涩里番

96 Global Health NOW: Global Surgery Unit Imperiled; A New World, Crises, and Opportunities Ahead of World Mosquito Day; and Out of Hibernation August 14, 2025 Volodymyr Horbachevskyi, a hospital medical director, looks into the window of an underground operating room where surgeons labor despite nearby Russian artillery fire on May 28 in Kherson, Ukraine. Ivan Antypenko/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC "UA:PBC"/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Global Surgery Unit Imperiled
A major UK-led initiative to improve and expand surgery worldwide may be shuttered by June 2026 due to projected UK government aid cuts鈥攋eopardizing critical progress in regions where lack of surgical access leads to millions of preventable deaths every year. 

Background: The Global Surgery Unit (GSU), launched in 2017, comprises 40,000 surgeons in 120 countries who conduct large-scale trials and tailor country-specific protocols to address surgical access, infection prevention, and antimicrobial resistance. 

• It has led to landmark studies like the trial, which improved infection prevention worldwide through improved sanitation, and the which advanced colorectal surgery outcomes.

The deep need for surgery: 4 million+ people die every year from conditions that could be treated by surgery; and such medical issues鈥攊ncluding obstetric problems, trauma wounds, infections, and blindness鈥攎ake up ~28% of the global disease burden.   

• 鈥淕lobal surgical care is probably the greatest world health challenge today and the one that we are currently failing to meet,鈥� said Dion Morton, GSU co-lead. 

Looming cuts: The UK鈥檚 Labour party has decided to cut its overseas aid budget by ~拢6 billion, including a 4% drop in health-related spending. 

  EDITOR'S NOTE No GHN Next Week: See You August 25!
GHN will be taking our annual summer publishing pause next week (August 18鈥�21) to rest and recharge鈥攂ut, as promised, we鈥檝e collected some suggestions of long reads and books to tide you over鈥攃ourtesy of a handful of GHN super readers. We asked, and you did not disappoint! Check them out at the end of this newsletter, just above the Quick Hits.

Thanks for reading, and we鈥檒l be back on Monday, August 25! 鈥�Dayna GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Atrocities at Myanmar鈥檚 detention facilities include 鈥渟ystematic torture鈥� and sexual assault, UN-mandated independent investigators have ; the violence at the military-run facilities has intensified nationwide, and includes beatings, electric shocks, strangulations, and gang rape.

Sudan launched a cholera vaccination campaign in Khartoum in an effort to stem a rapidly spreading outbreak; 83,000+ cholera cases and 2,100+ deaths have been reported amidst the country鈥檚 civil war and health care system collapse. 

The only COVID-19 vaccine for all children aged six months to four years may not receive reauthorization from the FDA, CDC emails reveal; the removal of the Pfizer vaccine could limit available vaccine supplies for the youngest children.

Quitting smoking is linked to 30% greater odds of recovery from other substance use disorders, that followed 2,600+ people over four years. U.S. and Global Health Policy News Trump Administration Scraps Research Into Health Disparities 鈥�

Trump鈥檚 efforts to defund Planned Parenthood threatens US healthcare system, study suggests 鈥�

How HIV funding cuts are undermining years of progress in Zimbabwe 鈥�

President Trump can continue to withhold billions in foreign aid, court rules 鈥嬧�嬧��

Judge tells NSF to reinstate suspended UCLA grants 鈥�

Before Trump's efforts to make kids healthier, there was Michelle Obama 鈥� GHN EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY A resting female Aedes aegypti mosquito. CDC/ Amy E. Lockwood, MS World Mosquito Day 2025: A New World, Crises, and Opportunities
Since 1897, when Ronald Ross discovered that malaria is transmitted by the 鈥渄apple-winged mosquito鈥� and not miasmatic 鈥渂ad air,鈥� efforts against the Anopheles malaria vectors have saved millions of lives鈥攁lbeit with recent gains threatened due to U.S. foreign aid cuts.
 
And now, another type of mosquito鈥�Aedes aegypti, the vector for dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika鈥攊s rapidly expanding, eclipsing Anopheles as our greatest mosquito challenge, ahead of World Mosquito Day (August 20).
 
While malaria still packs a major punch (~263 million malaria cases and 597,000 malaria deaths in 2023, per the WHO)鈥�Aedes mosquitoes exact a heavy, and growing, toll:

• 6.5 million+ dengue cases and 7,300 global deaths in 2023


• 14 million dengue cases and 10,000 deaths in 2024

Yet, unlike malaria, Aedes-borne viruses attract little funding鈥攚ith no Global Fund, no Presidential Initiative, and very little support from private foundations.
 
Cause for optimism: Better dengue surveillance, prevention, treatment, case management, and control efforts (recently described in an Asia Dengue Voice and Action Policy Working Group paper, ).
 
A key need: An all-society, bottom-up approach to guide malaria and dengue control efforts, led by a new generation of public health field entomologists grounded in new technologies as well as ecology, biology, and community engagement.

Related:

Pacific Islands race to contain 'largest dengue fever outbreak in a decade', as disease kills 18 people 鈥�
 
WHO recommends spatial emanators for malaria vector control and prequalifies first two products 鈥�
 

Malaria control in emergencies: field manual 鈥� 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES VIOLENCE Deadly Virality    Violence and femicide, such as the 2023 murder of Nizama Hecimovic, a Bosnian woman whose death was livestreamed, are part of an increasing trend of viral brutality against women.

Weaponizing online content to intimidate or silence women has become increasingly common, especially in areas like Afghanistan, where women鈥檚 rights are restricted.

• 73% of Gen Z social media users report seeing misogynistic media online.

An algorithmic issue: Platforms like Meta have AI and human moderators capable of removing violent content. Yet this content often remains due to algorithms that prioritize engagement. 
 
ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Out of Hibernation 
Summer鈥檚 end is always a rude awakening鈥攐r several rude awakenings, depending on how many times you hit snooze. 

Slightly less rude, infinitely more cute, and much too squirrely to be snoozed: The early birds (and mammals) who have taken the wake-up task into their own claws, including: 

• The Brazilian cockatiel who recently went viral for of an iPhone alarm tune, . 


• Chico the rooster, who takes the Sisyphean quest of waking a teen , .


• The who smother their sleeping person in snuggles and a baffling number of shoes, . 

While GHN will be off next week, its own faithful, furry wake-up squad (Wolfie, Anoushka, and Greta), will be back on duty August 25. SUMMER READING RECS Tips from GHN Readers
Thanks to all the GHN readers who shared these excellent suggestions!
 
Dismissed: Tackling the Biases that Undermine Our Health Care by Angela Marshall
Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Lydia Kang
Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York's Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist by Jennifer Wright
鈥擟ourtesy of Hannah Schoon, Utah, USA
 
The Education of an Idealist and A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, both by Samantha Power
鈥�Courtesy of Lorina McAdam, Auradou, France
 
Sick Souls, Healthy Minds: How William James Can Save Your Life by John Kaag
鈥�Courtesy of Lorenn Walker, Waialu, Hawaii, USA

Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
鈥擟ourtesy of Michael Kowolik, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
 
Escape on the Pearl: The Heroic Bid for Freedom on the Underground Railroad by Mary Kay Ricks
鈥擟ourtesy of Stephan Gilbert, Bowie, Maryland, USA
 
Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green
鈥擟ourtesy of Caitlin Lavigne, Philadelphia, USA

And, to close us out, here are a few audio books on the free app Libby, suggested by Peter Kilmarx, of Bethesda, Maryland, USA: 
 
On Call by Tony Fauci (He narrates the book with his Brooklyn accent, which is wonderful. 鈥淕o figure.鈥�)
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

Happy reading, all! We'll see you on Monday, August 25. QUICK HITS Gaza Malnutrition Deaths Rise, says WHO, while Israeli Hostage Mothers Make Fresh Appeal to ICRC 鈥�

Multidrug-resistant bacteria amid health-system collapse in Gaza 鈥�

Mines, Memory, and Migration on Bosnia鈥檚 Perilous Border 鈥�

Unsafe and substandard. Is that what public healthcare in SA looks like? 鈥�

Racial bias in clinician assessment of patient credibility: Evidence from electronic health records 鈥�

In Nigeria, Male Victims of Abuse Face Stigma and Silence 鈥�

How to thrive as a Latin American researcher abroad 鈥� Issue No. 2775
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: Renewed Outrage Over FGM in The Gambia; Burma鈥檚 Junta Restricts ART Access; and South Sudan鈥檚 Fragile Psychological Care System August 13, 2025 Protesters hold placards outside the National Assembly in Banjul, Gambia, while lawmakers inside debated a bill seeking to lift the ban on FGM. March 18, 2024. Muhamadou Bittaye/AFP via Getty Renewed Outrage Over FGM in The Gambia
A 1-month-old girl in Gambia died from severe bleeding after undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM), sparking national and international outrage about the practice, . 

Details: The baby girl was pronounced dead upon arrival at a hospital in Banjul after being 鈥渁llegedly subjected to circumcision,鈥� . Two women have been arrested in connection with the case.

Background: FGM鈥攖he cultural practice of deliberately removing external female genitalia to preserve so-called 鈥減urity鈥濃�攈as been banned in Gambia since 2015, but enforcement remains weak. 

• FGM rates in Gambia are among the highest in the world, with 73% of Gambian women and girls having undergone the practice鈥攎any before age 6, .

Progress threatened: And leaders in the country have continued efforts to overturn the ban over the past year, sparking condemnation from activists: 

• 鈥淐ulture is no excuse, tradition is no shield, this is violence, pure and simple,鈥� said Gambian advocacy organization Women In Leadership and Liberation.

Global impact: FGM affects millions worldwide鈥攊ncluding 42 million+ girls in Eastern and Southern Africa, where rates are highest, . 

• Experts warn that more girls may die without stronger enforcement and international support鈥攂ut that support has flagged as cuts to global aid have directly hit FGM-prevention programs. 

EDITOR'S NOTE GHN鈥檚 Summer Break
We鈥檒l be taking a weeklong publishing pause next week (August 18鈥�21) to give our team a chance to rest and gear up for the start of the school year.

Tomorrow, we鈥檒l share some suggestions of long reads and books to tide you over. Have you read (or listened to) any interesting books lately? If you have a good one to share with the GHN community, we鈥檇 love to hear from you鈥�please send me your suggestions before Thursday morning! 

As always, thanks for reading. 鈥挤补测苍补 GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Women and girls are disproportionately affected by near-famine conditions in several parts of Sudan, where they make up about half of the population in need, , which also found that female-headed households are 3X times more likely to be food-insecure than male-led households.

Wildfires in Greece have spread as the region endures a staggering heatwave; 152+ new fires have broken out across the country in the last 24 hours alone, prompting thousands of evacuations.

U.S. drinking rates have fallen to a record low of 54%; the shift comes as the majority of Americans say for the first time that drinking one or two drinks a day is bad for one鈥檚 health.

A parasitic worm can suppress pain signals in the human body, allowing it to invade without triggering the immune system, ; the findings about the worm, Schistosoma mansoni, and its tactics for blocking neural pathways could lead to breakthroughs in pain management. U.S. and Global Health Policy News Gavin Yamey and Chris Beyrer: The dismantling of the U.S. vaccine regulatory framework 鈥�

Ghana approves breakthrough malaria drug for babies 鈥� but research is 鈥榦n ice鈥� amid US funding cuts 鈥�

Losing protection: The United States helped beat back malaria in Guinea. Now, the disease is set to soar 鈥�

MAGA rails against "pothead" culture as Trump weighs weed reform 鈥� HIV/AIDS Burma鈥檚 Junta Restricts ART Access
The junta-run health ministry in Burma is restricting the distribution of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for people with HIV/AIDS, ending NGO involvement and further limiting treatment access amid the country鈥檚 ongoing civil war. 

Background: Previously, ART was widely distributed to Burma鈥檚 ~280,000 HIV-positive residents through NGOs. 

• The junta said the sudden clampdown is a response to resistance-led seizure of vehicles transporting ART medicine. 

Immediate impact: The new policy will severely limit access to the medication in resistance-controlled areas.

• And it will force patients to receive care only in government-controlled hospitals鈥攋eopardizing privacy and potentially leading to overcrowded facilities. 

Related: Fiji: Why a tropical paradise has the world鈥檚 fastest growing HIV epidemic 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES MENTAL HEALTH South Sudan鈥檚 Fragile Psychological Care System
As renewed violence and displacement in South Sudan exacerbate mental health crises across the country, funding shortfalls are endangering the few mental health resources in place, advocates say. 

Gaps in care: 鈥淢ental health issues are a huge obstacle to the development of South Sudan,鈥� said Jacopo Rovarini, an official with Amref Health Africa鈥攚hich found that over a third of people screened showed psychological distress or mental health disorders.

• The country has one of Africa鈥檚 highest suicide rates, with internally displaced people most affected.

Few and shrinking resources: The few mental health services that exist are almost totally reliant on foreign aid鈥攁nd as more countries announce funding cuts, those services are imperiled.  

OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS In Darfur, Sudan, kidnapping is now a weapon of war 鈥�

Doctors Step Up Against the Climate Health Emergency 鈥�

FDA grants priority review for new oral gonorrhea antibiotic 鈥�

I just packed Narcan for my daughter鈥檚 dorm room. Public health made it possible 鈥�

How lithium went from 7Up to treatment for mental illness 鈥� and maybe Alzheimer鈥檚 鈥�

As Trust in Public Health Craters, Idaho Charts a New Path 鈥�

How a Jamaican student invented a self-disinfecting door handle for hospitals: 鈥楧esign that fits reality鈥� 鈥�

Cleaner kitchens, healthier lives: Ghana鈥檚 cookstove revolution gains ground 鈥� Issue No. 2774
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: U.S. FDA鈥檚 Slipshod Protection for Generics; Sierra Leone鈥檚 鈥楻ed Zone鈥�; and The Push for Phone-Free Schools August 12, 2025 Signage is displayed at the Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. headquarters in Mumbai, India. May 2, 2019. Kanishka Sonthalia/Bloomberg via Getty U.S. FDA鈥檚 Slipshod Protection for Generics
After eight years of warning an Indian pharmaceutical company it was grossly violating manufacturing standards, the U.S. FDA finally barred Sun Pharma from sending its drugs to the U.S. in 2022, per a .

But: The FDA exempted more than a dozen drugs, despite the risks to U.S. patients.
 
The problems:

• Basic protocols to prevent contamination of injectable drugs weren鈥檛 followed.


• Sun failed to determine whether 鈥渦nknown impurities鈥� in meds were toxic.


• Buckets collected water dripping from the ceiling in a sterile part of the factory.

Nearly 11 years after the , FDA inspectors found the same issues, despite Sun officials鈥� claims that they had fixed the problems.

FDA falls short: The agency didn鈥檛 explicitly warn U.S. patients about the risks and allowed the drugs into the U.S.

Worse still: 20+ other problematic factories received exemptions similar to Sun鈥檚, allowing them to ship 150 drugs, including antibiotics and chemotherapy treatments.

The Quote: 鈥淭he people on the other end have faith that the products they are taking are safe and effective,鈥� a senior FDA employee said. 鈥淚 think of the faces. I think of my parents. 鈥� I think of the consumers who are basically taking these drugs on blind faith.鈥�

Related: The FDA Let Substandard Factories Ship These Medications to the U.S. 鈥�  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
UK researchers discovered antibodies that appear to protect children in The Gambia against Strep A (Streptococcus pyogenes) infection, which kills 500,000 a year, mostly in LMICs; the research, , provides insights into immunity that could inform the development of a new vaccine.  

India鈥檚 top court ordered officials in Delhi to get all stray dogs off the streets and into animal shelters over rabies concerns; India, which accounts for 36% of the global rabies death toll, per the WHO, has millions of stray dogs. 

The Annals of Internal Medicine rejected a call from some readers and the U.S. health secretary RFK, Jr. to retract a  that found that aluminum salts in vaccines did not raise the risk of autism, asthma, and other disorders in children; the journal鈥檚 editor said there is no evidence of serious errors or scientific misconduct. 

An overhaul of UK road safety laws this fall could mandate eye tests for older drivers, lower the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers, and impose harsher penalties for uninsured drivers and rejecting seatbelts; last year, UK traffic incidents killed 1,633 people and seriously injured ~28,000.  U.S. and Global Health Policy News Vaccine sceptics appointed to advise Italian government on immunisation 鈥�

Canada plans a 15% budget cut. Scientists are alarmed 鈥�

Trump Orders State Department to Overlook International Human Rights Abuses 鈥�

Kennedy's Next Target: the Federal Vaccine Court 鈥�

Exclusive: NIH ponders overhauling HIV budget to capitalize on prevention breakthrough 鈥�

Trump's Foreign Aid Cuts Are Ruining Ethiopia's Progress on Maternal Mortality 鈥� MPOX Sierra Leone鈥檚 鈥楻ed Zone鈥� 
Sierra Leone has become home to the worst African outbreak of mpox, with 5,000+ cases and 47 deaths reported since the first case was reported at the end of 2024. 

• The cases have spanned all demographic groups, and included children鈥攍eading experts to fear that the virus鈥檚 reach could expand.   

Shifting strategies: The country is finally starting to curb infections since a major vaccination campaign, and after activating more beds at hospitals and treatment centers in 鈥渞ed zones鈥濃�攊solation wards where mpox patients are treated. 

• Previously, officials had encouraged infected patients to isolate at home鈥攁 strategy that failed, say health workers. 

Ongoing obstacles: Misinformation, stigma, and overcrowding remain challenges, and widespread vaccination will be critical to stemming chains of transmission, health workers say. 


Related: Neonatal mpox in Nigeria: a case of transplacental or postnatal transmission 鈥� DATA POINT

$11.44 billion
鈥斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌�
The annual economic burden of chronic Chagas disease in Brazil; the annual direct medical costs represent around 11% of the Ministry of Health budget. 鈥�
  ADOLESCENT HEALTH The Push for Phone-Free Schools
A fast-growing network of American parents is seeking to curb the influence of smartphones and social media on their children鈥檚 health鈥攁nd they are starting with schools.  

Bans and 鈥渂ell-to-bell鈥� policies: Much parent-led advocacy so far has focused on making schools smartphone-free environments. Once highly unpopular, such bans are quickly gaining traction:

• 74% of U.S. adults now support preventing students from using their phones during class, while 44% support all-day bans, .


• 37 states and D.C. have passed laws limiting classroom phone use, with about half passing all-day bans.

Just the beginning: 鈥淲e鈥檝e moved from arguing about whether there was a problem to arguing about what the solutions are,鈥� said Josh Golin, executive director of child advocacy organization Fairplay.



Related: Vermont just became the latest state to ban cellphones in the classroom. What does that mean for schools? 鈥� OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Public health officials face grim new reality after CDC shooting 鈥�

Influencers criticize birth control and push 'natural' methods. Here's what to know 鈥�  

Washington state malaria case prompts further study of region's mosquitoes 鈥� 

Why Young Children May Not Get Covid Shots This Fall 鈥�

Cancer Super-Survivors May Hold Keys to New Treatments 鈥�

The anti-sunscreen movement and what to know about its claims 鈥�

Americans Are All In on Cow-Based Wellness 鈥�

All Hail the Humble Speed Hump 鈥� Issue No. 2773
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: CDC Attack Reflects Rising Hostilities; Health Tracking: Instructive or Invasive?; and Dispatches from 鈥楳olar City鈥� August 11, 2025 Law enforcement officers responding to the shooting near the CDC Global Headquarters in Atlanta. August 8. Elijah Nouvelage/Getty CDC Attack a 鈥楧ire Reflection鈥� of Rising Hostilities 
The shooting at CDC headquarters in Atlanta on Friday is being seen as an escalation of aggression against health workers鈥攁nd particularly against the CDC鈥攕ince the COVID-19 pandemic, . 

• 鈥淚t is a dire reflection of ever-escalating threats public health workers face in a climate increasingly shaped by misinformation, politicization, and inflammatory rhetoric,鈥� , in which he also criticized HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for taking 18 hours to about the attack. 

Details: Investigators say the gunman blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for his mental health struggles, . 

• The attack killed a police officer on duty and damaged four buildings at the campus鈥攚here ~9,000 CDC workers are based and where labs of the highest biosecurity levels are housed. 


• Employees huddled in place for hours鈥攁s did 90 children at the daycare on campus. 

Larger pattern of violence: CDC workers the attack is unsurprising given ever-increasing vilification from the public and public officials. 

• Nearly a third of state and local public health workers reported facing workplace violence

Calls for security and support: The union that represents the CDC demanded stronger safety measures and that federal officials provide a 鈥渃lear and unequivocal stance鈥� denouncing vaccine disinformation to protect health workers and rebuild trust in science, . GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Dengue fatalities and cases are spiking in Bangladesh ahead of the disease鈥檚 peak season, with 101 deaths and 24,183 cases reported so far this year straining the health system; health officials are urging people to use mosquito repellents, sleep under nets, and eliminate stagnant water where mosquitoes breed.

Routine flu vaccines for children and adults were quietly endorsed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last month per a backdated notice on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices鈥� , despite Kennedy鈥檚 previous calls for changes to the flu vaccine.

Women who have been stalked or who have obtained a restraining order were more likely to later experience a heart attack or stroke compared to those who did not, , which said such experiences warrant routine medical consideration alongside traditional risk factors.

Kenya has officially eliminated sleeping sickness, also known as human African trypanosomiasis, the WHO confirmed last Friday鈥攎aking Kenya the 10th country to eliminate the vector-borne disease caused by the blood parasite Trypanosoma brucei. U.S. and Global Health Policy News 'We're just over the moon!' Good news for factories that make food for malnourished kids 鈥�
Trump executive order gives politicians control over all federal grants, alarming researchers 鈥�  

Trump administration wants to defund watchdog groups for Navajo mental health 鈥�

鈥淲e Want to Save This Investment鈥�: Advocates Race to Secure Maternal Health Funding Before It Runs Out 鈥�

Top vaccine regulator returns to FDA after recent firing 鈥�

Trump has said abortion is a state issue. His judicial picks could shape it nationally for decades 鈥� DATA Federal Health Tracking System: Instructive or Invasive?  
The Trump administration announced the creation of a centralized health database late last month, saying the collaboration with Big Tech, health systems, and insurers will consolidate health records for use across various platforms and apps. 

Details: The database would be maintained through a hub with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and draw data from a range of medical records and health trackers. The goal is to launch in 2026. 

• Patients must opt in to have their records and data shared. 


• AI and apps would drive 鈥減ersonalized advice鈥� on nutrition and activity based on collected data.

Privacy concerns: Ethicists and patient advocates say such sensitive patient information may not be adequately protected and could be easily misused. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES DENTAL CARE Dispatches from 鈥楳olar City鈥�
Los Algodones, Mexico, is home to ~5,500 residents鈥攁nd 1,000+ dentists. 

• Nicknamed 鈥淢olar City,鈥� the town has become known for its sprawling network of dental clinics, which draw over a million Americans seeking affordable dental care. 

Filling a gap: Over half of Americans skip dental visits each year due to poor insurance coverage and untenable prices for what are often critical procedures. 

• A root canal in Molar City can cost less than one-fifth of what it would across the border 10 minutes away, making the town 鈥減art Lourdes and part Costco鈥� for medical tourists, writes journalist Burkhard Bilger鈥攚ho details his own quest pursuing dental care there alongside other hopeful, and sometimes desperate, patients.

CORRECTION Linked-out
In our Thursday newsletter, we linked to the wrong Guardian article for this quick hit. This is the correct link: . 

We regret the error, and thank the GHN readers who pointed it out to us!  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS A word is born 鈥� and critiqued: 'healthocide' 鈥�

Saudi Arabia Reports Eleven MERS Cases, Two Fatalities 鈥�

Sharp rise in Black youth suicide rates in California alarms mental health advocates 鈥�

More women get Alzheimer's than men. It may not just be because they live longer 鈥�  

Ivermectin's Potential in the Fight Against Malaria 鈥�

Red states lead push for MAHA soda bans 鈥�

Lessons for a Warming World From Kashmir鈥檚 Cooling Caves 鈥� Issue No. 2772
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: HIV Patients 鈥榠n Darkness鈥� as Aid Cuts Take Hold; Schools as Abortion Rights Battlegrounds; and The Brawl of the Wild August 7, 2025 Mosele Mothibi, 40, an unemployed textile factory worker, sits on her bed inside her one-room flat on July 4. Maseru, Lesotho. Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty HIV Patients 鈥榠n Darkness鈥� as Aid Cuts Take Hold 
In the nearly eight months since the U.S. abruptly cut global aid funding, the fallout for HIV patients throughout Africa is widening as more people drop out of treatment and go without critical testing鈥攁nd lose hope that such programs will be restored. 

In South Africa, thousands of vulnerable HIV patients are falling out of antiretroviral therapy after U.S.-funded clinics shuttered, 鈥攁 potential harbinger of rising infections and deaths to come, advocates fear. 

• Clinics serving especially high-risk groups including sex workers, people who use drugs, and trans people closed suddenly, forcing patients to shift to public clinics.


• But a Cape Town audit found only 10 of 400 tracked patients made the switch.

In Lesotho, the sudden shutdown of the country鈥檚 Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission program left at-risk pregnant women without testing or counseling, .

• Many women say they do not know their or their children鈥檚 HIV status鈥攎eaning that even if lifesaving preventative medications are available, they cannot access them.  


• 鈥淲e are in darkness,鈥� said Matebello Khoahli, an HIV-positive mother who fears for the life of her 23-month-old. 

Related: 

Elton John AIDS Foundation plugging gaps in HIV funding 鈥�

The triple whammy: HIV, migration and climate change 鈥�

ICYMI: U.S. Funding Cuts Stop Crucial HIV Research Work in Its Tracks 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
1,500+ Sudanese civilians may have been massacred in Sudan鈥檚 Zamzam refugee camp during the RSF鈥檚 attack in April, per an investigation by The Guardian that found 鈥渞epeated testimony of mass executions and large-scale abductions.鈥�

Replenishing lithium in the brain may protect against and even reverse Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, that found a specific type of lithium supplement reversed neurological changes and memory loss in mice.

Indonesia will treat wounded Gazans at a medical facility on Galang Island in an initiative to provide medical care to 2,000 people from the enclave, who are expected to return to Gaza after treatment.

The Maui and LA fires have taken an ongoing toll on residents鈥� health, per a series of studies published yesterday showing effects including lung damage, depression, suicide, overdose, and interruptions of care. DATA POINT

1.4 million
鈥斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌� 
  African women and girls denied essential care by the U.S.鈥檚 destruction of $9.7 million in contraceptives earmarked for DRC, Kenya, Mali, Tanzania, and Zambia; the supplies could have prevented ~174,000 unintended pregnancies and ~56,000 unsafe abortions, according to the International Planned Parenthood Federation. 鈥� REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH Schools as Abortion Rights Battlegrounds
A growing number of American students taking sex education classes this fall will be required to watch videos of fetuses growing in the womb鈥攁 result of new 鈥渇etal development鈥� laws passed in state legislatures nationwide. 

• Six states now require such videos to be shown in sex ed; nearly 4 million students will see them this fall. 


• 20+ states have proposed similar bills since 2023.

Background: Showing such videos in schools is a key part of anti-abortion group Live Action鈥檚 strategy to influence young people. 

• Its main tool: 鈥淢eet Baby Olivia,鈥� a 3-minute video depicting the development of a fetus in utero, which has been frequently recommended in state legislation.


• But medical experts say the video is misleading about development and is emotionally manipulative rather than educational. 

ICYMI: What Do American Kids Learn About Sex? It Depends Who You Ask. 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES CORRECTION We Botched a Link
In our U.S. and Global Health Policy news section yesterday, we linked a KFF Health News article to the wrong story. Here鈥檚 the correct link: . Thanks to multiple GHN readers who alerted us to the error!  ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION The Brawl of the Wild
Home, home on the range
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard
A discouraging word 鈥�

鈥� unless it is one of the bone-rattling insults hurled by Adam Driver鈥檚 and Scarlett Johansson鈥檚 characters during their in the divorce drama Marriage Story.

• The Oscar-nominated actors鈥� emotionally devastating (and spat is now a tool in USDA-supervised 鈥渨olf hazing鈥濃�攁 tactic deployed in Oregon to protect livestock without culling the endangered canines. 

Drive-ing wolves away: 鈥淒rone cowhands鈥� detect wolves with thermal technology鈥攖hen terrify them with Driver hollering, 鈥淗ow dare you compare me to my father!鈥� at full blast via speakers. It鈥檚 unnervingly effective. 

• 鈥淚 need the wolves to respond and know that, hey, humans are bad,鈥� explained an Oregon-based USDA district supervisor.

Other (less therapy-inducing) options on the playlist: The sound of fireworks and AC/DC鈥檚 鈥淭hunderstruck.鈥�

QUICK HITS STDs are rampant in Mississippi. This one is now considered an epidemic. 鈥�  

With $1K in cash aid, he built a life-changing barbershop. Now cash aid is under fire 鈥嬧�嬧��

Chemical pollution a threat comparable to climate change, scientists warn 鈥�

Anah铆 Ruderman: Feeding Community When Government Aid Runs Dry 鈥�

Americans get more than half their calories from ultra-processed foods, CDC report says 鈥�

Medical students must be able to voice ethical concerns during clinical rotations 鈥�

Giant virus with record-long tail discovered in Pacific Ocean 鈥� Issue No. 2771
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: China鈥檚 鈥楶atriotic Public Health鈥� War on Chikungunya; HHS Halts mRNA Development; and Rural Romania Battles Vaccine Mistrust August 6, 2025 A worker sprays insecticide at a residential community on July 29, in Foshan, Guangdong Province, China. VCG via Getty China Fights Chikungunya with 鈥楶atriotic Public Health鈥�
To fight a chikungunya outbreak that has sickened thousands, Chinese authorities have launched an all-out assault on mosquitoes鈥攄eploying soldiers 鈥渟praying clouds of disinfectant鈥� and drones to track down their breeding grounds, and threatening fines for people who fail to disperse standing water, .

• The virus, transmitted by the bites of infected mosquitoes, has infected ~8,000 people in China in four weeks, mostly around Foshan鈥攎arking the country鈥檚 largest outbreak since 2008, .


• While rarely fatal, the disease can cause fevers and excruciating pain.

The authorities have also launched a 鈥減atriotic public health campaign鈥� that is unhappily reminiscent, for some, of the country鈥檚 strict measures against COVID-19.
 
The Quote: 鈥淚t鈥檚 fundamentally no different from the Maoist-style public health campaigns. It involves the mass mobilization of the people. It鈥檚 targeting a particular threat to public health and potentially could lead to unintentional consequences,鈥� says Yanzhong Huang, a Council on Foreign Relations senior global health fellow.

Related: What to know about chikungunya virus, as U.S. travel alerts issued 鈥�  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   A gonorrhoea vaccination program has been launched in England as the country tries to reduce its soaring infection rates and curb the growing threat of antibiotic-resistant strains; gonorrhoea infections in the country reached a record ~85,000 cases in 2023.

Legionnaires' disease has killed three people in a New York cluster that has sickened ~70 people after it emerged in Harlem last week.  

Raw milk consumption has been linked to 21 people in Florida being sickened by E. coli and campylobacter bacteria, including six children under the age of 10 and seven people who were hospitalized, of the risks of drinking unpasteurized milk.

E. coli can evolve antibiotic-resistance during treatment, , which tracked in real time how the bacteria quickly developed a mechanism to escape a drug鈥檚 effects by amplifying a resistance gene it already carried. U.S. and Global Health Policy News Deep Staff Cuts at a Little-Known Federal Agency Pose Trouble for Droves of Local Health Programs 鈥� Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe! 

Has NSF defied a court order by suspending 300 UCLA grants? 鈥�

Trump administration violated impoundment law by canceling NIH grants, slowing new awards, GAO finds 鈥�

Does SA need a COVID-like ministerial advisory committee to deal with HIV funding cuts? 鈥�

CDC to disburse delayed funds for fighting fentanyl and more, staffers say 鈥�

Why Trump is targeting these programs that help keep drug users alive 鈥�

The GOP is choosing pesticides over the MAHA moms 鈥� RESEARCH HHS Pulls the Plug on mRNA Development
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced yesterday that HHS will cancel 22 federally funded mRNA vaccine development projects worth $500 million鈥攁 move infectious disease specialists and biosecurity experts warned was 鈥渄angerous鈥� and 鈥渟hort-sighted,鈥� .

Details: The contracts were between the federal emergency preparedness agency, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and leading pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Moderna to develop vaccines for respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu鈥攂uilding off the breakthroughs credited with slowing the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and saving millions of lives, . 

• , Kennedy claimed the mRNA vaccines 鈥渇ail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections,鈥� and that funding will shift to 鈥渟afer, broader鈥� platforms like whole-virus vaccines.


• Some late-stage contracts will continue, but no new federal funding will support mRNA vaccine development. 


• The HHS said 鈥渙ther uses of mRNA technology within the department are not impacted by this announcement.鈥�

Public health alarm: Infectious disease researchers said mRNA technology has proven to be safe and effective鈥攁nd that abandoning the contracts weakens critical biodefense capabilities for public health emergencies. 

• 鈥淲e鈥檙e weakening critical countermeasures at the very moment that global health risks are intensifying,鈥� . 

Avian flu airborne? The decision is especially worrisome as concerns over avian flu persist: In , scientists found live virus in the air of milking facilities, . GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES MEASLES Battling Vaccine Mistrust in Rural Romania
Amid Europe鈥檚 worst measles outbreak in 25鈥痽ears, Romania is the region's most affected country, with around 13,000 of the ~18,000 cases in the European Economic Area registered between June 2024 and May 2025.

• Romania has the EU鈥檚 lowest vaccination rate (62鈥�%), falling short of the 95% the WHO says is needed for effective disease control. 

Doctors are battling deep vaccine mistrust in rural Romanian communities, where misconceptions linking vaccines to autism persist, access to health care is limited, and educational outreach is weak.
 
Factors behind the crisis: poverty, an underfunded medical system, brain drain of health workers, and anti-vaccine rhetoric amplified by far鈥憆ight politicians and misinformation during the COVID鈥�19 pandemic. 

OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS 鈥楩lesh-Eating鈥� Bacteria Cases Are on the Rise Along the Gulf Coast 鈥�

Pregnant people in rural parts of the country are running out of places to give birth 鈥�

Respiratory viral infections awaken metastatic breast cancer cells in lungs 鈥�

As influencers spread 鈥榯oxic鈥� claims, what is the truth about sunscreen? 鈥�

Many studies of air-cleaning tech say they curb viral spread, but new review raises questions 鈥�

Scientific fraud has become an 鈥榠ndustry,鈥� alarming analysis finds 鈥�

Kids in Pennsylvania Are Breathing (Much) Easier After a Coal Plant Shuttered 鈥� Issue No. 2770
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: The Troubled Fight Against Polio; Plastics: A 鈥楪rave, Growing鈥� Danger; and Wartime Russia is Losing the Battle Against HIV August 5, 2025 A health worker administers polio drops to schoolchildren for vaccination during a door-to-door poliovirus eradication campaign. Lahore, Pakistan, April 21. Arif Ali/AFP via Getty The Troubled Fight Against Polio
The WHO and its partners were close in 2021 to scoring a huge win against polio. They recorded just five cases of the natural virus that year. But the poliovirus eluded vaccination efforts and caused 99 cases last year.
 
In a deeply reported investigation, the AP blames misinformation, mismanagement, a flawed strategy, and the oral vaccine.
 
Challenges: Vaccinating children in Afghanistan and Pakistan (the only countries with uninterrupted polio transmission) is a difficult proposition.

• Some religious leaders tell people to avoid vaccinations, health systems are weak, and hundreds of vaccinators and security officers have been targeted and killed.

Wins: Global Polio Eradication Initiative officials note 3 billion children have been vaccinated and ~20 million people have avoided paralysis since the initiative was founded in 1988.
 
WHO鈥檚 response: 鈥淭here鈥檚 so many children being protected today because of the work that was done over the past 40 years,鈥� said Jamal Ahmed, WHO鈥檚 polio director. 鈥淟et鈥檚 not overdramatize the challenges, because that leads to children getting paralyzed.鈥�
 
Polio鈥檚 end? Transmission is estimated to end within 18 months, and eradication reached by 2029, Ahmed said.

• 45 million children in Pakistan and 11 million in Afghanistan need to be vaccinated this year. 


• Full immunization requires four doses of two drops each.

 
Related: Takeaways from AP鈥檚 report on problems in the worldwide campaign to eradicate polio 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Misuse of tourniquets is causing thousands of unnecessary amputations and deaths in Ukraine, surgeons say; one estimates that up to three quarters of the ~100,000 amputations performed on Ukrainian soldiers since 2022 were caused by improper use of tourniquets. 

Adolescents in Rwanda aged 15 or older will be able to access family planning services without parental consent under a new law passed by the country鈥檚 parliament aimed at reducing teenage pregnancies. 

An oral anti-COVID-19 treatment passed a clinical trial efficacy test, ; the drug, called CP-COV03 or Xafty, is based on niclosamide, a medication previously used to treat tapeworm infections. 

About two-thirds (59%) of American adults polled will likely skip fall COVID-19 boosters heading into the cold and flu season; about six in ten Republicans say they will 鈥渄efinitely not鈥� get the vaccine.  ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Plastics: A 鈥楪rave, Growing鈥� Danger
The planet is awash in a 鈥減lastics crisis鈥� that poses a threat to human and planetary health, . 

Surge in production: Plastic output has grown 200X since 1950鈥攄riven largely by single-use items.

Toll on health: Plastics are linked to disease and death across all ages, costing ~$1.5 trillion annually in health-related damages.

• Infants and children are highly susceptible to toxins.

Soaring pollution: 8 billion metric tons of plastic now pollute the globe.

• <10% of plastic is recycled. 

And humans may be inhaling 100X more microplastics than previously assumed, finds , .   



Related: UN races to close global deal that would curb virgin plastic and toxic additives 鈥�  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HIV/AIDS Wartime Russia is Losing the Battle Against HIV
War has significantly disrupted HIV prevention and care in Russia鈥攄evelopments that could have long-lasting impacts.

By the numbers: In the first year of the war alone, the recorded incidence of HIV among military personnel soared by 40X+.

• And the proportion of Russian HIV patients receiving antiretroviral therapy has now fallen below 50% for the first time in many years.

Barriers to care: War has amplified anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in the country, and also contributed to the removal of NGOs assisting in HIV care.

But war itself is a key factor in transmission, as blood transfusions and the reuse of syringes in field hospitals have increased risks.

HEAT As Temperatures Climb, So Do ER Visits
Emergency room visits increase with higher temperatures, especially among young children, 鈥攁nd the maladies may be unexpected. 

• While the links between mortality rates and heatwaves have been long studied, heat鈥檚 impact on morbidity鈥攊llness and poor health鈥攈as been less understood. 

Findings: As temperatures increased, more people visited ERs for a range of illnesses, including some unexpected ones like poisoning, respiratory symptoms, and nervous system problems鈥攖hough researchers say the connections to heat are not yet clear. 

• Data also showed that children under 5 visited ERs at higher rates than any other age group.

Public health implications: Researchers say that the study shows the need for broader protections for a wider span of the population. 



Related: 

American Summers Are Starting to Feel Like Winter 鈥�

Why certain medications can increase your risk in the heat 鈥� TONIGHT: WEBINAR ON HEATWAVES QUICK HITS Gates Foundation promises $2.5B for 鈥榮idelined鈥� women鈥檚 health 鈥�

Louisiana鈥檚 鈥楥ancer Alley鈥� Is More Deadly Than Previously Imagined 鈥�

Chicago was supposed to warn residents about toxic lead pipes last year. Most still have no idea 鈥�

Caffeine pouch craze: A teenage trend troubling some experts 鈥�

Trump officials look to block abortion services at veterans affairs hospitals 鈥�  

White House has no plan to mandate IVF care, despite campaign pledge 鈥�

Eating ultra-processed foods could make it harder to lose weight 鈥�

More elderly Americans are choking to death. Are these devices the answer? 鈥�

Unwanted pregnancies surge with alcohol, but not with cannabis, study finds 鈥� Issue No. 2769
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: A 鈥楧eadly Intersection鈥� of Crises in Sudan; The Women Protecting Migrants in Brazil鈥檚 North; and July Recap August 4, 2025 People gather by the makeshift graves of those buried in Khartoum's southern suburb of al-Azhari, on August 2. Ebrahim Hamid/AFP via Getty A 鈥楧eadly Intersection鈥� of Crises in Sudan
Cemeteries in North Darfur in Sudan are expanding as hundreds of thousands of people trapped in conflict across the country face compounding humanitarian crises: relentless artillery attacks, deadly hunger, a growing cholera outbreak, destructive flooding, and perilous heat, .

Widespread hunger: Famine conditions across the region are intensifying as food supplies are blocked and aid convoys are attacked鈥攁 part of the ongoing siege of El Fasher by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which seeks to cement its hold on the region in its conflict with the Sudanese military, now in its third year.

• Bakeries have shut down and prices for any available food have skyrocketed鈥攍eading many to rely on animal feed for sustenance, .


• Severe food shortages led to the deaths of 13 children last month at Lagawa displacement camp in East Darfur state, . 

Cholera outbreak: Cholera is also 鈥渞ipping鈥� through the region, with ~ 2,140 cases and at least 80 fatalities recorded, that described families forced to 鈥渘avigate the deadly intersection of conflict, hunger, disease and environmental collapse.鈥� 

• Children are especially at risk as medical supplies run low and basic infrastructure deteriorates. 

Flooding and heat: Meanwhile, torrential rains have displaced thousands of people across the country and heightened disease risk, , and overwhelmed hospitals are calling for urgent support amid extreme heat.  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Mass rape, forced pregnancy, and sexual torture of women and children by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers in Tigray amount to crimes against humanity, from Physicians for Human Rights and the Organization for Justice and Accountability in the Horn of Africa; the authors call on international bodies to investigate.

U.S. childhood vaccination rates continue to decline , which show that vaccination coverage for all children entering kindergarten in the 2024鈥�25 school year declined for all reported vaccines from the year before, and the vaccine exemption rate rose to 3.6%.

Two mRNA vaccines against HIV induced a 鈥減otent鈥� immune response to the virus, ; the trial鈥攐nly the third to test mRNA vaccines against HIV鈥攕howed 80% of participants who received either of the vaccines produced antibodies against viral proteins.

Teen suicidal behavior and thoughts declined between 2021 and 2024 in the U.S., , which found the prevalence of serious suicidal thoughts in teens fell from nearly 13% to 10%, and the prevalence of suicide attempts declined from 3.6% to 2.7%. GHN EXCLUSIVE Alba Marina Gonzalez Andrade stands outside an informal migrant settlement in Boa Vista, Brazil. Julianna Deutscher The Women Protecting Migrants in Brazil鈥檚 North  
BOA VISTA, Brazil鈥擣rom Pacaraima on the border with Venezuela, to the state capital of Boa Vista, and all the way to Bonfim on Brazil鈥檚 frontier with Guyana, traffickers prey on vulnerable migrants.
 
They promise good jobs but ensnare them in sex work or forced labor with meager or even no pay. 
 
:

• Mayra Figueiras started a nonprofit, Humanidade Mais que Fronteiras, and prevents human trafficking with vocational training, language classes, and鈥攚hen possible鈥攆ood baskets.


• Marcia Maria de Oliveira, a professor and sociologist at the Universidade Federal de Roraima, has led human trafficking investigations for more than two decades. 


• Sister Ana Maria da Silva prevented machine gun-toting police from deporting dozens of women and children she was protecting from sexual exploitation. For her brave defiance, she鈥檚 known as La Monja Loca (The Crazy Nun).

Short profiles of these women and others reveal their deep commitment to breaking the cycle of exploitation.

Editor鈥檚 note: Julianna Deutscher, MD, MPH, reported this article鈥攖he third in a series鈥攚ith support from the . Read the and articles here. JULY MUST-READS How Do the Amish Avoid Allergies?
As rates of allergic diseases increase worldwide, one group remains far less affected: the Amish.

• Why? Childhood exposure to microbes such as those found in farm dust and farm animal exposure can contribute to the development of a healthy immune system. But researchers are still trying to pinpoint environmental factors unique to the Amish, who have fewer allergies than other traditional farming families worldwide.

Hanoi鈥檚 Concrete-Driven Air Quality Crisis 
Over the last year, Hanoi repeatedly topped global air pollution charts as smog draped the city. 

• What鈥檚 fueling the pollution? Urbanization in Vietnam has led to a rapid increase in development, which includes widespread use of concrete for highways, metro lines, and buildings; Vietnam uses more cement per capita than any country except China, and almost 2X than the U.S.

America鈥檚 Insomnia Epidemic
Insomnia can cause a cascade of health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, depression, and injuries鈥攜et it remains underdiagnosed, undertreated, and poorly understood.

• 鈥淭he public and private sectors alike are barely doing a thing to address what is essentially a national health emergency,鈥� writes Jennifer Senior, who chronicles her own struggle and exhaustive efforts to find solutions and calls for broader cultural and structural changes to address the sleep crisis.

JULY RECAP: GHN EXCLUSIVE A mother holds up the cash incentive she received at the Farfaru clinic upon vaccinating her child. Sokoto, Nigeria. February 2025. Abiodun Jamiu Fighting Infant Mortality With Vaccines and Cash in Northern Nigeria
SOKOTO, Nigeria鈥擨n the region surrounding Farfaru鈥檚 primary health care center, health workers often had to persuade women to vaccinate their children.

• That began to change with the 2014 introduction of the New Incentives cash rewards program, which spurred a surge in mothers bringing their children in for childhood immunizations to protect against diseases such as diphtheria, pertussis, hepatitis B, and polio.


• The clinic now sees ~30鈥�40 babies a day across 11 northern states鈥攚here vaccine hesitancy and misinformation run rampant and missed vaccinations contribute to rising infant mortality rates.

JULY'S GOOD NEWS Two Countries Validated as Trachoma-Free
Trachoma has officially been eliminated in Burundi and Senegal, making them the eighth and ninth countries in the African region to reach that public health milestone. 

• The disease鈥攖he first eliminated neglected tropical disease in Burundi, and the second in Senegal鈥攃an lead to scarring, in-turned eyelids, and blindness, and primarily affects regions where clean water and sanitation are scarce, . 90% of the global trachoma burden is in Africa. 

How they did it: Both countries implemented WHO-recommended SAFE strategy elimination interventions for trachoma, which include surgery for the late blinding stage, mass administration of azithromycin, public awareness campaigns, and improved water and sanitation access.
More Solutions News:
Tasteful solutions: A key drug to treat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is moxifloxacin, an extremely bitter medication that young children often refuse to take due to the taste. In trials, children reported that sweeter or flavored drugs were easier to take than the original. 

Coverage when temperatures climb: As more regions face record heat waves, a heat insurance program in India is offering new financial relief for daily wage workers who lose income or are forced to stop working during extreme heat鈥攚ith 鈥減arametric鈥� payouts triggered by a measurable event, like temperature exceeding a set threshold.

Swinging toward mobility: A physical therapist in Rio de Janeiro has helped dozens of people with Parkinson鈥檚 improve and maintain movement through capoeira鈥攁 blend of martial arts and a dance practiced for centuries by Afro-Brazilians that combines exercise, ritual, and music.  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Mpox testing initiative launched in Africa as outbreaks continue 鈥�

AMA and other medical associations are kicked out of CDC vaccine workgroups 鈥�

Data vs. Doubt: Danish Scientist Responds to U.S. HHS Secretary Critique of Aluminum Vaccine Study 鈥�

What will rescission do to foreign aid? Details are murky. Here's what we found out 鈥�

Their children can't eat, speak or walk - so forgotten Zika mothers raise them together 鈥�

More than a dozen states sue to protect gender-affirming care from federal investigations 鈥�

鈥榃ell, no, you don鈥檛 have to have children鈥�: what African women over the age of 60 have learned about life 鈥�

What makes Finland the 鈥榳orld鈥檚 happiest nation鈥�? In a word, simplicity. 鈥� Issue No. 7-2025-July Monthly
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: A 鈥楧eadly Intersection鈥� of Crises in Sudan; The Women Protecting Migrants in Brazil鈥檚 North; and July Recap August 4, 2025 People gather by the makeshift graves of those buried in Khartoum's southern suburb of al-Azhari, on August 2. Ebrahim Hamid/AFP via Getty A 鈥楧eadly Intersection鈥� of Crises in Sudan
Cemeteries in North Darfur in Sudan are expanding as hundreds of thousands of people trapped in conflict across the country face compounding humanitarian crises: relentless artillery attacks, deadly hunger, a growing cholera outbreak, destructive flooding, and perilous heat, .

Widespread hunger: Famine conditions across the region are intensifying as food supplies are blocked and aid convoys are attacked鈥攁 part of the ongoing siege of El Fasher by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which seeks to cement its hold on the region in its conflict with the Sudanese military, now in its third year.

• Bakeries have shut down and prices for any available food have skyrocketed鈥攍eading many to rely on animal feed for sustenance, .


• Severe food shortages led to the deaths of 13 children last month at Lagawa displacement camp in East Darfur state, . 

Cholera outbreak: Cholera is also 鈥渞ipping鈥� through the region, with ~ 2,140 cases and at least 80 fatalities recorded, that described families forced to 鈥渘avigate the deadly intersection of conflict, hunger, disease and environmental collapse.鈥� 

• Children are especially at risk as medical supplies run low and basic infrastructure deteriorates. 

Flooding and heat: Meanwhile, torrential rains have displaced thousands of people across the country and heightened disease risk, , and overwhelmed hospitals are calling for urgent support amid extreme heat.  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Mass rape, forced pregnancy, and sexual torture of women and children by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers in Tigray amount to crimes against humanity, from Physicians for Human Rights and the Organization for Justice and Accountability in the Horn of Africa; the authors call on international bodies to investigate.

U.S. childhood vaccination rates continue to decline , which show that vaccination coverage for all children entering kindergarten in the 2024鈥�25 school year declined for all reported vaccines from the year before, and the vaccine exemption rate rose to 3.6%.

Two mRNA vaccines against HIV induced a 鈥減otent鈥� immune response to the virus, ; the trial鈥攐nly the third to test mRNA vaccines against HIV鈥攕howed 80% of participants who received either of the vaccines produced antibodies against viral proteins.

Teen suicidal behavior and thoughts declined between 2021 and 2024 in the U.S., , which found the prevalence of serious suicidal thoughts in teens fell from nearly 13% to 10%, and the prevalence of suicide attempts declined from 3.6% to 2.7%. GHN EXCLUSIVE Alba Marina Gonzalez Andrade stands outside an informal migrant settlement in Boa Vista, Brazil. Julianna Deutscher The Women Protecting Migrants in Brazil鈥檚 North  
BOA VISTA, Brazil鈥擣rom Pacaraima on the border with Venezuela, to the state capital of Boa Vista, and all the way to Bonfim on Brazil鈥檚 frontier with Guyana, traffickers prey on vulnerable migrants.
 
They promise good jobs but ensnare them in sex work or forced labor with meager or even no pay. 
 
:

• Mayra Figueiras started a nonprofit, Humanidade Mais que Fronteiras, and prevents human trafficking with vocational training, language classes, and鈥攚hen possible鈥攆ood baskets.


• Marcia Maria de Oliveira, a professor and sociologist at the Universidade Federal de Roraima, has led human trafficking investigations for more than two decades. 


• Sister Ana Maria da Silva prevented machine gun-toting police from deporting dozens of women and children she was protecting from sexual exploitation. For her brave defiance, she鈥檚 known as La Monja Loca (The Crazy Nun).

Short profiles of these women and others reveal their deep commitment to breaking the cycle of exploitation.

Editor鈥檚 note: Julianna Deutscher, MD, MPH, reported this article鈥攖he third in a series鈥攚ith support from the . Read the and articles here. JULY MUST-READS How Do the Amish Avoid Allergies?
As rates of allergic diseases increase worldwide, one group remains far less affected: the Amish.

• Why? Childhood exposure to microbes such as those found in farm dust and farm animal exposure can contribute to the development of a healthy immune system. But researchers are still trying to pinpoint environmental factors unique to the Amish, who have fewer allergies than other traditional farming families worldwide.

Hanoi鈥檚 Concrete-Driven Air Quality Crisis 
Over the last year, Hanoi repeatedly topped global air pollution charts as smog draped the city. 

• What鈥檚 fueling the pollution? Urbanization in Vietnam has led to a rapid increase in development, which includes widespread use of concrete for highways, metro lines, and buildings; Vietnam uses more cement per capita than any country except China, and almost 2X than the U.S.

America鈥檚 Insomnia Epidemic
Insomnia can cause a cascade of health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, depression, and injuries鈥攜et it remains underdiagnosed, undertreated, and poorly understood.

• 鈥淭he public and private sectors alike are barely doing a thing to address what is essentially a national health emergency,鈥� writes Jennifer Senior, who chronicles her own struggle and exhaustive efforts to find solutions and calls for broader cultural and structural changes to address the sleep crisis.

JULY RECAP: GHN EXCLUSIVE A mother holds up the cash incentive she received at the Farfaru clinic upon vaccinating her child. Sokoto, Nigeria. February 2025. Abiodun Jamiu Fighting Infant Mortality With Vaccines and Cash in Northern Nigeria
SOKOTO, Nigeria鈥擨n the region surrounding Farfaru鈥檚 primary health care center, health workers often had to persuade women to vaccinate their children.

• That began to change with the 2014 introduction of the New Incentives cash rewards program, which spurred a surge in mothers bringing their children in for childhood immunizations to protect against diseases such as diphtheria, pertussis, hepatitis B, and polio.


• The clinic now sees ~30鈥�40 babies a day across 11 northern states鈥攚here vaccine hesitancy and misinformation run rampant and missed vaccinations contribute to rising infant mortality rates.

JULY'S GOOD NEWS Two Countries Validated as Trachoma-Free
Trachoma has officially been eliminated in Burundi and Senegal, making them the eighth and ninth countries in the African region to reach that public health milestone. 

• The disease鈥攖he first eliminated neglected tropical disease in Burundi, and the second in Senegal鈥攃an lead to scarring, in-turned eyelids, and blindness, and primarily affects regions where clean water and sanitation are scarce, . 90% of the global trachoma burden is in Africa. 

How they did it: Both countries implemented WHO-recommended SAFE strategy elimination interventions for trachoma, which include surgery for the late blinding stage, mass administration of azithromycin, public awareness campaigns, and improved water and sanitation access.
More Solutions News:
Tasteful solutions: A key drug to treat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is moxifloxacin, an extremely bitter medication that young children often refuse to take due to the taste. In trials, children reported that sweeter or flavored drugs were easier to take than the original. 

Coverage when temperatures climb: As more regions face record heat waves, a heat insurance program in India is offering new financial relief for daily wage workers who lose income or are forced to stop working during extreme heat鈥攚ith 鈥減arametric鈥� payouts triggered by a measurable event, like temperature exceeding a set threshold.

Swinging toward mobility: A physical therapist in Rio de Janeiro has helped dozens of people with Parkinson鈥檚 improve and maintain movement through capoeira鈥攁 blend of martial arts and a dance practiced for centuries by Afro-Brazilians that combines exercise, ritual, and music.  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Mpox testing initiative launched in Africa as outbreaks continue 鈥�

AMA and other medical associations are kicked out of CDC vaccine workgroups 鈥�

Data vs. Doubt: Danish Scientist Responds to U.S. HHS Secretary Critique of Aluminum Vaccine Study 鈥�

What will rescission do to foreign aid? Details are murky. Here's what we found out 鈥�

Their children can't eat, speak or walk - so forgotten Zika mothers raise them together 鈥�

More than a dozen states sue to protect gender-affirming care from federal investigations 鈥�

鈥榃ell, no, you don鈥檛 have to have children鈥�: what African women over the age of 60 have learned about life 鈥�

What makes Finland the 鈥榳orld鈥檚 happiest nation鈥�? In a word, simplicity. 鈥� Issue No. 2768
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: CTE in the Spotlight; Inside Brazil鈥檚 Human-Trafficking Crisis; and Mercury鈥檚 Toll on Mental Health July 31, 2025 Flowers and a balloon reading "love one another" that were left outside the 345 Park Avenue building, the scene of a July 28 deadly shooting in Midtown Manhattan, New York. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty CTE in the Spotlight 
  The gunman who killed four people in a Manhattan office shooting this week said in a note that he believed he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the degenerative disease that stems from repeated hits to the head. 

It is unclear whether he had the condition, as it can only be diagnosed posthumously in an autopsy. But the violence has brought renewed attention to CTE鈥攁long with scrutiny about how the shooter was able to access a gun despite documented mental health hospitalizations, and deploy it in a city with some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, . 

Concerns about CTE and full-contact sports have been building for two decades, as more studies have shown how repeated blows to the head lead to the buildup of brain-damaging proteins, . 

• A number of former football players who turned to violence鈥攑articularly suicide鈥攚ere found posthumously to have CTE, . 


• But self-diagnosis comes with its own dangers, 鈥攅specially as links between CTE and high school football, which the gunman played, remain understudied. 


• And the majority of people with CTE never engage in violence, Daniel H. Daneshvar, chief of brain injury rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School : 鈥淚 would never draw a direct line between someone鈥檚 brain pathology and any specific violent act.鈥� 

Loopholes in gun laws: The perpetrator had twice been hospitalized for mental health reasons, but was still able to have a concealed carry license and access a gun in his home state of Nevada, which does not automatically disqualify someone from possessing or buying guns, despite having had emergency hospitalizations, .

• And such laws may not have mattered: The NYPD has said the shooter鈥檚 AR-style rifle was likely assembled using parts.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Cholera threatens ~80,000 children across West and Central Africa, with active outbreaks in DRC and Nigeria posing a high risk of cross-border transmission; hardest-hit DRC reports 38,000+ cases, 951 deaths, and an alarming 8% case fatality rate in July.
 
As deadly heat waves sweep East Asia, South Korea has recorded 13 heat-related deaths so far this year鈥�3X the same period last year鈥攁nd Japan recorded its highest-ever temperature of 41.2 degrees Celsius in Tamba.

A large fungal meningitis outbreak in the U.S. that sickened 24 patients and killed 12 occurred among people who received epidural anesthesia for cosmetic surgeries in Matamoros, Mexico, in 2023, , which highlights the need for more rigorous diagnostic measures.

Dormant breast cancer cells in the lungs can be awakened by respiratory infections like COVID-19 or the flu, has found; the data could have implications for human cases, as SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection has been linked with a nearly 2X increase in cancer-related death. U.S. and Global Health Policy News The Role of International Aid in Supporting Ukraine鈥檚 Recovery Efforts 鈥�

Abortion shield laws are under fire 鈥�

Trump Prepares to Revoke Lifesaving Abortion Care for Veterans 鈥�

Ousted vaccine panel members say rigorous science is being abandoned 鈥�

Top FDA vaccine regulator under Trump ousted amid conservative criticism 鈥� GHN EXCLUSIVE A sunset in January over the Branco River in Roraima, Brazil's capital city, Boa Vista (Good View). Julianna Deutscher From Displacement to Exploitation: Inside Brazil鈥檚 Human-Trafficking Crisis
BOA VISTA, Brazil鈥擳he capital of northern Brazil鈥檚 Roraima state is known for the placid Branco River, gorgeous sunsets, and beautiful landscapes.

Yet behind the attractive fa莽ade, desperate  in drugs, weapons, gold, people, and organs.

Persistent risks: Many fall prey to Brazilian and Venezuelan criminal groups that lure migrants to the garimpos (illegal gold mines) with false promises but then trap them in modern slavery. Women are forced into sex work, often at the mines, posadas (motels), and restaurants.

Migrants are often bound not by physical captivity but by 鈥渋nvisible chains鈥濃�攆ear for a loved one鈥檚 safety, dependence on shelter, language barriers, or the urgent need to feed their children.

Back story: A year after the contentious reelection of President Nicol谩s Maduro, hundreds of Venezuelans still arrive daily through a small Brazilian border town north of Boa Vista.

In this second part of a series on Venezuelan migrants鈥� experiences in Brazil, Julianna Deutscher describes the migrants鈥� plight and the policy and funding barriers to their protection.

Editor鈥檚 note: Julianna Deutscher, MD, MPH, reported this article鈥攖he second in a series鈥攚ith support from the . Read the first article . GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Mercury鈥檚 Toll on Mental Health 
Widespread mercury poisoning has been linked to high attempted suicide rates among youth in the Indigenous Grassy Narrows First Nation in Ontario, . 

Background: Mercury contamination in the region began in the 1960s鈥�70s, when a paper mill dumped ~10 tons of mercury into local rivers used for fishing.  

• Over the years, the Grassy Narrows First Nation community has seen suicide attempts increase dramatically鈥�3X higher than in other First Nation communities in Canada.

Findings: Researchers analyzed mercury levels in 162 children and 80 mothers, finding three generations of mercury exposure linked to emotional and behavioral problems鈥攑articularly among women who ate fish during pregnancy. 

The Quote: 鈥淥ur way of life has been totally destroyed,鈥� said Grassy Narrows First Nation Chief Rudy Turtle

  ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Literary Tails 
Bookshop pets have a pretty tough gig, considering their full-time job is to literally curl up with a good book.

And these days, they have even more responsibility thanks to social media鈥攚hich has conferred main-character status upon the cockatiels, cats, and King Charles Spaniels inhabiting the stacks.

• 鈥淲e get a whole bunch of readers, but people really come to see the animals,鈥� said Anna Hersh, a co-owner and 鈥渁nimal care coordinator鈥� of Wild Rumpus in Minneapolis鈥攁 mythic menagerie of birds, cats, fish, and a pair of chinchillas named Newbery and Caldecott. 

Where the Wild Things Are:

• Bear Pond Books in Vermont is under the supervision of Veruca Salt, , who hosts an annual birthday party with cake and stories鈥攏otably The Tortoise and the Hare.


• The Literary Cat Co. in Kansas partners with a local animal rescue to fostered at the shop. 


• Scattered Books in New York hires booksellers based on their bunny expertise鈥攁nd not just knowledge of the plotlines of Peter Rabbit or Watership Down: 
  
  
  • 鈥淧eople come in and they鈥檙e like, 鈥業 love to read.鈥� I鈥檓 like, 鈥楬ow are you with rabbits?鈥欌�� said owner Laura Schaefer, whose 鈥溾�� have top shelf status (despite being confined to empty bottom shelves). 

QUICK HITS Canada鈥檚 Measles Outbreak Exceeds Cases in the U.S. 鈥�

Safety of JN.1-Updated mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines 鈥�

The status of ownership and utilization of long-lasting insecticidal treated nets in war-torn Tigray, Ethiopia 鈥�

U.S. Visa Bureaucracy and Its Burdens Among Early Career Scholars 鈥�

Scientists just invented a safer non-stick coating鈥攁nd it鈥檚 inspired by arrows 鈥�

She ended up with a bat in her mouth 鈥� and $21,000 in medical bills 鈥�  Issue No. 2767
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: Migration Response Done Right: Brazil鈥檚 Model; EPA Aims to Gut Key Climate Ruling; and Sierra Leone Ordered to Criminalize FGM July 30, 2025 GHN EXCLUSIVE Venezuelan refugees walk after crossing the border between Venezuela and Brazil in the city of Pacaraima, Roraima State, Brazil, on September 13, 2024. Alan Chaves/AFP via Getty Migration Response Done Right: Brazil鈥檚 Model for a World in Crisis
PACARAIMA, Brazil鈥擬aria* steps out of a white truck on January 10 and walks toward a crowd of newly arrived Venezuelans.

• Alone and far from home, women and girls like Maria have faced gender-based violence and human trafficking as they fled Venezuela鈥檚 political and economic collapse, in Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.

A warm welcome: Migrants in Brazil had much more positive experiences than those in the other countries. The difference, says study author Susan Bartels, is the work of Opera莽茫o Acolhida (Operation Welcome).

• The Brazilian government launched the program in 2018, as a unique collaboration with UN agencies and NGOs. The partnership blends military logistical support with respect for humanitarian autonomy, a rare balance in crisis response. 

A streamlined process: Maria is connected to free essential services, applies for asylum or permanent residency, and receives information about universal health care.

• She can also get free transportation to be reunited with family or friends across Brazil and is connected with employment services.

Challenges remain: U.S. government cuts to foreign aid are forcing some organizations to scale back their support of Opera莽茫o Acolhida鈥嬧��, but on this day, Maria鈥檚 new life begins. 

*Maria鈥檚 name was changed to protect her privacy.

Editor鈥檚 note: Julianna Deutscher, MD, MPH, reported this article鈥攖he first in a series marking today鈥檚 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons鈥攚ith support from the . GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Cholera is a 鈥渇ull-blown public health emergency鈥� in DRC six months into renewed fighting that has obliterated sanitation and water supply systems, per Oxfam鈥檚 DRC director, Manenji Mangundu鈥攚ith ~35,000 suspected cases and at least 852 related deaths since January, a 62% increase compared to 2024.

Liver cancer cases are projected to double鈥攆rom ~870,000 cases in 2022 to 1.52 million cases by 2050鈥攂ut at least 60% of those cancers could be preventable,  published Monday. 

Undocumented immigrants faced a much higher risk of death at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic鈥攚ith Latino essential workers in particular showing a staggering 91% increase in deaths compared with 8% for the white U.S.-born subgroup鈥�. 

All NIH research funding was temporarily halted Tuesday because of a footnote from an Office of Management and Budget document that limited NIH funding to staff salaries and expenses, not to research grants; the billions of funds were restored hours later in a turnabout NIH officials described as 鈥渃haos.鈥� U.S. and Global Health Policy News Budget cuts knock down a 鈥榩illar of public health,鈥� ending nutrition education 鈥�

US placed on rights watchlist over health of its civil society under Trump 鈥�

There's a major publishing slowdown at CDC's flagship journal 鈥�

Susan Monarez confirmed as Trump鈥檚 CDC director 鈥�

Dozens of state laws take aim at food dyes, amid a wave support for MAHA 鈥� CLIMATE CHANGE EPA Aims to Gut Key Climate Ruling 
The U.S. EPA will seek to rescind a key scientific finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare鈥攁 move that could dismantle the legal basis for much of the country鈥檚 climate policy, . 

Background: In 2009, the EPA determined that CO2 and other greenhouse gases can be regulated under the Clean Air Act because they harm human health. That 鈥溾�� has since underpinned regulations on emissions standards for everything from factories to cars, . 

Repeal: Yesterday while at a car dealership, EPA head Lee Zeldin announced to eliminate the standards, .

• The move is the latest Trump administration effort to roll back climate initiatives, including the country鈥檚 withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, . 


• One ecologist likened a repeal to 鈥渁 driver who is speeding towards a cliff taking his foot off the brake and instead pressing the accelerator.鈥�

What鈥檚 next: The proposal must undergo public comment and is likely to face legal challenges from environmental groups and states.

Meanwhile, the WHO is at a global climate and health conference in Bras铆lia鈥攁s the 鈥渓ived reality鈥� of climate change 鈥渢hreatens to undo decades of global health progress.鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HUMAN RIGHTS Sierra Leone鈥檚 President Ordered to Ban FGM
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) court of justice has ordered Sierra Leone to criminalize female genital mutilation (FGM), calling it 鈥渙ne of the worst forms of violence against women.鈥� 

• A 2019 survey found that 83% of women in Sierra Leone had undergone FGM鈥�71% of them before age 15. 

In early July, Sierra Leone passed the Child Rights Act 2025, which prohibits all forms of mental and physical violence against children鈥攂ut as it does not specifically address FGM, human rights advocates are encouraging President Julius Maada Bio to send the act back to parliament for revision. 

• Despite recently becoming chair of ECOWAS, Bio has yet to publicly acknowledge the court鈥檚 ruling.

QUICK HITS People are dying of malnutrition in Gaza. How does starvation kill you? 鈥�

Colombia Opens South America's First Safe Injection Sites 鈥�

Kratom and 7-OH: What to know about the "legal morphine" compound 鈥�

AMR surveillance project in Nigeria delivers life-saving impacts 鈥�

In Uganda a new epidemic alert system is helping fight mpox 鈥�

The Dutch Intersection Is Coming to Save Your Life 鈥� Issue No. 2766
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: A Temporary Dip in Global Hunger?; Why European Vaccine Policies Don鈥檛 Fit the U.S.; and Remembering David Nabarro July 29, 2025 A South Sudanese refugee carrying her child on her back works at her vegetable crops. Turkana County, Kenya, October 2, 2019. Luis Tato/AFP via Getty A Temporary Dip in Global Hunger? 
Global hunger decreased slightly last year, but rising food prices and falling aid contributions mean that momentum will be unlikely to continue in the coming years, according to the  published yesterday.

Takeaways:

• 8.2% of people worldwide, or 673 million people, were estimated to have experienced hunger last year, a drop from 8.5% in 2023 and 8.7% in 2022.


• 22 million fewer people experienced hunger last year compared to 2022.


• 2.3 billion people were considered moderately or severely food insecure last year, according to the report from five UN agencies.


• Advances in Southeastern Asia, Southern Asia, and South America were largely responsible for the lower global hunger numbers.

Threats:

• Hunger in much of Africa and Western Asia continues to rise.


• Global food inflation, driven by the pandemic, climate change, and the war in Ukraine, rocketed to almost 17% in early 2023 from 2% in late 2020, .

Food violence: At least two people were shot and killed yesterday by police battling desperate refugees in a northern Kenya refugee camp experiencing a food crisis, .

The Quote: 鈥淭hese figures 鈥� are alarming enough, but the worst may be yet to come,鈥� Kate Munro, of Action Against Hunger UK, told The Telegraph. 鈥淐uts in international aid will hit the most vulnerable populations hardest.鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Danish researchers combed the records of 1.2 million+ children over a 24-year period and found no evidence that the use of aluminum salts in vaccines increased the risk of asthma, autism, and a wide range of conditions diagnosed in childhood, per . 

Common pollutants like PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide, and soot are all linked to a significantly higher risk of dementia, per a sweeping review of studies  that drew on data from nearly 30 million people. 

Nearly a quarter of African American adults had eye disease that went  undetected,  ages 40 and older with eye conditions in a Los Angeles suburb; diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration were especially common.  Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe!

The Chinese government will offer parents a $500 subsidy per year for each child under the age of three, aimed at boosting the country鈥檚 slumping birth rate, but some economic analysts say the sums are too small to make an impact. U.S. and Global Health Policy News Odds of winning NIH grants plummet as new funding policy and spending delays bite 鈥�

Group criticizes NIH over suspended funding for TB research 鈥�

Judge blocks Trump administration鈥檚 efforts to defund Planned Parenthood 鈥�

Senate to vote on Trump鈥檚 pick to lead the CDC 鈥� THE QUOTE
  "Venoms are evolutionary masterpieces, yet their antimicrobial potential has barely been explored. " 鈥斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌� C茅sar de la Fuente of the University of Pennsylvania, senior author of a research project that used AI to sift through global venom libraries and uncovered dozens of promising drug candidate蝉.&苍产蝉辫;鈥� VACCINES Why European Immunization Policies Don鈥檛 Fit the U.S.
As Trump administration health officials question the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule, they are pointing to European countries as a model for a more minimalist approach that requires fewer immunizations than U.S. guidelines call for.

Apples and oranges: But global health experts argue that differences in vaccine schedules are not due to disagreements about safety, but instead are shaped by local disease risks, demographics, and health systems. 

• In the U.S., a more fractured and inaccessible health system means a broader vaccine schedule allows for continuity and protection that might otherwise be lost. 

The key question: 鈥淕iven our specific disease burden and public-health goals, are we effectively protecting the most vulnerable people? Based on overwhelming evidence? The answer is yes,鈥� said Jake Scott, an infectious disease physician at Stanford University. 

OBIT Remembering David Nabarro, 鈥楢 Great Champion of Global Health鈥�
David Nabarro, a key figure in global health who helped lead the international response to health threats ranging from Ebola to the COVID-19 pandemic, died Friday at age 75.

• 鈥淒avid was a great champion of global health and health equity,鈥� WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus wrote.

Legacy of service: Nabarro was a physician whose early career focused on nutrition and child health throughout Iraq, South Asia, and East Africa. 

• He also helped coordinate the WHO鈥檚 response to the 2004 Indian earthquake, and took part in efforts to contain AIDS, malaria, bird flu, and the 2014 Ebola outbreak. He led the WHO鈥檚 messaging during COVID-19鈥攁 role that earned him a knighthood. 

鈥淭he Gandalf of the UN鈥�: Colleagues praised Nabarro鈥檚 humility and his way of 鈥渜uietly bringing people to the table who otherwise would not speak to each other.鈥� 

RESOURCES QUICK HITS Cholera rampant among displaced and refugees in Darfur and eastern Chad 鈥� 

Measles Elimination Status: What It Is and How the U.S. Could Lose It 鈥�

WHO urges action on hepatitis, announcing hepatitis D as carcinogenic 鈥�

Preventing Firearm Suicide In Wyoming 鈥�

PAHO/WHO convenes journalists to reshape how road safety is covered in Latin America 鈥�  

845,000 dead on U.S. highways. Why not address the main cause? 鈥�

Michigan led on safe water after Flint, but mobile home parks are stubborn rough spot 鈥�

Looking at a sick person in VR can rev up our bodies鈥� immune systems 鈥� Issue No. 2765
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: Instability in Syria; Ivermectin for Added Protection?; and Nigeria鈥檚 Human Flycatchers July 28, 2025 Medical workers disinfect a hospital bed outside Sweida National Hospital, in southern Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida, on July 20. Shadi Al-Dubaisi/AFP via Getty Instability in Syria 
Deadly sectarian clashes in Syria鈥檚 southern Sweida province have led to mass displacement, hundreds of deaths, and a paralyzed health system鈥攖hreatening the country鈥檚 tenuous postwar stability, . 

Background: The violence was sparked earlier this month by kidnappings between Bedouin tribal fighters and armed factions of the Druze minority group, . 

• 800+ people have been killed, , and so far ~176,000 people have been displaced, . 


• Syrian government forces have intervened and established a ceasefire, but they are accused of siding with the clans and targeting civilians. 

Health system 鈥榰nder immense strain鈥�: The , including the killing of two doctors and obstruction of ambulances. 

• Hospital workers and patients described violence within wards and bodies piling up inside as the city morgue reached capacity. 


• Hospitals are now under 鈥渋mmense strain,鈥� said WHO representative Christina Bethke鈥攆acing severe shortages of personnel, water, electricity, and essential supplies.

Aid access blocked: Poor security conditions are limiting the ability of the UN and partners to deliver medical supplies and other aid to those affected by the violence鈥攍eading to 鈥渟evere humanitarian consequences for civilians,鈥� . 

Related Webinar Tomorrow: Stabilizing Syria: Rehabilitating Syria鈥檚 Public Health System in a Fragile Transition, hosted by the Center for Strategic & International Studies Middle East Program, featuring keynote remarks by Syria鈥檚 Transitional Minister of Health Musaab Nazzal Al-Ali and a panel discussion with Syria experts Bachir Tajaldin, Lolwa Al-Abdulmalek, and Diana Rayes, moderated by Mona Yacoubian.

• Tuesday, July 29, 11 a.m.鈥�12:15 p.m. EDT

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES Today Is World Hepatitis Day The Latest One-Liners   Timor-Leste has been certified malaria-free by the WHO, which praised the country for 鈥渟trong political will, smart interventions, sustained domestic and external investment and dedicated health workers鈥� in its efforts; the designation marks the malaria-free, and the third to be certified in the WHO鈥檚 South-East Asia region.

At least 300 people鈥攎ainly children in Africa and Asia鈥攈ave died since 2022 from cough and paracetamol syrups containing toxic industrial chemicals, that says 鈥渃riminal networks鈥� exploit weak regulations to use the chemicals as cheap substitutes for medicinal glycol.

A dengue outbreak in Samoa has led to a government-ordered closure of all schools in the country for a week, as children are most affected; 900+ cases were reported last week alone, , with 2,254 cases reported since January.

A Salmonella outbreak tied to raw milk from a California dairy farm sickened 171 people, including 120 children and adolescents, between October 2023 and March 2024, published last week. U.S. and Global Health Policy News Lesotho mothers fear passing HIV to their babies as US aid cuts halt testing 鈥�

Rural Oklahoma kids were getting more counselors 鈥� then federal cuts pulled funding 鈥�

Trump targets supervised consumption of drugs and harm reduction in executive order 鈥�

As the ADA turns 35, groups fighting for disability rights could see their federal dollars slashed 鈥�

Congressional panels resist White House proposals for sharp cuts in indirect cost rates 鈥� MALARIA Ivermectin for Added Protection?
A new malaria control strategy involving mass administration of the antiparasitic drug ivermectin is showing promise, per results from a large trial in Kenya . 

Background: Ivermectin makes human blood toxic to mosquitoes鈥攁llowing humans to target mosquitoes via their food source, . 

Trial details: The trial, which targeted school-age children, involved 20,000+ participants across 84 communities who received ivermectin or a control drug during the rainy season. 

• The communities that administered ivermectin saw a 26% reduction in new malaria infections. 


• The intervention showed added protection beyond existing bed net use鈥攎eaning it shows potential as a complementary tool, . 

Mixed reception: While some researchers praised the findings and described the drug as an 鈥渁ddition to the malaria control arsenal,鈥� others questioned the modest impact and 鈥渜uestionable public health benefits,鈥� including ivermectin鈥檚 unsuitability for pregnant women and very young children.

What鈥檚 next: The WHO has said more evidence will be needed before it can endorse the approach. GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES NEGLECTED DISEASES Nigeria鈥檚 Human Flycatchers 
In the battle against onchocerciasis, the parasitic disease that causes river blindness, researchers in Nigeria are relying on 鈥渉uman landing catches鈥� to help them mark progress.

• 40 million people are at risk of onchocerciasis in Nigeria, where there are 120,000 cases of related blindness.

How it works: Volunteers expose their skin to lure and trap the black flies that transmit the disease.

Why? The main strategy to curb transmission is mass drug administration to prevent the parasite鈥檚 spread. But researchers can only know how the effort is working by testing flies. 

A push for alternatives? Using humans as bait has long raised ethical concerns. Researchers are currently testing other trap models to potentially use instead.

QUICK HITS Israel pauses attacks in some of Gaza to allow limited aid, as global criticism grows 鈥�

鈥楥hanged my life鈥�: hepatitis treatment offers hope but not enough receiving care, report finds 鈥�

Native leaders push back on gender-affirming care restrictions for tribal citizens 鈥�

E.U. regulator approves injectable HIV drug that experts say could help stop transmission 鈥�

Coercive Care: Southern Europe鈥檚 Reliance on Elder Restraints 鈥�

Other nations had a pandemic reckoning. Why hasn鈥檛 the US? 鈥�

America is in denial about its flood risks 鈥�

WHO unveils health and environment scorecards for 194 countries 鈥�

The Ghost in the Therapy Room 鈥� Issue No. 2764
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: Hunger Grips Gaza; The Complex Quest for a Long-COVID Drug; and Cracking On July 24, 2025 Yasmine, a 22-year-old Palestinian mother, holds her malnourished 2-month-old daughter Teen as they await treatment at the Nasser hospital, in Khan Yunis. Gaza Strip, July 24. AFP via Getty Hunger Grips Gaza
Gazans are trapped in a deepening crisis of 鈥渕an-made starvation,鈥� the WHO鈥檚 chief said yesterday鈥攋oining that Israel鈥檚 blockade of food and aid supplies has led to 鈥渃haos, starvation, and death,鈥� . 

• 111 people have now died from hunger, including 80 children, even as supplies remain stuck at borders. 


• The WHO estimates ~100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, while doctors have reported seeing record numbers of malnourished children and older people, . 

Doctors and aid workers are also starving, as hospitals and humanitarian organizations report 鈥渨itnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes,鈥� . 

• Medical staff are becoming too weak to treat patients鈥攅ven as hospitals fill with people who are malnourished and injured, . 

Meanwhile, 1,000+ Palestinians have been killed trying to access food since the Israeli- and U.S.- backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation took over aid distribution in May,

And a WHO staff member remains in Israeli detention following an attack on a WHO warehouse and facilities, . 

Related: Gaza has been at risk of famine for months, experts say. Here鈥檚 why they haven鈥檛 declared one. 鈥�   GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Editing mosquitoes' genome can make them highly resistant to spreading malaria by changing just one amino acid, 鈥攁n adjustment that could be engineered to spread through an entire mosquito population.

Diet is the key driver of obesity, not lack of exercise, 鈥攚hich compared the daily total calorie burn for people from 34 different countries and cultures around the world.

Immunity to seasonal flu is protective against severe illness from avian flu in ferrets, finds a study in that looked at how the H1N1 virus that began circulating in 2009 lowered susceptibility to currently circulating H5N1.

A 鈧�10 million stockpile of USAID-funded condoms, pills, and other contraceptives will be incinerated in France; the U.S. rejected NGO offers to buy up the supplies, warehoused in Belgium since the U.S. froze foreign aid programs in January.  U.S. and Global Health Policy News Michael R. Bloomberg: RFK Jr. Is Making America Sick Again. Republicans Need a Cure 鈥�
UK government shutters aid program to fight antimicrobial resistance 鈥�

U.S. Quietly Drafts Plan to End Program That Saved Millions From AIDS 鈥�

Trump's plan to slash global health spending rejected by key spending panel 鈥�

RFK Jr.'s Vaccine-Safety Analyst Has Already Disqualified Himself 鈥�

New EPA proposal aims to strike down landmark climate "endangerment finding" 鈥� COVID-19 The Complex Quest for a Long-COVID Drug
The failure of a once-promising long-COVID drug trial highlights the challenges of trying to treat the complex condition, and is prompting a reevaluation of how study design should work. 

Background: Long-COVID patients and practitioners had been closely watching developments from German start-up Berlin Cures on its novel drug, called BC 007 (rovunaptabin). But phase II trials ended unsuccessfully last November.

Defects in design: While some participants did see improvement in their symptoms following BC 007 infusions, critics say failures in study design meant that such changes could not be adequately measured. 

Participant problem: The trial also demonstrates the challenge of casting 鈥渢oo wide a net鈥� for trial participants: The trial used a blood test to select participants鈥攂ut long COVID includes a wide range of diseases and conditions, which may respond differently to treatments. 



Related:

From Long Flu to Long COVID: A Brief History of Postviral Illness 鈥�

COVID-19 cases are rising in these states amid summer wave, CDC data shows
DATA POINT

82%
鈥斺赌斺赌�
The percentage of the population of Tuvalu seeking a landmark climate visa to live in Australia; the low-lying Pacific nation is one of the 鈥渕ost climate-threatened corners of the planet.鈥� 鈥�
  INFECTIOUS DISEASES A Sweet Success for Tuberculosis Medication 
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) has risen among children globally from 1990 to 2019. 

A key drug to treat MDR TB is moxifloxacin, an extremely bitter medication that young children often refuse to take due to the taste. 

• Annually, there are 32,000 new cases of RR/MDR TB, a strain resistant to two first-line treatments in children under 14鈥攁n age range especially sensitive to taste.

Tasteful solutions: Sweeter, bitter-masked versions of drugs may help with medication adherence. In trials, children reported that sweeter or flavored drugs were easier to take than the original. 

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Cracking On
Between a quarter to half of all people pop their knuckles, which means there is a very large population who just really wants them to stop. 

But the latter group鈥檚 key bit of leverage鈥攚arning persistent knuckle-crackers that they are destined to have arthritis鈥攈as been snapped: 

• Studies have repeatedly found that knuckle-cracking has no bearing on arthritis.

Knuckling down on research: When people crack their knuckles, they temporarily open up the tight space of the knuckle joint, leading to a drop in pressure and the formation of bubbles that then burst, causing the popping sound, explains a rheumatologist who called the arthritis query a 鈥渃ommon question I get asked over the dinner table.鈥�

• Arthritis can be affected by genetics and joint trauma, but not popping. 

Single-handed study: One doctor鈥檚 pursuit to prove his mother wrong on the matter led him to crack the knuckles on just one hand every day for 60+ years. 

• When he finally had both hands assessed, there were no signs of arthritis in either鈥�, and the ultimate 鈥渢oldja so.鈥�

QUICK HITS In Syria, Landmines and Unexploded Ordnance Haunt the Return Home 鈥�

Is Bird Flu Gone for Good? 鈥�

CDC says COVID-related emergency room visits climbing especially among young children 鈥�

Doctors are biased against higher-weight patients. Can nutrition education help them change? 鈥�

Smoking avatars and online games: how big tobacco targets young people in the metaverse 鈥�

Researchers move closer to a universal cancer vaccine 鈥�

In Darfur鈥檚 displacement epicentre, community kitchens shoulder the load 鈥�

Talc Is Suddenly in the Spotlight. Is it Bad for You? 鈥� Issue No. 2763
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW Malaria鈥檚 Rebound; How Do the Amish Avoid Allergies?; and Swinging Toward Mobility July 23, 2025 A malaria warning sign. Mbire, Zimbabwe. May 15, 2021. Cynthia R Matonhodze/Bloomberg via Getty Malaria鈥檚 Rebound
Malaria is surging in southern Africa, as heavy rains drive mosquito activity and as USAID funding cuts disrupt access to critical tools like insecticide-treated bed nets鈥斺�渓eaving communities exposed and placing further strain on already stretched health systems,鈥� .

鈥楤ack with a vengeance鈥� in Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe has reported 111,998 cases and 310 deaths compared to 29,031 cases with 49 deaths in the same period last year.

• USAID cuts this year crippled the Zimbabwe Entomological Support Programme in Malaria and led to a shortfall of 600,000 insecticide-treated nets, . 


• 鈥淲hen the supply of test kits and first-line treatments is disrupted, malaria cases and deaths will spiral,鈥� said Itai Rusike, director of Zimbabwe鈥檚 Community Working Group on Health. 

Botswana, Eswatini, and Namibia are also reporting significant outbreaks, as climate change expands the range of malaria-carrying mosquitoes and impacts people in high-risk livelihoods like mining and agriculture. 

The issue of 鈥榠nterconnectedness鈥�: Cross-border transmission occurs easily in southern Africa, highlighting the need for cooperation in surveillance and other efforts. 

Pushing forward: Despite heavy setbacks, African health officials say they are still investing in elimination efforts鈥攑ointing to significant progress in countries like Cabo Verde and Egypt.

• 鈥淲e have just been disturbed, but our vision is to eliminate malaria by 2030,鈥� said Zimbabwe鈥檚 deputy health minister, Sleiman Kwidini.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   A large chikungunya outbreak is spreading rapidly from three Indian Ocean islands to Africa, and parts of South East Asia are also experiencing outbreaks; prevention efforts center on avoiding mosquito bites, though the WHO said it will review trial data on two chikungunya vaccines not yet recommended for global use.

People鈥檚 brains aged faster than expected during the pandemic鈥攅ven those of people who weren鈥檛 infected, per a of nearly 1,000 people published yesterday; researchers found that the brains of people who had lived through the pandemic had aged 5.5 months faster than those of people in a control group.

How to reduce the frequent E. coli outbreaks linked to romaine lettuce? Stop spraying leaves with untreated surface water and improve cold storage from field to produce delivery, write Cornell University researchers and colleagues in a recent .

Australia鈥檚 winter flu surge has led to a 50% increase in hospital admissions over two weeks, per new data that also show the national rate of influenza vaccine coverage to be below 30%. U.S. and Global Health Policy News Small win for activists, but SA鈥檚 HIV projects won鈥檛 get reopened
&苍产蝉辫;鈥�

Viewpoints: Cuts To NIH And Global Health Research Are Dangerous And May Accelerate The Next Pandemic 鈥�

WHO鈥檚 Tedros: US Rejection of International Rules on Health Threats is Based on 鈥業naccuracies鈥� 鈥�

Kentucky鈥檚 campaign to improve rural cancer care is a national model. Federal cuts threaten its progress 鈥�

Disabled Americans fear what Medicaid cuts could do to them 鈥�

FDA taps biotech industry veteran as RFK Jr.鈥檚 top drug regulator 鈥� IMMUNOLOGY How Do the Amish Avoid Allergies? 

As rates of allergic diseases increase worldwide, one group remains largely immune: the Amish. 

• Just 7% of Amish children had a positive response to one or more common allergens, compared with more than half of the general U.S. population, .


• They also have fewer allergies than other traditional farming families worldwide.

Why? Researchers have found that childhood exposure to microbes such as those found in farm dust and farm animal exposure can contribute to the development of a healthy immune system. 

• But they are still trying to pinpoint 鈥渢ime-honored and very stable鈥� environmental factors unique to the Amish, in hopes of developing more protective therapies and interventions.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES PARKINSON'S Swinging Toward Mobility 
The damage Parkinson鈥檚 disease does to a person鈥檚 sense of balance and stability can often lead them to feel physically and mentally stuck. 

But a physical therapist in Rio de Janeiro has helped dozens of people with Parkinson鈥檚 improve and maintain movement through capoeira鈥攁 blend of martial arts and a dance practiced for centuries by Afro-Brazilians that combines exercise, ritual, and music.

• The initiative, 鈥淧arkinson na ginga鈥� (鈥淧arkinson鈥檚 in the swing鈥�), started in 2018, and helps participants build strength and balance in a fun and social environment.

The Quote: 鈥淐apoeira gives me freedom to work on my body,鈥� said participant Teles de Freitas. 

NEW RESOURCE QUICK HITS A lifeline lies in ruins: Iranian missile destroys a rehab center for disabled kids 鈥�  Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe! 

Russia Accused Of 'Stealing' Ukraine's Future With Forced Deportation Of Children 鈥�

A gut-wrenching problem we can solve 鈥�

Indonesian military鈥檚 new pharma role sparks fears of expanded powers 鈥�

Louisiana Upholds Its HIV Exposure Law as Other States Change or Repeal Theirs 鈥�

Austin Public Health finds measles in the water 鈥�  

Flu vaccine averted up to 42% of US flu cases in 2022-23, despite lower uptake 鈥�

The new strategy to restrict abortion nationwide 鈥� without saying 鈥榖an鈥� 鈥�

The optimistic brain: scans reveal thought patterns shared by positive thinkers 鈥�   Issue No. 2762
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: Asia鈥檚 Floods Highlight Need for Faster Warnings; Tracing New H5N1 Transmission Routes; and Two More Countries Now Trachoma-Free July 22, 2025 A young boy pushes a tuk-tuk through a flooded street in Manila on July 22, after heavy rains caused flooding worsened by a monsoon. Ted Aljibe/AFP via Getty Asia鈥檚 Floods Highlight Need for Faster Warnings
As typhoons lash parts of Asia and cause flooding, evacuations, and hundreds of deaths, a UN agency says that current warning systems are inadequate against today鈥檚 more frequent, more intense storms.

• Typhoon Wipha struck the Philippines on Monday and early today with torrential rains that left parts of the country with knee- to waist-deep flooding, .


• Nearly 50,000 people living near the Marikina River in the Manila region and in the Quezon and Caloocan cities have been evacuated, . At least five people are dead and seven missing.


• Vietnam is bracing for 500mm (~20 inches) of rain as well as flooding and landslides caused by Wipha, now downgraded to a tropical storm.


• More than 120 people in Punjab, Pakistan鈥檚 most populous province, have died in 鈥渆xceptional high鈥� floods since monsoon rains started June 26, .

A better warning system: World Meteorological Organization officials said yesterday that they are seeking to expand the  flood forecasting system worldwide by 2027, . The system, currently used in 70+ countries, draws on satellite data, radar, and weather modeling to provide hours of advance warning.

Related: Texas Lawmakers Largely Ignored Recommendations Aimed at Helping Rural Areas Like Kerr County Prepare for Flooding 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
War-wounded Ukrainian patients treated at Helsinki University Hospital in Finland showed a high rate of multidrug-resistant bacterial infection 鈥攊ndicating that war-related hospitalizations represent a distinct and urgent risk of antimicrobial-resistance, the researchers say. 

Over one-third of contributors to the development of 2023 American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines on evaluating and treating children and adolescents with obesity鈥攚hich leaned toward the use of obesity medications鈥攈ad undisclosed financial ties to obesity drugmakers, . 

A million+ people in France have signed a petition against the so-called 鈥淒uplomb law鈥� adopted on July 8 permitting a return of a pesticide, acetamiprid, known to be toxic to pollinators such as bees and ecosystems. 

Switching to a four-day work week created happier, healthier, more productive workers鈥攔educing burnout and increasing job satisfaction,  of such an intervention that encompassed six countries: Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Ireland.  U.S. and Global Health Policy News ________________________________________________________________ Planned Parenthood wins partial victory in legal fight with Trump administration over funding cuts 鈥�

FDA Panel Takes Aim at SSRI Use During Pregnancy 鈥�

Advocates Fear US Agents Are Using 鈥榃ellness Checks鈥� on Children as a Prelude to Arrests 鈥�

States sue over citizenship curbs on Head Start, clinics 鈥�

GOP megabill鈥檚 final score: $3.4T in red ink and 10 million kicked off health insurance, CBO says 鈥�

The quick return of medical debt to credit reports is another blow to cancer patients 鈥� AVIAN FLU Tracing New Routes of H5N1 Transmission
Scientists are gaining new insights into how H5N1 could spread among dairy cattle, particularly two potential routes: contamination from house flies, and from cows and calves nursing.

Background: When H5N1 first emerged in dairy cattle, researchers believed contaminated equipment and movement of infected cattle were key factors in virus spread. 

• But when outbreaks continued after addressing those issues, scientists expanded their investigation and found new insights:

Flies: Avian influenza detected in house flies leads scientists to believe that the insects can 鈥渕echanically鈥� acquire and move the virus. 

鈥淢颈濒办-蝉苍补迟肠丑颈苍驳鈥�: found that H5N1 may infect mammary glands via mouth-to-teat transmission through nursing, and via cows that 鈥渟teal milk鈥� through mutual nursing. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES NEGLECTED DISEASES Two Countries Validated as Trachoma-Free
Trachoma has officially been eliminated in Burundi and Senegal, making them the eighth and ninth countries in the African region to reach that public health milestone.

• The disease鈥�the first eliminated neglected tropical disease in Burundi鈥攃an lead to scarring, in-turned eyelids, and blindness, and primarily affects regions where clean water and sanitation are scarce, .


• In Senegal, trachoma is the second neglected tropical disease to be eliminated after being declared free of dracunculiasis (Guinea-worm disease) transmission in 2004, .


• 90% of the global trachoma burden is in Africa. 


• 93 million people live in at-risk areas as of April 2024. 

Success in action: Both countries implemented WHO-recommended SAFE strategy elimination interventions for trachoma, which include surgery to treat the late-blinding stage of the disease, antibiotic mass drug administration of azithromycin, public awareness campaigns, and improved water supply and sanitation access.

Related:

WHO plans trachoma elimination intervention in Nigeria, 19 others 鈥�

Breaking the cycle of neglected diseases 鈥� OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Why England can learn from Scotland after first measles death in a decade 鈥�

High prevalence of colistin-resistant Klebsiella found in Africa 鈥�

Battling Lassa Fever: Liberia鈥檚 Strides in Preparedness and Response 鈥�

A creek with atomic waste from WWII is linked to increased cancer risk 鈥�

Air Pollution in Baltimore鈥檚 Curtis Bay Community Linked to Nearby Coal Terminal Activities and Wind 鈥�  

The potential gains of replenishing the Global Fund 鈥�

Birth control access: Scorecard evaluates family planning policies across the U.S. 鈥� Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe! 

The New Sun Worship 鈥�

Engineers transform dental floss into needle-free vaccine 鈥� Issue No. 2761
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: As Measles Spreads, Strategies Shift; The Role of Reward in Quitting Meth; and Coverage When Temperatures Climb July 21, 2025 A Southwestern Public Health sign advises patients who suspect they have measles to call ahead before seeking medical attention. St. Thomas, Ontario, July 9. Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty As Measles Spreads, Strategies Shift 
As countries continue to reckon with the worst measles outbreaks in years, many health practitioners say they are shifting mitigation tactics in real time鈥攎oving from a vaccine-centric approach to improved overall messaging and health care access. 

In Canada: 3,800 cases have been reported, nearly 3X the number of U.S. cases, . 

• Vaccine uptake has dropped significantly since the pandemic, researchers say. Vaccine opposition is a key contributor to that, but so are pandemic-related disruptions. 


• As clinics respond to an outbreak among Ontario鈥檚 Mennonite community, health workers are seeking to address language barriers, build trust, and 鈥渃hange how Low German鈥搒peaking families and the medical system interact with each other,鈥� writes a . 

In England: 500+ cases have been reported this year, with 68% among children under 10, . 

• While vaccine hesitancy has driven lower MMR vaccine uptake, poverty-driven inequality is also contributing to missed appointments, say researchers calling for improved access, . 

In the U.S.: Infections have surpassed 1,300, with Texas alone logging 760+, . 

• Health workers in the state say that going forward, they may pivot from a vaccine-focused approach and emphasize better testing and offering additional treatments to build trust, .

Related: 

Measles Can Erase Your Immune System's Memory, Expert Says 鈥�

Bolivia stepping up efforts to tackle measles 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   49% of Black women in the UK who expressed concerns during labor didn鈥檛 receive adequate support, , which also found that 23% did not receive requested pain support.

~1,200 chikungunya cases have been reported in south China鈥檚 Guangdong province, prompting widespread mosquito control efforts and health alerts in nearby Hong Kong.

A cholera case in Poland is the country鈥檚 first in six years; the country鈥檚 chief sanitary inspector said the disease was confirmed in an elderly woman in Stargard who had not left the country, and that 20 of her contacts were now in quarantine.

Exposure limits to toxic airborne fungi indoors have been proposed for the first time via , which provides species-specific health risk estimates in an effort to address a 鈥渕ajor gap in indoor air safety policy.鈥�  U.S. and Global Health Policy News US rejects amendments to WHO international health regulations 鈥� 

Clawing back foreign aid is tied to 'waste, fraud and abuse.' What's the evidence? 鈥�
U.S. research community says new indirect cost model is still too complicated 鈥�

GOP tax law will increase overdose deaths by 1,000 each year, analysis finds 鈥�

Trump administration pulls back on work combating human trafficking, long a top GOP priority 鈥�

鈥婣CA health insurance will cost the average person 75% more next year, research shows 鈥�
鈥楢 disaster for all of us鈥�: US scientists describe impact of Trump cuts 鈥� DATA POINT

$1.7 trillion
鈥斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺��
Potential annual reduction in global economic output by 2050 if countries fail to contain drug resistance, per an AMR 鈥渇allout forecast鈥� modeling study that showed China and the U.S. would lose the most, at $722 billion and $296 billion, respectively. 鈥� SUBSTANCE USE The Role of Reward in Quitting Meth 
Treating meth addiction remains a critical challenge for many U.S. communities, as no effective medication is available to help manage dependence. 

• With few options, an innovative strategy is gaining traction: contingency management (CM), which rewards patients for abstaining from meth.

How it works: Patients who test negative for meth at a clinic receive vouchers or cash rewards that increase with continued abstinence鈥攖ypically totaling ~$600 over three to six months. 

Outcomes: Research has shown that CM outperforms counseling or therapy for stimulant addiction; about half of patients who complete CM remain drug-free after one year.

Growth鈥攂ut for how long? CM programs have expanded to 600+ sites nationwide, aided by federal support and private insurers. 

• But the Trump administration鈥檚 health overhauls may impact such programs鈥� future. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HEAT Coverage When Temperatures Climb
A heat insurance program in India is offering new financial relief for daily wage workers who lose income or are forced to stop working during extreme heat.

• The coverage is 鈥減arametric,鈥� which means payouts are triggered by a measurable event, like temperature exceeding a set threshold, and no claims are required. 

Background: Such plans are seen as critical as more regions face record heat waves. One in the city of Ahmedabad that now covers ~50,000 members was set up through collaboration of the Indian trade union Employed Women鈥檚 Association and the nonprofit Climate Resilience for All. 

Impact: The payouts not only help people avoid exploitative loans to pay bills; they also give workers a chance to rest or fund alternative business opportunities until they can resume work. 

OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Nearly 100 people killed seeking aid in Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian officials say 鈥�

South Korea flood death toll rises to 18 as southern regions battered by record rain 鈥�

FDA reverses ban on sale of Juul e-cigarettes 鈥�

Most Americans Support Limits on Guns in Bars, Stadiums, and Protests, New Study Finds 鈥�

A Push for More Organ Transplants Is Putting Donors at Risk 鈥�

Fitness classes help elderly Ugandan women fight rising rates of obesity and diabetes 鈥�

Do Indoor Pools Really Need to Close for Lightning? 鈥� Issue No. 2760
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: Accelerating Alzheimer鈥檚 Research; Replacing Aid With 鈥楽in Taxes鈥�; and Molar Express July 17, 2025 A nurse examines a patient living with Alzheimer's and dementia in Kathmandu, Nepal. October 5, 2023. Skanda Gautam/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Accelerating Alzheimer鈥檚 Research: A Gold Mine of Global Collaboration
Key insights in Alzheimer鈥檚 research are being fueled by a 鈥渕assive鈥� new trove of globally shared data鈥攚ith breakthroughs showing the power and potential of multinational collaboration, . 

Background: , launched in 2023, is now the largest neurodegenerative disease data-sharing effort, including 40,000+ clinical samples and 250 million protein measurements that allow for 鈥渦nprecedented鈥� research鈥攑otentially speeding up the development of diagnostics and therapies by decades.

Discoveries include: 

• New insights about APOE4, a gene variant that most strongly increases risk for developing Alzheimer鈥檚, and new proteins associated with the gene. 


• New evidence linking different neurodegenerative diseases with aging in other organs, including the liver, intestines, and muscles. 


• Identification of protein pathways shared across several neurodegenerative diseases.

Call to collaboration: 鈥淪ome of the biggest medical discoveries of the past half-century were made possible through global partnerships,鈥� warning that 鈥渢he rising tides of nationalism and isolationism threaten to stop scientific progress in its tracks.鈥� 

Other breakthroughs: Meanwhile, new research shows that Alzheimer鈥檚-related biomarkers can be detected in the blood of adults as young as 41, 鈥攕uggesting the disease could be identified decades before symptoms appear, . GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   The U.S. Senate approved the claw back of $9 billion in funding for foreign aid and other areas in an early morning vote today; to win necessary votes, Republican leaders agreed to preserve $400 million in funding for PEPFAR. 

Nearly 500 tons of high-energy biscuits鈥攅mergency food intended for 27,000 starving children in Afghanistan and Pakistan鈥攅xpired in a warehouse in Dubai this month and will be incinerated; a U.S. official said it was 鈥渁 casualty of the shutdown of USAID.鈥� 

COVID-19 hospitalization rates were highest among Black and Hispanic children during the pandemic, according to  published in JAMA Network Open; from October 2021 to September 2022, cumulative hospitalization rates per 100,000 population were 113.2 for Black, 113.0 for Hispanic, 77.6 for white, and 64.8 for Asian or Pacific Islander children. 

A Golden Retriever named Bumper and a Black Labrador called Peanut reliably identified Parkinson鈥檚 disease in patients based on their odor, per  in The Journal of Parkinson's Disease.  U.S. and Global Health Policy News Trump officials halt 鈥榙angerous鈥� research, overriding NIH career scientists 鈥�

RFK Jr. shakes up top staff at health department 鈥�

Do Doctors Profit Off Vaccines? Fact-Checking RFK Jr.'s Claims 鈥�

World鈥檚 Premier Cancer Institute Faces Crippling Cuts and Chaos 鈥�

Rio Grande Valley鈥檚 biggest free health clinic event of the year is canceled due to federal cuts 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES Replacing Aid With 鈥楽in Taxes鈥�
The WHO has launched a major push to introduce 鈥榮in taxes鈥� in developing countries, with the aim of easing the burden of noncommunicable disease and filling the gap from slashed global aid spending.

The plan, called 鈥�3 by 35鈥�, aims to raise the price of tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks in developing countries by at least 50% by 2035.

The move comes as NCDs surge in the developing world, driven by rising incomes, booming populations, and skyrocketing rates of smoking, drinking, and the consumption of processed foods.

The concept: Higher prices mean people buy less of what makes them unhealthy. When people do buy alcohol, cigarettes, or junk food, the money goes to vital services related to HIV, nutrition, and maternal and child health that were once funded by foreign aid.

The WHO estimates that the price hike could prevent ~50 million premature deaths over the next 50 years across the developing world.

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Molar Express
Some mornings, the tooth fairy has some explaining to do: A pillow is lifted, and a baby cuspid sits where a coin should be. Some panicked parents and crestfallen kids have gone straight to the source, dashing off queries to an official-sounding tooth fairy email address鈥攏ot necessarily expecting a response. 

But for two decades they鈥檝e gotten one.

Filling in the gaps: A Seattle dentist, Purva Merchant, has been voluntarily moonlighting as the tooth fairy ever since the email address鈥攃reated to organize her dental school applications鈥攔eceived a desperate message entitled 鈥淐alum鈥檚 tooth.鈥� It was a letter from a parent seeking to appease a forlorn child. Merchant wrote back that she was indeed on the case.
 
Crowning achievement: That was the first of ~6,000 missives Merchant has now written from the address, fielding questions that range from the fate of teeth that have slipped down drains (she can find them); about international exchange rates (she can do the math); and explaining what exactly she does with the teeth (building a castle). 

Drilling for the truth: Children鈥檚 emails range from fan mail (鈥淚鈥檓 so sorry I swallowed my tooth. And I love you.鈥�) to directional (鈥淒on鈥檛 bump into the heater.鈥�) Merchant always drafts a diplomatic response before reminding her gaptoothed correspondents to brush, floss, and be 鈥渉appy growing up!鈥� 

QUICK HITS An overlooked demographic has the highest suicide risk 鈥� and it鈥檚 been rising 鈥�

Can US Measles Outbreaks Be Stopped? 鈥�

LGBTQ+ youth lose specialized 988 suicide line support 鈥�

High prices, blackouts and half the money: Inside Puerto Rico鈥檚 stagnant food aid system 鈥�

鈥楲andmark鈥� study: three-person IVF leads to eight healthy children 鈥�

A Venerable AIDS Activist Returns to Battle 鈥�

Review shows ethical considerations in infectious disease guidelines lacking 鈥�

Health trajectory of mothers of children with developmental disabilities shows a 鈥榳ear-and-tear鈥� effect starting around age 65 鈥� Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe! 

Meet the diabetes researcher behind Barbie鈥檚 new pink (insulin) pumps 鈥� Issue No. 2759
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: PEPFAR Preserved?; The Dramatic Impact of Emergency Immunizations; and A Hidden Health Crisis in South Asia July 16, 2025 A cyclist rides past a PEPFAR sign. Abidjan, C么te d鈥橧voire, July 12. Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty PEPFAR Preserved? 
U.S. Senate Republicans and the White House have agreed to drop a proposed $400 million cut to PEPFAR, the U.S. global HIV/AIDS program, in an effort to push forward a $9 billion rescissions bill鈥攚hich still includes $8.3 billion in cuts to USAID, . 

• Several key GOP senators had vocally opposed the cuts to PEPFAR, citing the historically bipartisan program鈥檚 success in saving 25 million+ lives since 2003.


• Other revisions to the bill reportedly include language to 鈥減rotect鈥� programs related to malaria, tuberculosis, maternal health, and food aid, . 

Ongoing disruption: While the program may be spared, it will still be impacted by deep cuts to foreign aid programs鈥攎ost notably USAID, which was PEPFAR鈥檚 main implementing agency. 

Impact of misinformation: White House officials had previously justified PEPFAR cuts by claiming it was supporting abortion services, with budget director Russell Vought falsely saying the program funded abortions in Russia鈥攚here PEPFAR has not operated since 2012, .  

What鈥檚 next: The full Senate is expected to vote on the modified bill by Thursday, and it will need to be reapproved by the House, where it passed by a narrow margin last month.

鈥淎 new era of austerity鈥�: Meanwhile, warns that global health aid, largely driven by U.S. funding, has plunged to a 15-year low鈥攖hreatening disease prevention efforts in vulnerable nations, . 

Related: On the Cusp of Eliminating HIV 鈥�  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   U.K. aid cuts have forced the closure of a major program to address antimicrobial resistance; the Fleming Fund has worked to combat AMR in the developing world for a decade.

Canadian hospitals are reporting an 鈥渆xponential鈥� increase in incidence of the drug-resistant carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) infection, ; the rate is still low, with transmission primarily occurring in hospitals.

Two Nipah virus vaccines are poised to enter human clinical trials in Bangladesh鈥攚ith one showing potential for emergency use authorization; meanwhile, new monoclonal antibody drugs are showing promise for treating and preventing infection.

The abortion access battle between U.S. states could be headed for a U.S. Supreme Court showdown after a New York county clerk rejected an effort by Texas to fine a New York-based doctor accused of shipping abortion pills across state lines. U.S. and Global Health Policy News In Kenya, humanitarian workers ponder life after USAID 鈥�

HHS efficiency review blamed for delaying patient care at Indian Health Service 鈥�

Trump team withholds $140 million budgeted for fentanyl fight 鈥�

These States Now Allow OTC Ivermectin, and More May Follow 鈥�

Medical students could feel burn from Trump's new law 鈥� THE QUOTE
  鈥淭he islands鈥� health security is being undermined, not by disease or poverty, but by bullets.鈥� 鈥斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺�斺赌斺赌� 鈥擳he Telegraph (, about Trinidad & Tobago.)  VACCINES The Dramatic Impact of Emergency Immunizations
Emergency vaccination campaigns conducted amid disease outbreaks have reduced deaths and infections by nearly 60% since 2000, .

• The efforts generated $32 billion in economic benefits from deaths and disabilities prevented.

The study, which was backed by the Gavi vaccine alliance, studied emergency immunization during 210 outbreaks in 49 low-income countries, and is the first of its kind 鈥渢o comprehensively quantify the benefit, in human and economic terms鈥� of such campaigns, said Gavi chief Sania Nishtar.

Major impacts: Yellow fever deaths dropped by 99%, and Ebola deaths by 76% because of emergency vaccination campaigns.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ANEMIA A Hidden Health Crisis in South Asia
Anemia is one the 鈥渜uietest but most pervasive health crises鈥� in South Asia, affecting 259 million women and girls, and 18 million more cases are projected by 2030, warns the UN. 

The toll: Anemia contributes to 40% of global low birth weight cases, and costs South Asia ~$32.5 billion annually, limiting women鈥檚 education and economic potential. It disproportionately affects the region鈥檚 poorest women and girls.

• 鈥淲hen half of all adolescent girls and women in South Asia are anemic, it is not only a health issue鈥攊t is a signal that systems are failing them,鈥� said Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF鈥橲 regional director.

Integrated efforts: Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Maldives, and Bhutan are making strides through targeted, community-based nutrition and maternal care programs.

OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS A Crisis of Contagion and Collapse: Why Cholera Continues To Be a Problem in the DRC 鈥�

A Revolutionary Drug For Extreme Hunger Transforms Life For Those With Prader-Willi 鈥� Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe! 

This fuel is 50% plastic 鈥� and it鈥檚 slipping through a loophole in international waste law 鈥�

With fewer protections and more paperwork, LGBTQ+ Americans face a Medicaid coverage cliff 鈥�

Even grave errors at rehab hospitals go unpenalized and undisclosed 鈥�

Medical charlatans have existed through history. But AI has turbocharged them 鈥�

Amniotic stem cells can be collected from vaginal fluid rather than more invasive techniques 鈥�
  FDA approves new blue food dye derived from gardenia fruit&苍产蝉辫;鈥� Issue No. 2758
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .

96 Global Health NOW: Danish Study Finds Aluminum in Vaccines Safe; Abortion Access in Sicily; and Missed Flood Warnings in Texas and North Carolina July 15, 2025 Eleven-year-old Sarah B眉low Carlsen receives a vaccination against the novel coronavirus in Amagar, Denmark. November 28, 2021. Olafur Steinar Gestsson/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Large Danish Study Finds Aluminum in Vaccines Safe  
A new Danish study of vaccination and medical records from 1.2 million children over a 24-year period effectively quashes theories about the dangers of the use of aluminum salts in vaccines, .

• The salts, which are added to vaccines to create a stronger immune response, do not lead to statistically significant increased risks of developing autism, asthma, or 48 other conditions, .

The takeaway: 鈥淲e should not be concerned about aluminum used as an adjuvant in childhood vaccines,鈥� Anders Hviid, the study鈥檚 senior author and head of epidemiology at Denmark鈥檚 Statens Serum Institut, told STAT. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 the core message.鈥�
 
More vaccine news: Almost 20 million infants missed at least one dose of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP)-containing vaccine last year,  today. 

• In 2024, 89% of infants worldwide (about 115 million infants) got at least one DTP vaccine dose. And 85% received all three doses. Those percentages reflect an increase over 2023 of 171,000 infants receiving at least one DTP dose and one million getting all three doses.


• About 14.3 million children never received a single dose of any vaccine.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   One in ten children screened at UN-run health clinics in Gaza suffers from malnutrition, and malnutrition rates have been increasing since the intensifying of the siege in March, per the UN鈥檚 refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA). 

The WHO released new guidelines recommending use of the twice-yearly injectable lenacapavir as an additional option for HIV prevention, adding that it should be made available 鈥渋mmediately鈥� at pharmacies, clinics, and via online consultations. 

Karolinska Institutet researchers identified 250+ blood proteins altered by malaria, 鈥攁 discovery that the authors say could predict which patients are most at risk and supports earlier, more targeted malaria treatment. 
 
Candy-like nicotine pouches caused a 763% spike in child poisonings between 2020 and 2023 in the U.S.鈥攅ven as ingestion rates for other nicotine products fell,  that underscores the need for stronger regulations, a ban on flavored nicotine products, and secure storage practices.  U.S. and Global Health Policy News _______________________________________________ Countries to budget more for HIV/AIDS measures as U.S. withdraws aid  鈥�

NIH to dismiss dozens of grant reviewers to align with Trump priorities 鈥�

A million veterans gave DNA for medical research. Now the data is in limbo 鈥�

A clinic blames its closing on Trump鈥檚 Medicaid cuts. Patients don鈥檛 buy it. 鈥�   REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RIGHTS Reframing Abortion Access in Sicily
Abortion has been legal in Italy since 1978鈥攂ut 80%+ of gynecologists in Sicily refuse to perform the procedure for moral or religious reasons. 

• As of 2022, abortions were available in only about half of Sicily's hospitals, compared to 70% in central and northern Italy.

A new law seeks to open up more access to Sicilian women: 

• In May, Sicily鈥檚 regional council passed a law requiring all public hospitals to establish dedicated abortion wards and hire staff willing to perform the procedure.

But staffing the wards may be difficult: Some doctors argue Sicily's hospital staff shortages and poor working conditions make it harder for gynecologists to provide abortions on top of other duties.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES DISASTERS Missed Flood Warnings in Texas and North Carolina
In the reckoning after the flash floods in central Texas, reactions from public officials echo those from western North Carolina in the days after Hurricane Helene: There was not enough warning for evacuations.

But both weather scenarios鈥攚hile extreme鈥攚ere forecasted; and accurate weather alerts were issued hours in advance. Some local officials acted, but others did not, leading to preventable tragedies.

Where鈥檚 the breakdown? Both disasters have exposed gaps in emergency communication, especially in rural areas where people may not receive alerts due to poor cell service and where flood warning systems are not in place.

Calls for accountability: While public outcry in Texas has led to a special legislative session on disaster readiness, North Carolina legislators have yet to deliberate on the matter. 



Related: Why older rural Americans can be hit hardest after floods and other disasters 鈥� OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS SA gets R520-million to buy the twice-a-year anti-HIV jab 鈥� but there鈥檚 a snag 鈥�

CDC Says COVID-19 Cases Rise in 25 States 鈥�

Leana S. Wen: Why it matters if the U.S. loses its measles elimination status 鈥�

Study: Climate change helps diversify, increase transmissibility of West Nile virus 鈥�

Smart brain-zapping implants could revolutionize Parkinson鈥檚 treatment 鈥�

WHO regional head placed on leave amid corruption allegations 鈥�

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: Loneliness and isolation: The hidden threat to global health we can no longer ignore 鈥�

AI is about to solve loneliness. That's a problem 鈥� Issue No. 2757
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 and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 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.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .