Pandemics

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A line chart titled “Health Risks in LMICs” shows how the leading risk factors for disease burden change in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 1990 to 2023. In 1990, malnutrition ranks highest, followed by unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), household air pollution, high blood pressure, dietary risks, tobacco, and high body-mass index. Over time, noncommunicable disease risks rise. By 2023, high blood pressure and dietary risks are the top contributors, while malnutrition and household air pollution decline in rank. Tobacco and high body-mass index increase modestly, and unsafe WASH drops to the lowest rank. The chart highlights a shift from communicable and environmental risks toward chronic disease risks in LMICs.

Does Pandemic Preparedness Depend on Confronting the Chronic Disease Crisis?

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An analysis looks at whether strategies to reduce the global burden of noncommunicable disease could aid pandemic preparedness

Argentina's President Javier Milei addresses the eightieth United Nations General Assembly, at the UN headquarters, in New York City, on September 24, 2025.

WHO, PAHO, and the Future of Health in the Americas

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For Latin America and the Caribbean, preserving the integrity of the WHO and PAHO is not optional but a strategic necessity

Online Learning's Health Burden in Low-Resource Countries

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Once hailed as a great equalizer, online learning has deepened health divides in vulnerable student populations

Kesieana Onoge and her daughter Naomi Onoge, 6, struggle to navigate the online learning system from their home, in Lagos, Nigeria, on April 23, 2020.

White House Empties Office for U.S. Pandemic Policy: The Gaps Left Behind

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Summer departures leave the White House without a senior official for pandemic preparedness, biosecurity, or biodefense

White House Empties Office for U.S. Pandemic Policy: The Gaps Left Behind

From Long Flu to Long COVID: A Brief History of Postviral Illness

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Despite centuries of examples, long-term maladies after flu and other viruses remain absent from mainstream policy

From Long Flu to Long COVID: A Brief History of Postviral Illness

Pandemic Responses Should Not Rely on Border Closures

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Lessons learned from COVID-19 should inform future public health responses

Pandemic Responses Should Not Rely on Border Closures

Prioritizing Prevention in the Pandemic Treaty

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Ahead of debates next month, negotiators should come with clear, commonsense proposals that can gain global support

Prioritizing Prevention in the Pandemic Treaty

Preparing for Disease X

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A recent outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo underscores the need to prepare for future pandemics

Preparing for Disease X

Global Health Security Lessons from the U.S. Biodefense Response

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The COVID-19 pandemic exemplified how an institute concerned with biodefense could pivot to serve public health needs

Global Health Security Lessons from the U.S. Biodefense Response

Designing A New National Center for Disease Control

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Infectious disease epidemiologist Chikwe Ihekweazu recounts the advent of Nigeria's Centre for Disease Control

Designing A New National Center for Disease Control

Using Game Theory to Advance the Pandemic Agreement

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Rewarding drug manufacturers for sharing vaccine doses could break the impasse in negotiations

Workers carry a batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to a helicopter.

The PEPFAR Files: How Critics Put the HIV Program at Risk

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Over the program's 21-year history, its essential components were either critiqued or glossed over, hurting its survival

The PEPFAR Files: How Critics Put the HIV Program at Risk