President Trump has clearly decided to deflect blame for the disastrous impact of the COVID-19* pandemic in the United States by attacking China and the World Health Organization (WHO). Of the two, the one that is likely to suffer more, with more consequences for the United States and the rest of the world, is WHO. […]
It is an important job of the media to use their best judgement when reporting on every false alarm, sniffle or sneeze that is heard across the globe. The real danger of Ebola is in the panic it can cause, both in West Africa and elsewhere.
It was 38 years ago, in 1976, that scientists first identified the virus. It had been found in a small village in northern Zaire (as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was called in those days) along the banks of the Ebola River.
With the opening of “Zero Dark Thirty” this week, many have condemned the depiction of torture in the film — and debates have resurfaced about the “enhanced interrogation” of suspected terrorists by the United States to find Osama bin Laden. What gets left out of these discussions is the role that a deplorable espionage tactic played in […]
This week, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) published a new tool to address the growing health risks associated with climate change. The “Atlas of Human Health and Climate” explores the exacerbation of “diseases of poverty” (including those related to food and water insecurity), emergency medical situations related to extreme […]
For today, I’d like to share a few links to recent articles about global health. A New Whooping Cough Epidemic? : Slate examines the recent rise of whooping cough in the United States. Although parents’ failure to vaccinate their children is a major cause, Amanda Schaffer discusses the complexities behind the re-emergence of this disease. Remembering […]
Recently, researchers at the University of Cape Town (UCT) announced that they had developed a single-dose treatment for malaria. As National Geographic reports, the drug developed at UCT kills malaria parasites in animal test subjects “instantly,” including those that are drug-resistant—and with no adverse side effects. Clinical trials will begin in 2013. South Africa-based eNews has a little […]
I’ve focused much attention this year on the rise of drug-resistant strains of diseases. There’s been a lot of panic in the U.S., for example, around MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and new discussions about how to combat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. As I’ve written before, I believe drug resistance is going to be one of our greatest global […]
As I wrote in the recent post, The Joy and Burden of Motherhood, “The greatest joy of motherhood is seen as the sheer gift of bringing a life into this world and helping to shape them from the moment of birth and then to watch them grow into a happy, productive and successful member of […]
Last Friday, Stanford’s Policy Review published a feature written by global health luminaries Mark Dybul, Peter Piot, and Julio Frenk entitled Reshaping Global Health. The article reads as a call to action, urging the global health community to “give up a lot of turf” and assemble a Bretton Woods-style conversation to reshape the Global Health […]
Meningococcal disease, or meningitis, is a bacterial infection of the meninges, or lining around the brain and spinal cord. If left untreated, it has a 50% mortality rate, and it spreads most easily through crowded areas where people are in close and prolonged contact, from college dorms to informal settlements. Meningococcal disease can result in severe, permanent […]
Neglected tropical diseases have been getting a bit of press recently, possibly because it’s been a slow news week or two in the world of global health. Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are so named because they’re precisely that: generally ignored by funders, scientists, advocacy organizations, and governments. They are often endemic in developing countries, where […]
This week, the WHO upheld its current guidelines in relation to use of hormonal contraception and women living with HIV. President Obama released his administration’s budget request for 2013, with some surprising news for US global heath policy. Finally, polio eradication efforts in Pakistan have been hamstrung by government health care and regulatory incompetency […]
Last week, I discussed the breaking news of an emerging strain of “totally drug resistant” tuberculosis (TDR-TB)* in Mumbai. This week, the Indian government denied the findings, arguing that the twelve cases were in fact extensively drug resistant (XDR, not “extremely,” as I wrote previously). The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated that nine […]
Monday was World Polio Day, and there was much to celebrate: as of now, the world has seen a 99% reduction in polio cases. That’s incredible news. We have reached a point where polio could be wholly eradicated in less than five years. Isn’t it nice to hear that it is possible to successfully combat […]