PODCAST: What We Know About Air Pollution Around the World Mark Leon Goldberg July 2, 2018Air pollution is a major killer around the globe and one that disproportionately affects low and middle income countries. The World Health Organization estimates that around 7 million people die every year from the air they breathe.There are two kinds ...
WHO: Ebola Outbreak Response for the DRC is So Far Working Mark Leon Goldberg May 18, 2018An Ebola outbreak has gripped parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to the latest figures from the World Health Organization there have been 45 reported cases, 14 of which have been confirmed as Ebola. Of these 45 cases, 25 have resulted in...
The World Health Organization Wants You To Worry About “Disease X” Alanna Shaikh, MPH February 25, 2018Every year, the World Health Organization commissions an expert committee identify the most threatening infectious diseases of the upcoming year. The idea is to prioritize research and development on diseases and pathogens that pose a major risk to global heal...
Why You Should Be Freaking Out that the US Centers for Disease Control Is Massively Cutting its Overseas Operations. (Hint: Diseases Like Ebola Don’t respect borders) Alanna Shaikh, MPH February 2, 2018About two weeks ago, an internal memo leaked from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It informed personnel that the center was anticipating a loss of approximately 80% of its funding for international outbreak prevention work. Yesterday, ...
Cases of a Deadly Fever Are Spiking in Brazil Right Before Carnival. How Worried Should We Be? Alanna Shaikh, MPH January 24, 2018The World Health Organization this week reported a three fold increase in the number of cases of Yellow Fever in Brazil. This could pose a public health risk: Carnival is next week, and Brazil is about to be swarmed by happy revelers, out all night -- precis...
Global Progress on Malaria Eradication “Stalled” According to a New WHO Report. Here’s Why Alanna Shaikh, MPH November 29, 2017It’s easy to think of malaria as an old-fashioned disease. We know malaria really, really well. It’s the kind of illness that gets mentioned in old books; a colonial sort of disease. It’s not new and terrifying like Zika, or deadly like Ebola. It’s just...mala...
Tuberculosis is easily treated. So Why Is It Still The Most Deadly Infectious Disease in the World? Alanna Shaikh, MPH November 1, 2017The World Health Organization released the 2017 World Tuberculosis (TB) report this week. The conclusions are sobering.On the one hand, the report finds that global efforts to combat tuberculosis have saved an estimated 53 million lives since 2000 and redu...
For the first time, Women Outnumber Men in Senior Posts at a UN Agency Alanna Shaikh, MPH October 6, 2017Something looked very different when the Director General of the World Health Organization introduced his senior leadership team this week.Nine out of the fourteen posts will be filled by women.In the announcement, the head of the World Health Program ...
One year after promising to tackle Anti-Biotic Resistance, the UN assesses its progress John Light September 21, 2017Tackling future threats is never easy. Last year, the UN launched a new initiative aimed at tackling a growing problem that could someday lead to catastrophe. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) essentially means antibiotics are becoming less effective, laying ...
