Global Health Programs aggregator

ɬ�﷬ Faculty of Medicine news: Two ɬ�﷬ professors awarded 2026 Dorothy Killiam Fellowships

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 09:40:28 -0400

Professors Wendell Nii Laryea Adjetey and Jill Baumgartner will lead innovative research focusing on anti-Black carceral systems and climate-related health risks respectively

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Solving the Global Stagnation in Physical Movement; and Reimagining Transit for Blind Commuters

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 09:19:40 -0400

Global Health NOW: Solving the Global Stagnation in Physical Movement; and Reimagining Transit for Blind Commuters

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March 11, 2026


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A Chinese martial arts teacher demonstrates an exercise to students in Freetown at the Confucius Institute University of Sierra Leone. October 15, 2024. Saidu Bah BAH/AFP via Getty

Solving the Global Stagnation in Physical Movement

Over the last two decades, governments worldwide have adopted policies promoting physical activity. But physical activity prevalence in most countries remains unchanged, finds a new study published in Nature Health.

1 in 3 adults and 80% of adolescents still fail to meet the WHO physical activity guidelines of ~150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity weekly.

While 92% of countries have policies that address movement, inactivity rates have remained flat since 2012.

Why so ineffective? Narrow policy and poor implementation are likely limiting impact, say researchers in a related Nature commentary.

Most policies approach movement through a metabolic and cardiovascular health lens, rather than demonstrating the wide, holistic scope of benefits—including mental health improvements, improved immunity, and cancer prevention.

Major equality gaps: In high-income nations, 30%+ of total physical activity comes from “choice-based” leisure like sports; in low-income nations, just 10% of physical activity is choice-based, with the remaining 90% related to transport and occupational necessity, reports News Medical.

Needed actions: Physical activity policy should emphasize not just individual impact but population-level benefits, and should be prioritized in community sectors beyond health care—including education and transportation, researchers told Medical Xpress.

“Physical activity should be embedded in the way we design our cities, helping create communities where people want to live and move more,” said the study’s principal investigator Andrea Ramírez Varela.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

ROAD SAFETY

Reimagining Transit for Blind Commuters

For blind commuters in the U.S., everyday barriers remain all too common in public transit and walkways, even in major cities like New York, where 200,000+ people report vision loss or blindness.

Two-thirds of New York’s subways are not ADA-compliant, and 90% of the city’s 40,000 intersections still lack audible crossing signals.

Designing for inclusion: Advocates say improvements like tactile paving, curb ramps, and subway station elevators are emerging—but such shifts are often catalyzed by lawsuits.

Still needed: Real-time audio updates and improved cell and Wi-Fi connectivity, including in tunnels, are critical for maintaining accessibility and safety.

Global examples: Cities like Tokyo, Sydney, and Marburg, Germany, have all made major shifts in making public transit safer and wayfinding more tactile for blind commuters.

Bloomberg CityLab

OPPORTUNITY

Attend the Hopkins India Conference in DC

Hosted by the Gupta-Klinsky India Institute at Johns Hopkins University, the Hopkins India Conference will take place on April 1, 2026, at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C. Under the theme Ideas, Innovation & Impact for a Shared Future, the conference brings together leaders from government, industry, academia, and civil society to explore India–U.S. collaboration across technology, health, education, and the global economy.

This year’s confirmed speakers include:

Namgya C. Khampa: Chargé d’Affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India in the U.S.
Sunil Wadhwani: Cofounder and CEO, Mastech Inc. and IGATE
Seema Chaturvedi: Founder and Managing Partner, Achieving Women Equity Funds

Learn more about the conference and register

QUICK HITS

Ethiopia’s blame game after videos reveal starving displaced people in Tigray – The New Humanitarian

Seeking Abortion Care Across State Lines After the Dobbs Decision – JAMA Network Open

RFK Jr.’s vaccine advisers drop proposal to revisit covid-19 shot – The Washington Post (gift link)

Recent pandemic viruses, including SAR-CoV-2, spread directly to people without adaptation, researchers say – CIDRAP

Prison sentences for pair who attacked gay men hailed as sign of hope for Kenya’s LGBTQ+ community – The Guardian

Keep calm and be transparent: advice from scientists who retracted their papers – Nature

These diseases were thought to be incurable. Now AI is unlocking new treatments – BBC

Could acne be prevented with a vaccine? – Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Issue No. 2878

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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Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Iran Attacks’ Dangerous Fallout; and India Launches Pivotal HPV Vaccine Drive

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 09:20:32 -0400

Global Health NOW: Iran Attacks’ Dangerous Fallout; and India Launches Pivotal HPV Vaccine Drive

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March 10, 2026


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IN FOCUS

Smoke and flames rise at the site of airstrikes on an oil depot on March 7, in Tehran. Sasan/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty

Iran Attacks’ Dangerous Fallout

Thousands of people killed or wounded, toxic rain, damaged water infrastructure, and regional instability have followed attacks by U.S. and Israel on Iran.

Casualties: At least 1,255 people—including 200 children and 11 health care workers—have been killed, Iran's deputy health minister Ali Jafarian told Al Jazeera yesterday.

12,000+ people have been wounded—the majority of which are burn and crush injuries.

Toxic rain: Israel’s bombardment of oil facilities has caused “a major environmental incident,” per the Conflict and Environment Observatory.

Black smoke billowed from Tehran facilities, posing “serious acute and long-term health concerns” for Tehran’s 9 million+ people.

Oil-heavy, toxic rain later fell on the city, NBC reports.

Water war: Two desalination plants—one in Iran and the other in Bahrain—have been bombed, sparking concerns of more attacks on the region’s essential water facilities, per The New York Times (gift link).

The Iranian desalination plant provided water for 30 villages, said an Iranian official.

Much of the country has already endured a years-long drought—last year’s rainfall was nearly half the normal amount.

Regional crisis: 700,000+ people—including 200,000 children—in Lebanon have been forced to leave their homes, according to UN News, as food insecurity and food prices increase in the region.

Related:

U.S. Tomahawk Hit Naval Base Beside Iranian School, Video Shows – The New York Times (gift link)

Lebanon: Israel Unlawfully Using White Phosphorus – Human Rights Watch

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

CERVICAL CANCER

India Launches Pivotal HPV Vaccine Drive

India has launched the world’s largest free HPV vaccination campaign, offering shots to ~11.5 million 14-year-old girls each year in an effort to prevent cervical cancer, reports The Telegraph.

Meeting a high burden: India accounts for roughly a quarter of global cervical cancer cases, reporting ~130,000 new cases and ~80,000 deaths each year from the disease.

The country has also historically had some of the lowest rates of HPV vaccination coverage in the world.

Details: The campaign, which has been rolled out this month, will mostly use a single dose of Gardasil, per NDTV.

Thanks for the tip, Mira Johri!

OPPORTUNITY

QUICK HITS

‘Extraordinary cruelty’: images show longterm ‘starvation strategy’ in Sudan – The Guardian

Federal autism advisory board cancels first public meeting since overhaul – STAT

What Congress Doesn't Want to Hear About the Chemicals in Your Child's Body – Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Women in Leadership: Global Health's Missing Dose – Think Global Health (commentary)

A U.S. scholarship thrills a teacher in India. Then came the soul-crushing questions – NPR (commentary)

Issue No. 2877

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Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: How Political Messaging Rapidly Reshapes Care; and China’s Push for a ‘Childbirth-friendly’ Culture

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 09:24:54 -0400

Global Health NOW: How Political Messaging Rapidly Reshapes Care; and China’s Push for a ‘Childbirth-friendly’ Culture

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March 9, 2026


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Pills spill out of an open bottle of Tylenol brand pain reliever medication, in New York City, on November 3, 2025. Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty

How Political Messaging Rapidly Reshapes Care

In the weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Tylenol causes autism, emergency room prescriptions of the medication to pregnant women dropped ~10%, finds new research published in The Lancet—a reflection of how swiftly political messaging can influence health behaviors, reports the AP.

The statement: At a September 2025 White House briefing, Trump warned pregnant women against taking Tylenol, generically known as acetaminophen and paracetamol, claiming it could cause autism—over physician recommendations and widespread scientific consensus that there is no causal link.

He also touted leucovorin as a promising autism treatment for children, despite no new supporting evidence.

The study: An analysis of hospital electronic health records found that acetaminophen orders in emergency departments for pregnant women plunged quickly, reaching a ~20% decrease in the third week after the briefing, reports CIDRAP. Use in non-pregnant women did not change.

Prescriptions returned to earlier levels by December, but scientists say the research does not account for cold and flu season, or reflect the rates of acetaminophen taken at home, reports The New York Times (gift link).

The bigger picture: The findings show “just how much political leaders can steer health behavior even when there has been no change in the evidence for these therapies,” said coauthor Michael Barnett in a Brown University news release.

Impact on children’s prescribing: Meanwhile, outpatient leucovorin prescriptions for children spiked ~71% after Trump’s statements, despite limited evidence that it helps most autistic children—further demonstrating how “political messages are driving and impacting care,” pediatrician Susan Sirota told the AP.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

POPULATIONS

China’s Push for a ‘Childbirth-Friendly’ Culture

Chinese authorities have released a five-year plan to cultivate a “childbirth-friendly society” in an effort to boost the country’s falling population rate.

Background: China’s population contracted for a fourth consecutive year in 2025 as the birth rate plunged to a record low, per data released in January.

Policies include: Improved reproductive health services, housing support for families with children, and improved policies on free preschool education.

Plus: Preparing for a “silver economy”: Officials also acknowledged an urgent need for policies that meet the needs of a rapidly aging population, as the number of people ages 60+ is poised to reach 400 million by 2035.

Priorities include increasing medical care services, plus “refining the social security system.”

Reuters via The Straits Times

Train Here. Change the World.

Fast-track your education with the Summer Institutes at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Choose from over 125 credit or noncredit courses in public health to gain experience and get ahead. Built for busy schedules, classes range from a single day to a few weeks and can be taken on-campus or online.

Learn more and register for courses

QUICK HITS

Measles patients in Utah are developing severe complications, including anemia and liver inflammation, health officials say – NBC

Can a “Living Drug” Cure Autoimmune Diseases? – The New Yorker

Cancer patients ditch NHS for private chemotherapy – The Telegraph

Monopolies like Nestlé Used COVID to Discredit Breast Milk: Study – Mexico Solidarity

The surprising way breast cancer screenings could reveal heart disease – The Washington Post (gift link)

Dozens advocate for academic research amid funding cuts at UNC rally – Raleigh News & Observer

Reconnecting with culture through innovative Indian Health Service programming – ICT/ IndiJ Public Media Thanks for the tip, Cecilia Meisner!

Jarring alarms out, quieter alerts in. New firehouse dispatch systems aim to ease stress – AP

Issue No. 2876

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Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: The Addiction-Fighting Promise of GLP-1s; and Punished for Pregnancy Loss in El Salvador

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 09:12:55 -0500

Global Health NOW: The Addiction-Fighting Promise of GLP-1s; and Punished for Pregnancy Loss in El Salvador

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March 5, 2026


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Basak Gurbuz Derman/Getty Images

The Addiction-Fighting Promise of GLP-1s

A large new study adds to building evidence that GLP-1s could be a powerful tool in curbing and even preventing addiction to a wide range of substances, offering new insights and new hope in the field of addiction treatment, reports NBC News.

Details: The study, published in the BMJ, followed 600,000+ U.S. veterans with type 2 diabetes, and compared the impact of GLP-1 drugs to another diabetes treatment.

Strong risk reductions: Those with existing substance-use disorders who took the GLP-1s saw the following outcomes, per Scientific American:

31% fewer ER visits

26% fewer hospitalizations

39% fewer overdoses

25% fewer suicide attempts

50% fewer drug-related deaths

Meanwhile, GLP-1 users without prior addiction showed a 14% lower risk of developing substance use disorders to alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, cocaine, and opioids.

Across-the-board-impact: The GLP-1 drugs had a consistent effect across a range of substance types, suggesting a future clinical approach to addiction's root causes.

“[Existing] treatments have been targeting substances one at a time, when the right target was craving, the engine that drives addiction across substances,” wrote lead study author Ziyad Al-Aly in a STAT commentary.

Growing insight: Researchers believe GLP-1s quiet ‘drug noise’ by acting on brain reward and impulse control circuits—similar to quelling food cravings when treating obesity.

Or in the words of one Rhode Island mother who was able to reach sobriety from alcohol with the help of a separate pilot program that used GLP-1s: “I could walk past those bottles and not care,” she told WBUR’s Here & Now.

Next steps: While scientists say the findings are groundbreaking, they emphasize that randomized trials are still needed before GLP-1 drugs can be recommended as standard addiction treatments, reports Science.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

Punished for Pregnancy Loss in El Salvador

After years of slow but sustained progress freeing women jailed under El Salvador’s total abortion ban, advocates warn that President Nayib Bukele’s suspension of due process is leading to renewed criminalization of pregnancy loss.

Background: El Salvador has long had one of the world’s harshest anti-abortion laws, with women facing criminal suspicion and even arrest for obstetric emergencies including miscarriages and stillbirths.

Still, steady advocacy between 2009–2023 led to the release of 81 women imprisoned for abortion-related charges.

Renewed crackdown: Starting in 2022, Bukele suspended a range of civil liberties in an emergency declaration known as the “state of exception” to combat gang violence.

Since then, ~29 women have faced prosecution following miscarriages or obstetric emergencies—“a new spiral of criminalization against women,” said advocate Morena Herrera.

The Guardian

OPPORTUNITY

Global Mental Health Speaker Series: “Who is the Provider?”

Mental health care is delivered in many ways and by many people across diverse settings around the world. The 2026 Virtual Speaker Series from the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Mental Health convenes practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and community leaders to explore a central question: Who provides mental health support, and in what contexts?

Lara Gregorio, LCSW, of 4C Mental Health kicks off the monthly virtual series on March 11, 2026. Subsequent sessions will feature speakers from around the world, including Kenya’s Kenyatta National Hospital, Utrecht University, the University of Zimbabwe, King’s College London, and more.

Held via Zoom the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 9 a.m. ET

Learn more and register

CORRECTION

Capital A-Minus

Michael Bourgon brought us so much joy with his side-splitting account of a turkey face-off last week. And how did we thank him? By misspelling his home city. Canada's capital, no less. It’s Ottawa, of course—not Ottowa. We regret the error. Please don’t send the turkeys after us.—The Editors

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION

Just a Little R & R.I.P.

It can be hard to get certain workaholic types to chill out. Spas and meditation retreats just don’t always cut it for the “I’ll-rest-when-I’m-dead” set.

But a coffin just might do the trick!

A Japanese wellness trend promotes reclining in a coffin as a way to put things in perspective, reports The Times. (Such perspective can be gained via closed-or open-lidded casket options.)

In this case, the box is not a final resting place: A typical 30-minute coffin-lying stint (which can cost ~2,000 yen, or $12–$13 USD) offers just enough time “to gaze at life through being conscious of death,” explains designer and custom coffin-maker Mikako Fuse.

Immortalize your memento mori: “Cute coffins” are bedecked with Instagrammable designs including ginghams and florals, reports Vice. It's all part of making existential dread, the inevitability of mortality, and the staring into oblivion ...“bright and not so scary."

QUICK HITS

Scientists create autism panel, citing RFK Jr.’s politicization of research – The Washington Post (gift link)

Emergency supplies for nuclear or chemical attack distributed across Middle East, says WHO – The Telegraph

Sudan Declared 'Cholera Free' Amid Rise in Dengue, Malaria, Measles – Dabanga via AllAfrica

Study warns of underrecognized Lassa fever threat with global implications – UNC Health via Medical Xpress

Navigating conversations with children about war, conflict and other traumatic events – AP

Issue No. 2875

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Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Stemming the Tide of Stigma; and An Aid Vacuum Leading to Violence

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:39:33 -0500

Global Health NOW: Stemming the Tide of Stigma; and An Aid Vacuum Leading to Violence

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March 4, 2026


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Stemming the Tide of Stigma

The health impacts of stigma on people with mental illness can be severe—including delays in seeking treatment, lower-quality care, and reduced rates of recovery.

A push for policy: Such impacts are why stigma reduction must play a critical role not just in grassroots advocacy but in national health policy, say Danish health authorities, who adopted a sustained anti-stigma initiative in 2021, reports The New York Times (gift link).

“Stigma has such an effect that people do not seek psychiatric services,” said Niels Sandø, the former director of prevention and inequity at the Danish Health Authority, who explained that to strengthen overall treatment, “we have to do something about the stigmatization.”

What Denmark’s anti-stigma program looks like: Denmark’s “One of Us” program recruits people with lived experience of mental illness to serve as trained “ambassadors” who share their stories with professionals in hospitals, schools, and police settings—key places where people with mental health illness can encounter help or further harm.

Early impact: Initial evaluations suggest that after meeting the ambassadors, 98% of Danish health workers feel more equipped to meet and care for patients with mental disorders, and 89% said they expected to change their behavior to be less stigmatizing.

Such policy-based priorities resonate with a key message of 2022 Lancet Commission guidance: “We cannot change the status quo on mental health without tackling stigma and discrimination.”

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

VIOLENCE

An Aid Vacuum Leading to Violence

The abrupt closure of U.S.-funded youth programs in Colombia’s Chocó province last year has left thousands of at-risk young people without a stable source of community, leading gangs to fill that role.

Background: Violence prevention programs like Youth Resilience and Black Boys Chocó once provided mentoring, leadership training, and social activities like dance to thousands of young people, helping to keep them out of gangs.

But in the months since USAID funds ceased, those initiatives have struggled to stay afloat.

Gangs fill the void: Meanwhile, armed groups now run their own social activities and offer jobs in illegal mining and drug economies, drawing many youths back toward gangs and unraveling years of prevention work, advocates say.

Devex

OPPORTUNITY

QUICK HITS

A new single-pill treatment for HIV shows promising results – NPR

Delays in awards and funding calls worry NIH-funded researchers – Science

Leana S. Wen: The CDC is in chaos. But here’s where it’s devastating. – The Washington Post (commentary)

How Kennedy Is Trying to Revamp Medical School – The New York Times (gift link)

Investigation finds ‘secretly’ added chemicals of unknown safety in US food supply – CNN

Syngenta says it will stop making pesticide linked to Parkinson’s disease – The Guardian

Climate shocks, not just warming, threaten malaria control efforts in Africa – Nature

Why Is America Fixated on Protein? – Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Issue No. 2874

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World Health Organization: World News in Brief: Afghan-Pakistan border clashes latest, murder of Iraqi women’s rights activist condemned, Chile leprosy milestone

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 07:00:00 -0500

Clashes along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border have continued for a seventh straight day, with humanitarian access to affected areas still restricted, the UN said on Wednesday.

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: India’s ‘Blood Deserts’; and A ‘Game Changer’ for Sleeping Sickness

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 09:31:01 -0500

Global Health NOW: India’s ‘Blood Deserts’; and A ‘Game Changer’ for Sleeping Sickness

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March 3, 2026


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Employees of a private company donating blood in a LG Mega Blood Donation Camp. March 27, 2025, Noida, India. Sunil Ghosh/Hindustan Times via Getty

India’s ‘Blood Deserts’

Families of patients needing donated blood in India routinely post desperate pleas on social media because the blood system in states like Jharkhand lacks sufficient supplies, per an IndiaSpend investigation.

Large parts of India are considered “blood deserts” where local timely, affordable demand goes unmet in at least 75% of transfusion cases.

Patients with the inherited blood disorder thalassemia require frequent blood transfusions, so unreliable blood supplies can make tracking down the correct blood group an ordeal for each procedure.

Shortfall: While the government claims that 70% of blood donation is voluntary, critics say it falls far short of that goal. (Voluntarily donated blood to blood banks is less likely to transmit disease than replacement blood given by relatives or others.)

Unreliable blood testing: Even when donor blood is obtained, procedures for testing the blood for HIV and other pathogens aren’t always followed.

Three members of a Jharkhand family were infected with HIV in January after the mother received a blood transfusion during labor, according to the Indian Express.

Blood donation rate: Though India’s blood donation rate is twice the average of lower middle-income countries, it’s less than a third of that of high-income countries, IndiaSpend reports in a second article.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

NEGLECTED DISEASES

A ‘Game Changer’ for Sleeping Sickness

A new treatment for sleeping sickness is being heralded as “truly spectacular”—and a potential key toward eliminating the parasitic disease by 2030, reports Science.

The disease is spread through bites of tsetse flies in sub-Saharan Africa and dramatically impacts the nervous system. It is almost always fatal if left untreated.

The new drug acoziborole—a one-dose, three-pill treatment for sleeping sickness made by Sanofi—received endorsement from the European Medicines Agency last week, paving the way for approval across Africa, reports the AP.

What makes it different:

The pill treats both mild and severe cases, eliminating invasive diagnostics that can include spinal taps.

It is one dose and easily transportable to remote regions.

And it is effective: A study found that 95%+ of treated patients were cured after 18 months.

“It’s a game changer,” said Wilfried Mutombo, a sleeping sickness expert leading the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative’s clinical operations in West and Central Africa.

OPPORTUNITY

QUICK HITS

Threat of Child Malnutrition in Iran Amid U.S.-Iran Conflict – Hunger Notes

US Speeds up Signing of Bilateral Health Agreements, DRC Lawyers Challenge Minerals Deal – Health Policy Watch

Acting CDC director Bhattacharya urges measles vaccines – The Hill

Egyptian Women Are Still Being Asked to Prove Their Virginity – More to Her Story (commentary)

States Move to Limit Access to H.I.V. Treatment – The New York Times (gift link)

Malawi bans dual jobs for health workers – DW (audio)

Made-in-America Guns Are Fueling Death and Destruction in Mexico – The Intercept

Will the next World Food Programme chief answer to Trump? – The New Humanitarian

Should tick safety be as popular as 'slip, slop, slap'? – ABC Australia

Issue No. 2873

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ɬ�﷬ Faculty of Medicine news: Some young gamers may be at higher risk of mental health problems, but family and school support can help

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 09:16:18 -0500

Pre-teens who struggle to control their video gaming habits are more likely to have psychotic-like experiences a year later, a new study has found.

ɬ�﷬ researchers and colleagues at Maastricht University found that 12-year-olds who showed signs of problematic gaming were more likely to experience mild paranoia, unusual beliefs or disturbed perceptions at age 13.

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Warnings of Human Toll as Middle East Conflict Widens; and High-Impact, Home-Based Prevention

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 09:55:58 -0500

Global Health NOW: Warnings of Human Toll as Middle East Conflict Widens; and High-Impact, Home-Based Prevention

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March 2, 2026


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IN FOCUS

Severe damage is seen at Gandi Hospital, in northern Tehran, following U.S. and Israeli joint strikes on the Iranian capital, on March 2. Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty

Warnings of Human Toll as Middle East Conflict Widens

As conflict spreads rapidly across the Middle East following joint U.S.-Israel strikes across Iran this weekend, global leaders are warning against escalating humanitarian impacts throughout the region—including attacks on health care and other civilian institutions:

“Health facilities are protected under international humanitarian law,” asserted WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in response to “extremely worrying” reports that Tehran's Gandhi Hospital was struck during bombardment, per NDTV's report—details that WHO leaders were still working to verify today.

In Israel, health care facilities have moved operations underground and to other protected spaces, reports the Times of Israel.

Humanitarian groups are investigating reports of a strike on a primary school in Minab in southern Iran, after Iranian authorities reported ~150 killed, per France24; U.S. and Israeli leaders have not confirmed the attack.

UNESCO has decried such a strike as “a grave violation of humanitarian law.”

Meanwhile, UN leaders called for immediate de-escalation, per UN News, as ongoing fallout could lead to “destruction on a potentially unimaginable scale ... across the Middle East region,” warned Volker Türk, the High Commissioner for Human Rights:

“As always, in any armed conflict, it is civilians who end up paying the ultimate price,” said Türk.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

HIV/AIDS

High-Impact, Home-Based Prevention

New HIV infections can be dramatically reduced through targeted, home-based care, finds a large-scale study out of Kenya and Uganda, which saw new infection rates cut 70%.

Details: The Sustainable East Africa Research in Community Health (SEARCH) study involved ~80,000 people across 16 communities with 8–16% HIV prevalence, all located in rural regions where access to clinics was difficult.

~500 community health workers delivered tests and PrEP/PEP drugs directly to homes and coordinated follow-up care via smartphone apps.

Overall, the intervention led to a 4X increase in use of anti-HIV drugs in people who were not infected with the virus.

Future impact: Utilizing the “community precision health” model plus the adoption of long-acting injectables could push incidence near zero, researchers say.

Science

Related: Kenya to offer patients free six-month HIV 'breakthrough' prevention jab – RFI

DATA POINT

1,100+
————

US measles cases so far in 2026, per the CDC—with a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Outbreak Response Innovation tracker placing the number of confirmed cases at 1,153 since January 1.—CNN

Related: Measles outbreaks are costing the U.S. millions of dollars. The true losses can't be counted. – NBC

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Correcting the Story on Australia’s Cigarette Taxes

Regarding the February 17 GHN summary on a New York Times article (gift link) highlighting the recent increase in illicit cigarettes in Australia, the newspaper missed crucial parts of this important story. As noted, when cigarette taxes and prices increase dramatically, some smokers may shift to illicit cigarettes.

However, experiences in other countries including the U.K. and Montenegro demonstrate that straightforward measures to secure the supply chain mitigate the illegal market. In the U.K., prices are comparable to Australia’s, but illicit trade is a manageable ~10%. They did this through strong policies including registering vendors who are adequately punished for tax violations; placing their customs officials in source countries through mutual agreements; and developing a tracking and tracing system for all tobacco products that permits tax authorities to know precisely where products are.

Australia, however, has done little along these lines, which is their real challenge. Contrary to this reporting, higher taxes are not the central problem but rather a proven public health success.

Jeffrey Drope, PhD

QUICK HITS

White House stalls release of approved US science budgets – Nature

More Parents Say 'No' to Vitamin K Shots for Newborns – MedPage Today

Why new doctors aren't specializing in infectious diseases – Axios

Families Defend Disability Services Amid Medicaid Cuts – KFF Health News

Ivermectin is making a post-pandemic comeback, among cancer patients – NPR

Why We Vaccinate Our Dogs and Cats – Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Issue No. 2872

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Global Health Programs aggregator

ɬ�﷬ Faculty of Medicine news: Two ɬ�﷬ professors awarded 2026 Dorothy Killiam Fellowships

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Solving the Global Stagnation in Physical Movement; and Reimagining Transit for Blind Commuters

TOP STORIES

IN FOCUS

Solving the Global Stagnation in Physical Movement

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

ROAD SAFETY

Reimagining Transit for Blind Commuters

OPPORTUNITY

Attend the Hopkins India Conference in DC

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2878

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Iran Attacks’ Dangerous Fallout; and India Launches Pivotal HPV Vaccine Drive

TOP STORIES

IN FOCUS

Iran Attacks’ Dangerous Fallout

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

CERVICAL CANCER

India Launches Pivotal HPV Vaccine Drive

OPPORTUNITY

QUICK HITS

Issue No. 2877

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: How Political Messaging Rapidly Reshapes Care; and China’s Push for a ‘Childbirth-friendly’ Culture

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IN FOCUS

How Political Messaging Rapidly Reshapes Care

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

POPULATIONS

China’s Push for a ‘Childbirth-Friendly’ Culture

SPONSORED

Train Here. Change the World.

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Issue No. 2876

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: The Addiction-Fighting Promise of GLP-1s; and Punished for Pregnancy Loss in El Salvador

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IN FOCUS

The Addiction-Fighting Promise of GLP-1s

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

Punished for Pregnancy Loss in El Salvador

OPPORTUNITY

Global Mental Health Speaker Series: “Who is the Provider?”

CORRECTION

Capital A-Minus

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION

Just a Little R & R.I.P.

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Issue No. 2875

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Stemming the Tide of Stigma; and An Aid Vacuum Leading to Violence

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IN FOCUS

Stemming the Tide of Stigma

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

VIOLENCE

An Aid Vacuum Leading to Violence

OPPORTUNITY

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Issue No. 2874

World Health Organization: World News in Brief: Afghan-Pakistan border clashes latest, murder of Iraqi women’s rights activist condemned, Chile leprosy milestone

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: India’s ‘Blood Deserts’; and A ‘Game Changer’ for Sleeping Sickness

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IN FOCUS

India’s ‘Blood Deserts’

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

NEGLECTED DISEASES

A ‘Game Changer’ for Sleeping Sickness

OPPORTUNITY

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Issue No. 2873

ɬ�﷬ Faculty of Medicine news: Some young gamers may be at higher risk of mental health problems, but family and school support can help

Global Health Now: Global Health NOW: Warnings of Human Toll as Middle East Conflict Widens; and High-Impact, Home-Based Prevention

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IN FOCUS

Warnings of Human Toll as Middle East Conflict Widens

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES

HIV/AIDS

High-Impact, Home-Based Prevention

DATA POINT

LETTER TO THE EDITOR