Global Health Unfiltered Blog
Revitalizing Leprosy Control in Nigeria: A Call to Action
Despite its ancient history, leprosy, or Hansen's disease, remains a powerful force, causing irreversible disabilities affecting the skin, peripheral nerves, and respiratory tract. Commendable past efforts, including establishing the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control program in 1989, brought leprosy to the brink of eradication by 2000.
The Vital Role of Persons with Disabilities in the Green Transition
The International Energy Agency’s forecast of a net gain of nine million jobs in clean energy by 2030 is promising. However, the critical success metric will be the inclusivity of these jobs. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change emphasizes the need for a just transition of the workforce, which must include persons with disabilities. Their voice, agency, and empowerment as energy and climate actors are indispensable.
The US needs to rethink its punitive legal approach to mental health
Using punitive legal approaches to respond to illness is not only unjust but defeatist. It ignores the underlying causes of the scourge and fails to provide effective interventions. It creates a vicious cycle of stigma and discrimination that perpetuates societal injustices against vulnerable populations, including the homeless and those battling substance use challenges.
Where Lies and Placebos Thrive in Global Health Systems
Public distrust in healthcare systems is a global concern that affects everyone, regardless of whether they trust healthcare systems. The burden of this distrust is significant, including increased healthcare costs, poor health outcomes due to delayed or avoided medical care, and reduced effectiveness of public health interventions.
Secondhand Suffering: A Global Call for Clean Air
The hospitality industry's creation of "smoking zones" normalizes the act, attracting new smokers and creating a dangerous environment for staff and patrons alike. This deliberate normalization contradicts Ghana's public health goals and existing legislation.
The Escalation of Dengue Cases in Latin America: A Chance to Apply Lessons Learned from COVAX
Like COVID-19 and many other global health concerns, Dengue is not an individual nation's responsibility to eradicate. It is a global challenge that requires a collective response. Responsible collaborations, as learned from COVAX, are crucial to inform the international community's response to dengue.
Beyond Resolutions: How Local Activism Can Reshape Global Surgery Policy
I failed to secure a Swiss Schengen visa to attend 2024’s 77th World Health Assembly (WHA) global surgery side events. This sparked my reflection on the impact of global health institutionalism on global surgery and why global surgery advocacy must radically change to effectively influence global health policy.
A Digital Leap Towards a Healthier Future in Africa
The convergence of African healthcare visionaries, policymakers, investors, and innovators at the World Future Health Africa is an opportunity and a call to action that Africa cannot afford to miss. The path to embracing AI in African healthcare won't be without its challenges, but the potential benefits are too significant to ignore.
Silenced Voices: How Swiss Gatekeeping Stifles Global Health Collaboration at the World Health Assembly
Unfortunately, visa denial has become a rite of passage in global health. The repercussions of such high denial rates are profound: a shortage of knowledge exchange, diminished collaboration, and the absence of critical African perspectives in shaping health discourse—a discourse that impacts Africa more than any other region.
Bridging the Gap Between Prescriptions and Patient Action
Medication adherence is an often overlooked yet crucial part of global health. More prominent issues frequently eclipse it. As we engage in discussions about groundbreaking medical advancements and the latest health trends, the issue of poor medication adherence patiently awaits its moment of recognition.
Q&A: Revolutionizing musculoskeletal sarcoma treatment in Kenya
FIFA and the Global Surgery Movement can unite for children's dreams.
Like Ronaldo, millions of children worldwide dream of becoming famous athletes, engineers, astronauts, doctors, artists, and more. Sadly, unlike Ronaldo, many who suffer from surgical conditions like him may never be able to live out their dreams because they happen to be born in a part of the world where surgical care is virtually impossible to access.
Original or Fake: A Nation’s Counterfeit Goods Dilemma
At the heart of this crisis lies greed. The global counterfeit drug and product market is estimated to exceed $200 billion.
Unsafe Disposal of Medicines: A Slow Poison and Global Threat
The pharmaceutical sector is expanding rapidly due to high demand in healthcare and agriculture, which in turn is generating a significant amount of harmful waste. Various sources, including wastewater treatment plants, healthcare institutions, and household disposal practices contribute to this issue.
Antimicrobial Resistance in African Slums
The battle against Antimicrobial Resistance in African slums is about safeguarding the future. It's about ensuring that a situation like Nneka's does not repeat itself. We must ensure that antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents remain the shield against every infection.
A Unified Front: Early Detection and Prevention of Pandemics Through One Health Surveillance
Current pandemic responses often fall short due to fragmented surveillance systems focused solely on human health. This approach fails to capture crucial insights from animal populations, neglecting a vital piece of the puzzle. Additionally, delayed responses, fueled by bureaucratic hurdles or inadequate surveillance infrastructure, can significantly amplify outbreaks, as tragically exemplified by the Ebola epidemic.
Antimicrobial Resistance: The Silent Global Health Threat
The World Bank estimates that AMR could cost the world an additional $1 trillion in healthcare expenditures by 2050. Even with new antibiotics being developed, the emergence of resistance continues, rendering them ineffective. This begs the question: what actionable solutions can we implement to address this silent threat?
Institutional Dominance versus Collaborative Equity in Global Health
International aid, often the lifeline of global health programs in LMICs, can inadvertently perpetuate these imbalances. Donor-driven agendas can steer research, neglecting local priorities and expertise. Instead, we need models that empower LMIC institutions to set research agendas, collaborate on equal footing, and build sustainable partnerships beyond quick-fix projects.
Tribal Marks and Modernity: Scars of Pain or Heritage?
Body modifications hold significant cultural significance in many parts of Africa, symbolizing age, social status, beliefs, and religion. Some tribes use them to represent diplomacy, wealth, creativity, and wisdom. Practices like scarification and lip plates, while seemingly foreign to outsiders, hold deep meaning within these communities.
A Cry for Help: Dismantling the Stigma Around Mental Health
I yearned for someone to understand the silent screams echoing within me, someone to acknowledge the invisible pain I was enduring. In essence, I yearned for access to mental healthcare.