Global Health Programs aggregator

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: UK Cuts Imperil Polio Eradication; and How One Sudanese Surgeon Held Back the Tide

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 09:24:39 -0400

Global Health NOW: UK Cuts Imperil Polio Eradication; and How One Sudanese Surgeon Held Back the Tide

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April 28, 2026


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IN FOCUS: GHN EXCLUSIVE

A health worker administers polio drops to a child on a nationwide week-long poliovirus eradication campaign. Karachi, Pakistan, September, 1, 2025. Asif Hassan/AFP via Getty

UK Cuts Imperil Polio Eradication

Anne Wafula Strike once proudly served as the U.K.’s “poster girl” for polio eradication. Today, the Kenyan-born paralympic athlete and polio survivor has a different message: “It feels we were running a group relay and just before the finish line, someone deliberately dropped the baton.”

Last month, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) lost its largest contributor when the U.K. cut its $67–$134 million in annual funding. The move is part of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's sweeping 40% reduction in foreign aid, the largest percentage cut to development assistance by any government.

With the world on the cusp of eradicating the disease, “it’s the worst possible moment” to abandon funding, says Shahin Huseynov, WHO’s polio coordinator for Europe. Only two wild polio cases were reported globally in the first three months of 2026, and just two countries remain endemic—but poliovirus has been found in U.K. wastewater this year.

Without sustained funding, the WHO warns that 200,000 children could be paralyzed by polio each year within a decade.

What it means on the ground: The cuts will likely mean prioritizing surveillance and vaccination campaigns in the highest-risk areas, and postponing the goal of eradicating polio by 2029, says Huseynov.

With GPEI's budget already cut 30% from prior U.S. cuts, advocates are urging the U.K. to honor its legal obligation to spend 0.7% of national income on overseas aid.

Reinstating polio funding would cost just $134 million, a fraction of what's been cut.

There’s hope that other countries will step in—such as Australia, Spain, Canada, and Korea—who are still “looking, kind of, to use their development assistance funds in a very positive way,” says Adrian Lovett of the ONE Campaign.

Nevertheless, a major concern is the signal the cuts send to other countries: “It’s not just about money. It’s about solidarity,” says Huseynov.

READ THE FULL STORY BY ANNALIES WINNY

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

CONFLICT

How One Sudanese Surgeon Held Back the Tide

Even as missiles hit Al Nao hospital, as electricity faltered, supplies dwindled and hospital staffers fled, orthopedic surgeon Jamal Eltaeb kept working.

Al Nao is one of the only functioning hospitals in the region outside Khartoum in civil war-torn Sudan—and Eltaeb knew it was a lifeline for hundreds of desperate patients.

For three years, he has found a way to keep caring for them—despite direct attacks on the hospital and amidst mass-casualty bomb strikes where 100+ wounded patients needed emergency care.

“We were working everywhere, in tents, outside, on the floor, doing everything to save patients’ lives,” said Eltaeb, who was just recognized with the $1 million Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity.

Dire, ongoing need: ~40% of Sudan’s hospitals no longer function as the war enters its fourth year.

AP

Related: Darfur: Two decades on, a new generation of children faces 'horrific violence' – UN News

OPPORTUNITY

QUICK HITS

Can the U.S. handle another pandemic? – PBS News (video)

The US CDC on the brink – The Lancet (commentary)

Bedilu Abebe: Why Malaria Still Persists in Ethiopia – The Reporter (Ethiopia)

Trump administration warns against using federal dollars on fentanyl test strips – STAT

Toxins plus climate harms likely cause of reduced fertility, study finds – The Guardian

CDC warns of drug-resistant salmonella infections linked to backyard poultry – AP

How to let go of grudges — and why it could be good for your health – The Washington Post (gift link)

Issue No. 2906

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 calls for stepped up action to eliminate viral hepatitis

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

Countries are making measurable progress in combatting viral hepatitis, but the disease remains a major global health challenge, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a new report published on Tuesday.

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: A ‘Critical Phase’ in the Malaria Fight; and Solar Powering Maternal Survival in Nigeria

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 09:25:45 -0400

Global Health NOW: A ‘Critical Phase’ in the Malaria Fight; and Solar Powering Maternal Survival in Nigeria

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April 27, 2026


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IN FOCUS

Midwife Sarah Atim speaks to expectant mothers about malaria vaccination during an antenatal care session at a hospital in Uganda's Apac district. April 8, 2025. Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty

A ‘Critical Phase’ in the Malaria Fight

The global fight against malaria is at a pivotal juncture, as major scientific advances like vaccines, therapies, and diagnostics converge with rising threats like drug resistance and underfunded health systems—a set of opportunities and barriers “defining a critical phase for malaria control,” per Nature Africa as World Malaria Day 2026 is marked.

New tools, new hope: Artemether-lumefantrine, the first malaria treatment tailored for newborns and small infants, has been approved, closing a longstanding gap in care for “one of the most underserved patient groups,” which is also the most vulnerable, per the WHO.

Three new rapid diagnostic tests are also rolling out, designed to detect mutating parasite strains that previously slipped through standard testing.

And new threats: There is increasing evidence that parasites are growing resistant to artemisinin—the “backbone” of lifesaving therapies—per Nature Africa. This shift, along with insecticide-resistant mosquitoes and expanding mosquito habitats, is making it difficult to build on hard-won gains like the vaccine rollouts.

Ongoing toll of disruption: Meanwhile, malaria programs throughout Africa are still seeing the effects of the sudden USAID cuts last year, reports CIDRAP. In Zambia, for example, malaria hospitalizations are now increasing—likely due to the lack of regular USAID-funded spraying, doctors say.

And even as bilateral agreements with the U.S. are formed to fund countries’ malaria programs, countries with high malaria burdens are struggling to regain lost traction.

The Quote: “We’re just running all the time, and the malaria parasite is catching up with us all the time,” said Jane E. Carlton, director of the Malaria Research Institute at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Related:

How mosquitoes—and malaria—helped shape the whereabouts of early humankind – NPR

AI-powered drones slash malaria cases – GhanaWeb

Can you stop malaria crossing borders? One nation’s bid to wipe out the disease – The Guardian

Malaria rebound spurs AI-driven hunt for parasite genes linked to deadly cases – Phys.org

DATA POINT

379 million
——————

Malaria cases averted across 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa attributable to the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative investment from 2005 to 2024, per new analysis from Imperial College London and the Malaria Atlas Project. ––Clinton Health Access Initiative

TECH & INNOVATION

Solar Powering Maternal Survival in Nigeria

Electricity can be the difference between life and death for many maternity ward patients in Nigeria, where ~40% of primary health care centers lack reliable power.

Power interruptions lead to delayed surgeries, stalled oxygen flow, and nonworking incubators, and also hamper routine procedures that require light, like suturing.

Lifesaving solar energy: Since Gombe State Specialist Hospital installed a solar-hybrid system in 2020, maternal deaths have dropped from 15–20 per month to 1–2, and neonatal deaths have fallen from 50+ per month to 20–25.

“There is no interruption. We can suture, we can operate, we can do everything,” said Sarigamo Ibrahim, a nurse and midwife who manages the maternity unit.

Nigeria Health Watch

OPPORTUNITY

QUICK HITS

South Carolina’s 200-day measles outbreak is over. What it cost. – The Post and Courier

Measles Is Back. What Comes Next Will Be Worse. – The New York Times (commentary; gift link) Thanks for the tip, Dave Cundiff!

What happened to Covid? – STAT

The Next Global Health Crisis Is Already Here: Childhood Trauma from War – The Good Men Project

Trump fires all 24 members of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s governing body – Science

Untangling the complex relationship between HIV-exposure and tuberculosis in children: a narrative review – The Lancet Global Health

So, you got bit by a tick. Here’s exactly what to do next. – The Washington Post (gift link)

Issue No. 2905

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World Health Organization: A race for rights: How sport is helping protect girls in Uganda

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

On a red running track in eastern Uganda, coach Zuena Cheptoek is doing more than training runners. For many girls in the Sebei subregion, she is also a confidante, a mentor and first line of protection against female genital mutilation, child marriage and abuse.

ɬ�﷬ 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 ɬ�﷬’s Rosalind & Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, in collaboration with the Research Institute of the ɬ�﷬ 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

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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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Global Health Programs aggregator

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: UK Cuts Imperil Polio Eradication; and How One Sudanese Surgeon Held Back the Tide

TOP STORIES

IN FOCUS: GHN EXCLUSIVE

UK Cuts Imperil Polio Eradication

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

CONFLICT

How One Sudanese Surgeon Held Back the Tide

OPPORTUNITY

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2906

World Health Organization: WHO calls for stepped up action to eliminate viral hepatitis

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: A ‘Critical Phase’ in the Malaria Fight; and Solar Powering Maternal Survival in Nigeria

TOP STORIES

IN FOCUS

A ‘Critical Phase’ in the Malaria Fight

DATA POINT

TECH & INNOVATION

Solar Powering Maternal Survival in Nigeria

OPPORTUNITY

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2905

World Health Organization: A race for rights: How sport is helping protect girls in Uganda

ɬ�﷬ 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