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Findings could help tailor interventions to encourage physical activity in older people with heart and blood flow conditions

A diagnosis is often a cue for people to change the way they live. For people diagnosed with cardiovascular conditions such as heart disease or diabetes, it is often a motivator to get more physical exercise, which can improve long-term health. However, the rate of physical activity increase after diagnosis varies widely depending on the individual.

Findings could help tailor interventions to encourage physical activity in older people with heart and blood flow conditions

A diagnosis is often a cue for people to change the way they live. For people diagnosed with cardiovascular conditions such as heart disease or diabetes, it is often a motivator to get more physical exercise, which can improve long-term health. However, the rate of physical activity increase after diagnosis varies widely depending on the individual.

Findings could help tailor interventions to encourage physical activity in older people with heart and blood flow conditions

A diagnosis is often a cue for people to change the way they live. For people diagnosed with cardiovascular conditions such as heart disease or diabetes, it is often a motivator to get more physical exercise, which can improve long-term health. However, the rate of physical activity increase after diagnosis varies widely depending on the individual.

Findings could help tailor interventions to encourage physical activity in older people with heart and blood flow conditions

A diagnosis is often a cue for people to change the way they live. For people diagnosed with cardiovascular conditions such as heart disease or diabetes, it is often a motivator to get more physical exercise, which can improve long-term health. However, the rate of physical activity increase after diagnosis varies widely depending on the individual.

96 Global Health NOW: High Costs of Malaria Funding Cuts; Navigating Taliban Taboos to Care for Women; and Iran鈥檚 Transgender Care Paradox October 21, 2025 Women breastfeed their babies while waiting to have them vaccinated against malaria at the launch of a vaccination campaign for children from zero to 23 months. Abidjan, C么te d'Ivoire, July 15, 2024. Sia Kambou/AFP via Getty High Costs of Malaria Funding Cuts       Draconian cuts to malaria prevention programs could translate to 990,000 more deaths in the next five years,  by the African Leaders Malaria Alliance and Malaria No More UK. 

• Even a 20% reduction in support to the Global Fund in its upcoming replenishment could lead to 33 million more cases and 82,000 more deaths by 2030. 

• Beyond lives lost, that Global Fund shortfall would mean a $5.14 billion hit to Africa鈥檚 GDP by 2030.  

• Malaria currently kills ~600,000 people鈥攎ostly children under five鈥攅very year.  

Fundraising in doubt: 

• The Global Fund, which delivers nearly two-thirds of all international funds for fighting malaria, convenes its supporters on November 21. It aims to raise $18 billion in the next three years, . 

• Germany committed $1 billion to the Global Fund last week, but that amount is  than its previous commitment, .   

• The UK is poised to make a similar funding reduction.   

The takeaway: The report underscores both the human and economic impact of an era defined by wealthy countries鈥� retreat from international commitments.      The Quote: 鈥淐utting funding risks the deadliest resurgence we鈥檝e ever seen,鈥� warned Malaria No More UK鈥檚 Gareth Jenkins, per The Guardian.     Related:     Malaria resurgence could kill 750,000 children and wipe $83 billion from Africa's GDP by 2030, new report warns 鈥�     New Insights into Malaria Could Reshape Treatment 鈥�     Innovation: The unique programme protecting children against malaria 鈥�   GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   A groundbreaking retinal implant鈥攁 tiny photovoltaic microchip, thick as a human hair鈥攁llowed 27 out of 32 participants in to see well enough to read again, offering hope to people with an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration.     Pregnancy and breastfeeding trigger the accumulation of protective immune cells鈥擳 cells that can live for decades postpartum鈥攖hat lower the chances of breast cancer, per a Melbourne-based study in humans and mice that sheds light on the mechanism underpinning breastfeeding as a known cancer risk reducer.     Cancer patients who received an mRNA COVID vaccine within 100 days of beginning immunotherapy lived significantly longer than those who didn鈥檛; research presented Sunday at the 2025 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Berlin suggests the vaccine may act like a 鈥渇lare鈥� to activate the immune system and boost cancer-fighting responses.     Shingles vaccination may reduce the risk of heart disease, dementia, and death in adults aged 50 and older, matched cohort study presented at IDWeek 2025 (not yet published); compared to the pneumococcal vaccine, shingles-vaccinated adults had a 50% lower risk of vascular dementia, 25% lower risk of heart attack or stroke, and 21% lower risk of death.   DATA POINT  

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People鈥撯�搉early 80% of the world鈥檚 poor鈥撯�搘ho live in regions that are exposed to extreme heat, flooding, and other climate hazards. 鈥�
  DISASTER RESPONSE: AFGHANISTAN Navigating Taliban Taboos to Care for Women     In the days following deadly earthquakes in eastern Afghanistan in August, aid agencies trying to help women were forced to navigate strict鈥攁nd often contradictory鈥擳aliban gender-based regulations.     Women bear the brunt: The majority of the 2,200+ people who died were women and girls, who were more likely to sleep inside structures that collapsed. 

• Taliban restrictions prevented men from aiding many injured women, forcing the few female workers available to travel treacherous terrain with male guardians. 

• Women鈥檚 exclusion from medical schools also meant a diminished female health workforce to assist in the crisis. 

Seeking workarounds: The crisis has also exposed tensions between Taliban hardliners enforcing bans and pragmatic officials who urged international female aid workers to head to earthquake zones to help women.


Related: Let Afghan women work: maternal health depends on it 鈥�    GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HUMAN RIGHTS Iran鈥檚 Transgender Care Paradox     Despite Iran鈥檚 widespread discriminatory policies against LGBTQ+ people, the country is billing itself as a global destination for gender-affirming surgery鈥攚ith medical tourism agencies offering low-cost operations and luxury stays in an advertising push that aims to generate ~$7 billion annually.    But the promotion diminishes often-contradictory cultural attitudes toward trans and gay rights and hides the grim reality of ongoing stigma, say advocates.    Background: Iran is one of the few places in the Muslim world that permits gender-affirming care, with religious leaders legalizing transition surgeries ~40 years ago as a legitimate medical need.     Abusive tool: But gay and gender-nonconforming people have also been coerced into unwanted procedures, under threat of violence or the death penalty, to maintain strict gender binaries and suppress gay rights.       OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Sexual violence, torture and betrayal: Life under Putin鈥檚 occupation 鈥�     My life with ALS: A week in Brooke Eby's life behind the phone camera lens 鈥�     New Leaders' Initiative Aims To Drive Investment In Health 鈥�     New medical school center set to investigate healthy aging with HIV 鈥�  

Medical Care in the Hardest Places: Dr. Jill Seaman's Three Decades in South Sudan 鈥�  
Mosquitoes found in Iceland for first time as climate crisis warms country 鈥� Thanks for the tip, Cecilia Meisner!   Issue No. 2808
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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96 Global Health NOW: The Resistance to Ending UNAIDS; Gaza鈥檚 Ecological Wounds; and Spreading the Benefits of Child Spacing in Nigeria October 20, 2025 Headquarters of the WHO and UNAIDS. Geneva, Switzerland, May 16, 2009. Gunter Fischer/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty The Resistance to Ending UNAIDS    A growing number of voices are decrying a proposal made by UN Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres last month to sunset UNAIDS by the end of 2026鈥攆our years early鈥攁s part of a broader UN restructuring plan, .     Background: The single-sentence proposal appeared without warning in a UN80 reform plan released in September.    Sounding the alarm: UNAIDS officials and member states argued at the World Health Summit last week that such a timeline could be the 鈥渘ail in the coffin鈥� of global HIV response, and especially dangerous given destabilization this year from funding cuts by the U.S. and other countries, . 

• 鈥淪unsetting can be good if you stand in a beautiful sunset. And it can be terrifying if you鈥檙e standing by yourself, and it just all of a sudden gets dark,鈥� said Christine Stegling, deputy executive director of UNAIDS, at the summit.   

• 1,000+ civil society organizations worldwide at the proposal. 

Voices from vulnerable regions: Health leaders from sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia have described how dismantling critical UNAIDS assistance like surveillance and advocacy could quickly lead to a resurgence in HIV transmission.  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   The last Ebola patient in the DRC was released yesterday from a treatment center in Kasai province; the outbreak, which began Sept. 4 and numbered 64 cases with 45 deaths, will be declared over if no new cases occur in the next 42 days.
  Fiji has earned WHO validation for eliminating trachoma as a public health problem, following surveys and studies to improve understanding of the disease as well as school WASH initiatives; it is the 26th country to achieve the milestone, and it鈥檚 the first NTD to be eliminated in Fiji.
  The FDA will expedite reviews for a round of nine experimental drugs that align with 鈥淯.S. national interests,鈥� including drugs for pancreatic cancer, infertility, deafness, and vaping addiction.
  Peanut allergies have declined sharply among children since pediatric guidelines issued in 2017 encouraged parents to introduce infants to peanuts rather than avoid them, , which found the rate of peanut allergies among children under 3 plunged from 1.46% in 2012鈥�2015 to 0.93% in 2017鈥�2020. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Gaza鈥檚 Ecological Wounds     Two years of bombardment have left Gaza facing ecological disaster, 鈥攚ith contaminated ground, air, and water that threaten residents鈥� safety. 

• 鈥淲hat we are witnessing is not just a humanitarian catastrophe but an ecological collapse that threatens the very possibility of recovery,鈥� said study author David Lehrer.   

Toxic rubble: ~200,000 destroyed buildings have left behind ~61 million tons of rubble contaminated with asbestos, heavy metals, and industrial chemicals. 
  Afflicted air: Airborne rubble particles and open waste burning have filled Gaza鈥檚 air with hazardous dust, raising risks of cancer and respiratory illness, especially for children. 
  Waste-filled water: Gaza鈥檚 water supply is critically low and heavily polluted, leaving just 8.4 liters of water daily per person for drinking and sanitation鈥攚ell below emergency standards.     GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES FAMILY PLANNING Spreading the Benefits of Child Spacing in Nigeria     Nigeria鈥檚 Kano State has one of the country鈥檚 highest fertility rates at 5.8, and modern contraceptive use remains low at just 10.6%鈥攍eading to rapid population growth that strains the region鈥檚 fragile economy. 
Child spacing, the practice of timing pregnancies around safe and manageable intervals, is a key tool in family planning efforts鈥攂ut most messaging targets women.    Meeting men: To address this gap, MSI Nigeria Reproductive Choices, a sexual and reproductive health care services provider, is actively engaging men through targeted discussions about child spacing and contraceptive use during traditional social gatherings known as Majalisa.     And supporting women: The organization is reaching Kano women through 100+ door-to-door community health workers called MS Ladies.       Related: Trump Administration Decimates Birth Control Office in Layoffs 鈥�   OPPORTUNITY Attention Humanitarian Workers: Apply to the H.E.L.P. Course     The Health Emergencies in Large Populations (H.E.L.P) course, offered by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is accepting applications for the January 2026 session.      For 25+ years, the H.E.L.P. course has offered humanitarian workers intensive training in the public health principles of disaster preparedness and disaster management, drawing participants from a variety of civil society, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement鈥攊ncluding nurses, physicians, public health professionals, lawyers, journalists, managers, planners, logisticians, and aid workers鈥攕ome with many years of experience, and others just beginning their careers.

• The virtual course will run January 5鈥�16, 2026, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern time.
• Both noncredit and academic credit options are available.
• More questions? Email helpcourse.jhsph@gmail.com 

QUICK HITS Sudan hit by triple outbreak of deadly diseases 鈥�     鈥榊ou Could Treat a Child for a Few Dollars.鈥� Now Those Clinics Are Gone. 鈥�     New study shows faster way to cure vivax malaria Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health 鈥�     Overdose in America: analysis reveals deaths rising in some regions even as US sees national decline 鈥�     Global Health Leaders Urge Fewer Agencies Amid Funding Crisis 鈥�     Is academic research becoming too competitive? Nature examines the data 鈥�     Surrey-developed colour-changing label will prevent vaccine waste 鈥�     It鈥檚 a Bird! It鈥檚 a Plane! It鈥檚 a Chemtrail? New Conspiracy Theory Takes Wing at Kennedy鈥檚 HHS 鈥�   Issue No. 2807
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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96 Global Health NOW: Upending Lesotho鈥檚 HIV Fight; The Danger of 鈥楢merica First鈥� in Global Health; and A Series of Very Fortunate Events October 16, 2025 Upending Lesotho鈥檚 HIV Fight    Over two decades, U.S. funding helped Lesotho, a small nation with one of the world鈥檚 highest HIV rates, build an effective health network that allowed it to make lifesaving gains to set it on track for AIDS elimination by 2030.  

• Last year Lesotho reached UNAIDS鈥檚 95-95-95 target of HIV-positive people aware of their status, in treatment, and reporting a suppressed viral load. 

But that progress has quickly unraveled in the months following the Trump administration鈥檚 abrupt freeze on foreign aid and the dismantling of USAID. Lesotho officials estimate that the country has been set back 15 years and that thousands of lives are at risk.    Through and , the consequences of cuts and subsequent chaos come into sharp focus: 

• 鈥淓veryone who is HIV-positive in Lesotho is a dead man walking,鈥� said Hlaoli Monyamane, a 32-year-old miner with HIV.  

Pivotal PEPFAR funds slashed: Lesotho lost 23% of its PEPFAR funding鈥攐ne of the hardest-hit nations in terms of the share of such funding cuts. The immediate cutoff led to shuttered clinics and labs, widespread layoffs among health workers, and the sudden halt of prevention programs, including ones targeting mother-to-baby HIV transmission.  

• "When a child who was receiving treatment stops getting treatment, it feels like a crime against humanity,鈥� said Catherine Connor, with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation 

Temporary reinstatement, persistent uncertainty: The U.S. State Department has since announced 鈥渂ridge鈥� programs to resume lifesaving HIV services, but restarting the programs is slow and fear remains high. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Uruguay has legalized euthanasia, making it one of the first countries in Latin America to pass such legislation; it is now among a dozen countries worldwide to allow assisted suicide.     Abortion access in Costa Rica has now been restricted to cases when the mother鈥檚 life is in danger after a rule change made by the country鈥檚 president that required no legislative approval.     ~700 drugs used in the U.S. depend on chemicals solely produced in China, ; experts fear that such heavy reliance on China could leave American patients vulnerable if the country curtails exports.   A New York resident with chikungunya is the state鈥檚 first known locally acquired case, health officials say; the U.S. hasn't seen a locally acquired infection since 2019. U.S. and Global Health Policy News Democratic governors form a public health alliance in a rebuke of Trump 鈥�     How Texas Planned Parenthood is surviving without public funds 鈥�     Foreign Aid Cuts Halt Migrant and Refugee Health Project in Peru Partners In Health 鈥�     Trump Rattles Vaccine Experts Over Aluminum 鈥�   GHN EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY A pharmacist stocks PrEP medicine at a pharmacy in a community center operated by LoveYourself, a nonprofit impacted by U.S. foreign aid cuts. February 19, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. Ezra Acayan/Getty The Danger of 鈥楢merica First鈥� in Global Health    The recently released  presents a bold vision of U.S. leadership while overlooking the realities on the ground that determine whether lives are saved or lost, in an exclusive commentary for GHN. 
The argument: 

• The strategy equates health leadership with dollars spent and medical products exported. However, among high-income nations, the U.S. health system has the  ($13,432 per person) and the  (78.4 years).  

• The strategy correctly notes that U.S. foreign assistance programs are often inefficient, but it offers misguided solutions including privatization, conditional aid, and bilateral agreements.  

• Its narrow focus on infectious diseases reflects yesterday鈥檚 battles, not today鈥檚 realities.  

• The report overlooks the pivotal role of soft diplomacy yet concedes that programs like PEPFAR and smallpox eradication did more than save lives.  

• The authors are most concerned by the strategy鈥檚 retreat from multilateralism. Global health crises cannot be contained through a patchwork of bilateral agreements, the pair argues.  

The takeaway: If implemented, the strategy would worsen the very problems it seeks to solve, write Crawford, a Stanford University clinical professor, and Barry, senior associate dean for Global Health at Stanford.    GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES SUBSTANCE USE Ireland鈥檚 Alcohol Labels Dry Up    Passed in 2018, Ireland鈥檚 Public Health (Alcohol) Act鈥攁 law that would require cancer warnings on all alcohol containers鈥攚as due to take effect in 2026.     But in July, the Irish government quietly postponed the measure until 2028.    Why? Newly obtained documents reveal a campaign by alcohol companies to delay the law鈥檚 implementation.     How did they do it? 

• Weaponizing trade disputes by calling the proposed legislation a non-tariff trade barrier. 

• Insisting that future labeling requirements are best pursued at the European level. 

• Using 鈥渟cience鈥慴ased鈥� reports to downplay alcohol鈥檚 cancer risks. 

Health experts expressed concern the label rollout may never materialize.         ICYMI: Why Alcohol Needs a Cancer Warning Label 鈥� 

Related: When men drink, women and children pay the price 鈥�   ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION A Series of Very Fortunate Events    To connect with fellow humans, some people get together for dinner, coffee, or a walk. Others make art from pork scraps, or celebrate the birth of someone long dead.    It seems that no matter the hobby, there鈥檚 a gathering to match. It just may be on the other side of the planet.     Some options:    Put a fork in it: Pudding mit Gabel鈥擥erman for 鈥淚 eat pudding wrong,鈥� 鈥攊s the ideal meetup if you want to eat the soupy treat with a fork.    Pork art: In Pennsylvania, there鈥檚 a , an iconic but infamous 鈥減orcine delicacy鈥� that marries meat scraps and cornmeal in a loaf to eat or, better yet, use for arts and crafts.     Lipstick on a water buffalo: For the bovine enthusiast, a Chonburi, Thailand, festival to the humble, and probably unsuspecting, . Yes, that is its official scientific name.    Posthume drama: Everyone except Jane Austen herself seemed to descend on Bath, England, many in costume, to celebrate the . Being honored with a 10-day, 2,000-guest extravaganza sounds 鈥� exhausting. Fortunately for Austen, she is already asleep.    QUICK HITS Proposed UK cuts to global aid fund could lead to 300,000 preventable deaths, say charities 鈥�     'I can't afford to save both twins': Sudan's war left one mother with an impossible choice 鈥�     Study finds no link between mRNA COVID vaccines early in pregnancy and birth defects 鈥�     Nearly 70% of U.S. adults considered obese under new definition, study finds 鈥�     California to ban ultra processed foods from school meals 鈥�     Tiny brain nanotubes found by Johns Hopkins may spread Alzheimer鈥檚 鈥�     Did lead poisoning doom Neanderthals? 鈥�    Issue No. 2806
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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  Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.


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Amid the destruction of the Second World War, nations responded to the danger of hunger and malnutrition by creating the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on 16 October 1945. The UN agency celebrates this achievement as World Food Day every year on its birthday, recognizing the work of all those who are committed to ensuring food for everyone. We鈥檒l be bringing you the highlights live from FAO throughout the day. UN News app users can follow coverage here.

96 Global Health NOW: Demanding Justice for Health Workers; Rehabilitation: The Forgotten Frontline; and Triple Triumph in the Maldives October 15, 2025 A portrait of Viktoriia, a nurse who was injured on July 8, 2024, when a Russian missile struck the Ohmatdyt National Children's Hospital where she worked. Lviv, Ukraine, September 28, 2024. Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Demanding Justice for Health Workers    U.K. medical leaders are urging the government to back International Criminal Court prosecutions for war crimes targeting health workers, patients, and medical facilities.    comes in the wake of that details the rising incidence of violence against health workers, and the 鈥渄eep and lasting scars鈥� left on communities through such brazen attacks, as described by nurses working under threat in Afghanistan, Burma, Gaza, and Lebanon.  

• 鈥淲hat is the point of international law if they murder our colleagues and don鈥檛 face consequences?鈥� asked one senior nurse quoted in the report.  

Key details of the report:  

• Killings of health workers spiked 5X over a decade, from 175 in 2016 to 932 in 2024, driven by conflicts in Palestine, Ukraine, Lebanon, and Sudan. 1,200+ attacks have been reported this year. 

• Working under intimidation from family members and authorities has become common in places like Afghanistan.  

• Health infrastructure collapse and severe shortages hinder the ability to provide basic care.  

A need for action: Along with calling for international partners to investigate and prosecute health law violations, nursing leaders are also calling for restored foreign aid for health systems.  
    GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Cannabis use and addiction have been associated with genes also linked to bipolar disorder, obesity, and other traits, ; while the findings may one day lead to treatments for cannabis use disorder, researchers caution that clinical application is years away.     The Sudanese city of El Fasher has been declared 鈥渦ninhabitable,鈥� 鈥攚hich described tens of thousands of people trapped inside 鈥減ushed to the edge of survival鈥� as they face severe malnourishment, total destruction of infrastructure, and a cutoff from humanitarian aid amid ongoing artillery and drone attacks.     120+ people have been hospitalized in Gabes, Tunisia, for respiratory distress related to fumes from a nearby chemical factory that residents say is emitting toxic fumes.      Safety of children鈥檚 toys will be more closely regulated by the EU, which will now require all toys sold online to include a 鈥渄igital product passport鈥� that will allow consumers and regulators to check each toy鈥檚 compliance with EU laws.   GHN EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY A member of China Search and Rescue Team provides medical consultations for local residents in Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), April 5. Cai Yang/Xinhua via Getty Rehabilitation: The Forgotten Frontline     Following a disaster, like the March 28 earthquake that shook the Sagaing region in Burma (Myanmar), rehabilitation services are often an afterthought鈥攂ut they should be introduced far earlier in the response, , a physiotherapy student at Gulf Medical University, UAE.  
  鈥淭hese are not optional extras; they are medically proven, evidence-based interventions,鈥� writes Ijaz. For many survivors, the real challenge begins after surgery, she notes: Without the aid of early rehabilitation, they face a greater risk of long-term disability, pain, and, critically, the loss of independence. 
  Yet rehabilitation is one of the most overlooked elements of disaster response. Despite international guidelines confirming the need for early introduction鈥攊deally within the first few days鈥斺�渆arly rehab is still seen as optional or secondary and is systemically excluded from emergency response plans,鈥� Ijaz says. 
  Success stories: Examples that could serve as models include the ICRC鈥檚 deployment of rehabilitation professionals within weeks following the 2020 Beirut Port blast in Lebanon, and the Norwegian Afghanistan Committee鈥檚 efforts following the August earthquake in Afghanistan.   GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES MATERNAL & CHILD HEALTH Triple Triumph in the Maldives    
The Maldives has officially become the first country in the world to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of three diseases: hepatitis B, HIV, and syphilis.    Recipe for success: 

• 95% of pregnant women receive antenatal care.  

• 95% of newborns receive hepatitis B vaccinations on time.  

• Free antenatal care, vaccines, and diagnostic services鈥攊ncluding testing for HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B鈥攁re included in the Maldives鈥� universal health coverage. 

A model to follow: Mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B, HIV, and syphilis still affects millions worldwide. But the Maldives elimination efforts are a strong example of elimination strategies for others moving forward.        EVENT A Call to Action for Youth Mental Health     Join the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Mental Health for A Call to Action for Youth Mental Health, a hybrid convening to mark the U.S. launch of the Second Lancet Commission Report, spotlighting the urgent need to address the global adolescent mental health crisis.     This gathering will bring together young people, researchers, and decision-makers to develop an agenda of actionable change for adolescent mental health in the U.S. while highlighting lessons from the Global North and South. 

• October 27鈥�28 at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in D.C.
•   (A detailed agenda and logistics information will follow upon confirmation)
•  

QUICK HITS They Fought Outbreaks Worldwide. Now They鈥檙e Fighting for New Lives. 鈥�     Scientists lose jobs and grants as US government shutdown takes a toll 鈥�   
  Health of world's forests at 'dismal' levels, causing threat to humanity, report warns 鈥�     This Nobel Peace Prize front-runner didn't win 鈥� but did get the 'alternative Nobel' 鈥�     On the Front Line of the Fluoride Wars, Debate Over Drinking Water Treatment Turns Raucous 鈥�     Shamans openly using psychedelic drugs for treatment in South Africa 鈥�     Microplastics are everywhere. You can do one simple thing to avoid them. 鈥�      Ditch 鈥榮hrink it and pink it鈥� women鈥檚 trainer design, say experts 鈥�   Issue No. 2805
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

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  Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.


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Over 212,000 Afghan children are now at risk of acute watery diarrhoea and other deadly waterborne diseases, according to the UN Children鈥檚 Fund (UNICEF).