Think Global Health

Better health begins with ideas

an initiative from

Governance

A woman waits at a polio immunization health center in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria, on August 29, 2016. There is striking color in this photo. She has a bright orange scarf around her head and shoulders and leans against a brick wall that is painted dark red. She holds pink and blue copies of papers in her hands, and the light blue wall of a building can be seen in the background. She holds a bright red bag. The look on her face is serious. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

Vaccine Hesitancy, an Escalating Danger in Africa

by Charles Shey Wiysonge - December 17, 2019

Called one of the ten main threats to global health by WHO, vaccine hesitancy is pervasive, misinformed, and contagious

Governance

Lou Gehrig, pictured with New York Yankees teammate Babe Ruth, was called the "Iron Horse" of baseball for playing in 2,130 consecutive games before his forced retirement from the game that loved him. The photo shows Lou Gherig in happier times leaning on one knee propped on a dugout bench next to the Babe. GETTY PHOTO.

How Did Dengue Get Its Name?

by Allyse Smith, Jason Socrates Bardi

Governance

Nine-year-old Tumelo holds his grandmother's hand after taking his medication at Nkosi's Haven, south of Johannesburg, on November 28, 2014. Picture shows a large adult hand and the lower part of a child’s face in the background as his own hand grasps his grandmother’s.

In Global Health, What’s Past Is Prologue

by Ruth E. Levine

Governance

An entrance sign to the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Texas, on October 4, 2014. The sign says “EMERGENCY” and points to the left. In the background we can see an American flag billowing against a brilliant clear blue sky. REUTERS/Jim Young

The Future of American Democracy Depends on Improving U.S. Health

by Thomas J. Bollyky, Tara Templin, Simon Wigley

The Latest

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Governance

Old coffee cans of shotgun shells dropped off to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department at the “Gifts for Guns” buyback in Compton, California on January 21, 2013. Picture shows two bright red, rusted out coffee tins filled to the brim with shotgun shells, red shells in the first tin, blue in the second. REUTERS/David McNew

The Global Experience of Gun Control

by Vin Gupta

Firearm Deaths, including suicides, are averted when treated as a public health problem—so why not in the United States?

Poverty

People waiting at Fatmawati hospital in Jakarta on May 17, 2013, after Indonesia announced plans to implement nationwide health care, with the aim to covering all Indonesians by the end of the decade. The picture shows a crowded waiting room with a man in the foreground with a red cloth draped over his head and holding what appears to be a bag of ice against his cheek. He looks like he is suffering. REUTERS/Beawiharta.

The March of Private Health Care in Southeast Asia

by Swee Kheng Khor

How can a government achieve universal coverage for all citizens in a landscape where private care is deeply entrenched?

Urbanization

Children look out from their classroom in a (truly) rural primary school in Min County, Gansu Province, China on June 1, 2011. The school, with five teachers and 102 students, is on a high mountain. We see the adorable faces of several small children looking out weather-beaten window panes hung on a yellow brick wall. Faded chalk writing of chinese characters can be seen scribbled on the concrete sill. REUTERS photo.

The Lost Cities and Towns of Asia and Africa

by Thomas J. Bollyky - December 11, 2019

A global definition of cities means better understanding of local urban health

Environment

Wildfires, Air Quality, and the Risk of Lung Diseases

by Christopher Troeger

Data in Global Health

Featured Data Points

$8 B

Revenue from health tourists in SE Asia in 2018

6 of 10

Extremely poor people are in middle-income nations

48%

Developing country share of global trade, 2014

10%

Annual growth in global health aid, 2000-2010

1.3%

Annual growth in global health aid, 2011-2018

820 M

Million people do not have enough food to eat

1/3

Share of food produced annually lost or wasted

2.0 B

Projected number of people living in slums by 2030

35%

Decrease in women aged 20-40 in China by 2050

132 M

Number of girls out of school worldwide in 2016

Series: Global Health Governance in Transition

See all in series

There is a new world of challenges for global health governance, with shifting donor priorities, evolving health needs in many low- and middle-income nations, and a development assistance budget that has not increased much since 2010. This series explores where global health governance goes next.

Governance

A Mauritanian man stands on what appears to be an ancient wall of old baked bricks on Aug 16, 2005 in the ancient village of Ouadane. He is wearing a light blue robe that is filling with strong winds, presumably carrying sand and dust south from the Sahara, and stands in bright contrast to the dull red background. Africa’s Sahel region is threatened by desertification. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly

The Once and Future World of Global Health Governance

by David P. Fidler - December 8, 2019

To meet twenty-first century geopolitical, national security, and climate challenges, global health policies must evolve

Governance

Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust. The picture shows Farrar wearing a blue shirt and blazer, smiling as he leans on sleek railing and standing out against a highly bokeh background. FRANCIS CRICK INSTITUTE/Dave Guttridge

Twenty-First Century Epidemic Responses

by Jason Socrates Bardi

An interview with Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust

Environment

Picture shows Olive Kobusingye, Executive Director, Injury Control Center at Makerere Medical School in Kampala, Uganda. She is looking at the camera against a bright, blurred out background wearing a red-and-blue shirt in this posed shot.

Injuries, Drowning and Boat Safety in Sub-Saharan Africa

by Jason Socrates Bardi, Thomas J. Bollyky

Interview with Olive Kobusingye, Executive Director, Injury Control Center at Makerere Medical School in Kampala, Uganda

What we're reading

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Foreign Policy

The World Knows an Apocalyptic Pandemic Is Coming

by Laurie Garrett

Ominous independent report to UN by Global Preparedness Monitoring Board warns of “very real threat”—a future pandemic killing up to 80 million people

Medium.com

URBANIZATION: Air Pollution, Bad Diets and Other Big City Woes

by Chris DePalatis

Short 2018 feature looks at a few of the human health impact of urbanization and explores some of the possible ways to improve modern urban life.

New York Times

New TB Vaccine Could Save Millions of Lives

by Donald McNeil

New TB vaccine, despite being only 50 percent effective, could dramatically reduce the impact of the world’s most lethal infectious disease.

PLOS Medicine

ENVIRONMENT: Association between heat exposure and undernutrition in Brazil, 2000−2015

by Rongbin Xu et al.

Study is first to explore relationship between heat exposure and hospitalization for undernutrition—evidence of direct, rapid impact of global warming