Deepening Middle East Conflict Displaces Millions; Threatens Water and Air Quality

13/03/2026 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

The deepening conflict across the Middle East has displaced nearly 3.2 million people in Iran, according to new estimates by UNHCR, as well as nearly 800,000 people in Lebanon, mostly in the southern region, according to a new WHO situation report. After the Lebanese Shi’ite militia Hezbollah entered the war on 2 March firing barrages […] Continue reading ->

How Public Health Lost the Narrative – and How It Can Win It Back

12/03/2026 Steve Hamill

Public health ended 2025 in one of its weakest positions in living memory – not because of a surge in disease, but because of a collapse in political, financial, and cultural support. Vaccination policies long considered settled science are being reversed, and industry-backed “junk science” is shaping legislation to derail proven nutrition policies. Even as […] Continue reading ->

Global Fund Faces $5bn Shortfall as France Slashes Support, EU Delays Pledge

11/03/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen

Battered by a 58% cut from France, a delayed European Union (EU) pledge, and a US pullback, the Global Fund faces a significant shortfall, securing $12.64 billion against its $18 billion target during the 8th replenishment. According to the organization, reaching the full target would have prevented roughly 400 million new AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria […] Continue reading ->

War and Herbicide: Renewed Focus on Trump’s Support for ‘Elemental Phosphorus’

11/03/2026 Kerry Cullinan

US President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on “elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicide” is facing renewed scrutiny for potentially shielding a controversial weapon of war. The order promotes the domestic production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate. Elemental phosphorus is the raw material used in white phosphorus weapons, which cause severe burns and tissue damage, and […] Continue reading ->

Global Health Infrastructure is Changing. Why Getting it Right Matters

11/03/2026 Marcus Low

Funding cuts over the past year have created a crisis for multilateral health institutions. Which institutions emerge from this crisis, and in what form, will have real consequences for the health of people in countries like South Africa. In recent weeks, there has been a glut of articles from global health big-hitters, all concerned with […] Continue reading ->

UN Rapporteur Signals Legal Shift to Hold Air Polluters Accountable

10/03/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen

While air pollution claims more than eight million lives annually, the burden of proving exactly which air polluters or tailpipes caused a specific lung cancer or child’s asthma attack has rested firmly on the shoulders of the sick. That is about to change, according to a landmark United Nations (UN) report by Astrid Puentes Riaño, […] Continue reading ->

As ‘Gulf War 3’ Threatens Progress on Air Pollution, ‘Market Forces’ May Provide Impetus for Change

10/03/2026 Chetan Bhattacharji

The 12th Better Air Quality conference in Bangkok, which opens on Wednesday, is the first large climate and air quality gathering since the US and Israel attacked Iran, triggering an oil and gas-energy crisis. BANGKOK – The ‘Gulf War 3’ threatens to slow down climate action and the move to cleaner air. However, in the […] Continue reading ->

EU Opens Funds for Safe Abortion Access But Long-term Financing Remains Uncertain

08/03/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen

In a landmark decision, the European Commission is allowing member states to utilize existing EU funds to finance access to safe abortions. This move represents a significant shift in European reproductive health, although it stops short of providing financial certainty for women seeking essential reproductive healthcare. “Behind every unsafe abortion is a woman forced to […] Continue reading ->

Uganda Extends Successful Malaria Intervention to Older Children

06/03/2026 Esther Nakkazi

KAMPALA, Uganda – After five years of focusing on malaria prevention through Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) in the Karamoja region in northeastern Uganda for children under the age of five, Uganda’s Health Ministry has decided to extend the intervention to children up to the age of 10. SMC is the intermittent administration of a curative […] Continue reading ->

Historic HPV Vaccination Campaign in India to Boost Fight Against Cervical Cancer

05/03/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen

India launched the most extensive free Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination initiative in history to systematically combat the rising toll of cervical cancer. This ambitious 90-day campaign aims to inoculate nearly 12 million 14-year-old girls before the preventative shot is permanently integrated into the country’s universal immunization schedule. “India has joined the community of 160 countries […] Continue reading ->