Global Health Programs aggregator

�� Faculty of Medicine news: Study links early cannabis use and health problems

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 11:11:22 -0400

Adolescents who start using cannabis early and often are more likely to need health care for both mental and physical problems as they enter adulthood, according to a new study led by �� researchers.

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: U.S., Canada Risk Measles-Free Status; WHO Warns of Tobacco Treaty Interference; and Brazil's Teen Pregnancy Turnaround

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 09:36:54 -0400

Global Health NOW: U.S., Canada Risk Measles-Free Status; WHO Warns of Tobacco Treaty Interference; and Brazil's Teen Pregnancy Turnaround

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October 28, 2025


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A nurse demonstrates how to put on a mask at a measles screening point at Victoria Hospital, in London, Ontario, on July 9. Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty

U.S., Canada Risk Measles-Free Status

The consequences of teetering government commitments to vaccines and falling vaccination rates are emerging across North America.

Measles-free no more: Canada and the U.S. are poised to lose their status as countries that have eliminated measles, CNN reports. Canada’s year of continuous measles transmission and its 5,000+ cases this year make it likely that a November PAHO meeting will determine the country is no longer measles free. The U.S. may soon get the same label.

Muzzled experts: Doctors and public health experts in Florida have been reluctant to speak out about a state plan to end required childhood vaccinations, per KFF News.

Pediatricians are afraid of losing business, county health department officials refer reporters to state officials, and University of Florida infectious disease experts were told not to speak to reporters without supervisor approval.

Needed: “It’s really those vaccine champions from communities that help improve vaccination, spread awareness about the need for vaccination, and kind of create the positive change that we need in order to ensure that these outbreaks don’t persist and don’t continue to happen,” �� epidemiologist Nicole Basta told the Toronto Star.

Not needed: When a reporter asked Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo if his team had created computer models of potential outbreaks after the policy change, he replied “absolutely not,” and added that parents’ freedom of choice wasn’t a scientific matter.

Related:

Threat to U.S. vaccines as CDC staff supporting key advisory panel laid off – The Guardian

Kansas City health experts say confusing CDC vaccine guidance risks wider spread of infections – KCUR / NPR Kansas City

Measles outbreak in South Carolina grows; Canada’s elimination status threatened – CIDRAP

DATA POINT

9 of 10
————

Portion of air pollution-linked deaths attributable to noncommunicable diseases in 2023. —Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation

The Latest

One-Liners

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia is committing grave atrocities in Darfur’s regional capital, El Fasher, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) warns, citing ethnically motivated killings, summary executions of civilians attempting to flee the area, and attacks on humanitarian volunteers attempting to administer aid. UN News

Thousands of stillbirths—nearly 30%—occur without clear warning signs or clinical risk factors, per a large Harvard and Mass General Brigham analysis of ~2.8 million U.S. pregnancies that documented ~19,000 stillbirths between 2016 and 2022—with Black families and poorer communities bearing a disproportionate toll. The Washington Post

Cigarette butts are an “overlooked yet potent” vector for antibiotic resistance genes, according to a Chinese-led PNAS report that detected 95 potential pathogens in cigarette butts collected from 105 urban green spaces and 35 cities across China. CIDRAP

Weight loss drugs are lowering the U.S. obesity rate, albeit slowly—from a high of 39.9% three years ago to 37% of U.S. adults this year, according to a new Gallup poll that shows a doubling in the number of people taking the drugs over the past year and a half. NPR Shots

BIG TOBACCO

WHO Urges ‘Vigilance’ Against Tobacco Treaty Interference

The tobacco industry is ramping up efforts to undermine an international treaty to reduce smoking and vaping, the WHO is warning ahead of a key meeting in Geneva next month, reports The Telegraph.

Background: The meeting will involve updates to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a 20-year-old treaty with 183 signatories that includes policies on advertising limits, health warnings, and smoking bans.

Big Tobacco tactics: But ahead of the meeting, the WHO is urging governments to “remain vigilant” to various ways the tobacco industry is infiltrating and manipulating delegations, including posing as consumer, economic, or scientific groups to promote misinformation in “a deliberate strategy to try to derail consensus.”

Meanwhile, in the UK: A British lawmaker who is pushing against a proposed ban on tobacco to anyone born after 2008 has a relative who is “very high up” at British American Tobacco, reports The Examination.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

FAMILY PLANNING

Brazil Turns Around its Teen Pregnancy Epidemic

Brazil once had one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Latin America, with ~750,000 Brazilian girls ages 15–19 giving birth in 2000.

But over 25 years, births among that age have plummeted 44%, falling below 400,000 in 2019, with ~281,000 projected for 2025.

Contraception intervention: The primary driver for the reversal has been the rapid expansion of birth control access, with free birth control, condoms, and IUDs provided by the country’s national health system, Sistema Unica de Saude.

Outreach: Community health program Saude da Familia sends educators door to door to share family planning options.

Broader change: Poverty reduction, improved education, and expanded internet access have transformed opportunities for young women.

The Telegraph

OPPORTUNITY

QUICK HITS

Texas sues Tylenol company over autism claims – The Texas Tribune

Behind the Dismantling of the C.D.C.: Reform or ‘Humiliation’? – The New York Times (gift link)

This 'minor' bird flu strain has potential to spark human pandemic – Nature

Anti-abortion pregnancy centers are looking to offer much more than ultrasounds and diapers – AP

Some viruses can play a deadly game of hide and seek inside the human body – NPR Goats and Soda

Clocks to go back: Three impacts Daylight Saving Time changes can have on you - what the science says – The Scotsman

Picture of health: going to art galleries can improve wellbeing, study reveals – The Guardian

Issue No. 2812

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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Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Diphtheria’s Dangerous Return; Bird Flu Rebounds; and Model of Healthy Architecture

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 09:58:48 -0400

Global Health NOW: Diphtheria’s Dangerous Return; Bird Flu Rebounds; and Model of Healthy Architecture

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October 27, 2025


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Pediatrician Mohamud Omar examines a child’s tonsils in the diphtheria ward of Demartino Public Hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia, last month. Brian Otieno/The New York Times

Diphtheria’s Dangerous Return

Diphtheria, a deadly bacterial disease long controlled by vaccines, is spreading again in regions destabilized by conflict and climate-driven displacement, as hospital wards throughout parts of Africa and the Middle East fill with children struggling to breathe.

Fueling factors: Mass displacement, COVID-19 pandemic disruptions, and vaccine hesitancy have left millions of children vulnerable—especially in regions with hollowed-out health systems.

And global aid cuts this year have contributed to severe malnutrition and the shuttering of immunization programs.

Global spread: Outbreaks have erupted in Chad, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen; sporadic cases are appearing in Europe among refugee and migrant communities.

While the U.S. rarely sees travel-related cases, full kindergarten vaccination rates including diphtheria coverage have dropped from 95% in 2020 to 92% in 2024–25.

High danger, urgent intervention: Diphtheria now kills up to 1 in 4 infected children in low-resource settings, prompting Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to create emergency vaccine funding for boosters.

“We didn’t even have a diphtheria support modality, because we didn’t need one. And now we have to build out a whole new process to help countries respond,” said Katy Clark, a diphtheria expert with Gavi.

The New York Times (gift link)

THE QUOTE

"What is very sad is many people were cheering in the streets because they were happy there was a peace deal. Imagine, (some of) those same people are dead after they were told the war is over."

—————

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general: Gaza health 'catastrophe' will last for generations – Arab News

The Latest

One-Liners

Gun violence is trending downward for more than three-quarters of U.S. cities with the most shootings—including Chicago, Baltimore, Memphis, and Los Angeles—per an analysis of 150 U.S. cities; the trend holds across red and blue cities and states in every region of the country. The Trace

South Africa regulators have approved lenacapavir—making it the first African country to register the twice-yearly anti-HIV injection, and at record speed (within 65 days); distribution could roll out as early as February 2026. Bhekisisa Thanks for the tip, Elna Schutz!

NHS England is trialing a 15-minute blood test that distinguishes between bacterial and viral infections, allowing faster diagnoses and reducing the overprescription of antibiotics; the trial among children will run in three EDs through March. The Independent

The recycling process increased levels of toxic chemicals in polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a type of plastic commonly used for food packaging, per a recent study in the Journal of Chromatography A that suggests a direct tie between recycling intensity and the level of chemical contamination in recycled products. Environmental Health News

INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Bird Flu Rebounds

After a lull in cases for the past several months, bird flu is rapidly making a comeback worldwide, leading scientists to warn of a potentially severe viral season.

In Europe, early outbreaks are being reported in the highest number of countries in at least a decade, reports Reuters via South China Morning Post. From August to mid-October, 56 outbreaks have been reported in 10 EU countries and Britain, with the most reported in Poland, the top EU poultry producer.

In the U.S., the virus has hit dozens of poultry flocks since the start of September, killing ~7 million farmed birds, including 1.3 million turkeys that will impact Thanksgiving supply, per The New York Times (gift link). Idaho, Nebraska, and Texas have reported outbreaks in dairy herds. And infections in wild birds are on the rise.

But the government shutdown and federal health cuts are causing scientists to question whether the U.S. has an adequate response plan and communication, reports Axios.

Related:

Bird flu prevention zone measures introduced to prevent disease's spread – BBC

Germany culls over 400,000 poultry amid bird flu outbreak – Anadolu Ajansı

What does it mean if a deadly strain of bird flu has been found on Australia's Heard Island? – ABC News Australia

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

How Ants Model Healthy Architecture

To gain fresh insights into health-based building design, scientists just had to think a little smaller.

Black garden ants can quickly adapt their nest architecture to limit the spread of deadly fungal infections, finds research published in Science.

Disease defense on demand: Ants infected with the lethal fungus Metarhizium brunneum isolate themselves while others restructure their nest to include more compartments, longer and more winding paths, and fewer connections to reduce contact and protect the queen and larvae.

Scaling up: Scientists say such dynamic and collective strategies could one day inspire public space designs that can reduce disease transmission in humans.

NPR Goats and Soda

OPPORTUNITY

QUICK HITS

UN alarmed by ‘terrifying’ situation in Sudan’s El Fasher, calls for immediate ceasefire – UN News

DRC: Cholera Epidemic Rapidly Spreading Across The Country – Forbes

Meet the nurse in Uganda who climbs a 1,000-foot ladder to save lives – PBS NewsHour

WHO Report Raises Alarm on Clinician Mental Health, Working Conditions – JAMA Network

New Initiative Aims To Bring Doctors Up To Speed On Down Syndrome – Disability Scoop Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe!

AI chatbots are sycophants — researchers say it’s harming science – Nature

Issue No. 2811

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World Health Organization: ‘Let's finish the job’ and end polio: WHO

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Thirty-five years ago, polio, a highly infectious viral disease, paralysed around 350,000 children per year. Following a UN-led international push, that number is now less than 50.

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Cancer Besieges Lebanon; The Untold Stories Contest of 2026 Has Launched, and A Jaw-Dropping Face-Off

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 09:53:52 -0400

Global Health NOW: Cancer Besieges Lebanon; The Untold Stories Contest of 2026 Has Launched, and A Jaw-Dropping Face-Off

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October 23, 2025


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A flock of birds flies over a cloud of smog. Beirut, Lebanon, August 14. Joseph EID/AFP via Getty

Cancer Besieges Lebanon

Beirut is often shrouded in smog pumped out by unregulated vehicles and diesel generators. Cigarette smoke permeates public places.

The toxic air and smoke have contributed to a staggering cancer crisis in Lebanon, finds the global cancer survey published in The Lancet, which analyzes the cancer burden worldwide from 1990 to 2023 and forecasts the cancer burden up to 2050.

The survey projects that cancer cases and deaths will rise worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries. But Lebanon’s crisis is particularly acute, reports NPR Goats and Soda:

The country has the fastest increase in cancer incidence and deaths worldwide, with new cancer cases up 162% and deaths by 80% over the period covered in the survey.

Systemic inaction: Lebanon has no anti-smoking or health education campaigns. And few people seek out available screening tools due to low awareness.

“Cancer is killing … Why have you been waiting so long to take action?” study coauthor Ali Mokdad asked of the Lebanese government.

Meanwhile, a rise of several cancers in adults of all ages worldwide could be driven by obesity, finds a separate global cancer study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, which recorded an uptick in cancer incidence rates from 2003 to 2017, per MedPage Today.

Related: Of Corn and Cancer: Iowa’s Deadly Water Crisis – The New Republic Thanks for the tip, Cecilia Meisner!

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

The Latest

One-Liners

1,600+ measles cases in the U.S. have been reported this year, CDC data show, as an outbreak in upstate South Carolina linked to two schools with low vaccination rates expands to 20 cases. CIDRAP

Major methane leak alerts from the world’s oil and gas sectors are often ignored by companies and governments, despite improved satellite detection from the UN Environment Programme, finds a new report from the agency, which determined that just 12% of alerts lead to responsive action. UN News

Pregnant detainees in ICE facilities in Louisiana and Georgia are not receiving adequate care, says the ACLU, which called on U.S. officials to release expectant and postpartum mothers from federal detention facilities. AP

Members of Gen Z are significantly underrepresented in clinical trials and health studies, meaning millions of young people could miss out on new treatments for health conditions, or may risk using unsafe or ineffective medication due to low participation in medical research. The Guardian

UNTOLD STORIES CONTEST OF 2026

Boatmen sleep inside mosquito nets on their boats on the Buriganga River. Dhaka, Bangladesh, June 24. Syed Mahamudur Rahman/NurPhoto via Getty

Send in Your Untold Stories

The Untold Global Health Stories Contest of 2026 has launched! A joint effort between GHN and the Consortium of Universities for Global Health, this annual contest is your chance to spotlight an underreported issue that you care about.

Nominate an issue you feel deserves a broader audience, whether you’ve worked on it firsthand or come across it in your travels.

If you win, we'll send a reporter to cover your story and help it get the spotlight it deserves.

Pro tip for Professors: Having students write a short (50-word max) pitch makes a great assignment. Students have won in some of our previous years!

Looking for inspiration? Check out some of our stories from past winners, including The Mystery of Chronic Mountain Sickness in the Andes, reported by Lucien Chauvin, and Blazing Injustice: The Hidden Crisis of Burn Injuries in Nepal, covered by Joanne Silberner.

Deadline: November 24, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. EST
Learn more about the contest

ENTER THE UNTOLD STORIES CONTEST

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

When a Menstrual Cycle Brings Mental Chaos

Millions of people worldwide experience premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) marked by extreme mood changes, irritability, and thoughts of self harm.

A 2024 study of ~3,600 women with PMDD found that 82% had suicidal thoughts before their periods, and 25% had tried to end their lives during a “PMDD crisis.”

Despite symptoms that typically impair a person’s daily life, diagnosis is inconsistent. Clinicians often debate whether PMDD falls under gynecology or psychiatry.

By one estimate, 90% of women with PMDD are mistakenly thought to have another condition.

Treatment options vary widely—from hormonal contraceptives, SSRIs, and therapy to drug-induced menopause or surgical removal of reproductive organs.

Despite the high burden, PMDD research and funding lag behind comparable women’s health conditions.

Undark

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION

A Jaw-Dropping Face-Off

Like all elite athletes, competitors in the World Gurning Championships all seek the optimal physique: A flexible forehead with extremely muscular eyebrows. A lower lip that can stretch over the nose. And a bug-eyed stare befitting a Halloween mask.

After all, a win hinges on “the grotesqueness of the grimace” contenders make onstage, per the official rules of this centuries-old “reverse beauty pageant”— a fixture of the annual Egremont Crab Fair in Egremont, England, reports The New York Times (gift link).

“Gurning” is another word for making the kind of face your mother warns “will freeze like that”; the sort of grimace people make when they bite into the sour crab apples for which the quintessentially British festival is named.

The rules: Competitors contort their faces while framed with a horse collar called a “baffin.” Per the official rules, no hands or excessive makeup may be used; however, “thrashing around onstage and making wild, animal-like noises” is acceptable. To an extent:

“You've got to make people laugh without scaring the children,” organizer Lesley Rogers told the International Business Times UK.

QUICK HITS

Hundreds of thousands of NHS workers urge Starmer not to cut support for Global Fund – The Telegraph

'An urgent public health crisis': Why so many people are struggling to get medicine – BBC

How Did Dengue Go Global? This Mosquito Species Might be to Blame. – Georgetown University

Nicholas Kristof: Opinion: Trump Revives Foreign Aid, Helping Needy Billionaires – The New York Times (opinion; gift link)

HIV specialists in short supply, especially in the South – Healio

Updated CPR guidelines provide expanded recommendations for managing choking and opioid overdose – News Medical

Why Women Feel Unsafe in Nature: The Gender Gap in Green Spaces – ISGlobal – Barcelona Institute for Global Health

Issue No. 2810

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World Health Organization: Ceasefire offers ‘lifeline’ but Gaza hospitals remain in ruins

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Gaza’s health system remains in ruins despite the fragile ceasefire holding, with hundreds of thousands still facing urgent medical and humanitarian needs, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday.

�� Faculty of Medicine news: Dr. Joseph C. Wu Receives 2024 Louis and Artur Lucian Award for Research in Circulatory Diseases

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 11:55:33 -0400

�� is proud to present the 2024 Louis and Artur Lucian Award for Research in Circulatory Diseases to Dr. Joseph C. Wu, Director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute.

View Previous Recipients

�� Faculty of Medicine news: Dr. Joseph C. Wu Receives 2024 Louis and Artur Lucian Award for Research in Circulatory Diseases

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 11:55:33 -0400

�� is proud to present the 2024 Louis and Artur Lucian Award for Research in Circulatory Diseases to Dr. Joseph C. Wu, Director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute.

View Previous Recipients

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Anti-Science Bills Sweep U.S; Azithromycin Trial Has No Impact on Infant Deaths; and ‘Gut-Healing’ Food Treats Malnutrition

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 09:30:58 -0400

Global Health NOW: Anti-Science Bills Sweep U.S; Azithromycin Trial Has No Impact on Infant Deaths; and ‘Gut-Healing’ Food Treats Malnutrition

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October 22, 2025


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Crates of freshly bottled raw milk at the Lolans Farm stand. Middleborough, Massachusetts, March 17. David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty

Anti-Science Bills Sweep State Legislatures

A wave of legislation aiming to weaken or roll back public health protections has been introduced in U.S. states this year, finds a new AP investigation, which tracked the introduction of 420+ bills, and found that ~30 such bills have already been adopted in 12 states.

Most of the laws focus on three categories—vaccines, raw milk, and water fluoridation—and cover a range of directives, including:

Anti-vaccine bills: Make it easier to get vaccine exemptions; prohibit vaccine requirements; place more restrictions on certain vaccines or programs.

Raw milk: Remove restrictions on raw milk sales.

Fluoride: Ban fluoride in drinking water or make fluoridation a ballot measure.

Organized effort: While campaigns behind such legislation typically frame themselves as grassroots, more AP reporting found that most are backed by well-funded national organizations tied to HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and include members benefiting politically and financially.

Conspiracy-to-policy pipeline: The trend signals the normalization of an anti-vaccine movement that has already led to falling vaccination rates and the comeback of preventable diseases like measles and whooping cough.

“The march of conspiracy thinking from the margins to the mainstream now guiding public policy should be a wake-up call for all Americans,” said Devin Burghart, president of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

The Latest

One-Liners

DRC’s cholera outbreak has spread to 20 of the country’s 26 provinces, with 58,000+ suspected cases and 1,700+ deaths so far this year, Médecins Sans Frontières reports; separately, the UN issued a warning that incidents of rape and conflict-related sexual violence in the country have surged by a third compared to last year. MSF; UN News

Ambulances supplied to Malawi by the UK Aid Match Maternal Health program from 2015 to 2018 were sold off to fund repairs for officials’ cars, drawing outrage from locals and civil society groups; one official defended the move, claiming that the vehicles “were faulty and would be costly to fix.” The Telegraph

A hepatitis A outbreak in the Czech Republic is among the worst the country has seen in decades, with 21 deaths and 1,842 cases recorded earlier this month; centered in Prague, the outbreak has begun to spread to other regions. Radio Prague International

Men who use plastic tableware have a higher accumulation of microplastics in their semen and lower sperm counts, finds a study published in the Journal of Nanobiotechnology that studied samples from ~200 men of reproductive age in Chongqing, China. Environmental Health News

U.S. and Global Health Policy News

The Pentagon Retreats from Climate Fight as Heat and Storms Slam Troops – Inkstick

It’s been a month. And we still don’t know much about Kennedy’s long COVID consortium – The Sick Times

Government shutdown means many CDC experts are skipping a pivotal meeting on infectious disease – AP

The Deceptive Phrase Behind Trump’s Medicaid Purge – Mother Jones

INFANT MORTALITY

Mass Azithromycin Trial Has No Impact on Infant Deaths

A major trial in Mali that aimed to help reduce infant mortality through mass antibiotic distribution had no impact on infant death rates, finds a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine—findings that could change WHO-recommended intervention tactics.

Background: After a 2018 trial showed that administering the commonly used antibiotic azithromycin 2X per year reduced deaths in 1–5-year-olds, the WHO recommended the intervention for infants.

The study: 149,000+ infants ages 1–11 months received either a placebo every three months, or azithromycin, distributed 2X or 4X per year.

Mortality rates were nearly identical across all groups.

Implications: Researchers suggest that broader age groups may need to be targeted to see a benefit—though that could raise antibiotic resistance risks.

CIDRAP

Related: ‘I fear we are sitting on a time bomb.’ Scientists debate mass distribution of antibiotics in Africa – Science

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

MALNUTRITION

The Growing Impact of a ‘Gut-Healing’ Food

A food supplement for undernourished children that also seeks to repair the gut microbiome is gaining recognition after being named one of the Best Inventions of 2025 by TIME Magazine.

Feeding the body—and bacteria: Severe childhood malnutrition can lead to the maldevelopment of digestive bacteria critical for growth and immunity.

The new food formulation, dubbed MDCF-2 (microbiome-directed complementary food), blends chickpea, soybean, and peanut flours with green banana into an affordable combination that nourishes this microbiome.

The therapeutic food was the result of a collaboration between researchers studying malnutrition at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) and those studying the gut microbiome at Washington University in St. Louis.

Global reach: Studies of MDCF-2 are currently underway in India, Mali, Pakistan, and Tanzania.

The Daily Star

OPPORTUNITY

Community Reporters from ICFP and the Family Planning News Network (FPNN) interview Indigenous activists in Riohacha, Colombia, in August 2025. Courtesy of ICFP

It’s Not Too Late to Register for ICFP

The fight for sexual and reproductive health and rights is happening now—and you can be part of it.

Join the International Conference on Family Planning 2025 virtually to connect with advocates, learn from global leaders, and add your voice to a movement shaping the future of health and equity worldwide.

November 1–6, 2025
Register here

QUICK HITS

Dangerous or life-saving? Why drug programs that stop disease are under fire. – The Washington Post (gift link)

More Europeans are dying from HIV now than 15 years ago – aidsmap

Eight countries added to methanol poisoning warning list – BBC

WHO warns $1.7bn funding shortfall threatens polio eradication efforts – Al Jazeera

More people are freezing their eggs — but most will never use them – Rewire News Group

How one Michigan town is putting partisanship aside in pursuit of clean water – The Christian Science Monitor

Bird flu hiding in cheese? The surprising new discovery – Cornell University via ScienceDaily

Issue No. 2809

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�� Faculty of Medicine news: Friends, parks and brain wiring predict whether people exercise after a cardiovascular diagnosis

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 10:32:32 -0400

Findings could help tailor interventions to encourage physical activity in older people with heart and blood flow conditions

A diagnosis is often a cue for people to change the way they live. For people diagnosed with cardiovascular conditions such as heart disease or diabetes, it is often a motivator to get more physical exercise, which can improve long-term health. However, the rate of physical activity increase after diagnosis varies widely depending on the individual.

Global Health Programs aggregator

������ Faculty of Medicine news: Study links early cannabis use and health problems

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: U.S., Canada Risk Measles-Free Status; WHO Warns of Tobacco Treaty Interference; and Brazil's Teen Pregnancy Turnaround

U.S., Canada Risk Measles-Free Status

DATA POINT

The Latest

One-Liners

BIG TOBACCO

WHO Urges ‘Vigilance’ Against Tobacco Treaty Interference

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

FAMILY PLANNING

Brazil Turns Around its Teen Pregnancy Epidemic

OPPORTUNITY

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2812

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Diphtheria’s Dangerous Return; Bird Flu Rebounds; and Model of Healthy Architecture

Diphtheria’s Dangerous Return

THE QUOTE

The Latest

One-Liners

INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Bird Flu Rebounds

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

How Ants Model Healthy Architecture

OPPORTUNITY

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2811

World Health Organization: ‘Let's finish the job’ and end polio: WHO

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Cancer Besieges Lebanon; The Untold Stories Contest of 2026 Has Launched, and A Jaw-Dropping Face-Off

Cancer Besieges Lebanon

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

The Latest

One-Liners

UNTOLD STORIES CONTEST OF 2026

Send in Your Untold Stories

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

When a Menstrual Cycle Brings Mental Chaos

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION

A Jaw-Dropping Face-Off

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2810

World Health Organization: Ceasefire offers ‘lifeline’ but Gaza hospitals remain in ruins

������ Faculty of Medicine news: Dr. Joseph C. Wu Receives 2024 Louis and Artur Lucian Award for Research in Circulatory Diseases

������ Faculty of Medicine news: Dr. Joseph C. Wu Receives 2024 Louis and Artur Lucian Award for Research in Circulatory Diseases

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Anti-Science Bills Sweep U.S; Azithromycin Trial Has No Impact on Infant Deaths; and ‘Gut-Healing’ Food Treats Malnutrition

Anti-Science Bills Sweep State Legislatures

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

The Latest

One-Liners

U.S. and Global Health Policy News

INFANT MORTALITY

Mass Azithromycin Trial Has No Impact on Infant Deaths

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

MALNUTRITION

The Growing Impact of a ‘Gut-Healing’ Food

OPPORTUNITY

It’s Not Too Late to Register for ICFP

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2809

������ Faculty of Medicine news: Friends, parks and brain wiring predict whether people exercise after a cardiovascular diagnosis

Findings could help tailor interventions to encourage physical activity in older people with heart and blood flow conditions

�� Faculty of Medicine news: Study links early cannabis use and health problems

�� Faculty of Medicine news: Dr. Joseph C. Wu Receives 2024 Louis and Artur Lucian Award for Research in Circulatory Diseases

�� Faculty of Medicine news: Dr. Joseph C. Wu Receives 2024 Louis and Artur Lucian Award for Research in Circulatory Diseases

�� Faculty of Medicine news: Friends, parks and brain wiring predict whether people exercise after a cardiovascular diagnosis