As the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria heads into a secretive but highly contentious election of a new Executive Director, the names of several candidates reported to be on the shortlist, all US citizens, have surfaced. They include former Global Fund Executive Director Mark Dybul, former Trump appointee William Steiger and […] Continue reading ->
“Those are people who are being killed socially.” That is how Dr. Marcus Lacerda, Director of the WHO-hosted Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), describes children whose futures are shaped by repeated bouts of vivax malaria. Lacerda, who joined TDR in March 2026, has spent more than 25 years studying […] Continue reading ->
“It wasn’t unusual for shells and missiles to smash through the upper floors, leaving sizeable holes. Every time we were hit, we’d wonder if we should close the hospital.” That is how Dr. Amani Ballour, a Syrian paediatrician and the first female director of a hospital in a Syrian war zone, recalls working in an […] Continue reading ->
Artificial intelligence promises huge efficiency gains for strained health systems, but algorithmic surveillance in long-term care systems also introduces profound ethical dilemmas. In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) has unveiled a comprehensive consultation draft on global long-term care standards to ensure digital innovation is balanced with fundamental human rights. Across the world, countries are […] Continue reading ->
The recent hantavirus outbreak triggered a wave of disinformation along similar lines to the COVID-19 pandemic: the virus was “fake”, “deliberately engineered”, and could be “cured” by Ivermectin. In the past week, furious community members have attacked and torched tents housing Ebola patients at Mongbwalu General Referral Hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) […] Continue reading ->
The Commonwealth’s new strategic framework accelerates the elimination of cervical cancer, a highly preventable disease that claims hundreds of thousands of lives yearly. However, shifting global funding and major prevention gaps threaten to derail progress, forcing states to double down on shared digital resources, regional cooperation, and community engagement. Inside the wood-panelled executive boardroom at […] Continue reading ->
WHA Advances Global Health Architecture Reform Amidst Questions About Where Process Will Really Lead
The 79th World Health Assembly adopted a widely anticipated Global Health Architecture Reform initiative. While WHO and many member states lauded it as a landmark move, the actual mandate is, in fact, highly restrictive. The process will not yield recommendations on “revisions to organizational mandates nor specific mergers or consolidations” in the often overlapping functions […] Continue reading ->
Amid surging geopolitical tensions, increased global health threats, and strained public budgets, global health leaders and pharmaceutical executives converged in Geneva with a unified message: medical innovation must be treated as a critical investment not a healthcare drain. Showcasing this shift, Canada unveiled strategic investments and new regulations. GENEVA – Inside the packed ballroom of […] Continue reading ->
As Europe grapples with shifting demographics and an influx of migration, researchers are mapping how undocumented migrants navigate the administrative cracks of the continent’s healthcare systems – helping to fill a critical data gap identified by the World Health Organization. Inside the neoclassical venue of La Pastorale in Geneva, around 30 participants from six European […] Continue reading ->
In January, India’s Supreme Court has ruled that menstrual health is a fundamental right, directing states and schools to take measures to facilitate menstrual health and sanitation. The laws of the world’s most populous country are now in line with the United Nations (UN) stand on menstrual health taken in 2024, and one that is […] Continue reading ->