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96 Global Health NOW: High Costs for Kids of PEPFAR鈥檚 Demise; China鈥檚 Older HIV Population; and South Africa鈥檚 Struggle to Protect Women April 8, 2025 Sister Sally Naidoo administers an HIV test on a young boy at the Right To Care AIDS clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa, on January 27, 2012. Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty High Costs for Kids of PEPFAR鈥檚 Demise  
If PEPFAR programs do not continue, an additional 1 million children will become infected with HIV, 500,000 additional children will die of AIDS, and another 2.8 million children will become orphans because of AIDS by 2030, according to models published today.
 
The authors, from African countries and elsewhere, argue for a five-year transition to country-led sustainability, noting that PEPFAR-supported countries had already increased their share of support from $13.7 billion per year in 2004 to $42.6 billion in 2021.
 
Benefits of the successful transition of PEPFAR programs include better health security for both African countries and the U.S. by:

• Cutting forced migration.


• Boosting control of emerging infectious disease threats.

Currently: AIDS is estimated to kill one child under 15 every 7 minutes.

Bleak future: As part of the reorganization of HHS in the U.S., CDC officials responsible for the care of 500,000+ children and 600,000+ pregnant women with HIV in low-income countries have been fired or reassigned, .

• Their programs sought to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV and to deliver treatment for children living with HIV.


• The officials had been helping direct medications to areas where stocks were running low.

Related: 
 
UCLA professor loses millions in funding for HIV research project 鈥�
 
Is This the End of Progress on H.I.V.? 鈥�
 
The global fight against HIV/AIDS, in chaos 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   U.S. health secretary RFK Jr. called for an end to adding fluoride to public drinking water supplies, saying "It makes no sense to have it in our water supply,鈥� and praising Utah鈥檚 plans for a ban; the EPA has now launched a new review of fluoride's health effects.  
 
Health systems implementing the 鈥淶ero Suicide Model鈥� saw a fall in suicides and attempts, ; the model, developed by Detroit-based Henry Ford Health, emphasizes patient screening, safety planning, and mental health counseling.
 
Children born to mothers with diabetes in pregnancy showed a 28% higher risk of having any neurodevelopmental disorder compared to children born to mothers without the condition, led by Chinese researchers who cautioned that while more research is needed, diligent monitoring of blood sugar levels in pregnancy is merited.
 
A newly developed blood test for Alzheimer鈥檚 disease can help diagnose the condition with up to 83% accuracy鈥攁nd indicate how far it has progressed鈥攜ears before symptoms begin, led by Swedish researchers. U.S. Policy News How will the deep cuts at the Centers for Disease Control affect global programs? 鈥�

Long COVID activists fought Trump team鈥檚 research cuts and won 鈥� for now 鈥�

Trump Said Cuts Wouldn鈥檛 Affect Public Safety. Then He Fired Hundreds of Workers Who Help Fight Wildfires. 鈥�

Transfer to Alaska? Offer to health leaders called 'insult' to Indian Health Service 鈥� EDUCATION Johns Hopkins Tops Rankings of U.S. Public Health Schools 

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health again ranks #1 among public health schools and programs in the U.S., based on peer-assessment ratings released this morning by U.S. News & World Report.  
 
This year鈥檚 top 10 schools: 
 
1. Johns Hopkins University 
2. Emory University 
2. Harvard University  
2. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor 
2. University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill 
6. Columbia University 
7. Boston University 
8. University of California - Berkeley 
8. University of California - Los Angeles 
10. Tulane University 
 
This year鈥檚 rankings include 219 schools and programs of public health accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. 
  
鈥�

VIOLENCE South Africa鈥檚 Struggle to Protect Women
Over three decades, South Africa has seen significant progress in curbing femicide and violence against women.

• Between 1999 and 2017, the intimate partner femicide rate fell from 9.5 per 100,000 women in 1999 to 4.9, with researchers pointing to women鈥檚 economic empowerment and a groundswell of vocal anti-violence advocacy contributing to the shift. 

But rates remain the highest reported in the world, and a recent uptick of violence has been described as a 鈥渘ational crisis鈥� by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

• Femicide has increased 30%+ since 2021. 


• Last year, 36% of South African women reported experiencing physical or sexual violence at some time.

Reasons include pervasive misogynist beliefs among men, a failure to enforce gun policy, and a lack of judicial accountability, advocates say. 

RESOURCES How to Introduce Kids to Health Policy
collection of Athena鈥檚 Adventures in Health Policy鈥攁ll 15 books鈥攊s now available online for free.
 
The series aims to inspire the next generation of public health professionals and show them the importance and impact of health policies. These engaging books bring health policy to life, making complex topics accessible and thought-provoking for young readers.
 
now鈥攆or free! 
 
Prefer a printed copy? The books are also available to purchase on Amazon. $1 from the sale of each book is donated to Global Health NOW. HIV/AIDS China鈥檚 Older HIV Population
In China, a growing number of studies are signaling an impending health crisis: Older people are quickly becoming a high-risk group for HIV infection.

• Some studies have predicted that by 2035, nearly 33% of HIV-positive people in China will be aged 60+. 

Risk factors: 

• Because HIV prevention and testing campaigns are focused on young people, older patients usually don鈥檛 find out they鈥檙e HIV positive until the disease is 鈥渧ery advanced,鈥� said Chinese AIDS expert Wan Yanhai. 


• A growing number of older men across China are engaging in commercial sex, research shows. 


• Little is being done to address seniors鈥� sexual health, with surveys revealing a pervasive cultural assumption that seniors have little if any sex鈥攁 belief that does not bear out in research. 

OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Ukraine: Mine contamination is lethal legacy of Russia鈥檚 invasion 鈥�

Scientists identify Nigeria hotspots where malaria, STH overlap, indicating high co-morbidity 鈥�

Court tosses Biden nursing home staffing standard 鈥�

In Final Days of Pandemic Talks, Countries Urged to Budget for 鈥楤oth Bombs and Bugs鈥� 鈥�

From the hospital to the lab: How we reported the snakebite scandal 鈥�

Transparency in government is good for global health 鈥�  

Public Health in the Age of AI and Climate Change 鈥�

AI for research: the ultimate guide to choosing the right tool 鈥� Issue No. 2704
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 .

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  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.


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96 Global Health NOW: A Crossroads for Maternal Mortality; March Recap; and Insurance Executives Pull Back the Curtain April 7, 2025 A health worker performs an ultrasound on a pregnant woman at a health center in the Ramechhap district, east of Kathmandu, Nepal, on June 8, 2018. Bikram Rai/AFP via Getty A Crossroads for Maternal Mortality
More women face risk of death in pregnancy and childbirth, as drastic U.S. aid cuts threaten hard-won gains in maternal survival, and could have 鈥減andemic-like effects鈥� on maternal services worldwide, the WHO is warning, .

鈥淔ragile鈥� progress: Deaths due to complications in pregnancy and childbirth declined 40% globally between 2000 and 2023, but gains have slowed since 2016, . And rates are off track to meet 2030 maternal survival targets. 

• ~260,000 women died in 2023 from pregnancy-related causes, 鈥攁 reality that one WHO official described as a 鈥渞eal travesty of justice.鈥� 


• Most vulnerable: Pregnant women in conflict zones, who already face a 5X greater risk of death than elsewhere. 


• Poor countries reported a maternal mortality rate nearly 35X the rate in rich countries.

鈥淚ncreasing headwinds鈥�: U.S. funding cuts have quickly led to shuttered clinics, reductions in health workers, and disrupted supplies of critical medications for conditions like preeclampsia and hemorrhage.

Pandemic preview: Maternal deaths rose by 40,000 in 2021 due to pandemic-related disruptions, new data in the report show. 

• This year鈥檚 funding cuts could cause a similar 鈥渁cute shock to the system鈥濃�攅specially as countries didn鈥檛 have time to prepare for the cuts. 

Related: 

World Health Day: Focusing on women鈥檚 physical and mental health around the world 鈥�

Trump administration eviscerates maternal and child health programs 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES More Measles News RFK: MMR vaccine is the "most effective way" to prevent measles spread 鈥�

RFK Jr. visits epicenter of Texas measles outbreak after death of second child who was infected 鈥�

U.S. may be reverting to a time when measles deaths were not very rare, experts warn 鈥�

As measles spreads, some doctors are seeing the virus for the first time 鈥� The Latest One-Liners   The NIH may not cap funding for indirect costs associated with its grants at 15%, a U.S. federal judge ruled Friday, making permanent a temporary order issued in February; the Trump administration had asked for this verdict so it could move forward with an appeal.

350,000+ U.S. health workers face a risk of deportation in the country鈥檚 immigration crackdown, published in JAMA, which found that ensuing worker shortages could affect hospitals and other clinical settings.

Mobile health care units providing ART and PrEP medications reduced the risk for death by ~70% among people who inject drugs, presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.

Unsanitary practices continue at Abbott Laboratories, one of the largest baby formula factories in the U.S., workers report; the factory鈥檚 2022 shutdown led to severe formula shortages, and now oversight is in question due to mass FDA layoffs. MARCH MUST-READS Moving Beyond Stigma in Mexico
For years, Mexico has taken a 鈥減rohibitionist, hardline approach鈥� to drug use, reinforcing a stigma that ties drug use to other criminal activities. But recently, health advocates have been taking a different tack鈥攖oward harm reduction. 

• One example: Checa tu Sustanciae (Check Your Substance) provides a way for people at events like music festivals to test drugs for fentanyl and other adulterants, and also equips those people with naloxone and practical information. 

Interrupted Agent Orange Cleanup
USAID cuts abruptly halted efforts to clean up an enormous chemical spill at Vietnam鈥檚 Bien Hoa air base鈥攍eaving pits with dioxin-contaminated soil exposed at the cusp of the country鈥檚 rainy season and putting hundreds of thousands of people at risk of poisoning. 

• A $430 million+ U.S. government remediation effort had begun in 2019 to clean up widespread dioxin contamination that dates back to the Vietnam War鈥攚hen the U.S. brought the toxin to the country.

   
The Bureaucrat Bridging Gaps
Consider this maddening prospect: A 5-year-old girl in Texas is diagnosed with a rare, brain-eating amoeba, but her doctors haven鈥檛 heard about an effective antibiotic remedy discovered by California researchers鈥攁 tragic disconnect that all too frequently leads to preventable suffering and death. 

• Michael Lewis examines the mission of an FDA worker 鈥渂uried under six layers on an agency organizational chart鈥� who is seeking to solve the problem by creating a database for rare diseases and treatments, called CURE ID. A big question: Will anyone use it? 

MARCH EXCLUSIVES Adolescents in a classroom raising their hands, photographed from behind. Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Creative What Do American Kids Learn About Sex? It Depends Who You Ask.  
Over 90% of U.S. parents and guardians support their children receiving comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in school鈥攂ut there is no national requirement, and only 38% of all high schools and 14% of middle schools in the U.S. cover all of the CDC始s priority sexual health topics, including condom use and STD prevention.
 
Compare that to the Netherlands, where sex ed is mandated in primary through lower secondary schools. And, at 2.1 births per 1,000 women ages 15鈥�19, the Netherlands始 teen birth rate is the lowest in the EU鈥攁nd far lower than the U.S. teen birth rate of 13.2 births per 1,000.
 
鈥淐hilling effect鈥�: While there haven't been direct attacks on U.S. sex education, policy recommendations targeting DEI, gender identity, and restroom access for trans people raise concerns about the funding future for CSE providers鈥攂ut advocates remain determined to broaden access to CSE.
 

March Commentaries:

• 鈥� Jirair Ratevosian


• 鈥� Siddhesh Zadey and Dhananjaya Sharma

Revisiting Extraordinary Journeys
If you weren始t able to join GHN in March for Extraordinary Journeys: Stories of Refugees Fleeing Conflict and Shaping Global Health, of each story from this special event, co-hosted by GHN and the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, spotlighting the remarkable experiences of public health practitioners from Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), South Sudan, Sudan, and Syria with lived experience as refugees. MARCH'S BEST NEWS Lifesaving Ultrasounds 
New ultrasound technology is reshaping prenatal care in sub-Saharan Africa, allowing improved access to the critical scan at hundreds of health facilities.

• Portable point-of-care ultrasound devices are designed specifically for providers in low-resource areas who may not have access to radiology equipment.

Instant impact: In 2022, 500 such devices were deployed to providers across Kenya鈥攁nd a Kenyatta University follow-up study found that within one month of training, 90% of health care workers used the machines to identify high-risk conditions such as placenta previa or multiple gestations. 

  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HEALTH POLICY Insurance Executives Pull Back the Curtain  
Amid sharper public criticism of the U.S. health insurance system, former industry executives turned whistleblowers are speaking out about unethical practices they say are baked into the for-profit system. 

Some of the industry tenets they described: 

Patients are the lowest priority, as their needs are 鈥渇undamentally at odds鈥� with Wall Street demands and financial incentives. 

鈥淓xecute a few hostages鈥� mentality: One executive described decisions to arbitrarily terminate doctors out of network without cause 鈥渢o show them who鈥檚 boss.鈥� 

Champagne during COVID-19: Another executive described how his company had champagne delivered to leaders鈥� homes during the lockdown to celebrate financial gains accrued while people were forced to forgo elective care. 

OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Mexico confirms country's first human case of bird flu in a 3-year-old girl 鈥�

'I could live 30 years but plan to die': How assisted dying law is dividing Canadians 鈥�

Major endometriosis study reveals impact of gluten, coffee, dairy and alcohol 鈥�

In banning 鈥楪lock switches,鈥� red and blue states find common ground on gun law 鈥�

Understanding the resurgence of mpox: key drivers and lessons from recent outbreaks in Africa 鈥�

Tariffs hit science labs: Trump levies raise cost of supplies 鈥�

Behind the Plate: Keeping Our Food Safe 鈥�

An antiviral chewing gum to reduce influenza and herpes simplex virus transmission 鈥� Issue No. 2703
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 .

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  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.


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96 Global Health NOW: Taking Cuts to Court; Beijing+30: A New Generation Needed to Advance Women鈥檚 Rights; and Minding the Lexical Gap April 3, 2025 Demonstrators protest funding cuts outside of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, on March 8. Michael Mathes/AFP via Getty Taking Cuts to Court 
The Trump administration is facing a new wave of litigation from scientists, unions, and health advocacy groups, alleging that the administration鈥檚 cuts to research are illegal鈥攁nd that the 鈥渋deological purge鈥� behind them poses an existential threat to American scientific enterprise, . 

Details: The argues that NIH grant cuts were not guided by federal funding rules, which include a science-based review process designed to insulate the grant process from politicization. Such cuts have been 鈥渆xtremely rare鈥� in previous administrations. 

• 鈥淭o have it undermined in this way is really to give ourselves a black eye as a country,鈥� said plaintiff Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, .


• The suit also argues that ending projects midstream could put patients undergoing NIH-funded treatment at risk, and waste taxpayer money. 

Meanwhile, the reckoning over widespread cuts to federal health offices is ongoing:

• The Trump administration is demanding the CDC鈥攚hich has laid off one-fifth of its workforce鈥攖o now cut $2.9 billion of contract spending, 鈥攁 move one CDC scientist described as 鈥渃utting off our arms and legs.鈥�

Related: 

Trump鈥檚 cruel calculus on public health is slashing lifelines for the most vulnerable 鈥�

C.D.C. Cuts Threaten to Set Back the Nation鈥檚 Health, Critics Say 鈥�

The USAID List of Terminated Global Health Awards 鈥� What Does it Tell Us? 鈥�

Doctor Behind Award-Winning Parkinson鈥檚 Research Among Scientists Purged From NIH 鈥�

Slashing the public health workforce hurts the U.S. economy 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   More than half of the world鈥檚 pediatric cancer deaths occur in war-torn countries, which St. Jude Children鈥檚 Research Hospital and Duke researchers tied to disruptions in diagnosis and treatment that analyzed three decades of data.

A two-year-old girl in Andhra Pradesh, India, died after contracting H5N1, marking India鈥檚 first death from the virus since 2021; the child, whose family members all tested negative for the virus, may have been infected by consuming raw chicken.

The latest COVID variant on the rise is LP.8.1, an offshoot of Omicron that features genetic changes allowing it to spread more easily; it is swiftly becoming dominant in the U.K.

The shingles vaccine is linked to reduced dementia risk, that analyzed health records of 280,000+ older adults in Wales; those who received the shingles vaccine were 20% less likely to develop dementia over the next seven years than those who did not receive the vaccine. GHN EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY A Marie Stopes International mobile clinical outreach team on a site visit to Laniar health center in Senegal. August 14, 2014. Jonathan Torgovnik for The Hewlett Foundation/Reportage by Getty Beijing+30: A New Generation Needed to Advance Women鈥檚 Rights
Despite notable advances in women鈥檚 rights in the last 30 years since the adoption of the , gender-based violence, maternal mortality, and other issues still need to be addressed, , a lawyer and global health scholar from Tanzania.
 
Successes include:

• .


• 162 countries have criminalized gender-based violence (GBV).


• A significant increase in .

But:

• lose their lives every day to preventable maternal causes.


• GBV continues to be a critical concern, with having experienced physical or sexual violence, often by an intimate partner. 

Chikoti calls for a 鈥渃ommitment to mentoring and empowering young women to [foster] a new generation of leaders who will continue to challenge systemic barriers and drive transformative change for all women.鈥� REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH India鈥檚 Push to End Cervical Cancer
Tens of thousands of doctors across India are being trained to promote the HPV vaccine, in an effort to eliminate cervical cancer in the country.

• One in five occur in India鈥� caused by HPV.

Health care providers will encourage mothers attending medical appointments to vaccinate their children, and will visit schools and community centers to counter vaccine disinformation.

• HPV vaccination has been since 2008, but uptake has been low: Until recently, imported vaccines were expensive and during an HPV vaccine trial left citizens distrustful.


• India recently its own HPV vaccine, with to make it part of the national vaccination program by early 2026.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES OPPORTUNITY Atlantic Fellows: One Week Left to Apply!
George Washington University鈥檚 Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity program is a one-year, non-residential program that allows early- to mid-career professionals to develop their leadership skills and build their capacity through support for a health equity project to be completed at a fellow鈥檚 professional organization.

Fellows benefit from in-person and virtual training opportunities, coaching and mentoring from health equity experts, and integration into a lifelong senior fellowship network.

• Deadline: April 10, 2025
•   

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Minding the Lexical Gap  
It can easily take a dozen English words鈥攁nd frantic gesturing of clenched hands and gritted teeth鈥攖o describe the sensation of 鈥渃ute aggression鈥� toward, say, an adorable kitten.
 
Tagalog has it boiled down to one word: gigil (ghee-gill). It始s among dozens of non-English words now inducted into the Oxford English Dictionary, helping to fill a 鈥渓exical gap鈥� with untranslatable words found in one language but not others, .
 
Lost for words no more! Thanks to the new additions, one needn始t clutch at verbal straws trying to evoke the joy of drinking a beer outside (utepils, thanks Norway!), or seeing sunlight dappling through leaves (komorebi, h/t Japan).
 
In-kind donation: As a gesture of thanks, might we offer up some in exchange? Surely acersecomicke鈥斺�渙ne whose hair was never cut鈥濃�攄eserves broader use. Or what about flingee, a handy term to describe 鈥渙ne at whom anything is flung鈥濃�攂e it a snowball, or a barrage of new words. QUICK HITS They were forced to scam others worldwide. Now thousands are detained on the Myanmar border 鈥�  

Africa's Quiet Response to U.S. Realignment of Foreign Aid 鈥�

Farm workers avoiding bird flu testing because of deportation threat, officials fear 鈥�

World is 鈥榝ailing鈥� people with disabilities: UN deputy chief 鈥�

Two infants die of whooping cough in Louisiana as cases climb nationally 鈥�

Supreme Court rules in favor of FDA in dispute over flavored vapes 鈥�

Do smartphones and social media really harm teens鈥� mental health? 鈥�

Why we study shrimp on treadmills: The case for curiosity-driven research 鈥� Issue No. 2702
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 .

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  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.


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96 Global Health NOW: Deep, 鈥楧egrading鈥� Cuts to U.S. Health Offices; Sierra Leone Weighs Abortion Bill; and Zambia鈥檚 鈥楳ost Contaminated Site鈥� April 2, 2025 Employees of the Department of Health and Human Services stand in line to enter the Mary E. Switzer Memorial Building yesterday in Washington, D.C. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Deep, 鈥楧egrading鈥� Cuts to U.S. Health Offices 
Mass layoffs are underway in America鈥檚 federal health offices, with thousands of positions cut yesterday in a chaotic process described by one FDA employee as a 鈥渂loodbath,鈥� . 

Included in the layoffs were thousands of scientists, doctors, senior leaders, and support staff鈥攊ncluding entire teams that track disease outbreaks, conduct medical research, work to reduce injuries, monitor food and medicine safety, and administer health insurance programs for nearly half of the U.S. population, . 

Scope of the cuts,

• The CDC will eliminate ~ 2,400 workers, slashing divisions focused on workplace safety, violence and injury prevention, drug use, and asthma. 


• The FDA is set to lose ~3,500 staffers, including those who set policy for tobacco products and who review new drugs.


• The NIH will cut ~1,200 additional employees, including scientists, computer specialists, and nearly the entire communications staff.


• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will lay off ~300 staffers.

鈥淗umiliating and degrading鈥� day: The layoffs were haphazardly administered, with many workers finding out they had been fired when their key cards did not work, . The elimination of support staff in some cases meant offices could not operate. 

• 鈥淭his is a sad and inhumane way to treat people,鈥� said former FDA commissioner Robert Califf, who described the agency as 鈥渇inished.鈥�

Impact: The cuts will 鈥渓eave our country less safe, less prepared and without the necessary talent and resources to respond to health threats,鈥� said Mandy Cohen, former CDC director. 

Related:

RFK Jr. purges CDC and FDA's public records teams, despite "transparency" promises 鈥�  

States sue Trump administration for rescinding billions in health funding 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Middle East and North Africa HIV cases more than doubled over the last decade amid ongoing conflicts, displacement, and high levels of stigma for vulnerable populations, ; infections in Jordan, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, and Lebanon soared by 116% since 2010 and are expected to keep rising.

Mpox presents a growing epidemic and pandemic risk, as human interaction with the virus reshapes its 鈥渆ntire endemic range鈥� and as knowledge gaps on its biologic makeup hamper virus control.

A dearth of antifungal treatments is making invasive fungal diseases a greater threat, especially as they become more drug-resistant, released yesterday that described 鈥渁n urgent need for innovative research and development.鈥�

Family planning grants have been paused in the U.S., with the federal government withholding $27.5 million from organizations that provide contraception, cancer screenings, and STI services as officials investigate whether they鈥檙e complying with laws and executive orders. REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH Sierra Leone Weighs Abortion Bill
Sierra Leone could soon decriminalize abortion in some cases pending a parliamentary vote in the coming weeks. If passed, it would make Sierra Leone the second West African country (after Benin) to legalize the procedure.
 
Sierra Leone鈥檚 numbers:

• An estimated 90,000 abortions are performed each year.


• Tens of thousands of women and girls attempt to self-terminate pregnancies each year.


• Over 20% of girls ages 15鈥�19 become pregnant.


• Unsafe abortions account for ~10% of the country鈥檚 maternal deaths; health workers say that鈥檚 likely a vast undercount.

A long battle: Following opposition from religious groups and some government officials, the initial bill has been amended to allow abortion only in cases of rape, incest, life-threatening risk, and fatal fetal abnormalities. 
 
GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH The Future of Zambia鈥檚 鈥楳ost Contaminated Site鈥� 
For decades, residents of Kabwe, Zambia, have grown severely sick鈥攅specially children. Many have died far too young. 

Hundreds of blood samples from residents over the decades have clearly identified the problem: severe lead poisoning. 

Behind the pollution: From 1906 to 1994, Kabwe was home to one of the world's largest lead and zinc mines. Lead particles infiltrated soil and waterways, and the pervasive dust continues to affect residents. 

• A identified the site as a 鈥渟acrifice zone鈥濃�攐ne of the most polluted places on the planet. 

Zambia received a World Bank loan to support cleanup efforts鈥攂ut human rights groups say little has been done and that efforts have not addressed the former mine itself. 

DEMENTIA Lack of Deep Sleep Increases Alzheimer鈥檚 Risk
One in three American adults don鈥檛 get enough sleep鈥攁nd according to a , a lack of REM sleep may speed the decline in parts of the brain associated with Alzheimer鈥檚.

• Adults need an average of 7鈥�8 hours of sleep. 


• 20%鈥�25% should be spent in deep sleep and the same amount in REM sleep.

The two deep stages of sleep, slow-wave and REM, are vital to brain function, as toxins and dead cells are cleared and memories and other information are processed and consolidated. Without adequate slow-wave and REM sleep, the inferior parietal region of the brain shrunk, according to the study.



Related: 

Latest Alzheimer's lab tests focus on memory loss, not brain plaques 鈥�

Lowering bad cholesterol may cut risk of dementia by 26%, study suggests 鈥�

WHO calls for urgent action on dementia among refugees and migrants 鈥�

European committee says Lilly Alzheimer鈥檚 drug shouldn鈥檛 get marketing approval 鈥� OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Guterres calls for greater equality and inclusion as world marks Autism Awareness Day 鈥�

Communities in crisis: The collapse of HIV lifelines in Eastern Europe and Central Asia 鈥�

A Prison Death Highlights an L.G.B.T.Q. Crackdown in Russia 鈥�

How Houston's mayor kept Texas prisons hot as 'living hell,' 鈥�

Analysis: Tariffs on Canadian drugs will strain US supply chain 鈥�

Long COVID Showed Me the Bottom of American Health Care 鈥�

The Role of Clinicians in the Climate Crisis 鈥�

How Dating Apps Could Unlock At-Home HIV Testing 鈥�

The Sound of Science 鈥� Issue No. 2701
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 .

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96 Global Health NOW: Fast-Spreading Measles and Misinformation; Inside the Plans to Dismantle USAID; and Finding Hope for Fistula Survivors in Nigeria April 1, 2025 Priscilla Luna and her 3-year-old daughter Avery read a book about immunizations at a Lubbock Public Health Department vaccine clinic. March 1, Lubbock, Texas. Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Fast-Spreading Measles and Misinformation
Measles continues to spread across under-vaccinated West Texas and is causing outbreaks in four other U.S. states鈥攕preading as quickly as misinformation.

• The Texas outbreak has topped 400 cases and may continue for months. It has also been linked to new cases in Mexico, .


• The U.S. has had more cases in the first three months of the year than all of last year.

Misinformation:

• HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has recommended vitamin A as treatment, . But experts warn that high doses of vitamin A can be dangerous.


• A hospital in Lubbock, Texas, reported last week it was treating 10 children 鈥渟uffering from complications caused by measles and exacerbated by abnormal liver function caused by elevated levels of Vitamin A,鈥� .

The takeaway: Public health practitioners are having difficulty explaining the benefits of vaccination to some parents, .

• Public health officials 鈥渉ave to get people to understand the 鈥� value of getting vaccinated, but battling information warfare is not what we鈥檙e taught in public health school,鈥� said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of Brown University鈥檚 Pandemic Center.

Don鈥檛 Mess with Measles: Measles can be lethal, can cause brain damage, and harm the lungs and immune system, .
            
Related:

Colorado measles case reported in Pueblo adult who traveled internationally 鈥�
 
Texas Never Wanted RFK Jr.鈥檚 Unproven Measles Treatment 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   A cholera outbreak in Angola has spread to 16 of the country鈥檚 21 provinces so far this year, rising to 329 deaths and 8,500+ cases as of March 25, , with children and young adults particularly hard hit.
 
A deadly antibiotic-resistant superbug bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii, for which there is little research, is spreading in a Malaysian hospital, that found high resistance to multiple antibiotics, especially carbapenems鈥攖he drugs of choice for the treatment of A. baumannii infections.

A U.S. federal judge ruled that Alabama can鈥檛 prosecute people who help to facilitate out-of-state abortions where the procedure is legal, saying it would violate the constitution and the right to travel.

Deforestation is a leading indicator of Ebola virus spillover from animals to humans in a new CDC-led study; the model could help identify patterns that could guide prevention efforts. U.S. Health Policy News: The head of Africa CDC thought news of a U.S. aid freeze must be 'a joke.' Now what? 鈥�

鈥楾he lives of individuals in the US are at stake,鈥� researchers warn after HHS cancels hundreds of vaccine grants 鈥�

FDA鈥檚 top tobacco official is removed from post in latest blow to health agency鈥檚 leadership 鈥�

Trump wants to 鈥榙efund鈥� Planned Parenthood. The Supreme Court will hear a case aimed at that. 鈥�

Public health under Trump 2.0: the first 50 days 鈥�

How the MAHA Commission Can Improve U.S. Life Expectancy 鈥� FOREIGN AID Inside the Plans to Dismantle USAID
The Trump administration鈥檚 plans to break down USAID and shift its surviving operations to the State Department have been outlined in a congressional notification.

The basics: The agency will be abolished 鈥渁s an independent establishment鈥� for fiscal year 2026, and all staff will be laid off. 

Reordering: Remaining parts of the agency, including food security and global health programs, will be run by the State Department. 

• Programs will be housed within State Department regional bureaus鈥攁 move that could make aid programs 鈥渕ore fragmented,鈥� warn international development experts. 


• As the State Department hires staff for its programs, some USAID staff could be rehired, though it is unclear how the agency will respond to crises like the Burma earthquakes while the transition is ongoing. 

Is this legal? Congressional approval is required before the agency is shut down. It is unclear whether the Trump administration will wait for congressional authorization before moving forward.



Related:

The USAID awards the Trump administration killed 鈥� and kept 鈥�

A Youth Friendly Drop-In Centre is Staying Committed to HIV Prevention Amidst USAID Funding Cuts in Kenya 鈥�

A midwife says of the aid cuts in Afghanistan: 'No one prioritizes women's lives.' 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES CLIMATE POLICY The High Impact of Stemming 鈥楽uper Pollutants鈥�
In climate policy, mitigating CO2 emissions is the perennial priority. But scientists say addressing a small group of 鈥渟uper pollutants鈥� could have a swift, meaningful influence on slowing rising temperatures and improving health outcomes. 

• Black carbon, methane, and ozone are responsible for , and also have wide-ranging impacts on food security and respiratory health.

Rapid results: Reducing these emissions could serve as an 鈥渆mergency brake鈥� on climate change, say climate scientists, who raised the matter at the in Cartagena, Colombia, last week. 

• 鈥淚f you reduce them today, we鈥檒l see impacts in our lifetimes,鈥� said Claire Henly, executive director of the Super Pollutant Field Catalyst.

Related: Exposure to Air Pollution in Childhood Is Associated with Reduced Brain Connectivity 鈥� SURGERY Finding Hope for Fistula Survivors in Nigeria
Free fistula repair surgery will soon be available at clinics throughout Nigeria, health officials announced earlier this month鈥攁 鈥済roundbreaking move鈥� in a country where ~12,000 new fistula cases are reported each year. 

Background: Vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) is a condition where an opening forms between the bladder and the vagina. Root causes: Prolonged or obstructed labor and female genital mutilation.

• The condition can be debilitating and highly stigmatizing: In 2022, by their families in the state of Borno.

More than surgery needed: Advocates say comprehensive counseling services are essential to support VVF survivors amid the psychological trauma associated with the condition. 

OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS 鈥業t鈥檚 beyond description鈥�: Bodies pile up in mass graves as Myanmar grapples with quake toll 鈥�

Gas fire in Malaysia injures more than 100 people and damages 49 houses 鈥�

An RSF atrocity, a mass evacuation, and another side to mutual aid in Sudan 鈥�

Epilepsy: The neglected disease eating up families 鈥�

Who's stockpiling abortion pills amid bans 鈥�

Scientists scramble to track LA wildfires鈥� long-term health impacts 鈥�

Is breastfeeding 鈥榚xclusive鈥�? Barriers facing global health professionals and proposed solutions 鈥�

How to buy a year of happiness, explained in one chart 鈥� Issue No. 2700
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 .

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96 Global Health NOW: The Rocky Response to Burma鈥檚 Earthquake; Revisiting Extraordinary Journeys; and The Dangerous Blights of Skin Bleaching March 31, 2025 A Buddhist monk walking near a collapsed pagoda after an earthquake in Mandalay, central Burma (Myanmar), on March 30. AP Photo/Thein Zaw shared via a Facebook post The Rocky Response to Burma鈥檚 Earthquake 
As the death toll in Burma rises from a 7.7 magnitude earthquake on Friday, the difficulty of the disaster response is coming into focus, with the country鈥檚 ongoing civil war and recent upheaval in global aid complicating basic recovery efforts, .

The latest: ~2,000 people have died in the earthquake devastation; 鈥渃ountless鈥� remain buried under rubble as civilian-led efforts to dig out survivors鈥攍argely by hand鈥攃ontinue. 

• A UN assessment found that many health facilities had been damaged and warned that a 鈥渟evere shortage of medical supplies is hampering response efforts.鈥�

鈥淎lready dire鈥�: 

• The country鈥檚 civil war has displaced over 3 million people and has left many regions dangerous for aid groups to reach. 


• The quake is 鈥渃ompounding an already dire humanitarian situation鈥� for millions of children, . 

A reshaped aid landscape: China, Russia, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, and other countries have dispatched emergency teams and funds, .

• But U.S. aid operations remain in chaos amid Trump administration cuts, , as many of the systems needed to funnel American aid to Myanmar 鈥渉ave been shattered.鈥� 

Building safety fears: Meanwhile, the collapse of a high-rise under construction in Bangkok that killed 11 has residents concerned about buildings鈥� earthquake resilience, . 

• A Thai watchdog had previously flagged concerns about the building, . 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Eight Palestine Red Crescent Society medics were killed when Israel鈥檚 military fired on ambulances they identified as 鈥渟uspicious vehicles鈥濃�攎arking the single deadliest attack on Red Cross members anywhere in the world since 2017 and bringing to 30 the number of PRCS workers killed since October 2023.

South Korea鈥檚 deadly fire that killed 30 people and destroyed ~4,000 structures is under investigation; a man is suspected of starting the fire while performing an ancestral rite by a family grave.

The WHO, citing a $600 million budget gap for 2025, has proposed slashing its 2026鈥�27 budget by 21%, to $4.2 billion, and signaled that job cuts are imminent; unconfirmed reports estimate that 20%鈥�40% of the agency鈥檚 9,000+ jobs globally could be eliminated.

Mexico will ban junk food in schools as a part of its redoubled efforts to mitigate its childhood obesity epidemic, with the guidelines forbidding sugary fruit drinks, packaged chips, and other processed snacks taking effect this week. U.S. Global Health Policy News The NIH鈥檚 Most Reckless Cuts Yet: Ending clinical trials with no warning can put patients at risk. 鈥�

The CDC Buried a Measles Forecast That Stressed the Need for Vaccinations 鈥�

Tuberculosis is the world鈥檚 top infectious killer. Aid groups say Trump鈥檚 funding freezes will cause more deaths 鈥�

鈥榃e should have been hammered a long time ago鈥�: African countries thank Trump for aid wake-up call 鈥�

RFK Jr. Expected To Lay Off Entire Office Of Infectious Disease And HIV/AIDS Policy 鈥�

How Trump is following Project 2025鈥檚 radical roadmap to defund science 鈥�

Trump Slashed International Aid. Geneva Is Feeling the Impact. 鈥� GHN EXCLUSIVE Revisiting Extraordinary Journeys
If you weren始t able to join GHN earlier this month for Extraordinary Journeys: Stories of Refugees Fleeing Conflict and Shaping Global Health, you can now view recordings of each story.

• This special event, co-hosted by GHN and the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, spotlighted the remarkable experiences of public health practitioners with lived experience as refugees.


• Storytellers from Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), South Sudan, Sudan, and Syria shared firsthand accounts of living and working amid humanitarian crises, fleeing conflict, and shaping impactful roles in public health.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH The Dangerous Blights of Skin Bleaching 
More urgent warnings are needed about skin lightening鈥檚 dangers, say physicians in Nigeria, as more people are being treated for skin damage and other health problems, and as more children are being harmed by bleaching products, . 

Surging popularity: Sales of skin-lightening products across Africa are to $15.7 billion by 2030. The practice is especially prevalent in Nigeria, where 77% of women use skin-lightening products, . 

Bodily toll: The ingredients in the products, which include acids and steroids, not only damage skin鈥攖hey can 鈥渨reak havoc and damage internal organs,鈥� said Lagos dermatologist Vivian Oputa. 

Children at risk: Doctors say they are seeing more children鈥攅ven babies鈥攚ith burning and discoloration after their parents used bleaching products on them, often under social pressure, . 

Calls for regulation: Doctors say government regulation is needed to limit access to potent pharmaceutical creams that should require prescriptions. QUICK HITS Israel-Gaza war: Wounded Palestinians dying for lack of supplies, surgeon says 鈥�

WHO alert on US measles outbreak adds new genetic details 鈥�  

How can Africa sustain its HIV response amid US aid cuts? 鈥� Thanks for the tip, Elizabeth S. Rose! 

Boosting advanced-stage clinical trial capacity in East and Central Africa to combat regional epidemic threats 鈥�

Morning-after pill to be made free in England pharmacies 鈥�

How a ban on food dye in West Virginia has forged an unlikely alliance 鈥�

New 3D technology could soon bring surgeons closer to patients in Africa鈥檚 most remote regions 鈥� Issue No. 2699
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 .

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96 Global Health NOW: Gutting the Global Vaccine Effort; PEPFAR鈥檚 Precarious Future; and The Dog Days of Cinema Documents reveal plans to withdraw U.S. funding for Gavi, the global vaccine alliance March 27, 2025 A Somali mother holding a medical card waits for her baby to be given a pentavalent vaccine injection provided by Gavi, UNICEF, and WHO, at a medical clinic in Mogadishu, on April 24, 2013. Carl de Souza/AFP via Getty Gutting the Global Vaccine Effort
The Trump administration has released its plans to withdraw U.S. funding for Gavi, the global alliance that helps provide essential vaccines for children in low-income countries, .

Overview: Vaccinations via Gavi have saved ~19 million children鈥檚 lives over the past 25 years. The U.S. contributes 13% of its budget.

• Loss of U.S. support could mean 75 million children do not get routine vaccinations in the next five years; and that 1.2 million+ children die as a result, per Gavi鈥檚 estimations.

• 鈥淭his is not just a bureaucratic decision, there are children鈥檚 lives at stake, global health security will be at stake,鈥� said Austin Demby, the health minister of Sierra Leone. 

Other cuts: The Gavi termination was included in a USAID memo submitted to Congress this week delineating foreign aid programs on the chopping block鈥攊ncluding major programs that combat malaria and funding for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, which tracks zoonotic diseases like bird flu.

• It is unclear whether the Trump administration can legally end the programs unilaterally, .  

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
10,000 HHS employees will be cut from various U.S. health agencies, as part of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚 continued overhauls, ; meanwhile, health departments will see already-disbursed funding pulled back from their COVID- and infectious disease-related programs, 

A garden soil sample from a lab technician鈥檚 garden has led to a new antibiotic capable of killing drug-resistant bacteria by targeting the ribosome, while leaving human cells unharmed, per a published in .

Influenza A antibodies have been detected in U.S. cattle, finds published in the Journal of Virology鈥攕howing that cattle are susceptible to human seasonal flu strains as well as swine influenza viruses.

Male birth control that is hormone-free is slated to enter clinical trials after research in Nature Communications found that the new drug, YCT-529, effectively lowered sperm count in male mice, and was 99% effective in preventing pregnancies. HIV/AIDS PEPFAR鈥檚 Precarious Future
Congressional authorization for PEPFAR expired on Tuesday, further shrouding the global HIV/AIDS program鈥檚 future, . 

Technically still alive: PEPFAR has been allocated some funding through the end of the fiscal year. But its long-term survival remains in question with the dismantling of USAID鈥攚hich administered the majority of PEPFAR services. 

Immediate impact: Clinics are closing, prescriptions are not being refilled, . 

• Burkina Faso, Haiti, Kenya, Lesotho, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Ukraine will likely run out of antiretroviral medicine within weeks, per the WHO. 

• Studies on an HIV vaccine, long-acting pre-exposure prophylaxis, and tuberculosis have been halted. 

Overhaul on the horizon? Conservative advocates have been calling for a scaled-down program, and one that prioritizes abstinence and education. 

Further research cuts: Meanwhile, the NIH has eliminated funding for dozens of HIV-related research grants in the U.S., 鈥攁 move that will cause the country to 鈥渟lide back on decades of progress,鈥� said one researcher.  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES FUNGUS How Cats, Spores, and Pollution are Driving an Epidemic
Brazil is currently facing the world鈥檚 largest and 鈥渕ost persistent鈥� epidemic of sporotrichosis, a fungal infection spread primarily through cats. And recent research sheds new light on how pollution is contributing to the spread.  

Background: Sporotrichosis is a chronic disease that primarily affects the skin and lymphatic system and can spread to humans from animals. 

New insights: published in Mycology revealed an 鈥渁larming genetic diversity鈥� in the fungus, and found indicators to suggest that exposure to urban pollutants may be driving rapid adaptations.

Looking for solutions: Researchers also identified molecular markers that could enhance diagnostics and treatments, and pointed to an 鈥渦rgent鈥� need for enhanced fungal surveillance.

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION The Dog Days of Cinema  
People seem to know everything about their dogs. Their DNA makeup. Their favorite treat, scratch, and spot to relieve themselves.
 
But what about their favorite movie? If you don始t know 鈥� it始s probably Flow, a Latvian film that took home an Oscar and won the hearts of pets everywhere.
 
The animated feature is a heartening tale of interspecies collaboration in a postapocalyptic world鈥攁nd pets can始t get enough. One TikTok video shows rapt at the film. They don始t even mind screen.
 
Producer Matiss Kaza admits he hadn始t considered pets 鈥渁s a potential target audience,鈥� , but was amused when he heard folks were taking their cats to the theater to see the film, . 
 
But the movie始s pet popularity also raises a question: While we can始t get enough of animal videos, our pets始 favorite film features no humans. Should we take that as a hint? QUICK HITS SA research grants potentially on hold, says leaked memo 鈥�
 
Colorado is poised to pass some of the toughest gun laws in the country 鈥�   Surgeons transplant genetically modified pig liver into Chinese patient 鈥�

Kansas measles cases double to 23 and new Ohio outbreak sickens 10 鈥�

Zooming in on the structure of the lethal Ebola virus 鈥�

FDA approves first new antibiotic for uncomplicated UTIs in nearly 30 years 鈥�

'Grandpas' got together to help kids. Scientists say it boosts the elders' health, too 鈥� Issue No. 2698
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 .

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96 Global Health NOW: COVID-19 Research Canceled; Chikungunya Vaccines En Route to R茅union; and DOGE Cuts Harm Vulnerable Vets March 26, 2025 Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (blue) infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (green), isolated from a patient sample. NIH/NAID/IMAGE.FR/BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty COVID-19 Research Canceled
The NIH and CDC have begun widespread terminations of grants related to COVID-19 research and public health outreach, saying 鈥渢he grant funds are no longer necessary,鈥� per an internal NIH document, . 

The large-scale grant terminations, amounting to billions, are unprecedented and 鈥渄angerous for future pandemic preparedness,鈥� said virologist Jason McLellan at the University of Texas, Austin, who was leading one of the canceled projects. 

• The virus has killed 7 million+ people globally, including 1.2+ million people in the U.S. Hundreds of people still die , and millions suffer debilitating long COVID symptoms. 

On the chopping block, :

• A program designing antiviral drugs for a range of pandemic-potential viruses. 


• Research to develop improved COVID-19 vaccines and to address long COVID.


• At least two set up to study virus transmission and immune response.

Cuts to health departments: Meanwhile, the CDC is axing ~$11 billion in COVID-related funding for health departments, 鈥攚ith HHS communications chief Andrew Nixon calling COVID a 鈥渘on-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.鈥�

• The funds were largely being used for testing, surveillance, vaccination, modernizing disease data systems, and addressing disparities.

Related: Vaccination cuts the risk of long COVID 27%, review suggests 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Deaths of children under 5 and stillbirths declined globally in 2023, to 4.8 million and ~1.9 million, respectively, continuing a trend of decreases since 2000; but progress has slowed in recent years鈥攁 pattern that experts worry new global funding cuts may exacerbate.

UK parenting charities and support groups are criticizing new issued in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which recommended exercise and reduced screen time at night to improve physical and mental health; the parents鈥� groups say the guidance is 鈥渨ildly optimistic鈥� and could become 鈥渁nother stick to beat new mums with.鈥�

Healthy aging has been linked to a midlife diet rich in plant-based foods and low intake of ultra-processed foods, per a published in Nature Medicine that found that such a diet leads to higher likelihood of reaching age 70 without chronic disease. Thanks for the tip, Xiaodong Cai!

New FDA and NIH leaders have been confirmed by the U.S. Senate; Marty Makary will lead the FDA, while Jay Bhattacharya will head the NIH; both gained prominence for criticizing the U.S. COVID-19 response, and both were confirmed along party lines. Trump Administration News Researchers in limbo as Columbia bows to Trump鈥檚 demands in bid to restore $400M federal funding 鈥�

Vaccine skeptic hired to head federal study of immunizations and autism 鈥�

5 high-level officials leave CDC 鈥�

Remedy Supported by Kennedy Leaves Some Measles Patients More Ill 鈥�

FDA commissioner's abortion pill minefield 鈥� CHIKUNGUNYA OUTBREAK Vaccines En Route to R茅union  
Chikungunya vaccines are being rushed to France鈥檚 R茅union island in the Indian Ocean, where an outbreak has killed two, hospitalized dozens, and infected thousands of people over the last few weeks.
 
40,000 doses of Ixchiq, a Valneva-produced vaccine, will be aimed at the most vulnerable鈥攊ncluding those ages 65+, with severe comorbidities, or working in vector control.

• Chikungunya, spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, is rarely fatal but causes symptoms including fever, headaches, and debilitating joint pain.


• No specific antibody treatments exist, but the vaccine is highly effective at preventing infection.

Climate connection? Cyclones, like the one that hit R茅union late last month, can leave standing water that increases populations of outbreak-fueling mosquitoes.  

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES MENTAL HEALTH DOGE Cuts Harm Vulnerable Vets
Veterans鈥� mental health services are in disarray amid sweeping changes ordered by President Trump and implemented by Elon Musk鈥檚 Department of Government Efficiency.

Significant shifts: Thousands of mental health providers, including many fully remote employees, must work full-time from federal office space that often cannot accommodate their numbers or ensure patient privacy. 

• Clinicians say the changes, as well as the layoffs of ~2,000 probationary employees, will degrade mental health treatment at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which was already experiencing severe staffing shortages. 

Some providers predict a mass exodus of specialists, like psychiatrists and psychologists. They also expect wait times to increase, and veterans to seek treatment outside the agency鈥攐r withdraw from treatment altogether.

OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Thousands of women and girls in the West Bank exposed to gender based violence 鈥�

Guillain鈥揃arr茅 syndrome outbreak in Pune: a health emergency 鈥�

The toxic storm brewing in Soweto鈥檚 Snake Park 鈥�

Botswana reports surge in malaria cases 鈥�

Navigating US global health aid cuts: What can past donor exits teach us? 鈥�

鈥楲ife and death鈥�: Beshear vetoes GOP 鈥榗larification鈥� of Kentucky鈥檚 abortion ban 鈥�

Can generative AI tackle global health problems? 鈥�

As opposition to fluoride grows, rural America risks a new surge of tooth decay 鈥�

The Liverpool team preparing for future pandemics 鈥�

鈥楬uge brown eyes鈥�: Irish farmer comes up with alpaca therapy for elderly patients, special-needs children 鈥� Issue No. 2697
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:

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  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.


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96 Global Health NOW: What Do American Kids Learn About Sex? It Depends Who You Ask.; 鈥楩lying Blind鈥� on Measles; and Museum Medication March 25, 2025 GLOBAL HEALTH NOW EXCLUSIVE Klaus Vedfelt, Getty Creative What Do American Kids Learn About Sex? It Depends Who You Ask.
The U.S. has no national requirements for teaching sex education in schools鈥攍eading to a patchwork of policies and teachings across states, districts, and even individual schools.
 
Popular but scarce: Over 90% of parents and guardians in the U.S. support their children receiving comprehensive sexuality education (CSE)鈥攚hich incorporates complete and age-appropriate information about sexuality, . 

However, only 38% of all high schools and 14% of middle schools in the U.S. cover all of the CDC始s , which include CSE topics like condom use and STD prevention.
 
Despite the lack of requirements, federal grants still play an important鈥攁nd sometimes paradoxical role in sex ed teachings. Federal funding is available for programs rooted in CSE鈥攁nd abstinence-only teachings. This can result in both approaches being taught in the same school, Allison Macklin, policy director of SIECUS.
 
鈥淚t始s the students that suffer from this confusion in information,鈥� she says.
 
始Chilling effect始: While there have not been direct attacks on sex education, policy recommendations that target DEI, gender identity, and restroom access for trans people have raised concerns about the future of funding for CSE providers, says Macklin.
 
But advocates remain determined to broaden access to CSE across the country. 鈥淭he urgency that people feel to make sure their kids have vital, lifesaving information鈥攖hat is driving a real commitment to making sure kids get this information,鈥� says Emily Cabral of Wholly Informed Sex Ed (WISE), a nonprofit that provides CSE. 
 

  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Lab tests have confirmed that the cause of a mysterious illness that killed 53 people and sickened 943 in the northwest DRC was malaria, per the National Public Health Institute; health officials are still waiting on results from water, food, and other samples sent abroad for testing.
 
Avoidable deaths increased in all U.S. states from 2009 to 2021, while such deaths decreased in other high-income countries.

MIT engineers have devised a new, less painful way to deliver certain drugs, such as long-lasting contraceptives, in higher doses by injecting them as a suspension of tiny crystals, administered through a narrow needle.
 
Parisians voted in a referendum to close 500 more city streets to cars and remove 10% of the current parking spots as part of a push by Mayor Anne Hidalgo to make the city friendlier to pedestrians, bikers, and greenery. Trump Administration News Trump nominates Susan Monarez for CDC director, elevating from acting role 鈥�
Trump administration cancels at least 68 grants focused on LGBTQ health questions 鈥�

NIH ends future funding to study the health effects of climate change 鈥�

Don鈥檛 take scientific progress for granted 鈥�

USAID cuts have disastrous consequences for global push to end TB 鈥�

What RFK Jr.鈥檚 plans for baby formula mean for parents 鈥� MEASLES 鈥楩lying Blind鈥� Without Surveillance    The U.S. decision to stop funding the global measles surveillance infrastructure could have dire consequences at a time when the disease is rapidly gaining ground, .

Background: The Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network is comprised of 700+ labs in 150+ countries. 

• The network plays a key role in identifying and tracking measles strains worldwide.


• It also mobilizes an early outbreak response in affected communities.

While it is run by the WHO, it has been funded by the CDC since its inception 25 years ago. The Trump administration鈥檚 exit from the WHO means the network now "faces imminent shutdown,鈥� while growing outbreaks are being reported across the globe. 

• 鈥淭his network is a backbone of health defense,鈥� says Tom Frieden, former CDC director and president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives. 鈥淚f it collapses, the U.S. and the rest of the world will be flying blind.鈥�

Meanwhile, in Australia: Public health leaders warn the country could be 鈥渇ertile ground鈥� for measles after five cases were confirmed in Victoria; Australia is below the WHO-recommended 95% vaccination rate, .

Related:

Should You Get a Measles Vaccine Booster? 鈥�

'I'm worried it's getting worse': Texas measles outbreak grows as families resist vaccination 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES MENTAL HEALTH Museum Medication
A Swiss town is launching a new medical intervention for its residents: Free tickets to the museum.

The town of Neuch芒tel has initiated a two-year pilot project covering the costs of 鈥渕useum prescriptions鈥� ordered by doctors who believe patients could benefit from a jaunt in the town鈥檚 four museums.

Fact-based (and artifact-based) medicine: The project is based on a that found the arts can bolster mental health and lower the risk of cognitive decline.

• There are also physical benefits, say doctors who have issued scripts to patients who need more physical activity out of the house. 

So far: ~500 prescriptions have been distributed in the town of 46,000, and town leaders hope to expand the program.

OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS A war within the war: Ukraine's ill children 鈥�

Despite progress, HIV stigma and discrimination continue to bubble beneath the surface in Thailand 鈥�

23andMe bankruptcy underscores health privacy gaps 鈥�

World's first case of bird flu in sheep detected in England -

South Sudan: Delivering baby on the road at 2am just another day for midwife 鈥�

Public health on the ground at Kenya's Kakuma Refugee Camp 鈥�

Why IUD insertions are painful for many patients and what can be done better 鈥�

Reducing traffic in Barcelona by 25% would prevent around 200 premature deaths a year linked to pollution 鈥� Issue No. 2696
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 .

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96 Global Health NOW: How to Keep Traction in the TB Fight?; Fewer Eyes on Food Safety; and Preschool Parasite Prevention March 24, 2025 A tuberculosis patient at a government-run tuberculosis hospital. Allahabad, India, November 6, 2019. Ritesh Shukla/NurPhoto via Getty How to Keep Traction in the TB Fight?
World TB Day arrives at a critical juncture for the world鈥檚 most fatal infectious disease. 

• Despite gains in some countries against the disease, that 鈥減rogress remains fragile,鈥� said Hans Henri Kluge, the WHO鈥檚 Regional Director for Europe, 鈥攁nd U.S. cuts to global TB interventions could undo decades-long efforts.
   
• In South Africa, a 鈥渢sunami鈥� of NIH grant cuts is gutting anti-TB efforts, with termination letters sent out over the weekend, . Up to 70% of the country鈥檚 HIV and TB research is funded through NIH, . 

Today, a called for 鈥渞enewed commitment鈥� to the TB fight, including increased funding. 

A global uptick: 

• Europe saw a 10% rise in child TB infections in 2023. 


• In the U.S., TB cases , and an outbreak in Kansas City continues to perplex officials, .

Good news: TB treatment continues to evolve as four new studies show major innovations, , including rapid diagnostics and a nasal spray for tuberculous meningitis.

Related:

A Late-Stage Tuberculosis Vaccine is Making its Way Through Clinical Trials 鈥�

A roadmap for integrating nutritional assessment, counselling, and support into the care of people with tuberculosis 鈥�

Everything Is Tuberculosis: A Conversation With John Green 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   UNICEF condemned the looting of supplies from Khartoum鈥檚 Al Bashair Hospital鈥攊ncluding 2,200 cartons of ready-to-use therapeutic food for children suffering from malnutrition; iron and folic acid supplements for pregnant and lactating women; and midwife kits and other supplies meant for mothers, newborns, and children.
 
Ohio, Maryland, and Alabama are among the U.S. states reporting new measles cases, with 378 cases鈥攊ncluding 309 in Texas鈥攃onfirmed in the first few months of 2025; 11 other states have also confirmed cases.

A fake CDC webpage alleging that vaccines cause autism has been removed from the website of the Children鈥檚 Health Defense鈥攁n anti-vaccine nonprofit started by now-U.S. health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ordered the page鈥檚 removal following outcry over the weekend.

Safety nets installed on San Francisco鈥檚 Golden Gate Bridge reduced suicides by 73% and increased third-party interventions when someone was at imminent risk of jumping from the bridge, per a published in Injury Prevention. DATA POINT REGULATION Fewer Eyes on Food Safety 
Food safety advocates are raising alarms about vulnerabilities in the U.S. food system as budget cuts hit an already underfunded system. 

Cuts on the table: A $34 million cut to the FDA could reduce the number of employees and labs devoted to product safety. Already, freezes on government spending have kept staff from purchasing food to perform routine tests for bacteria and PFAS.

Key committees shut down: Committees overseeing meat and poultry inspection and microbiological criteria for foods have been issued stop-work orders鈥攗pending in-progress initiatives to prevent pathogens. 

Stakes: Last year, ~500 people were hospitalized and 19 died from foodborne illnesses with a known cause鈥�2X more than in 2023. 

The Quote: 鈥淚t鈥檚 as if someone, without enough information, has said, What鈥檚 a good way to save money on our automobiles? Let鈥檚 just take out the seatbelts and airbags, because do we really need them?鈥� said Darin Detwiler, a food safety consultant. 

  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES NEGLECTED DISEASES Preschool Parasite Prevention
Earlier this month, nearly 3,000 preschoolers in Uganda received the first preventive treatment tailored for their age group for schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease affecting ~240 million people worldwide. 

• ~50 million preschool-age children globally are at risk of getting schistosomiasis. 


• Untreated, the disease can affect cognitive development and cause malnutrition, anemia, and organ damage or death. 

The treatment, derived from a well-established drug used to treat the disease in school-age children and adults, was made available through the ADOPT pilot program from the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium.

More pilots are planned throughout Uganda and in other countries such as C么te d鈥橧voire and Kenya in the coming months, with discussions underway on piloting the drug in Senegal and Tanzania.

OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Study finds foreign aid sanctions set back decades of progress on maternal and child mortality 鈥�

鈥楥haos and Confusion鈥� at the Crown Jewel of American Science 鈥�

Global AIDS program teetering after Trump admin鈥檚 shock-and-awe 鈥�

The COVID Mistake No One Talks Enough About 鈥�

New friction surfaces over replicating research 鈥�

Lawsuits Against Diversity Initiatives in Science Multiply 鈥�

Reporter's notebook: 8 theories why fentanyl deaths are plummeting 鈥� Issue No. 2695
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 .

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96 Global Health NOW: How a 鈥楽afer鈥� Opioid Caused a New Devastation; How to Keep Doing Global Health; and Rootsy Music German drugmaker Gr眉nenthal promoted tapentadol as 鈥渓ess addictive鈥� than other opioids. March 20, 2025 A building on the premises of the pharmaceutical company Gr眉nenthal in Aachen, Germany, on December 10, 2020. Oliver Berg/picture alliance via Getty How a 鈥楽afer鈥� Opioid Caused a New Devastation 
Across the globe, prescriptions of the painkiller tapentadol have spiked over the last five years鈥攅clipsing oxycodone in some countries鈥攁s the drug鈥檚 German maker Gr眉nenthal promotes the drug as a 鈥渓ess addictive鈥� option to other opioids.

But as prescriptions have increased, so have reports of addiction, overdose, and death. And the claims the company has made about the drug鈥檚 safety have 鈥渘o convincing evidence,鈥� finds an investigation by The Examination and journalistic partners in 10+ countries. 

Background: Gr眉nenthal鈥檚 efforts to promote tapentadol have involved:

• Funding studies in medical journals to support its claim of relative safety

• Paying millions to doctors, medical organizations, and patient groups across Latin America and Europe

• Educational messaging about the drug鈥檚 鈥渕inimum potential of abuse鈥� that downplayed respiratory side effects, and marketing the drug as 鈥渉ighly effective鈥� for chronic pain鈥攁 tactic that flouts safety guidelines from the WHO, US, and UK

Global impact: 

• In Australia: Coroners have reported dozens of tapentadol-related overdose deaths.

• In India: Psychiatrists are seeing a trend of teenage boys injecting tapentadol.

• In the U.S.: Addiction doctors warn of an uptick in tapentadol dependency.

Blind spot: Many countries are not tracking tapentadol-related dependency, meaning the true scope of the problem remains largely unknown. 

 

Related: Trump administration extends opioid emergency as fentanyl deaths drop 鈥�   GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
Extreme heat last year has 鈥渞eshaped the planet,鈥� inflicting permanent damage on glaciers, oceans, and ecosystems, and signaling a near future filled with devastating heat waves, details from the World Meteorological Organization鈥檚

As bird flu spreads on commercial poultry farms, the two new biosecurity assessment programs鈥攐ne offering onsite surveying of wildlife hazards and the other reviewing farms鈥� biosecurity plans; meanwhile, the agency provided about 鈥渉ighly pathogenic鈥� H7N9 avian flu detected at a Mississippi farm.

Uganda鈥檚 Ministry of Health has started a 42-day countdown to declare the country Ebola-free after two more patients recovered from the virus and were discharged from treatment facilities; of 12 patients with confirmed cases, 10 have recovered and two have died.

The Jynneos mpox vaccine was 58% effective against mpox infection overall after one dose, and 84% effective in people without HIV鈥攂ut was only 35% effective in those with HIV, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. GHN EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY Sunitha, an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA), checks on a pregnant woman outside her house on May 18, 2021, in Mysuru, India. Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty How to Keep Doing Global Health: Tips from the Global South
In the face of U.S. cuts to global health initiatives, two global health researchers from India in a GHN commentary. 

Change who you work for. 

• At times, global health researchers can forget who they should work for because of a system and a culture that forces researchers to think about 鈥渇undable鈥� ideas, write Siddhesh Zadey and Dhananjaya Sharma.

• 鈥淚f you鈥檙e in global health, you work for the underprivileged, underserved people 鈥� [not] the funders,鈥� they write.

Change what you work on. 

• When you do not have money, you have to be creative about what you work on. Researchers should ask themselves, do we truly need another randomized controlled trial to answer the question?

Walk the talk. 

• 鈥淧erhaps, the crisis is an opportunity for the 鈥榯opmost鈥� to rekindle their volunteering spirit by lending their expertise and time to those most adversely affected by the defunding initiatives,鈥� write Zadey and Sharma.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES NEUROLOGICAL ILLNESSES A Mysterious ALS Cluster 
A decade ago, neurologists were startled when they discovered a cluster of 16 ALS cases around the tiny mountain village of Montchavin in France. 

Elusive origin: ALS is rare, and its underlying causes are still being researched. Hereditary genetic factors figure in 10-15% of cases鈥攂ut none of the Montchavin patients had a family history of ALS. 

• Researchers have also looked into environmental factors like industrial chemicals and air pollution, but found no links. 

Focus on fungi: One researcher eventually found that all of the patients had eaten false morels, a toxic mushroom sometimes sought and eaten as a delicacy. 

• While some scientists say the theory needs further study, others say it is similar to a cluster in Guam, which was linked to ingestion of a cycad plant. 

ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Rootsy Music
We all did some wacky things during pandemic lockdown days. So it鈥檚 not exactly surprising to hear that in 2020 biologist-turned-musician Tarun Nayar connected his synthesizer to a salmonberry bush. What is surprising: The plant was alive with the sound of music.

鈥淚 could actually 鈥榣isten鈥� to the salmonberry bush,鈥� says the Montreal-based Nayar鈥攚ho describes the process of converting natural (and non-audible to human ears) bioelectric signals into hypnotic electronic music as 鈥渂iodata sonification,鈥� . 

Mic check: In the past five years, Nayar has tuned into the everyday symphonies emitting from plants and fungi鈥攅njoyed by his growing audience across and 鈥攚ith mushrooms like chanterelles and amanitas serving as especially compelling muses.

And the fandom goes both ways: Mushrooms, apparently, make for an enthusiastic audience, published last year in Biology Letters: Researchers found that playing sound to a green microscopic fungus, Trichoderma harzianum, led to growth rates 7X faster than fungus grown in silence, .  QUICK HITS Trump administration weighing future of CDC's HIV prevention division 鈥�

US evangelical groups urge Trump to spare HIV/Aids program from aid cuts 鈥�

Toxic 鈥榮ea foam鈥� kills animals and leaves surfers with breathing problems and blurred vision 鈥�

Popular ADHD TikTok videos often do not accurately reflect symptoms, experts say 鈥�

How will 鈥楲ittle Scandinavia鈥� experiment play out in U.S. prisons? 鈥� Issue No. 2694
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 .

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96 Global Health NOW: Strategies Diverge as Bird Flu Spreads; Interrupted Agent Orange Cleanup; and Factory Farms and the Rise of Superbugs Bird flu is a 鈥渢ransboundary threat,鈥� says UN March 19, 2025 Lohmann Brown chickens stand outside a barn at Meadow Haven Farm, in Sheffield, Illinois, on August 4, 2015. Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images Strategies Diverge as Bird Flu Spreads 
As bird flu continues to ravage U.S. poultry farms, UN officials warn that the virus has reached 鈥渦nprecedented鈥� scale and requires a coordinated global response, . 

• In a briefing held yesterday, UN Food and Agriculture Organization leaders outlined H5N1鈥檚 mounting toll: hundreds of millions of lost poultry, ~300 newly affected wild bird species in the last four years, increasing spillover into mammals, and food security risk, .

Call to action: Describing the virus as a 鈥渢ransboundary threat,鈥� the agency called on countries to improve surveillance, expand lab capacity, consider vaccination plans, and promote risk management through biosecurity.

Kennedy鈥檚 tack: Meanwhile, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has floated a strategy to let H5N1 鈥渞un through the flock鈥� to identify immune birds, 鈥攚hich veterinary scientists say would pose a wide range of hazards: 

• Every infection is an opportunity for H5N1 to evolve into a more virulent form dangerous to mammals and humans. 

• Farmed poultry have low genetic diversity and weak immune systems, resulting in painful deaths in ~100% of infected flocks. 

• Such a strategy would also mean longer quarantines and lost revenue.

The Quote: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a recipe for disaster,鈥� said Gail Hansen, a former state veterinarian for Kansas. GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
The measles outbreak in western Texas has grown to 279 cases鈥攏early reaching the total number confirmed for all of 2024 (285 cases), according to new state data published yesterday, ; Texas public health officials say the outbreak could take a year to contain, .

Ongoing dengue transmission in parts of the U.S. led the CDC to issue a yesterday with updated testing guidance; infections have been increasing globally for the past five years, with the Americas region seeing pronounced surges. 

Smoking rates have risen in some regions of England for the first time since 2006, finds a new published in the journal Addiction; researchers found that smoking increased 10% in southern England between 2020 and 2024.

Climate change is accelerating, finds the new 鈥攚ith global temperatures, greenhouse gas emissions, and sea levels reaching record highs in 2024, ; meanwhile, researchers say heart disease could double or triple in the next 25 years if current heat trends continue, published in the European Heart Journal, . FOREIGN AID CUTS Interrupted Agent Orange Cleanup
Efforts to clean up an enormous chemical spill at an air base in Vietnam have been halted by USAID cuts鈥攑utting hundreds of thousands of people at risk of poisoning, U.S. diplomats and human rights groups say. 

Background: Remediation efforts at the Bien Hoa air base were started in 2019, when the U.S. government committed $430 million+ to help clean up widespread dioxin contamination that dates back to the Vietnam War鈥攚hen the U.S. brought the toxin to the country. 

Halted work: The sudden USAID shutdown meant work immediately stopped, leaving pits with dioxin-contaminated soil exposed at the cusp of the country鈥檚 rainy season. 

High risk: With enough rain, dioxin could flood into nearby communities鈥� food supply and contaminate a major river flowing into Ho Chi Minh City. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE Factory Farms and the Rise of Superbugs
Conditions at factory farms across Europe 鈥減aint a bleak picture of animal welfare,鈥� with animals living in cramped grassless pens coated with filth.

Such farming practices are also fueling the rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs on the continent, including MRSA.

How? Animals in poor feedlot conditions are more likely to contract infections, which has led to a decades-long overdependence on antibiotics. Now, once easily treatable illnesses don鈥檛 respond to drugs. 

• The meat industry is responsible for 73% of global antibiotic use.

The stakes: ~700,000 people globally die every year from infections caused by resistant bacteria. By 2050, this number could rise to 10 million.



Related: The Many Costs of Cheap Chicken 鈥�&苍产蝉辫; OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS What will happen if Trump cuts the US鈥檚 Global Fund contributions? We work it out 鈥�

鈥業t鈥檚 back to drug rationing鈥�: the end of HIV was in sight. Then came the cuts 鈥�

Trump dministration considers plan to eliminate CDC's HIV prevention division 鈥�

Private equity 鈥榞obbling鈥� up care facilities for people with disabilities 鈥�

What鈥檚 in store for US science as funding bill averts government shutdown 鈥�

Epilepsy Patients in Africa Fight Stigma and Neglect 鈥� Issue No. 2693
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 .

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96 Global Health NOW: Tedros Details Human Costs of U.S. Cuts; Moving Beyond Stigma in Mexico; and The Bureaucrat Bridging Gaps March 18, 2025 A woman and her child attend a medical consultation at a mobile clinic operated in partnership with USAID. Port-au-Prince, Haiti, November 29, 2024. Clarens Siffroy SIFFROY/AFP via Getty Tedros Details Human Costs of U.S. Cuts  
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had a request yesterday for the U.S.: reconsider its cancellation of global health support or withdraw the funds slowly giving countries time to prepare, .

• 鈥淭he U.S. administration [is] within its rights to decide what it supports and to what extent,鈥� Tedros said at a news conference. 鈥淏ut the U.S. also has a responsibility to ensure that if it withdraws direct funding for countries, it鈥檚 done in an orderly and humane way that allows them to find alternative sources of funding.鈥�

Impact of U.S. cuts:

• Malaria: An additional 15 million cases and 100,000+ deaths are possible this year because of stockouts or supply chain problems with malaria diagnostics, medications, and insecticide-treated bed nets.


• HIV: Eight countries are experiencing 鈥渟ubstantial disruptions鈥� to antiretroviral supplies and will run out of medicines within months, .


• TB: 27 countries in Africa and Asia are dealing with disruptions to diagnosis and treatment as well as 鈥渃ollapsing鈥� surveillance systems, Tedros said.

Don鈥檛 ask Bill: Philanthropist Bill Gates has been lobbying the U.S. administration to continue funding vital global health programs and warned that no foundation could fill in the gap left by U.S. funding cuts, .

Related:
 
UK aid cuts will undermine global health and pose a risk to children's lives 鈥�
 
Eighty percent of WHO-supported facilities in Afghanistan risk shutdown by June 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   The U.S. reported its first outbreak of H7N9 bird flu since 2017, on a farm of 47,654 commercial broiler breeder chickens in Noxubee, Mississippi; H7N9 has a higher death rate鈥攌illing 40% of people infected since 2013鈥攖han the H5N1 strain that killed one person in the U.S. earlier this year.

A midwife and one of her employees were arrested and charged with performing illegal abortions at a health clinic near Houston; they are the first to be criminally charged under the state鈥檚 strict abortion ban.

Gender-affirming hormone therapy was associated with lower rates of moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms among 3,592 trans and nonbinary people prescribed the treatment compared to those who didn鈥檛 receive the treatment, finds a study spanning 48 months of follow-up.
 
The Trump administration removed a 2024 surgeon general's advisory on the public health impacts of gun violence and a related webpage from the Health and Human Services website (); guns are the leading cause of death for children and teens in the U.S. More Trump Administration News ____________________________________________________________As bird flu continues to spread, Trump administration sidelines key pandemic preparedness office 鈥�

Trump administration cuts funding to long-term diabetes study: Report 鈥�

Scientists Say NIH Officials Told Them To Scrub mRNA References on Grants 鈥�

The VA will deny gender dysphoria treatment to new patients 鈥�

Trump Administration Aims to Eliminate E.P.A.鈥檚 Scientific Research Arm 鈥�

Overseas universities see opportunity in U.S. 鈥榖rain drain鈥� 鈥� DATA POINT HARM REDUCTION Moving Beyond Stigma in Mexico
For years, Mexico has taken a 鈥減rohibitionist, hardline approach鈥� to drug use, reinforcing a stigma that ties drug use to other criminal activities.

But recently, health advocates have been taking a different tack鈥攖oward harm reduction.

• One example: Checa tu Sustanciae (Check Your Substance) provides a way for people at events like music festivals to test drugs for fentanyl and other adulterants, and also equips those people with naloxone and practical information. 

The Quote: 鈥淭he best way to reduce your risks is not to consume at all. But if you have made the decision to consume, we want you to have as much information as possible so you can take care of yourself,鈥� said Zara Snapp, director of drug policy advocacy organization Instituto RIA.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES DISEASE DETECTIVES The Bureaucrat Bridging Gaps
Consider this maddening prospect: A 5-year-old girl in Texas is diagnosed with a rare brain-eating amoeba鈥攁nd none of her doctors know the cure.

Meanwhile, in California, researchers had recently discovered an effective antibiotic remedy. But that paper never reached the doctors in Texas. 

This tragic disconnect all too frequently leads to preventable suffering and death. But in a must-read narrative, Michael Lewis examines the mission of an FDA worker 鈥渂uried under six layers on an agency organizational chart鈥� who is seeking to solve the problem by creating a database for rare diseases and treatments, called CURE ID.

Despite the database鈥檚 lifesaving potential, the question remains: Will anyone use it? 

RESOURCES QUICK HITS Afghanistan: Security Council renews UN mission as WHO warns of health catastrophe 鈥�

Mexican president pledges stronger missing persons efforts after mass grave found 鈥�

With measles on the rise, two-dose vaccine strategy is 'more important than ever' Northwestern Now 鈥�

Injectable PrEP use leads to zero new HIV infections among gay, trans and non-binary Brazilians 鈥�

The Silent Struggle: MamaCare360 Pushes to Prioritize Maternal Mental Health in Nigeria 鈥�

Nearly 50 million people sign up call for clean air action for better health 鈥�

Why We Don鈥檛 Want to Talk About the COVID-19 Pandemic 鈥�

An Old Drug With A Hidden Talent 鈥� Issue No. 2692
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 .

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96 Global Health NOW: Cholera Deepens Ethiopia's Health Crisis; India鈥檚 Off Its Elimination Target; and The Rise of New Nicotine March 17, 2025 Two women carry a patient at the emergency ward of the Suhul General Hospital. Shire, Ethiopia, October 11, 2024. Michele Spatari/AFP via Getty Cholera Deepens Ethiopia's Health Crisis 
A swiftly-spreading cholera outbreak poses a new threat to Ethiopia, which is already coping with a broken health system in its war-scarred northern Tigray region, . 

Cholera outbreak: ~31 people have died from a cholera outbreak that has sickened 1,500+ people over the past month, per M茅decins Sans Fronti猫res.

• The scope of the outbreak is widening as more people arrive in Ethiopia after fleeing violence in neighboring South Sudan. 

Cut aid: Meanwhile, over 1 million people in the Tigray region face hunger and mounting health threats as USAID-funded programs are frozen and dismantled, . 

• Food deliveries have been halted to a camp of 20,000+ people in Tigray. While USAID waivers to continue distributing U.S. grain have been granted, the payments system is still nonfunctional. 


• Also halted: HIV medication programs, vaccination efforts, and care for women who were raped during the civil war. 

The Quote: 鈥淲e will just die in silence,鈥� said Haile Tsege, a 76-year-old displaced man. 

Another 鈥渁larming鈥� outbreak: In the DRC, a 鈥渃atastrophic deterioration of health services鈥� amid conflict is contributing to a cholera outbreak in North and South Kivu, where cases have increased by ~40% since last week, . 

Related: Namibia's cholera-free decade ends with one confirmed case 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Tanzania declared its Marburg virus outbreak over late last week after 42 days with no new cases since the death of the last confirmed case; the outbreak鈥攖he country鈥檚 second known brush with the virus鈥攍ed to two confirmed and eight probable cases (all deceased).
 
Saudi Arabia has reported four MERS infections, including two deaths, over the past few months from the Hail, Riyadh, and Eastern provinces; all four of the infected men had underlying medical conditions, and only one had indirect contact with dromedary camels and their raw (unpasteurized) milk.

An oral antiviral successfully protected monkeys from Ebola infections, published in Science Advances; researchers determined the drug, Obeldesivir, protected 100% of rhesus macaques exposed to a highly potent variant of Ebola.

A rise of laughing gas usage and injuries in the U.S. has led the FDA to issue a warning about nitrous oxide鈥攚hich is being sold in colorful packaging and fruity flavors; inhaling the gas can cause dangerously low blood pressure, leading to loss of consciousness and injuries. Cuts to Health & Science ____________________________________________________________ Fear spreads that NIH will terminate grants involving South Africa 鈥�

Young scientists see career pathways vanish as schools adapt to federal funding cuts 鈥�

In wake of federal funding cuts, Johns Hopkins scales back USAID-supported work around the globe 鈥�

鈥楳y career is over鈥�: Columbia University scientists hit hard by Trump team鈥檚 cuts 鈥�

Can NIH overturn a court order blocking it from slashing overhead payments? Unlikely, one expert says 鈥�

鈥楩und research not Tesla trucks鈥�: The HIV casualties of Trump鈥檚 war on science 鈥�

Her research grant mentioned 鈥榟esitancy.鈥� Now her funding is gone 鈥� TUBERCULOSIS India鈥檚 Off Its Elimination Target 
In 2018, India鈥檚 leaders vowed to eliminate TB by 2025. But the goal remains out of reach due to a confluence of factors, including: 

Spending: While spending on TB care and prevention has increased, the government allocated only two-thirds of the money needed, as per its own , for ending TB, data show. 

Shortages: Providers frequently run out of critical medications, especially for drug-resistant TB. There were several instances of nationwide shortages in 2024, advocates say. 

• The nation鈥檚 TB program is also coping with manpower and infrastructure shortages. 

Deficient diagnostics: The government has spent well below its budget on testing.

Catastrophic expense: 45%+ of patient families suffer 鈥渃atastrophic expenses鈥� while seeking care for TB in India, per a 2024 .



Related: The World鈥檚 Deadliest Infectious Disease Is About to Get Worse 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES TOBACCO The Rise of New Nicotine
White snus鈥攑ure nicotine mixed with filling agents, wrapped into cellulose pouches鈥攚as originally designed to help Swedish women quit smoking.

But marketed in the U.S. under brand names like Zyn, it鈥檚 found a foothold with men, thanks to 鈥渕anosphere鈥� champions like Joe Rogan. And business is booming.

• Zyn鈥檚 producer, Swedish Match, says ~70% of canisters in the U.S. are purchased by men. 


• In the first quarter of 2024, Philip Morris International shipped 131.6 million Zyn canisters to the U.S.鈥攁n 80% increase from the same period in 2023. 

Cigarette alternatives like Zyn present an opportunity for Big Tobacco to expand their business in the 鈥渘ew nicotine鈥� market. And, despite nicotine鈥檚 negative health effects, addiction researchers are acknowledging the importance of smokeless tobacco products in the fight against cigarettes.  



Related: What We Know (and Don鈥檛) About Nicotine Pouches 鈥� OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Accounts of child survivors shed light on surge of rape and sexual violence in conflict-torn DRC 鈥�

Measles remains a danger to health even years after an infection 鈥�

Keeping With Kennedy鈥檚 Advice, Measles Patients Turn to Unproven Treatments 鈥�

Africa's defining moment: the time to lead the HIV response is now 鈥�

All creatures great and culled: inside the global bird flu poultry slaughter 鈥�

KFF Poll Finds Most Republicans Do Not Trust CDC on Bird Flu 鈥�

As AI nurses reshape hospital care, human nurses are pushing back 鈥�

The Unequal Impacts of Abortion Bans 鈥�

Giving blood linked to lower risk of pre-cancer gene 鈥� Issue No. 2692
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 .

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96 Global Health NOW: 鈥楽ystematic鈥� Attacks on Gaza鈥檚 Reproductive Care; WHO Top Ranks Swell; and Send in the Clowns! UN report: 鈥淕enocidal acts鈥� at Gaza women鈥檚 health facilities March 13, 2025 People inspect the damage caused by an artillery shell that hit the maternity hospital inside the Nasser Medical Complex, on December 17, 2023, in Khan Yunis, Gaza. Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty 鈥楽ystematic鈥� Attacks on Gaza鈥檚 Reproductive Care
  Attacks on women鈥檚 health facilities and reproductive care in Gaza have amounted to 鈥済enocidal acts,鈥� a UN commission in a issued today. 

The report, issued after public hearings in Geneva this week, states that "Israeli authorities have destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of the Palestinians in Gaza as a group鈥� through targeted acts categorized as genocidal by the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention, .

• Israel refuted the report, describing its allegations as not credible and biased. 

Details: The commission described 鈥渟ystematic鈥� destruction of reproductive care, including the shelling of Gaza鈥檚 main fertility center; the destruction of maternity hospitals and wards; and a lack of access to medicine for pregnancies, deliveries, and neonatal care鈥攔esulting in a surge of maternal deaths, .

Sexual violence: The report also accused Israel's security forces of using forced public stripping and sexual assault as 鈥渟tandard operating procedures鈥� to punish Palestinians. 

What鈥檚 next? Former UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator Martin Griffiths said the report is significant, as the UN has 鈥渂een very careful鈥� about using the term genocide鈥攂ut added that it is unlikely that international courts will take action at this time. 

Related: On the brink: Women in the Occupied Palestinian Territory 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
Measles cases in Europe doubled in 2024 to a 25+ year-high, per a ; children under 5 accounted for 40% of the 127,350 cases.

A daily pill for endometriosis has been approved by the NHS for use across England; the medication, relugolix-estradiol-norethisterone works by blocking hormones that contribute to endometriosis while providing necessary hormone replacement.

A new meningitis vaccine that protects against five strains has shown effectiveness in babies and toddlers, from a phase 3 randomized clinical trial conducted in Mali.

U.S. federal agriculture officials have axed two programs that provided $1 billion+ for schools and food banks to buy food from local farmers and producers.  

A new treatment for snakebite that involves using oral doses of unithiol鈥攗sed for heavy metal poisoning鈥攈as shown promise as a 鈥渇ield-ready treatment鈥� to neutralize venom, per a new published in The Lancet eBioMedicine. WHO As Top Ranks Swell, So Do Costs
The number of WHO鈥檚 top-ranked directors has nearly doubled since 2017, when Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took office. And costs for this tier have swelled, too, with ~$92 million spent on 226 staff, per an analysis of available data by Health Policy Watch. 

A critical juncture: The revelations come as the WHO faces drastic budget cuts in light of the promised withdrawal of the organization鈥檚 top contributor鈥攖he U.S. The agency has said it faces a $175 million budget deficit in 2025鈥攖hough it is unclear whether that includes lost U.S. dues. 

• Tedros has already announced a range of cost-cutting, including a worldwide recruitment freeze. 

Call for reform: As the WHO鈥檚 budget is reshaped, Health Policy Watch is calling for greater transparency from the WHO about the true costs of staff positions. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES CONFLICT Drones Complicate Battlefield Medicine in Ukraine
Russian drones that maim soldiers by causing complex shrapnel wounds are overwhelming Ukrainian medics, as drone warfare in the conflict intensifies. 

The newer FPV drones explode on impact, and can cause burns and injuries with dozens of tiny pieces of shrapnel, which are more difficult to treat than injuries from conventional shelling. Russia ramped up its usage of such drones late last year.

• Battlefield surgeons say the drones are now responsible for the majority of battlefield casualties. 

Shortages in medical equipment like tourniquets and painkillers exacerbate the problem, and the intricate wounds mean the soldiers require prolonged hospital stays. 

POLICY Mental Health Care on the Line 
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is one of the largest providers of mental health care in the country. But that key component of care is in jeopardy as providers brace themselves for deepened cuts to the agency. 

The VA has promised 80,000 job cuts in coming days, and providers report that their patients鈥� mental care鈥攁nd their own鈥攁re suffering. 

Fears for LGBTQ patients: Therapists say they are especially concerned for LGBTQ+ patients who fear being targeted in the wake of an executive order directing federal employees to recognize only two sexes. 

Research at risk: VA trials in mental health care that include suicide mitigation and substance use disorder treatments could be threatened under the extensive cuts. 



Related: The Office That Investigates Disparities in Veterans鈥� Care Is Being 鈥淟iquidated鈥� 鈥� ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Send in the Clowns!  
Would taunts from a clown temper or trigger your road rage? If you lived in Bogot谩 in the 1990s, you had the chance to find out.
 
In a literal act of political theater, a quirky professor-turned-mayor Antanas Mockus鈥攑erhaps inspired by the messaging in his own last name鈥攔eplaced hordes of aggressive traffic cops with mimes who theatrically lampooned lawbreakers and praised the compliant, .  
 
It was all part of Mockus始 plan to turn his city into 鈥渁 6.5 million person classroom.鈥� While we have concerns about the student:teacher ratio, we admire any system where class clowns rule.
 
And they weren始t just clowning around. The empowered mimes helped shift civic culture, and traffic violence in the city under Mockus. That始s no joke-us.

Alas, the show did not go on. The mimes始 blockbuster run ended in 1998, but inspired spinoffs in several other cities. QUICK HITS With drug war, Duterte long courted global condemnation 鈥�

Sugar-free slushies can make young kids seriously sick, new study suggests 鈥�

Study finds 'alarming' levels of drug-resistant Salmonella in Pakistan 鈥�

Kashmir Hospitals Battle Power Cuts as Neglect and Climate Change Affect Infrastructure 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Federal Agency Dedicated to Mental Illness and Addiction Faces Huge Cuts 鈥�

Africa鈥檚 unique gut microbiome could guide new medicines 鈥�

India's frontline health workers fight for better pay and recognition 鈥�

Lessons learned from 20 years of snakebites 鈥� Issue No. 2691
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 .

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96 Global Health NOW: Violence Upends Mpox Fight in the DRC; Reform, Don鈥檛 Eliminate, PEPFAR; and Lifesaving Ultrasounds March 12, 2025 Hospital workers carry an injured man at Bukavu Provincial Hospital. Bukavu, DRC, February 27. AFP via Getty Violence Upends Mpox Fight in the DRC
Hospitals and health workers battling mpox across eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo are facing new disruptions as Rwanda-backed rebels advance in the region, .

Patients flee, cases spread: 600+ mpox patients have fled the escalating violence despite incomplete treatment. 

• The disruption also means incomplete data: Just seven of the 26 provinces reported cases last week. Those that did report saw a 31% weekly increase in cases, per the Africa CDC. 

Hospitals under attack: Only two of the four treatment centers in the zone are currently functional. Vaccines and other medical supplies are running low. 

Other outbreaks: The DRC continues to battle cholera, measles, and the northwestern region.

• Meanwhile, the WHO is seeking to widen vaccination coverage for polio, measles, and other diseases in remote regions by equipping health workers with a fleet of boats and motorcycles, . 

Prevention work resumes: Last week, community health workers in the DRC鈥檚 capital Kinshasa were able to resume their posts, per the , after a USAID waiver was granted. 

Related:

Thousands risk crocodile-infested river to escape Rwanda鈥檚 savage M23 militia 鈥嬧�嬧��

Brazil reports its first clade 1b mpox case 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   The number of Rohingya refugee children needing emergency treatment for severe acute nutrition has surged 27% as families face 鈥渓ife-threatening hunger鈥� amid deteriorating conditions in Bangladesh鈥檚 largest refugee camp.

A once-yearly PrEP injection could be in the works after Gilead's twice-yearly lenacapavir showed promise being dosed once a year, published in show.  

The U.S. has landed on a global human rights watchlist amid the Trump administration鈥檚 鈥渁ssault on democratic norms and global cooperation,鈥� , a global alliance of civil society groups.

As USAID is dismantled, workers have been ordered to destroy classified documents鈥攁 move being challenged in court as unions say it will destroy materials relevant in ongoing lawsuits regarding the targeted agency. More U.S. Policy News National Cancer Institute employees can't publish information on these topics without special approval. 鈥�

Tuberculosis Resurgent as Trump Funding Cut Disrupts Treatment Globally 鈥�

Countries, global health groups band together as US aid gaps threaten lives 鈥�

Caribbean leaders oppose US policy targeting Cuban medical missions, saying they鈥檙e critical 鈥�

RFK Jr. weighing FDA crackdown on food additives under Trump 鈥�

Federal science hamstrung by DOGE's credit card spending limit 鈥� GHN EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY Kruish Mubiru, executive director of Uganda Young Positives, walks amid the organization's empty facilities, on February 12, 2025, in Kampala, Uganda. Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Reform, Don鈥檛 Eliminate, PEPFAR
The turmoil that has recently enveloped global HIV programs may be just a preview of a deeper, longer-lasting global health crisis to come, .

• If the U.S. Congress fails to reauthorize PEPFAR by its March 25 deadline, the crisis could begin within weeks.


• It is unclear whether there is political support to sustain the program in its current form, writes Ratevosian, a former PEPFAR interim chief of staff and current Hock Research Fellow at the Duke Global Health Institute.

Rather than eliminating a program that has , Ratevosian and Duke University colleagues have to preserve PEPFAR and modernize its strategy and operations.

• They estimate this could reduce program costs by 20% in five years.


• They also introduce new frameworks for countries to gradually assume financial responsibility for HIV prevention and treatment programs, allowing PEPFAR to 鈥渟trategically bridge resources鈥� to regions where HIV rates continue to rise.

The Quote: 鈥淲ith HIV infection rates still alarmingly high among vulnerable groups and of the world, it is becoming clear we need to rethink and refresh global HIV strategy, and PEPFAR needs to be part of that conversation,鈥� Ratevosian writes. GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES TECH & INNOVATION Lifesaving Ultrasounds 
New ultrasound technology is reshaping prenatal care in sub-Saharan Africa, allowing improved access to the critical scan at hundreds of health facilities. 

Point-of-care ultrasound devices are a more portable version of an ultrasound machine, designed specifically for providers in low-resource areas who may not have access to radiology equipment. 

Instant impact: In 2022, 500 such devices were deployed to providers across Kenya. 

• A follow-up evaluation conducted by Kenyatta University found that 90% of health care workers used the machines to identify high-risk conditions such as placenta previa or multiple gestations within one month of training. 

QUICK HITS How not to be deported: India鈥檚 nurses seeking work abroad learn how to migrate safely 鈥�

His daughter was America's first measles death in a decade 鈥�  

A Health System Is Fighting Idaho鈥檚 Abortion Ban. It鈥檚 Not Its First Controversial Stance. 鈥�

5 years since the pandemic started, long COVID patients are still hoping for a cure 鈥�

How Grocery Workers Are Still Bearing The Scars Of Covid-19 鈥�

Alcohol and cancer risk: what you need to know 鈥�

Study Discovers Tuberculosis Genes Necessary for Airborne Transmission 鈥�

Microplastics contribute to evolution of antimicrobial resistance, study finds 鈥� Issue No. 2690
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 .

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96 Global Health NOW: COVID-19, 5 Years On and On and On鈥�; How Undetected Problems Put Mothers at Risk; and The Role of Circumcision in the AIDS Fight March 11, 2025 Joseph Varon, MD, comforts a patient in the COVID-19 intensive care unit during Thanksgiving at the United Memorial Medical Center. November 26, 2020, Houston, Texas. Go Nakamura/Getty COVID-19, 5 Years On and On and On鈥�  
On March 11, 2020, the WHO confirmed what everyone already knew: The novel coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 had spawned a pandemic.
 
7 million+ deaths have been reported to , but the COVID-19 pandemic likely claimed 20 million+ lives, WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said , and noted the pandemic:

• Cost $16 trillion.


• Prevented 1.6 billion children from attending school.


• Caused ~130 million people to fall into poverty.

Never-ending pandemic:

• ~ 3,600 Americans were hospitalized due to COVID in the four weeks before Feb. 16, .


• ~Six in 100 people who have COVID-19 develop long COVID, .


• ~One in five people hospitalized with COVID reported severe depression two to three years later, based on a UK study with 475 participants. 

Science mistrust persists: 39% of Americans say they know someone who died because of COVID, but just 62% and 57% say they trust the CDC or the NIH, respectively, released today.
 
Must-read opinion: 鈥淎s the pandemic rose, I saw my patients get sick and in some cases die, including a 42-year-old mother of two young children whose loss is seared into my soul. As it receded 鈥� the overwhelming public sentiment was: never again. Today, it seems: never what?鈥� writes physician and author Siddhartha Mukherjee in .
 
Related:
 
Canadians reflect on COVID-19 pandemic 5 years later: 'How did we survive?' 鈥�
 
Federal government no longer accepting orders for free Covid-19 tests 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Chad and Bangladesh were the world鈥檚 most polluted countries in 2024, with average smog levels more than 15X WHO guidelines, just seven countries鈥擜ustralia, New Zealand, the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Estonia, and Iceland鈥攎et the standards.
 
NHS England will cut half of its workforce鈥攆rom 13,000 to ~6,500鈥攅liminating entire teams and dismissing 鈥渁 huge swathe鈥� of senior leaders as part of a sweeping restructuring led by new health secretary Wes Streeting.
 
The U.S. NIH will cancel or limit dozens of research grants related to vaccine hesitancy and uptake, according to an internal email obtained by The Washington Post yesterday.
 
Utah will become the first U.S. state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, over warnings from dentists and national health organizations who say fluoridation is safe and the most cost-effective way to prevent tooth decay鈥攑articularly for low-income residents without access to other forms of preventive dental care. Global Health Cuts Rubio announces that 83% of USAID contracts will be canceled 鈥�  

WHO warns difficult decisions 'unavoidable' as it slims down recruitment 鈥�

鈥楿tterly devastating鈥�: Global health groups left reeling as European countries slash foreign aid 鈥�

鈥楿nlawful鈥� suspension of USAID funding likely violated Constitution, judge says 鈥�

Explainer: Why US health funding cuts are rattling Swiss science 鈥�

How the NIH dominates the world鈥檚 health research 鈥� in charts 鈥� MATERNAL HEALTH How Undetected Problems Put Mothers at Risk
Tens of thousands of women have died during pregnancy and after birth due to undetected complications, on global causes of maternal mortality published in The Lancet Global Health, which analyzed ~287,000 maternal deaths that occurred in 2020鈥攖he last year of available data.

Leading causes of death: Hemorrhage led to 80,000 deaths that year, or ~27% of fatalities; hypertensive disorders like preeclampsia led to 50,000 deaths, or ~16% of fatalities. 

Other findings: Health conditions like HIV/AIDS, malaria, and diabetes contributed to ~23% of maternal deaths. 

Needed interventions: Improved antenatal services to detect risks and complications early in pregnancy; and more postnatal care, since around a third of women still do not receive essential postnatal checks after birth. 



Related: 

Cameroon Prepares to Launch National Strategy on Maternal Health 鈥�

Stillbirth rates are highest in the US South, research finds 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HIV/AIDS The Role of Circumcision in the AIDS Fight
Defending his administration鈥檚 USAID cuts, U.S. President Donald Trump last week listed agency line items he described as 鈥渁ppalling waste鈥濃�攊ncluding $10 million for male circumcision in Mozambique. 

Key treatment: But voluntary male circumcision has played a 鈥渉ighly effective鈥� role in AIDS prevention, and programs facilitating elective circumcision have become a standard part of PEPFAR-funded HIV/AIDS programs in southern and eastern Africa. 

• Circumcision became a 鈥済old standard鈥� for HIV prevention after studies and the French National Agency for Research on AIDS showed that African countries with higher rates of male circumcision had lower rates of HIV infections, and that men who opted for circumcision could reduce their risk by up to 60%. 

Reasons are unclear, but research posits that male foreskin has a larger number of HIV-vulnerable cells. 



Related: Kenya HIV patients live in fear as US aid freeze strands drugs in warehouse 鈥� OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Syria: Horrific killings of civilians on northwest coast must be investigated 鈥�

Time to Act on New Bird Flu Spillovers 鈥�

Less than half of parents think they have accurate information about bird flu 鈥�

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on the constitutionality of Colorado's ban on conversion therapy. 鈥�

Kennedy Links Measles Outbreak to Poor Diet and Health, Citing Fringe Theories 鈥�

Sleep debt, night work tied to higher risk of some common infections in nurses 鈥�

New STI impacts 1 in 3 women: landmark study reveals men are the missing link 鈥�

On board with the Top Gun pilots fighting pollution from the air 鈥� Issue No. 2689
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 .

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96 Global Health NOW: MAHA Puts Vaccines Under New Scrutiny; Pandemic-Era Repression in North Korea; and Amid a Texas Oil Boom, an Eruption of Hazards March 10, 2025 Signs point the way to measles testing in the parking lot of the Seminole Hospital District on February 27, in Seminole, Texas. Jan Sonnenmair/Getty MAHA Puts Vaccines Under New Scrutiny 
The CDC will launch a study to reexamine whether there is a connection between vaccines and autism鈥攄espite dozens of studies that found no such link, . 

The move fulfills pledges made by new Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose 鈥淢ake America Healthy Again鈥� platform included promises to review the childhood vaccination schedule. 

Kennedy鈥檚 early moves are already undermining trust in vaccines, : 鈥淲ithin the next couple of years, we could see major drops in childhood vaccination rates,鈥� said Lawrence Gostin, professor of public health law at Georgetown University.

States target mRNA: Meanwhile, conservative legislators in Iowa, Montana, and Idaho have introduced laws this year aimed at cutting the use of mRNA vaccine technology, .

Measles marches on: Kennedy鈥檚 announcement comes as the measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico has spread to ~230 people and killed two, and as doctors report an 鈥渦phill battle鈥� trying to convince some parents about the safety of vaccines and the inefficacy of supplements, . 

• But in some Texas cities, pharmacies are struggling to keep the measles vaccine stocked, .

Related:

Maryland resident confirmed to have measles after international travel 鈥�

America Is Botching Measles 鈥�

Expanding Measles Outbreak in the United States and Guidance for the Upcoming Travel Season 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Almost 1,000 civilians have been killed and hundreds more injured in military drone attacks across Africa in the last several years, per by Drone Wars UK on the escalating use of cheap imported drones across the continent.
 
7% of 10,000 U.S. adults surveyed reported having been present on the scene of a mass shooting (defined as four or more people shot); the groups most likely to have witnessed a shooting include younger generations, males, and Black respondents.

New Tanzanian law aims to expand HIV testing by lowering the age of consent for testing from 18 to 15 years and by legalizing self-testing for HIV; health officials say the strategy will 鈥渟ignificantly accelerate鈥� efforts to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

Israel will debate exiting the WHO today, per a Knesset bulletin; far-right leaders have been pushing for a departure amid the WHO鈥檚 criticism of Israeli attacks on health care in Gaza.   U.S. Policy News ____________________________________________________________
  No disease is deadlier in Africa than malaria. Trump's US aid cuts weaken the fight against it 鈥�

NIH will eliminate many peer review panels and lay off some scientists overseeing them 鈥�

CDC asks researchers to assess how their projects align with Trump administration priorities 鈥�  

Trump Administration Sends Politically Charged Survey to Researchers 鈥�

HHS sends employees a $25K voluntary buyout offer 鈥� HUMAN RIGHTS Pandemic-Era Repression in North Korea 
North Korea鈥檚 government has grown more repressive since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic鈥攅liminating already sparse freedoms and creating a 鈥済rave human rights situation,鈥� per Human Rights Watch, which interviewed recent escapees. 
 
Restrictions include: 

• Limitations on movement enforced by 鈥渟hoot on sight鈥� orders for border guards. 


• Border closures that limit access to food, medicine, and essential goods like soap and batteries. 


• Ideological control and surveillance, including an uptick in public executions, including those targeting people who consumed foreign media. 

The Quote: 鈥淔inding medicine was like picking a star from the sky,鈥� said Hye Kyung, a fruit trader who escaped. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Amid a Texas Oil Boom, an Eruption of Hazards
Fossil fuel production is surging in West Texas鈥攁nd so are the dangers faced by workers and residents. 

• ~30 Texas workers die of explosions, poison gas, blunt force trauma, or vehicle crashes each year. 

Danger on the roads: A surge in oil-related traffic has led to a growing death toll on regional roads, say first responders. 

• In 2023, 365 people died on highways in the region, resulting from 73 crashes per day. 


• In 2023, over 1,000 people died on the highways of all of Texas鈥檚 oil-producing regions, . 

Deregulation impact: As the Trump administration plans to allow for increased production in the region, 鈥渢he result of that is just going to be a horrendous amount of vehicular activity,鈥� said personal injury attorney Kent Buckingham. 

  LETTER TO THE EDITOR Nuance Missed  
I was disappointed by the March 4 lead summary titled 鈥淥besity Threatens Global Surge by 2050.鈥� While you emphasize the urgency of projected rising obesity rates, the piece makes no mention of why obesity is concerning.
 
Like all public health issues, obesity is highly nuanced. Simply stating that more people will be obese does not, in itself, explain why that matters. What are the underlying drivers of obesity? What role do structural and social determinants of health play? Your coverage fails to engage with these essential questions and may perpetuate the simplistic and harmful notion that thinness equates to health.
 
Readers deserve reporting that is thoughtful and evidence-based, rather than an incomplete snapshot of a trend. I hope future coverage will provide greater depth, offering a more complete and informed perspective. 鈥�Anisha Verma OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Transforming the humanitarian system, not destroying it 鈥�
 
A fair pandemic treaty is unlikely, but poorer countries have healthy options 鈥�

Doctors are still burned out five years after COVID exposed systemic failures 鈥�

Deadliest phase of fentanyl crisis eases, as all states see recovery 鈥�

鈥楾here鈥檚 no other solution鈥�: Polish abortion centre opens in challenge to strict laws 鈥�

Women are poorly represented in clinical trials. That's problematic 鈥�

Scientists鈥� suit against top academic publishers lays bare deep frustration over unpaid peer review 鈥�

Maasai girls take up self-defense as protection from sexual abuse and early marriage 鈥� Issue No. 2688
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 .

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  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.


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96 Global Health NOW: TB Services 鈥楥ollapsing鈥�; Demand Grows For Out-Of-State Abortion Care鈥擜nd So Do Threats; and Germany鈥檚 Crusty Cele-bready Drastic U.S. cuts to foreign funding threaten to undo decades of progress in the global fight against tuberculosis March 6, 2025 A tuberculous patient takes medicine at Curicica Hospital, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 13, 2019. Stefano Figalo/Brazil Photos/LightRocket via Getty Tuberculosis Services 鈥楥ollapsing鈥� 
Drastic U.S. cuts to foreign funding threaten to undo decades of progress in the global fight against tuberculosis鈥攁nd could have 鈥渇atal consequences for millions worldwide,鈥� . 

Historically: The U.S. has been the largest international donor in the anti-TB fight, contributing ~$200-$250 million annually, . 

• USAID funding helped avert ~3.65 million deaths last year alone. 

Hardest hit regions: Programs could be dismantled in ~18 high-burden countries, mostly across Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific, and especially in Africa鈥攚here treatment disruptions and program stoppages could 鈥渆xponentially increase TB transmission rates.鈥�

Fallout: Already, funding constraints are leading to layoffs, supply chain breakdowns, and shuttered surveillance programs in TB-affected areas. 

Lingering limbo: Some organizations like Stop TB have been granted waivers to continue their work; but they do not know when funding will be restored, .

• And while the U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the Trump administration could not withhold already-owed payments to foreign aid organizations, a timeline on potential restoration of those funds remains unclear, . 

Related: Huge Risk Of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis In Wake Of Abrupt US Funding Cuts  鈥�&苍产蝉辫; GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
Uganda's Ebola outbreak likely led to the deaths of two additional people, say investigators who have been looking into the death of a 4-year-old boy who died of the Ebola Sudan strain this past week; investigators say the boy鈥檚 mother and newborn sibling died a few weeks earlier without being tested.

The forced return of Eritrean refugees from Ethiopia should be condemned by the UN Human Rights Council, urges Amnesty International鈥攚hich said the 鈥渉uman rights situation of Eritrean refugees remains dire鈥� for the ~600 people forcibly returned to their home country.

Florida regulators are demanding 鈥渦nusually intrusive鈥� data on millions of prescriptions filled in the last year, including the names of patients taking medications, and doctors they鈥檝e seen鈥攕parking concerns about government overreach.

Resistance to standard antibiotics such as ampicillin, tetracyclines, and sulfonamides remains high in humans and animals, per a issued by European health and food safety officials that includes surveillance data from 33 European countries. U.S. Policy News   US judge bars Trump administration from cutting NIH research funding 鈥�

CDC Calls Nearly 200 Fired Workers Back, Apologizes for 'Disruption' 鈥�

US stops sharing air quality data from embassies worldwide. Scientists say that cuts out a vital resource for global health 鈥�  

KFF poll reveals support for USAID, misconceptions on aid for global health 鈥�   REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS Demand Grows For Out-Of-State Abortion Care鈥擜nd So Do Threats
As more people cross state lines to seek abortion care in the U.S., destination clinics are fighting to keep up the pace,  

• In Illinois鈥攚hich borders states with abortion restrictions鈥攃linics have reported a surge of out-of-state patients since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, with one clinic reporting a 3X increase. 

Unsustainable model? Advocates say that even in protective states, the current health infrastructure is under strain鈥攁s people have fewer health centers to turn to and are forced to travel greater distances. 

Meanwhile, in Alabama: Advocacy groups are closely watching court hearings this week in a 鈥渂ellwether鈥� Alabama case that addresses whether the state can prosecute people over abortions that took place across state lines, . 

• In Yellowhammer Fund v. Marshall, an abortion fund argues that State Attorney General Steve Marshall鈥檚 threats to prosecute activists who help people cross state lines for care won鈥檛 hold up in court.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HEALTH POLICY Mass Firings Undercut Tobacco Control Efforts
The U.S. FDA鈥檚 Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), which reviews thousands of new products coming onto the market, took a major blow on February 15 when the Trump administration fired around 100 probationary workers. 

• The Center, which is not taxpayer-funded, was already struggling to regulate products that kill nearly half a million Americans each year鈥攚ith only about 1,000 employees. CTP is also tasked with educating the public about tobacco鈥檚 health risks.

The staffing cuts come as the FDA is embroiled in battle with the tobacco industry over the rules governing emerging tobacco and nicotine products. CTP has faced criticism from both the industry and public health groups over its regulations, and lawsuits from companies challenging its decisions. 



Related: He Fought Claims of Harm From Infant Formula. Now He Regulates It. 鈥� ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Germany鈥檚 Crusty and Grumpy Cele-bready  
It始s his birthday and he始ll sulk if he wants to.

A melancholy loaf of bread is celebrating鈥� nay, reluctantly acknowledging, its 25th anniversary as a German TV star, but he始d rather be home staring at the walls.
 
Nothing to proof: The puppet Bernd das Brot鈥擝ernd the Bread鈥攈as become beloved by adults as well as children, and received for embracing 鈥渢he right to be in a bad mood,鈥� .
 
There始s a multitude of good reasons for Bernd to be ticked off, not least the unrequited love of a baguette who rejected him in favor of a 鈥渞un-of-the-mill multigrain.鈥�
 
But our favorite detail is a heartening one: Bernd, and his signature grimace, was originally conceived by one co-creator sketching the other on the back of a napkin. Instead of their relationship going stale, they created an icon of ennui.
 
So if this team can survive such brutal honesty, and their curmudgeonly creation can be besties with a sheep and a flower bush 鈥� then why can始t the rest of us just get along? QUICK HITS UN to halve Rohingya food aid in Bangladesh amid funding crunch 鈥�

Cases of Parkinson's disease set to reach 25 million worldwide by 2050, study suggests 鈥�

Wastewater sampling could be key to early warning of new disease outbreaks 鈥�

"Identity fraud": Proposed Texas state law would make identifying as transgender a felony 鈥�

More women doctors than men for first time in UK 鈥� Issue No. 2687
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 .

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  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.


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96 Global Health NOW: Inside the Disarray at the NIH; Retinol鈥檚 Ugly History; and U.S. Organ Transplant System in Turmoil March 5, 2025 People gather on the University of Illinois Chicago campus to voice concerns about the potential loss of federal funding for medical research on February 19. Scott Olson/Getty Inside the Disarray at the NIH
Over six weeks, the NIH鈥攖he world鈥檚 largest sponsor of biomedical research鈥攈as been thrown into chaos after the Trump administration's orders for vast funding cuts and a suspension of grant reviews, .

• Despite federal rulings declaring the cuts unconstitutional, funding remains frozen as NIH employees fear violating executive orders.


• Leadership has been overturned, and ~1,200 probationary staff have been cut.

The result: 鈥淭he longer the pause on NIH funding has dragged on, the more the American research community has descended into disarray,鈥� reports Katherine Wu for .

• Universities have paused graduate admissions; labs are planning staff cuts; clinical trials risk being shut down; and biomedical internships are canceled, .

A 鈥淧lan B鈥� to cut funds: Even if courts reject the funding cuts, the Trump administration could negotiate individual university payments in a 鈥渃at-and-mouse game,鈥� . 

Deeper fears: The remaking of the agency could end biomedical research in America 鈥渁s we know it,鈥� said Monica Bertagnolli, former NIH director.

Such concerns will be in play during today鈥檚 confirmation hearings for Jay Bhattacharya, the Trump administration鈥檚 pick to lead the agency.

• A Stanford professor and critic of COVID-19 shutdowns and vaccine policies, Bhattacharya is a physician who has never completed clinical training or practiced medicine. His research focuses on health economics and policy, . 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   The Americas region is at risk of losing its hard-won measles elimination status, , pointing to a 4.5X rise in reported cases compared to the same period last year; the U.S. and Canada account for over 97% of the region鈥檚 cases so far, but Mexico and Argentina have also reported cases.
 
42% of people surveyed in Ohio State University鈥搇ed research mistakenly believed that human papillomavirus (HPV) is more common in women than men, and 45% did not know if HPV was linked to cancers beyond cervical, of 1,005 people.
  
More than 60% of Americans expect that USAID鈥檚 dissolution will lead to more humanitarian and health crises globally, while 47% think the move will significantly reduce the U.S. budget deficit, according to a new poll that also shows Americans largely overestimate U.S. spending on foreign aid.

Pregnant women and newborns in Beijing carry blood lithium levels up to 20X higher than those in a comparable industrial city, Changsha, that raises 鈥渦rgent鈥� questions about an unidentified source of lithium pollution in the Chinese capital and details related health risks. U.S. Policy News Medicaid cuts put adult dental care on the chopping block 鈥�

Trump vowed to end surprise medical bills. The office working on that just got slashed 鈥�

Trump鈥檚 data deletions pose a stark threat to public health 鈥�

CDC rescinds some staff firings 鈥�

Trump administration expected to seek to let Idaho enforce its strict abortion ban, in drastic reversal from Biden White House's stand 鈥�

鈥極mg, did PubMed go dark?鈥� Blackout stokes fears about database鈥檚 future 鈥� HUMAN RIGHTS Retinol鈥檚 Ugly History 
Retinol has become a standard ingredient in skincare products. But its little-known origin story involves decades of medical abuse. 

• Before Retin-A鈥檚 FDA approval in 1971, it was tested on hundreds of incarcerated people in Philadelphia鈥檚 now-closed Holmesburg Prison in experiments led by University of Pennsylvania dermatologist Albert Kligman. 


• The mostly Black male test subjects had high-dosage chemicals applied to their skin, along with other medical procedures that left wounds and scars.

Calls for justice: The University of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia have issued formal apologies. But survivors and their families are calling for reparations, as retinol now generates billions of dollars in sales. 

• 鈥淢y daddy鈥檚 skin is in those jars,鈥� said Adrianne Jones-Alston, whose father underwent the experiments. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ORGAN DONATION ETHICS U.S. Transplant System in Turmoil 
Organ transplants in the U.S. have long been governed by a national registry: a consistent ranking system that aims to pair donated organs to patients who need them most. 

But a troubling new trend has emerged, where the registry order is regularly ignored, with officials 鈥渓eapfrogging over hundreds or even thousands of people鈥� to decide matches, finds a must-read investigation by the New York Times. 

By the numbers: Last year, officials skipped patients on the waiting lists for ~20% of transplants from deceased donors鈥�6X more often than a few years earlier.

Impact: 1,200+ people have died over the last five years after being skipped while nearing the top of a waiting list. 

 

ICYMI: Myanmar villagers reveal 鈥榙esperate鈥� illegal kidney sales 鈥� FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY Calling All Changemakers!
  The application for the cohort is now open! If you鈥檙e passionate about tackling health disparities and creating a more just world, this is your chance to join a global community of leaders dedicated to health equity.
 
Early- to mid-career professionals engaged in health-related work located in all parts of the world are encouraged to apply for this one-year, non-residential fellowship offered by George Washington University.   

• Deadline to apply: April 10

QUICK HITS CDC says it is on the ground in Texas to aid in measles outbreak response 鈥�

Humanitarian aid鈥檚 extreme donor dependency problem in five charts 鈥�

Breaking taboos about contraception in Benin 鈥�

She鈥檚 a Foot Soldier in America鈥檚 Losing War With Chronic Disease 鈥�

USAID Helped Me Become the Scientist I Am Today 鈥�

Smartwatches could end the next pandemic 鈥�

Sperm quality linked to living longer, study finds 鈥� Issue No. 2686
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.


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