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. […]
by Pavlo Klimkin and Andreas Umland Deliberations on the political repercussions of the ongoing pandemic for international relations and Ukrainian foreign affairs In their seminal 2012 study Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty, Daren Acemoglu and James A. Robinson identified the Bubonic Plague of 1346-1353 not only as one of the greatest […]
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.
Ten years ago, The Economist ran a cover with the title “Africa: Hopeless Continent.” One year ago, The Economist ran a cover titled “Africa Rising.” The African Myth that the world’s longest inhabited continent is still one of seemingly infinite despair, has been proven wrong by the resilience of those who continue to populate it. […]
Communities around the globe united over the weekend to spread awareness for World AIDS Day, which was held on Saturday, December 1st. In 1988, the U.N. General Assembly expressed deep concern over the pandemic proportions of the AIDS virus. Following the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of 1 December 1988 as World AIDS Day, the General Assembly […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Earlier this month, a study published in The Lancet discussed findings that hormonal contraceptives doubled the risk of HIV infection and transmission. The study examined 3,790 sero-discordant heterosexual couples (meaning that one of the two has HIV) in seven African countries. Some of the women were using hormonal contraceptives, mostly injectable (such as Depo-Provera) but […]
I write often about communicable diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, which get a lot of international attention and popular support, spurred on by celebrities, government leaders, and the media. What is ignored, however, is the growing epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic or “lifestyle” diseases. With the upcoming United Nations High Level Meeting […]
I went to an interesting talk last night by Dr. Anthony Fauci. He is the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The Foreign Policy Association initiated a new series with his talk: the Dame Jillian Sackler Distinguished Lecture. (She was married to Arthur Sackler, the research psychiatrist and art patron.) Dr. […]