Day in the Lab: Inspiring Girls Through Science
Last week, D2R accompanied high school girls in Grades 7-9 from Les Scientifines on a visit to the Biomedical Engineering Lab of D2R-funded researcher Caroline Wagner at McGill University. The visit offered students a firsthand look at the exciting world of science.
Global Health NOW: Data Centers Hit the Ballot; and In Florida, Pollution and Gun Violence Intersect
October 29, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEF~6 million people in Haiti are experiencing severe hunger, with almost two million facing emergency levels of food insecurity, finds a new UN report which says the crisis is expected to worsen into next year amid widespread gang violence and displacement. AP via AfricaNews
~75% of former NFL players who died between 2008–2023 most likely had CTE, finds a new study published in JAMA Network Open that expands ongoing efforts from Boston University, Mass General Brigham, and the Concussion & CTE Foundation to establish the prevalence of CTE among deceased former NFL players beyond the high CTE rates identified in donor brain banks. ESPN
Six peptides will soon become widely available by prescription, the HHS has announced, saying it will temporarily allow compounding pharmacies to make peptides known as BPC-157, TB-500, epitalon, MOTS-c, KPV and semax, though scientific evidence on products remains unclear. ABC News
Millions of Los Angeles County residents were exposed to elevated concentrations of lead and other toxic metals found in smoke from the devastating Eaton Fire last year, finds a new study published in Science Advances; researchers estimate ~7 million people were exposed to lead concentrations 80X higher than typical levels when the blaze was at its peak. CBS News
IN FOCUSPeople participate in a protest of the CoreWeave AI data center outside the municipal building
Kenilworth, New Jersey, on October 21. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
Data Centers Hit the BallotAI data centers have become an increasingly prominent 2026 campaign issue, as backlash to their proliferation grows in communities concerned with potential health risks the centers pose, reports KFF Health News.
The opposition has reshaped political races from Arizona to Texas to Ohio, and put incumbents in reliably Republican states on their heels. Many standoffs are occurring in states that President Trump won in 2024.
While the volume of opposition may have recently lessened, per polling from Heatmap, the centers remain vastly unpopular, with 71% of Americans saying they would oppose a data center being built near where they live.
Mounting health concerns range from increased emissions linked to cardiovascular and respiratory disease; to impacts of noise and light pollution; to the dispersion of “forever chemicals.”
And many local governments have been unprepared when it comes to anticipating and regulating potential environmental and health harms, forcing residents “to shoulder the burden of gathering evidence, seeking out experts, and demanding information”— resulting in a newly activated voting base, reports Think Global Health.
Jacksonville, Fla.’s gun violence crisis may have roots in decades of environmental racism, finds a joint investigative report by KFF Health News, The Trace, and Action News Jax.
Jacksonville has some of the highest child firearm injury rates in Florida, with ~375 children hospitalized for gun injuries since 2018.
~150 lived near a former toxic waste site, Brown's Dump, which has been home to elevated levels of lead, arsenic, and other contaminants.
The city also has one of the state’s highest lead poisoning rates—a factor that researchers and doctors say leads to poor mental health outcomes and increased rates of violence.
Lead exposure in the first six years of life has been positively associated with an increased risk of firearm violence in early adulthood, per a 2019 study.
Join the Institute for Global Tobacco Control for a virtual Innovations in Tobacco Control lecture.
As part of the Institute’s monthly lecture series, Nandita Murukutla, PhD, who leads the Behavioral Insights Lab at Vital Strategies, will speak on AI-enabled digital surveillance that can identify online marketing of tobacco and other harmful products.
November 18, 10–11 a.m.
Another fall in America. Pumpkin spice lattes, cozy knits, and … giant inflatable pumpkins on the loose.
Last year, Ohio cops found themselves “pretty much in pursuit” of a defiant PVC gourd which was later detained, deflated, and squashed … into the back of a police car, AP reports.
Not to be outdone, this year a North Carolina inflatable “took itself for a ‘walk’” near a fall fest before being pacified by four adults and “rehomed” to a less blustery location near a corn maze, USA Today reports.
In Dubuque, Iowa, a massive puffy pumpkin barreled through traffic in front of driver Pat McCarron, who’s been on gourd ever since: “What’s going to pop up today? … Frankenstein or something?” she pondered to KCRG.
The takeaway for one Dubuque cop: Secure your décor, because, to put it mildly: “We don’t really need those things bouncing down the roadway.”
QUICK HITSDengue comes back even in vaccinated people — new clues – Nature
Health coverage more strongly associated with income than world region – Eureka Alert
More education linked to lower dementia risk, study finds – The Washington Post (gift link)
HHS updates national Alzheimer's plan with shift toward prevention, earlier detection – Healio
The 3 public health threats that scare Michael Osterholm most—and 4 bonus frights – CIDRAP
Issue No. 3006
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Global Health NOW: A ‘Decisive Moment’ After a Decade of Climate Harms; and A Pandemic-Perfect Petri Dish
October 28, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEF19 pathogens cause ~9.7 million infections and ~50,800 deaths in the U.S. annually, per an updated CDC report on antimicrobial resistance, which found that healthcare-related infections account for 42,000+ of those deaths and ~$12 billion in healthcare costs, and that drug-resistant fungus Candida auris infections have increased 10X since 2019. The Washington Post (gift link)
~18.9 million people developed pertussis in 2023, and 115,000 died from the disease globally—with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 65% of deaths, per a study published in Nature Medicine, which also found cases and deaths rose sharply after the COVID-19 pandemic. CIDRAP
900+ U.S. women were criminally charged for conduct during pregnancy in the three years after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs verdict, per a new Pregnancy Justice report; the majority of charges were for child abuse, neglect, or endangerment, and at least 13 were charged for obtaining, seeking to obtain, or researching how to get an abortion. Stateline
AI bots were used in an attempt to manipulate the U.K.’s policymaking around disposable vapes, with machine-generated responses making up three-quarters of all submissions to a 2023 consultation on a tobacco and vapes ban, finds research published in Tobacco Control; the effort is thought to be the first coordinated attempt to use AI to “swamp” health policymaking consultations in the U.K. The Guardian
IN FOCUSAn ambulance providing medical assistance to tourists is seen in front of the Colosseum during an extremely hot day in Rome, on August 28. Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu via Getty
A ‘Decisive Moment’ After a Decade of Climate HarmsA decade after the Paris Agreement’s enactment, The Lancet Countdown’s 10th report on Climate Change and Health delivers a sobering verdict: “The health harms of climate change are growing faster than the world’s response to them, and in many cases even accelerating,” said the Countdown’s executive director Marina Romanello, per ABC.
In light of this, the report calls for the WHO to declare a global health emergency—and lays out a path toward further action, while also highlighting indicators of progress.
Key findings:
Increasingly deadly heat: ~3 million deaths worldwide from 2016 to 2023 were linked to heat, with developing countries seeing the highest proportion of heat-related deaths.
Fossil fuels’ continued dominance: Such fuels still account for 80%+ of global energy, and energy-related greenhouse gas emissions hit a record high in 2024, reports ABC Australia. Researchers singled out the U.S.’s continued promotion of fossil fuels as a major obstruction.
Hopeful signs: The growth of renewable energy has “vastly exceeded expectations.” Electric-based transportation increased by 427% globally from 2016 to 2023, and improved indoor air quality prevented ~400,000 deaths in 2023 compared to 2016.
Action recommendations: A formal WHO emergency declaration could trigger a more coordinated global response—including sweeping measures to cut emissions, a shared climate health data commons, and increased financial commitments from wealthier countries.
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ZOONOTIC DISEASESA Pandemic-Perfect Petri DishA bird flu outbreak has been raging on a Utah mink farm for more than two months—and officials have prioritized the fur industry over human health despite pandemic risks, ProPublica asserts.
So far, the strain in question hasn’t spread human-to-human—but a single mutation could change that.
With lungs and airways similar to humans’ at the cellular level, mink would be a prime intermediate host for spillover.
Muted response: Utah didn’t order the mink culled, as Spain and Finland did in similar outbreaks. Contrary to CDC guidelines, officials also chose not to monitor or test workers.
The Quote: “We might get lucky, and a response that is not robust may not have dire consequences. But we may get unlucky,” said Meghan Davis, a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health epidemiologist.
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITSShe Trusted ChatGPT With Her Medication Decisions. It Cost Her Everything. – The New York Times (gift link)
Nigeria’s women and girls impacted the most by British and US funding cuts, committee is told – The Telegraph
A ‘canary in the coal mine’: Measles resurgence exposes weaknesses in U.S. public health, experts say – CNBC
Hospital Beds for the Nation’s Sickest Kids Are Disappearing – KFF Health News
Who’s who in Trump’s America First Global Health Strategy – Devex
Strengthening American Global Leadership Through Development and Humanitarianism: An Affirmative Vision for U.S. Foreign Assistance – Aid on the Hill
Are you an organ donor? – Here are some rule changes you may want to know – NPR
How daylight saving time changes affect you and what you can do about it – AP
Issue No. 3005
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Global Health NOW: The Dangerous Side Effects of Sierra Leone’s Soapmaking; and The Mechanisms Behind Microplastics’ Harms
October 27, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEFAt least 25 women and girls are killed every day in conflict settings—and conflict-related civilian war deaths have doubled since 2021, per the UN Secretary-General’s annual report on Women, Peace and Security; the UN has also verified 9,788 cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2025—2X as many as 2024, and nearly 4X as many as 2022. UN News
The U.K. has sanctioned senior Sudanese military commanders implicated in a “campaign of rape” during the siege of El Fasher, where thousands were massacred in October 2025; the British government said it has imposed travel bans and frozen the assets of 15 military leaders from both sides in the conflict—the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces. The Guardian
Kenya reported a second Bundibugyo Ebola death yesterday: the 65-year-old woman, a close relative of the country’s first identified patient, was receiving treatment for the disease and under quarantine when she died; Kenyan officials said that seven patients who tested positive remain in treatment and reported no new cases of the virus. CIDRAP
GLP-1 weight loss and diabetes drugs should be discontinued one to two months before pregnancy, per “long-awaited” guidance from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; the group also recommends that clinicians carefully monitor neonatal weight gain if the drugs are used during breastfeeding. Healio
IN FOCUSFour-year-old Amza Kebbie with his mother Mamie at the Goderich Surgical Centre, outside Freetown, Sierra Leone. Simon Townsley / The Telegraph
The Dangerous Side Effects of Sierra Leone’s SoapmakingA humanitarian effort to improve sanitation and women’s livelihoods in Sierra Leone has fueled an ongoing poisoning crisis among children.
Background: In the aftermath of Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war, which ended in 2002, aid agencies proposed soapmaking as a “win-win” for women to generate income while contributing to community sanitation efforts.
But the initiatives encouraged home use of caustic soda—a highly corrosive chemical, also known as sodium hydroxide, that is easily mistaken for drinking water, and which has now injured thousands of children.
One recent victim, a four-year-old boy, is undergoing treatment in an intensive care unit after he drank caustic soda, which stripped the lining of his esophagus and part of his stomach, causing lifelong injury.
The toll: Freetown’s Goderich Surgical Centre admits ~200 children annually with caustic soda injuries; medical advocates fear many more are harmed in more remote regions.
“Almost every family knows someone who has suffered,” said chief surgeon Giuseppe Meucci.
Microplastics can trigger chemical reactions that could damage cells, suggests new research published in Nature that could help explain links between microplastics and inflammation and disease.
How it works: Microplastics exposed to water generate chemicals known as reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can damage biological molecules like DNA—and contribute to cancer, heart disease, and neurological diseases.
Missing mechanics: Earlier studies found links between microplastics and certain diseases, but the new research identifies a “mechanism for the detrimental effects” in the form of oxidative stress and the production of dangerous free radicals.
While more study is needed to understand these relationships, the research “challenges the prevailing paradigm of plastic inertness,” and may inform the design of safer materials.
The Washington Post (gift link)
Related:
Medical Care Sheds Microplastics Into Patients. What to Do? – Medscape (free registration required)
International Assessment Finds Growing Global Health Toll from Ozone Air Pollution – Milken Institute School of Public Health – The George Washington University
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS‘Our world is yellow’: Fears for children as sickening smog blankets Indonesia – The Telegraph
Claude helped plan risky bird flu research. What did the AI add? – ScienceNews
Not a Culture War: Attacks on Women’s and LGBT Rights Are ‘Central’ to Autocratic Playbook – Health Policy Watch (commentary)
Fact vs. fiction: Doctors share whether peptides are safe and effective – CNBC
From a rotation in Zimbabwe to a continent-wide surgical training platform – Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health
How a scientist who studies dementia protects himself from bad air – The Washington Post (gift link)
A simple liquid can stop cavities without drilling, major study confirms – University of Michigan via ScienceDaily
Issue No. 3004
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Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
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Ebola: 20 contacts released from quarantine in Kenya, amid vaccine ‘hope’ in DR Congo
Lawrence Kazak awarded NSERC’s Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship
McGill researcher at the forefront of metabolic science recognized with $250,000 award for promising early-career scientists
Professor Lawrence Kazak, Canada Research Chair in Adipocyte Biology and Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, has been awarded the 2026 Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship.
Global Health NOW: Ebola’s Cross-Border Threat Mounts; and Venezuela’s Abortion Care Is Underground, and Under Threat
October 26, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEFResults of a melanoma vaccine trial further demonstrate the power of genetically tailored cancer treatments; the trial results of intismeran autogene, the vaccine developed by Moderna and Merck, show a significantly reduced risk of melanoma returning after surgery in phase 3 clinical testing when combined with an existing immunotherapy, per data presented at the 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Madrid. New Atlas
The long-acting injectable HIV treatment Cabenuva suppresses HIV as effectively in the real world as in controlled clinical trials, per new study results presented at the ID Week medical conference in Washington, D.C.; researchers found that Cabenuva, which combines the drugs cabotegravir and rilpivirine, suppressed HIV to undetectable levels in 94% of people. CIDRAP
U.S. measles cases this year are now more than double the total number for all of 2025 per new CDC data, which reports 4,580 measles cases as of Oct. 22; numbers remain especially high in Pennsylvania, where 1,338 cases have been confirmed, 250+ people have been hospitalized, and five people have died. NPR
50,000+ deaths have been linked to Europe’s record-breaking heatwaves this summer, per research published in Nature Health that analyzed heat and mortality in 854 urban areas in 30 countries across Europe; southern and western Europe were hardest hit, with Italy experiencing the highest number of excess deaths at ~13,000. The Telegraph
IN FOCUSPort health officials from Kenya's Ministry of Health wait to screen passengers at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Nairobi, October 7. Simon Maina / AFP via Getty
Ebola’s Cross-Border Threat MountsEbola has now reached a third African region, “the widest footprint of any Ebola outbreak to date,” as health officials rush to trace its spread, reports The New York Times (gift link).
That footprint now: Beyond the DRC epicenter—which has recorded 9,700+ cases and 4,600+ deaths—nine Bundibugyo cases have now been reported in Kenya, along with one in Nigeria. And Uganda, which was declared Ebola-free in August, is facing new questions after an infected patient traveled there.
The biggest threat is a hidden web of infection, epidemiologists say: ~70% of the DRC’s new cases are reported in communities, suggesting widespread undetected transmission and heightening fear of cross-border spread.
Uganda’s unclear connection: The circumstances surrounding the patient who tested positive in Nigeria remain murky. The patient, a Ugandan national married to a Swiss diplomat, reportedly spent two weeks in Uganda before developing symptoms.
Ugandan officials said the woman passed through the country on her way from the DRC. But the patient maintains she did not visit the DRC.
The patient has since been medically evacuated to Switzerland, reports Reuters via U.S. News & World Report.
Attacks imperil response: In eastern DRC, a nurse was killed and another health worker was severely injured while responding to an Ebola alert, reports the AP.
Related:
Uganda tightens Ebola border controls and requires returnees from Congo to pay for quarantine – AP
Converting Ebola skeptics: Christian leaders mobilize communities in Congo – The New York Times (gift link)
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RIGHTSVenezuela’s Abortion Care Is Underground, and Under ThreatDespite the political upheaval in Venezuela, little has changed when it comes to the country’s restrictive reproduction policies, which continue to push women toward clandestine abortions.
Criminalized care: Abortion is punishable by up to two years in prison. Abortions to save the mother’s life are legal, but advocates say that exception is rarely granted—and even miscarriage patients risk imprisonment.
Forced underground: Most abortions in Venezuela are medication-based, with many poorer women risking black-market scams to obtain pills.
Colombia closing? Many Venezuelan women seek abortions in neighboring Colombia. But proposed constitutional changes under an anti-abortion government could limit access.
Related:
Women are protesting in Poland for free access to legal abortions – AP
South Korea: Medication Abortion Rules Too Restrictive – Human Rights Watch
OPPORTUNITYAn Uzbek child looking from the door of her home in Ovakent neighbourhood of Hatay province in southeastern Turkey. February 14, 2015. Burak Milli / Anadolu Agency / Getty
The Untold Global Health Stories Contest Is Back!Do you have an important, underreported global health story to share? This is your chance to tell the world!
Enter the Untold Global Health Stories of 2027 Contest, co-sponsored by the Consortium of Universities for Global Health and GHN, for a chance to elevate an issue that matters to you—whether you’ve worked on it firsthand or have come across it in your travels.
The more specific, the better: We’re looking for stories rich in details and impact, backed by data and evidence. If your idea wins, Global Health NOW will select a journalist to tell your story.
Bonus: The winner receives a free registration for the CUGH annual meeting, in Lima, Peru, February 25–28, 2027.
Deadline: December 4, 2026
Deep Dive: Paying African Nations to Make Deportation Frightening – Inkstick (commentary)
Why Mass Shootings Happen Even in States With Strict Gun Laws – The Trace
Flu arrived early this year. Should clinicians do anything differently? – Medscape
British American Tobacco touted anti-smuggling efforts. Researchers say it cracked down only to help its bottom line. – The Examination
Scientists discover a hidden switch that burns fat and blocks new fat cells – Weizmann Institute of Science via ScienceDaily
The clocks change soon. Here’s how to prep your body. – The Washington Post (gift link)
Issue No. 3003
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New treatment approach shows promise in reducing prostate cancer spread
Adding darolutamide to standard treatment for aggressive prostate cancer reduced the risk of the disease spreading in an international Phase 3 trial.
Ebola: UN officials condemn killing of nurse in DR Congo
L’impossible neutralité de nos histoires
New approach aims to make personalized RNA therapies accessible to more children with rare genetic brain disorders
Montreal, October 22, 2026 – For families of children with rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorders, receiving a diagnosis can provide an explanation for their child’s condition, but often offers few treatment options.
Researchers at McGill University are working to change that.
Blood brothers: WHO chief joins ENHYPEN to celebrate drive success
‘Burden and loss’ builds in DR Congo, as Kenya strengthens Ebola containment
Several schizophrenia symptoms linked to a single brain signal
A single brain signal may help explain a range of seemingly unrelated schizophrenia symptoms, a new study has found.
Schizophrenia is often described as a list of separate problems. People may perceive the world differently, act on their surroundings differently, or speak in ways that are hard to follow.
Global Health NOW: Lifesaving Innovation on Ukraine’s Front Lines; and How Drought Drives Child Marriage in Afghanistan
October 22, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEF~1.5 billion children are exposed to heatwaves that are increasingly severe, and newborns experienced 389% more heatwave days in 2024 compared with the 1986-2005 baseline period, warns the WHO as the agency launches a new framework to help countries closely monitor how extreme heat affects pregnant women, newborns, and children. The Telegraph
France has confirmed the first reported human case of Shamonda virus, which has previously been found only in animals, especially cattle; the infection was detected in a patient who died early this month, with officials calling it “an exceptional case involving a severely immunocompromised patient” that does not at this time pose a larger risk to the general population. Euronews
Epidemics deplete the global healthcare workforce, accounting for an average annual shortfall of ~17,500 health workers, with disproportionate losses in LMICs—“further aggravating the global inequity in the health workforce,” per a new study published in PLOS Medicine, which analyzed data across 194 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. CIDRAP
Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage in the U.S. reached $28,303 this year, 5% higher than in 2025, finds a new report from KFF, which surveyed ~2,000 employers’ benefits as U.S. healthcare costs continue to rise. NPR
IN FOCUSA doctor treats a woman following a Russian airstrike on a residential building in Sloviansk, Ukraine, on October 11. Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images
Lifesaving Innovation on Ukraine’s Front LinesAs war in Ukraine grinds on, health and military leaders continue to rethink how to provide critical services to the country’s vulnerable groups—from adapting HIV care to repurposing drones to reach people trapped on the front lines.
Mobilizing care: After Russia’s 2022 invasion, the Alliance for Public Health ramped up its use of mobile HIV and tuberculosis clinics, driving them to communities on the front lines and expanding the types of services they provide, reports Devex (free registration required).
And after Russia bombed a warehouse containing $2.6 million worth of HIV supplies in July, the organization has developed new strategies for positioning and diversifying critical medical storage.
“We cannot win the war with old means. [It’s] the same in public health,” said Andriy Klepikov, the executive director of the alliance.
From weapons to lifelines: Ukraine is also using battlefield drones to deliver food and medicine to towns trapped by Russia’s blockade, where hunger and collapsing health services threaten remaining civilians, reports The Telegraph.
And this week, Ukraine carried out its first frontline medical evacuation by aerial drone, in an extraordinary effort to rescue a wounded soldier, reports CBS.
As devastating droughts take a dire toll on the livelihood of rural Afghan families, more are selling their young daughters into marriage in a desperate effort to secure food, pay off debts, or access medical care.
“We have to sacrifice a family member to save the others,” said Niaz Mohammad, the father of an 11-year-old girl engaged to a shopkeeper in his 40s.
A desperate trade-off: Girls as young as two have been betrothed and must leave the home when a bride price is fully paid—often around puberty.
At that age they are expected to begin bearing children, exposing them to perilous health risks in a country with some of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates.
Related:
Child marriage in southern Germany: Over 350 cases recorded, some brides as young as 11 – Euronews
Bangladesh: UNICEF chief calls for an end to child marriage – UN News
OPPORTUNITYHelp Shape Global Health Priorities for Women, Children, and AdolescentsWHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, and PMNCH are inviting stakeholders worldwide to share their thoughts on what it will take to safeguard the health and well-being of women, newborns, children, and adolescents post-2030.
Suggestions for priority topics are welcome for background analyses as part of an evidence review to inform the next era of global health.
Learn more about the effort in an accompanying Lancet commentary
Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can begrudgingly do for your country. If you must.
That’s the winning platform of 33-year-old Kelowna, British Columbia, councilman-elect Brady Rogers, who stood out in an era of political opportunism as a candidate who would … rather not.
Confidence-boosting messages on Rogers’ campaign signs include:
“Fine, I’ll do it.”
“How hard could it be?”
and “Just trying to pay my rent.”
But beneath the small business owner’s deadpan expressions and ironic “Dadlife” t-shirt is an inconvenient sense of civic duty about issues like housing and transit: “I don’t like meetings … But unfortunately, I happen to like Kelowna and think I can help do some good,” Rogers admits on his website.
Voters endorsed this reluctance by electing Rogers to help lead the city of 167,000—meaning he now has to figure out what’s going on: “They'll presumably tell me how to be a councillor,” he said.
QUICK HITSControversial US-backed vaccine trial in African newborns halted – Punch
A remarkable new picture is emerging of how the air around us could alter the brain – The Washington Post (gift link)
Big pharma accused of ‘free-riding on nature’ as global fund attracts just $7,000 – The Guardian
Supreme Court rejects Trump bid to restrict some medical treatments for transgender inmates – CBS News
Why MS can be hard to diagnose, after Christina Applegate reveals misdiagnosis – ABC News
Issue No. 3002
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Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
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First human case of Shamonda virus reported in France as patient dies
DR Congo: Ebola responders under pressure as outbreak expands
Global Health NOW: A Case for Cautious Hope in Global Health; and Zimbabwe’s HIV progress is at risk: Congress should demand a plan.
October 21, 2026
NEWS IN BRIEFNigeria has confirmed an Ebola case in Abuja, with the patient testing positive for the virus after traveling in the DRC and through Uganda; she began showing symptoms Oct. 7, and health officials are tracing 44 people identified as contacts of the patient. AP
With global temperatures poised to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, countries “must pull out all the stops” to cut emissions to minimize the overshoot, per the UN’s Emissions Gap Report 2026: The Point of Return, which outlined a “lowest possible” overshoot scenario in which midcentury peak warming is limited to 1.7-1.8°C with increasingly drastic emissions cuts. UN News
Police in Guinea-Bissau raided offices of Danish researchers Monday and seized doses of hepatitis B vaccine intended for a halted vaccine trial for newborns, which had been partially funded with U.S. taxpayer dollars; police said the operation “aimed at clarifying the circumstances related to the said batch of vaccines.” Ars Technica
Nearly half of U.S. parents believe spacing out childhood vaccines is healthier than giving them in one doctor’s visit, per a KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust; meanwhile, confidence in well-established childhood vaccines like polio and MMR remains high and bipartisan. CIDRAP
IN FOCUSThe logo of the WHO and various nations’ flags are seen on a panel in front of the WHO headquarters. January 23, 2025, Geneva, Switzerland. Robert Hradil / Getty
A Case for Cautious Hope in Global HealthGlobal health is at an inflection point. Foreign aid is shrinking, support for multilateralism is fraying, and old power imbalances face fresh scrutiny. Yet a longer view of history offers grounds for optimism about what comes next.
An emerging model: Last year’s World Health Summit focused on an “upended global health architecture” amid sweeping aid cuts. This year, leaders looked ahead to a new vision, reports Devex.
Consensus is growing around greater health sovereignty and stronger regional institutions—but leaders still debated the need and role of global partnerships in enabling that transition.
And there are reasons for optimism, writes Jeremy Shiffman, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, in a commentary published in the The Lancet. Though powerful countries’ self-interest has long shaped global health, two centuries of history show that universalist health norms have gradually spread and endured through seismic change.
Signs of hope include growing cooperation among lower- and middle-income countries, stronger leadership from middle powers such as Brazil and South Africa, greater domestic health investment, and even resistance to nativist populism.
If governments, advocates, and institutions stay committed to defending health as a shared right, “the present retreat could come to be understood as harmful, disruptive, and deeply unfortunate, but not as the demise of global health,” writes Shiffman.
Related:
The State of Global Health Funding: October 2026 – Think Global Health
Reimagining the aspirations of public health for the coming decade – The Lancet Public Health
GHN EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARYJuliet Piti, a patient, sits on a bench waiting to see medical staff at Zimplats Mine clinic, near Ngezi recreational park in Zimbabwe. June 25, 2019. Jekesai Njikizana / AFP via Getty
Zimbabwe’s HIV progress is at risk: Congress should demand a plan.After the U.S. announced an end to health aid to Zimbabwe late last month, the country faces the loss of American support that has helped sustain one of the world’s largest HIV treatment programs—credited with helping to reduce HIV incidence in Zimbabwe by ~80% since 2010.
“Now is exactly the wrong time to walk away,” writes Chris Beyrer, director of the Duke Global Health Institute.
What’s at risk:
Zimbabwe could see ~75,000 additional HIV infections over one year, per one scenario in a recent modeling study.
A full withdrawal without replacement support could lead to ~1,050 additional infant HIV infections in one year.
Another risk: losing track of what is happening; PEPFAR has released no data since 2025.
What U.S. lawmakers should do: Beyrer calls on the U.S. Congress to demand a bridge plan from the State Department, showing how treatment will continue for PEPFAR patients, and including greater transparency to maintain the progress of the past two decades.
Zimbabwe’s government must also put forward a credible plan and financing—even though none of that excuses an abrupt American exit, Beyrer says.
And Zimbabwe is not alone: The U.S. has yet to reach new health agreements with Ghana or South Africa, too, leaving access to HIV treatment and prevention services in those countries uncertain as well.
READ THE FULL COMMENTARY BY CHRIS BEYRER READ THE FULL COMMENTARY BY CHRIS BEYRER GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES QUICK HITSWhen Idaho banned abortions, OB-GYNs fled. The doctors who stayed are cracking – The New York Times (gift link)
‘Chaos in communication’: How shared clinical decision making for vaccines adds confusion – CIDRAP
How knocking on doors can help beat measles — again – STAT (commentary)
Vanessa Kerry is the new WHO envoy for health resilience. What's on her to-do list? – NPR
Trump administration launches national kidney care plan – The Hill
Fried chicken and sugary drinks: Tanzania battles a growing obesity problem – The Telegraph
Body clock disruptions contribute to one in four cases of depression, suggests large study – Nature
New AI tool can predict cancer survival by a single patient selfie, study suggests – The Guardian
Issue No. 3001
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