Category: Blog

The War on Malaria: A New Arsenal

In 2011, the then WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, proclaimed, “The usefulness of our most potent weapon in treating malaria is now under threat.” Chan called out to researchers, funders, and policy leaders to recognize the urgency of artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum parasites, a formidable threat that jeopardizes the goal of malaria eradication. Flash forward to […]

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Interconnection and Infectious Disease

Progress has had many benefits for global health. As areas become less isolated, it becomes easier for people to reach hospitals and get essential medical supplies and a more interconnected world means we can spread information faster and further than ever before. Unfortunately, it also means diseases can spread faster and further if left unchecked. […]

Vaccination and Eradication: The Importance of Novel Approaches

Early this year, India launched one of the world’s largest vaccination campaigns targeted at eradicating measles and congenital rubella. Through the country’s continued efforts, almost 118 million children benefited from mass vaccination campaigns decreasing measles deaths by 51% between 2000 and 2015. Over the next two years, government officials hope to reach 410 million children […]

Cervical Cancer: A Disease of Inequality

Every year, approximately 500,000 women are affected by cervical cancer, and in 2012 alone, there were approximately 266,000 deaths globally. But, cervical cancer is a disease of inequality. An overwhelming majority of these women- 84% of which- live in developing countries in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Furthermore, cervical cancer continues to remain the […]

Global health research and evidence-based intervention

Every single day, we have conversations, interact with our friends, classmates, and professors. In addition, we read the news, scroll through our Facebook feeds, watch Sports Center. Each of these situations is undoubtedly filled with claims of all sorts: claims about roommates, about a particular concept you are learning about in class, claims about things […]

Plague in Madagascar: Is Our Approach to Outbreaks Fundamentally Flawed?

One hundred people reported dead, countless others infected. Madagascar is in the midst of its most deadly plague outbreak in recent memory. Schools, universities and public buildings have closed. The government has forbidden public gatherings. The WHO has already shipped 1.5 million doses of antibiotics, as well as designated US $1.5 million from its emergency […]

Global health labor workforce faces challenges as strikes continue

Today, the health workforce lacks at least 7.2 million workers. The World Health Organization identifies several causes for this shortage of staff. First, the current workforce is too old, and too few of the younger generations are entering it as the current staff retires or leaves for better paying jobs. Second, the migration of health […]

Unsafe abortions in low-income countries

The British medical journal The Lancet just reported that out of the 56 million abortions performed worldwide last year, about 25 million of them posed some threat to the health or the life of the mother. An overwhelming majority of these abortions-97% of them-come from developing countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, and typically, […]

Life and Death Inequality

Global health trends have been steadily improving for some time. Breakthroughs in medicine and surgical techniques have improved the quality of healthcare but not everyone reaps the benefits. Contrary to popular belief, the United States, which is a beacon for advanced health care, suffers from serious health care inequality. A recent MIT study has exposed […]