccine advisers have a new mission – 

US government concerns over key vaccine ingredient are not based on science –

Nigerian women and contraceptives: study finds big gaps between the haves and the have-nots – 

Why scientists are so excited about a nasal spray vaccine for bird flu –     The Secret Weapon in Canada’s Sewers: As America takes an axe to its health data, expanding wastewater surveillance could save lives –     ‘Clean air should not be a privilege’: how Bogotá is tackling air pollution in its poorest areas –   Issue No. 2858
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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World Health Organization - Wed, 02/04/2026 - 07:00
As World Cancer Day is marked on Wednesday, thousands of patients in Gaza face worsening illness, untreated pain and closed crossings – despite the limited opening of the vital route through Rafah this week.
Categories: Global Health Feed

Global Health Now - Tue, 02/03/2026 - 09:30
96 Global Health NOW: 9 Million Deaths May Follow Aid Cuts Plus: Egypt’s Child Health Gains Jeopardized February 3, 2026 TOP STORIES Ultra-processed foods are more similar to cigarettes than other foods and should be regulated as such, according to  that highlights how both products encourage addiction and are marketed to maximize consumption.  

Young people in Ontario are being diagnosed with psychotic disorders more frequently compared to their older peers, according to a  from the Canadian province; studies from and have identified a similar trend.

An emerging bat-borne virusPteropine orthoreovirus, was discovered in stored throat swabs and viral cultures of five patients thought to be infected with Nipah virus, ; the patients, hospitalized from December 2022 to March 2023, had eaten raw date palm sap, a route of NiV spillover. 

Lead exposure among a small group of people in Utah is 100X lower today than in the 1960s, ; researchers relied partly on an unconventional source: hair clippings from 100-year-old scrapbooks.  IN FOCUS Pharmacist Joseph Njer Airo inspects boxes of antiretroviral drugs labeled "USAID," at Migosi Sub-county Hospital, in Kisumu, Kenya, on April 24, 2025. Michel Lunanga/Getty Images 9 Million Deaths May Follow Aid Cuts 
If current trends in global health funding cuts continue, 9.4 million excess deaths will occur by 2030,  published in The Lancet Global Health yesterday. That’s the “mild” scenario. 

Worst case: A “severe” scenario based on even greater funding cuts would lead to 22.6 million additional deaths by 2030, per Barcelona Institute for Global Health researchers and colleagues. 

What’s at stake? HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis, as well as hunger, may resurge across the globe, .  

  • “It is the dismantling of an architecture that took 80 years to build,” said Rockefeller Foundation President and former USAID chief Rajiv Shah. “The scale of the cuts and the scale of the reduction far outstrip the scale of philanthropy to step in and solve the problem.”&Բ;

Flashback: Development assistance was associated with declines of 70% in HIV/AIDS, 56% for malaria, and 56% for nutritional deficiencies from 2002 to 2021, per the study. 

Meanwhile in Geneva: Despite funding cuts, the WHO has 85% of funds needed for its current biennium budget, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the 158th Executive Board meeting, .
 

Related: 

This global health leader praises Trump's aid plan — and gears up to beat malaria – 

Days After US Leaves WHO, Israel Warns it Faces Pressure to Withdraw – 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES CHILD MORTALITY  Egypt’s Child Health Gains Jeopardized 
Egypt made major strides in children’s health outcomes in the last three decades—cutting child mortality from 108 deaths per 1,000 children under 5 in 1988, to 26 deaths per 1,000 in 2024 through policies including:  
  • School-based insurance that helped families access medical care and medicine.  
  • Vaccine coverage, especially for polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, and measles.  
  • Widespread hepatitis C screening.  

But that progress is threatened as economic turmoil and post-pandemic fallout lead to care setbacks, including: 

  • A physician exodus, with ~18,000 doctors resigning since 2019 due to low pay.  
  • Hospital bed shortages. 
  • Pandemic disruptions in maternal care, which led to a spike in C-sections and prematurity.  

SPONSORED Cells to Society: The Building Blocks of a Public Health Career 
Considering a career in public health? The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is now offering online, noncredit courses for adult learners who are thinking about a career change, are seeking ways to be more helpful in their local communities, or are simply curious about how public health works. Explore available courses and register today to get a preview into a formal public health education.      QUICK HITS Six years after COVID-19’s global alarm: Is the world better prepared for the next pandemic? –     Synthetic compound targets malaria at multiple stages to prevent its transmission –   
  Indonesia Delays Sugary Drink Taxes, Yet Again –  
Eye Protection for Tear Gas and other Hazards: A Protest Safety Guide –  Thanks for the tip, Cecilia Meisner!    2 or more alcoholic drinks a day linked to 91% higher colorectal cancer risk –  Thanks for the tip, Xiadong Cai!     Why scientists are so excited about a nasal spray vaccine for bird flu –   Issue No. 2857
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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Categories: Global Health Feed

World Health Organization - Tue, 02/03/2026 - 07:00
Up to four in 10 cancer cases globally could be prevented, new analysis has revealed, highlighting the need for stronger tobacco control and other measures to reduce risks and save lives. 
Categories: Global Health Feed

World Health Organization - Tue, 02/03/2026 - 07:00
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday launched its 2026 global appeal for nearly $1 billion to ensure that millions of people living in humanitarian crises and conflicts can access healthcare.
Categories: Global Health Feed

CIHR grants $55.9M to Թ health research

Թ Faculty of Medicine news - Mon, 02/02/2026 - 14:35

56 Թ research projects were awarded funding through CIHR’s Fall 2025 Project Grant competition, to support high-potential health research across all areas and career stages.

Categories: Global Health Feed

CIHR grants $50.4M to Թ health research

Թ Faculty of Medicine news - Mon, 02/02/2026 - 14:35

51 Թ research projects were awarded funding through CIHR’s Fall 2025 Project Grant competition, to support high-potential health research across all areas and career stages.

Categories: Global Health Feed

Global Health Now - Mon, 02/02/2026 - 09:25
96 Global Health NOW: Measles Strengthens Its U.S. Foothold; and Pregnant, Breastfeeding, and Detained by ICE February 2, 2026 TOP STORIES The 10 Guinea worm infection cases reported last year––confined to three countries: Chad, Ethiopia, and South Sudan––mark a historic low and a 33% decline from 2024’s 15 cases.     An autism advisory panel to the U.S. government has been overhauled by HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who replaced members of the panel with outspoken activists who say vaccines are linked to autism.     Pancreatic tumors were eliminated in mice through a triple combination therapy administered , which found that the therapy prevented tumor recurrence and may point the way to new clinical trials for treating pancreatic cancer.     Severe acute pancreatitis has been linked with GLP-1 injections, a UK medication regulator has warned; while the risk is small, the guidance was updated after 1,143 cases of acute and chronic pancreatitis were reported in 2025 among patients taking semaglutide or tirzepatide.   IN FOCUS Parkside Pediatrics providers Chandler Hash (left) and Nathan Heffington assess a patient with measles symptoms in Spartanburg, SC, on January 30. The Washington Post via Getty Measles Strengthens Its U.S. Foothold    U.S. doctors are learning to recognize a disease most have encountered only in textbooks as measles strengthens its grip nationwide—including in South Carolina, which is now home to the largest U.S. measles outbreak since the disease was eliminated 25+ years ago, .     South Carolina’s outbreak has surpassed the case count of last year’s outbreak in West Texas and now includes 840+ infections—mostly among unvaccinated children and adults in the Spartanburg area. Hundreds have quarantined for weeks, and ~19 have been hospitalized, .     Wider U.S. risks: The outbreak has already seeded cases in states as close as North Carolina and as far away as Washington—contributing to 500+ U.S. cases in January alone, and imperiling the country’s measles-free status as plunging vaccination rates create pockets where the virus can rapidly spread.  
  • “I don’t see a clear end to this,” said epidemiologist Scott Thorpe, who runs the nonprofit Southern Alliance for Public Health Leadership. 
Outbreak at ICE detention center: Meanwhile, in Texas, “all movement” has been halted at an ICE detention facility for families in Dilley after two measles infections were confirmed, .  
  • The facility, which holds about ~1,200 people, including 400+ children, has already been scrutinized for its medical care of detained families, including a child hospitalized after symptoms of appendicitis went undiagnosed, 
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES Related: Violations of medical neutrality during protests in Iran –   HUMAN RIGHTS Pregnant, Breastfeeding, and Detained by ICE    An increasing number of pregnant, postpartum, and nursing women are among those detained in ICE detention facilities, which are unequipped to provide them with adequate care, say lawmakers and immigration rights activists.      One case: Cecil Elvir-Quinonez, a mother of two who came to the U.S. as a child, learned of her third pregnancy while in custody in a Louisiana facility.  
  • She has not had routine prenatal care, despite complications that include heavy bleeding, advocates say. And one of her children was still breastfeeding. 
  • “The fact that parents aren’t with the kids, that she’s breastfeeding an infant, pregnant and having complications—those kinds of things are not being looked at or considered as relevant—it’s inhumane from my perspective,” said immigration lawyer Kerry Doyle.  
    Related: Children with disabilities particularly vulnerable to Minneapolis ICE crackdown –   OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS ‘You take what you can and run’: families describe harrowing journey to escape fighting in DRC – 
  Michelle A. Williams: The EPA just erased a century of public health progress –

EU sets toxin limit amid global infant formula recalls –     2 or more alcoholic drinks a day linked to 91% higher colorectal cancer risk –  Thanks for the tip, Xiaodong Cai!

Converging global crises and the re-emergence of neglected tropical diseases: the case of noma –      David Wallace-Wells: The Real Reason MAHA Hates Vaccines –  Thanks for the tip, Dave Cundiff!     It’s freezing cold and you’ve lost power. Here’s what emergency doctors want you to do –      Helping with grandkids may slow cognitive decline –  Issue No. 2856
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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Categories: Global Health Feed

Night owl or early bird? Study finds sleep categories aren’t that simple

Թ Faculty of Medicine news - Mon, 02/02/2026 - 09:05

The familiar labels “night owl” and “early bird,” long used in sleep research, don’t fully capture the diversity of human internal clocks, a new study has found.

The Թ-led study published in found the two sleep-wake patterns, called chronotypes, contain a total of five distinct biological subtypes, each associated with different patterns of behaviour and health.

Categories: Global Health Feed

Night owl or early bird? Study finds sleep categories aren’t that simple

Թ Faculty of Medicine news - Mon, 02/02/2026 - 09:05

The familiar labels “night owl” and “early bird,” long used in sleep research, don’t fully capture the diversity of human internal clocks, a new study has found.

The Թ-led study published in found the two sleep-wake patterns, called chronotypes, contain a total of five distinct biological subtypes, each associated with different patterns of behaviour and health.

Categories: Global Health Feed

World Health Organization - Mon, 02/02/2026 - 07:00
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday that cuts to international aid and persistent funding gaps are undermining the global health system.
Categories: Global Health Feed

CNNTD Newsletter - Thu, 01/29/2026 - 18:49
96 CNNTD Newsletter: World NTD Day 2026 |Bulletin du RCMTN: /Journée mondiale des MTN 2026 Recent news and updates from CNNTD | Nouvelles et mises à jour récentes du RCMTN January 29, 2026/ Janvier 29, 2026 -->  Join us on World NTD Day, January 30th, 2026!  
Rejoignez-nous pour la Journée mondiale des MTN, le 30 janvier 2026! 
-->

We hope you will join us in celebrating the incredible achievements made in eliminating NTDs, with 58 countries having eliminated at least 1 NTD to date. World NTD Day also provides an opportunity to mobilize greater attention and support for these diseases that continue to affect more than one billion people today. Here's hoping for more incredible achievements in 2026 for people living with and at risk of NTDs. 

…...

Nous espérons que vous vous joindrez à nous pour célébrer les incroyables progrès réalisés dans l'élimination des MTN, avec 58 pays ayant éliminé au moins une MTN à ce jour. La Journée mondiale des MTN offre également une occasion de mobiliser davantage l'attention et le soutien sur ces maladies qui continuent de toucher plus d'un milliard de personnes aujourd'hui. Nous espérons que 2026 sera marquée par d'autres progrès incroyables pour les personnes atteintes ou exposées aux MTN. 

--> We Invite our Canadian Members to be #Onefor1BILLION and #Write4NTDs / Nous invitons nos membres canadiens à participer aux campagnes #UnisPourUnMilliard et #EcrivezPourLesMTNs If you are joining us from Canada, we invite you to participate in our #Onefor1BILLION #Write4NTDs letter writing campaign! Write to your MP to let them know that Canada can and should invest in NTDs. Ask them to make a statement in the House of Commons! Here’s how to join in and in . ............. Si vous nous rejoignez depuis le Canada, nous vous invitons tous à participer à notre campagne de lettres #UnisPourUnMILLIARD #EcrivezPourLesMTNs! Écrivez à votre député pour lui faire savoir que le Canada peut et doit investir dans la lutte contre les MTN. Demandez-lui de faire une déclaration à la Chambre des communes! Voici comment participer en et en . --> Let's Get Social with our Social Media Toolkit for World NTD Day/ 
Soyons sociaux avec notre kit d'outils pour les réseaux sociaux à l'occasion de la Journée mondiale des MTN
--> We have a World NTD Day social media toolkit, which . All of our World NTD Day materials can be found on our World NTD Day Webpage here: ............. Nous disposon d'une trousse d'outils pour les médias sociaux, . Tous nos documents sur la Journée mondiale des MTN sont disponibles sur notre page Web consacrée à cette journée:  --> Check out the Global NTDs Youth Platform - Just in Time for World NTD Day/ Découvrez la plateforme mondiale des jeunes sur les MTN, juste à temps pour la Journée mondiale des MTN --> Webinars on World NTD Day and Beyond/ 
Webinaires sur la Journée mondiale des MTN et au-delà
--> January 30, 2026 - 
January 30, 2026 - 
January 30, 2026 - 
January 30, 2026 - 
January 30, 2026 - 
February 2, 2026 - 
February 9, 2026 - 

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janvier 30, 2026 - 
janvier 30, 2026 - 
janvier 30, 2026 - 
janvier 30, 2026 -
janvier 30, 2026 -
février 2, 2026 - 
février 9, 2026 -

--> Join us! Rejoignez-nous! The Canadian Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases welcomes individual, organizational and international members. .  --- Le Réseau canadien des maladies tropicales négligées accueille des membres individuels, organisationnels et internationaux. Copyright © 2026 Canadian Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, All rights reserved.


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Categories: Global Health Feed

RNA therapy may be a solution for infant hydrocephalus

Թ Faculty of Medicine news - Thu, 01/29/2026 - 11:57
For the first time, drug targeting genetic mutation shown to have positive impact in mice models

Hydrocephalus is a life-threatening condition that occurs in about 1 in 1,000 newborns and is often treated with invasive surgery. Now, a new study offers hope of preventing hydrocephalus before it even occurs.

Categories: Global Health Feed

Global Health Now - Thu, 01/29/2026 - 09:47
96 Global Health NOW: Reproductive Care Collapses in Afghanistan Plus: Time to Chart a New Path to Africa’s Malaria-Free Future January 29, 2026 TOP STORIES Malaria deaths could spike to half a million across Africa over the next 25 years due to climate change, —which finds that shifting and extreme weather patterns could lead to an additional 123 million malaria cases across the continent.     Two animal-borne pathogens pose a growing threat to humans, warns a new ; the viruses, influenza D virus and canine coronavirus, have been “flying under the radar,” but conditions are shifting that have improved their capacity to spread among humans, researchers say.     HPV screening rates among underserved groups in Australia were “substantially boosted” through cervical sample self-collection programs, ; participation was especially high among women who were 10+ years overdue for screening and those living in very remote areas.     Twice-yearly PrEP is slowly becoming more accessible to people in the U.S., as insurers gradually agree to cover the high-cost drug, Yeztugo—an injection of the drug lenacapavir.  IN FOCUS Farida, 30, a midwife, monitors pregnant women close to delivering, at the provincial hospital's maternity department, on August 27, 2025, in Ghazni, Afghanistan. Elise Blanchard/Getty Images Reproductive Care Collapses in Afghanistan 
Women in Afghanistan increasingly have nowhere to turn to prevent pregnancies or find basic prenatal services, as the country’s reproductive care system deteriorates under the Taliban.     Birth control banned: The  started in 2023, with contraceptives swiftly disappearing from shelves and doctors forbidden from dispensing them—even for women whose lives could be threatened by pregnancy.     Clinic closed: Clinics accused of violating the Taliban’s orders face risk of closure; doctors have also been forced to close their doors after the sudden drop in international aid last year. 
  • 440+ hospitals and clinics have closed or reduced services in Afghanistan in the last year, . 
  • Since then, women have been left largely to fend for themselves, with minimal to no prenatal care amid risky pregnancies, complications, and miscarriages.  
Dangers at home: Meanwhile, medical workers say most of the pregnant women they see are malnourished, and many women miscarry because of domestic violence and overwork.     The quote: “They broke her with fear, pregnancies and violence,” said the mother of one 36-year-old woman who has slipped into a "permanent state of confusion” after nine pregnancies and six miscarriages.     GHN EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY Faith, 3, vaccinated in the world's first malaria vaccine (RTS, S) pilot program, plays at home in Mukuli, Kenya, on March 7, 2023. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images Time to Chart a New Path to Africa’s Malaria-Free Future
As wealthy countries cut assistance and malaria surges in parts of Africa, the continent’s leaders must chart a new path to a malaria-free future, write Corine Karema, Francine Ntoumi, and Garry Aslanyan . 
  • The recent dramatic reduction in aid is disrupting core activities like disease surveillance, supply chains for medicines, and delivery of care.   
A leadership moment: Africa needs to invest more of its own resources. Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda are taking steps to increase their health budgets. It’s time to accelerate those gains, the authors argue.      ³󲹳’s&Բ;Ա:&Բ;&Բ;
  • All governments where malaria is endemic should have national elimination plans. 
  • African institutions should set priorities, align partners around national plans, and demand accountability for results.  
  • The African Union and other organizations can help coordinate efforts at the regional level, keeping malaria high on the political agenda. 
  • Malaria programs need to engage other programs—like routine immunization, antenatal care, and community outreach—to get the newly approved malaria vaccines RTS,S and R21/ Matrix–M to people.   
The takeaway: Eliminating malaria can become, they write, a defining story of African leadership that safeguards lives for generations.
  OPPORTUNITY Wellbeing With AI: What's Possible? 
Join the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Department of Mental Health for an urgent discussion on the risks, benefits, and practical applications of AI in mental health care. Laura Reiley, whose , will share her story. 

She will be joined by Thomas Insel, who formerly served as director of the National Institute of Mental Health and more recently led the Mental Health team at Verily (formerly known as Google Life Sciences), and Holly Wilcox, director and founder of the Johns Hopkins Center for Suicide Prevention.

The livestream of the event is open to the public, but registration is required. You will receive a link to the livestream with your registration confirmation.

  • Monday, February 2, 2026, 12 p.m.–1:30 p.m. EST
ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Talk About the Weather
Year after year, epic snowstorms prove that behind every winter weather report is a comedian waiting in the wings. This week was no different across the U.S., with reporters and officials resorting to jokes and light shaming to keep people indoors.     A sampling:     “OPERATION BREAD AND MILK:” The  to chill out on hoarding supplies. “We’ve already seen the frantic look in your eyes,” they wrote. “You are … not launching a three-year mission to Mars.”&Բ;    “Park it on the couch,” Kansas City, Missouri. The local fire department —or people trying to squeeze in a mani-pedi: “ Hush Jessica.”&Բ;    These gems are important reminders of iconic past weather reports:     An anchorman’s “.”&Բ;A reporter delivered breaking updates using a rubber chicken for reference, and struggled to make a snow angel. “Is it great snowman snow? No, man, no.” Cincinnati, Ohio, 2025    “Honestly the hardest I’ve ever worked.” A  named Big Papi. Manchester, New Hampshire, 2022     “Oh, boy.” Less forecast, more Shakespearean monologue. A local weatherman warned that our “” Baltimore, Maryland, 2010   QUICK HITS Radical changes could be coming to ‘psychiatry’s bible’ –   
 
Risk of maternal death during pregnancy greatly underestimated, study finds –  
 
‘Rise in insecurity, hostile environment affecting NTDs programme’ –  
 
Tanzania Among Seven Countries Included in the New Network to Strengthen Collaborative Disease Surveillance –  
 
On Public Health and Human Rights in Minneapolis –  
 
Eating snow cones or snow cream can be a winter delight, if done safely –  Issue No. 2855
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:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  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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