96
Global Health NOW: India鈥檚 鈥楤lood Deserts鈥�; and A 鈥楪ame Changer鈥� for Sleeping Sickness
March 3, 2026
TOP STORIES
U.S. health officials asked to postpone a PAHO-convened panel to review the U.S. measles elimination status, originally set for April, until November鈥攁fter the midterm elections; the Health and Human Services Department said it needs more time to analyze its measles data.
The malaria vaccine is reducing hospitalizations and deaths of children in northwestern Nigeria, state health workers say, with hospital cases declining up to 50% a year after the malaria vaccine was added to the routine immunization schedule in Nigeria鈥檚 Kebbi State; 200,000+ children have received at least a first dose.
A UN drug alert blocked a shipment of chemicals that could have produced ~1.4 to 3.3 tons of fentanyl鈥攗p to 1.6 billion potentially lethal doses; the UN International Narcotics Control Board released news of the March 2025 seizure as an 鈥渋nternational success story鈥� to demonstrate the importance of the early warning system.
Consumer Reports found heavy metals in more than half of infant formulas it tested in the U.S.鈥攄espite an FDA pledge to tighten oversight; 26 of 49 formulas contained inorganic arsenic at or above CR's level of concern; more than a quarter of the products tested revealed PFAS, 鈥渇orever chemicals,鈥� and three exceeded CR鈥檚 lead level of concern, though CR stressed none of the levels were high enough to cause immediate harm. IN FOCUS Employees of a private company donating blood in a LG Mega Blood Donation Camp. March 27, 2025, Noida, India. Sunil Ghosh/Hindustan Times via Getty India鈥檚 鈥楤lood Deserts鈥� Families of patients needing donated blood in India routinely post desperate pleas on social media because the blood system in states like Jharkhand lacks sufficient supplies, .
Unreliable blood testing: Even when donor blood is obtained, procedures for testing the blood for HIV and other pathogens aren鈥檛 always followed.
A new treatment for sleeping sickness is being heralded as 鈥渢ruly spectacular鈥濃�攁nd a potential key toward eliminating the parasitic disease by 2030, . The disease is spread through bites of tsetse flies in sub-Saharan Africa and dramatically impacts the nervous system. It is almost always fatal if left untreated. The new drug acoziborole鈥攁 one-dose, three-pill treatment for sleeping sickness made by Sanofi鈥攔eceived endorsement from the European Medicines Agency last week, paving the way for approval across Africa, . What makes it different:
US Speeds up Signing of Bilateral Health Agreements, DRC Lawyers Challenge Minerals Deal 鈥� Acting CDC director Bhattacharya urges measles vaccines 鈥� Egyptian Women Are Still Being Asked to Prove Their Virginity 鈥� States Move to Limit Access to H.I.V. Treatment 鈥� Malawi bans dual jobs for health workers 鈥� Made-in-America Guns Are Fueling Death and Destruction in Mexico 鈥� Will the next World Food Programme chief answer to Trump? 鈥� Should tick safety be as popular as 'slip, slop, slap'? 鈥� Issue No. 2873
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 2026 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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You can or .
The malaria vaccine is reducing hospitalizations and deaths of children in northwestern Nigeria, state health workers say, with hospital cases declining up to 50% a year after the malaria vaccine was added to the routine immunization schedule in Nigeria鈥檚 Kebbi State; 200,000+ children have received at least a first dose.
A UN drug alert blocked a shipment of chemicals that could have produced ~1.4 to 3.3 tons of fentanyl鈥攗p to 1.6 billion potentially lethal doses; the UN International Narcotics Control Board released news of the March 2025 seizure as an 鈥渋nternational success story鈥� to demonstrate the importance of the early warning system.
Consumer Reports found heavy metals in more than half of infant formulas it tested in the U.S.鈥攄espite an FDA pledge to tighten oversight; 26 of 49 formulas contained inorganic arsenic at or above CR's level of concern; more than a quarter of the products tested revealed PFAS, 鈥渇orever chemicals,鈥� and three exceeded CR鈥檚 lead level of concern, though CR stressed none of the levels were high enough to cause immediate harm. IN FOCUS Employees of a private company donating blood in a LG Mega Blood Donation Camp. March 27, 2025, Noida, India. Sunil Ghosh/Hindustan Times via Getty India鈥檚 鈥楤lood Deserts鈥� Families of patients needing donated blood in India routinely post desperate pleas on social media because the blood system in states like Jharkhand lacks sufficient supplies, .
- Large parts of India are considered 鈥渂lood deserts鈥� where local timely, affordable demand goes unmet in at least 75% of transfusion cases.
- Patients with the inherited blood disorder thalassemia require frequent blood transfusions, so unreliable blood supplies can make tracking down the correct blood group an ordeal for each procedure.
Unreliable blood testing: Even when donor blood is obtained, procedures for testing the blood for HIV and other pathogens aren鈥檛 always followed.
- Three members of a Jharkhand family were infected with HIV in January after the mother received a blood transfusion during labor, .
A new treatment for sleeping sickness is being heralded as 鈥渢ruly spectacular鈥濃�攁nd a potential key toward eliminating the parasitic disease by 2030, . The disease is spread through bites of tsetse flies in sub-Saharan Africa and dramatically impacts the nervous system. It is almost always fatal if left untreated. The new drug acoziborole鈥攁 one-dose, three-pill treatment for sleeping sickness made by Sanofi鈥攔eceived endorsement from the European Medicines Agency last week, paving the way for approval across Africa, . What makes it different:
- The pill treats both mild and severe cases, eliminating invasive diagnostics that can include spinal taps.
- It is one dose and easily transportable to remote regions.
- And it is effective: that 95%+ of treated patients were cured after 18 months.
US Speeds up Signing of Bilateral Health Agreements, DRC Lawyers Challenge Minerals Deal 鈥� Acting CDC director Bhattacharya urges measles vaccines 鈥� Egyptian Women Are Still Being Asked to Prove Their Virginity 鈥� States Move to Limit Access to H.I.V. Treatment 鈥� Malawi bans dual jobs for health workers 鈥� Made-in-America Guns Are Fueling Death and Destruction in Mexico 鈥� Will the next World Food Programme chief answer to Trump? 鈥� Should tick safety be as popular as 'slip, slop, slap'? 鈥� Issue No. 2873
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:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2026 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.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
Some young gamers may be at higher risk of mental health problems, but family and school support can help
Pre-teens who struggle to control their video gaming habits are more likely to have psychotic-like experiences a year later, a new study has found.
91丝瓜视频 researchers and colleagues at Maastricht University found that 12-year-olds who showed signs of problematic gaming were more likely to experience mild paranoia, unusual beliefs or disturbed perceptions at age 13.
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: Warnings of Human Toll as Middle East Conflict Widens; and High-Impact, Home-Based Prevention
March 2, 2026
TOP STORIES
Sudan鈥檚 Rapid Support Forces during and after the takeover of El Fasher last October, per a published last week drawing on interviews with 22 survivors and witnesses.
Both the DRC and Guinea have forged health cooperation agreements with the U.S.鈥攖he latest of several bilateral deals the U.S. has made in Africa after dismantling its former USAID health funding last year; Guinea鈥檚 agreement totals ~$143 million in funding over the next five years, , and the DRC鈥檚 agreement totals $1.2 billion through 2030, . Spain reported a possible infection with the swine flu virus鈥攖he A(H1N1)v variant鈥攖hat may have been transmitted between humans, but a Catalonia region health official said the risk of transmission to other people was very low; the WHO is conducting additional tests to confirm the diagnosis and rule out contamination or external interference. Meningococcal B vaccine is not effective at preventing gonorrhea infection in high-risk groups, presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Infections last week ; the findings show that gonorrhea incidence among gay and bisexual men with a history of gonorrhea infection was essentially the same whether they received the vaccine or a placebo. IN FOCUS Severe damage is seen at Gandi Hospital, in northern Tehran, following U.S. and Israeli joint strikes on the Iranian capital, on March 2. Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Warnings of Human Toll as Middle East Conflict Widens
As conflict spreads rapidly across the Middle East following joint U.S.-Israel strikes across Iran this weekend, global leaders are warning against escalating humanitarian impacts throughout the region鈥攊ncluding attacks on health care and other civilian institutions: 鈥淗ealth facilities are protected under international humanitarian law,鈥� in response to 鈥渆xtremely worrying鈥� reports that Tehran's Gandhi Hospital was struck during bombardment, 鈥攄etails that WHO leaders were still working to verify today.
1,100+
鈥斺赌斺赌斺赌�
US measles cases so far in 2026, per the CDC鈥攚ith a placing the number of confirmed cases at 1,153 since January 1.鈥�
Related: Measles outbreaks are costing the U.S. millions of dollars. The true losses can't be counted. 鈥� LETTER TO THE EDITOR Correcting the Story on Australia鈥檚 Cigarette Taxes Regarding the February 17 GHN summary on a highlighting the recent increase in illicit cigarettes in Australia, the newspaper missed crucial parts of this important story. As noted, when cigarette taxes and prices increase dramatically, some smokers may shift to illicit cigarettes. However, experiences in other countries including the U.K. and Montenegro demonstrate that straightforward measures to secure the supply chain mitigate the illegal market. In the U.K., prices are comparable to Australia鈥檚, but illicit trade is a manageable ~10%. They did this through strong policies including registering vendors who are adequately punished for tax violations; placing their customs officials in source countries through mutual agreements; and developing a tracking and tracing system for all tobacco products that permits tax authorities to know precisely where products are. Australia, however, has done little along these lines, which is their real challenge. Contrary to this reporting, higher taxes are not the central problem but rather a proven public health success. Jeffrey Drope, PhD QUICK HITS White House stalls release of approved US science budgets 鈥� More Parents Say 'No' to Vitamin K Shots for Newborns 鈥� Why new doctors aren't specializing in infectious diseases 鈥�
Families Defend Disability Services Amid Medicaid Cuts 鈥�
Ivermectin is making a post-pandemic comeback, among cancer patients 鈥� Why We Vaccinate Our Dogs and Cats 鈥� Issue No. 2872
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:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2026 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.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
Both the DRC and Guinea have forged health cooperation agreements with the U.S.鈥攖he latest of several bilateral deals the U.S. has made in Africa after dismantling its former USAID health funding last year; Guinea鈥檚 agreement totals ~$143 million in funding over the next five years, , and the DRC鈥檚 agreement totals $1.2 billion through 2030, . Spain reported a possible infection with the swine flu virus鈥攖he A(H1N1)v variant鈥攖hat may have been transmitted between humans, but a Catalonia region health official said the risk of transmission to other people was very low; the WHO is conducting additional tests to confirm the diagnosis and rule out contamination or external interference. Meningococcal B vaccine is not effective at preventing gonorrhea infection in high-risk groups, presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Infections last week ; the findings show that gonorrhea incidence among gay and bisexual men with a history of gonorrhea infection was essentially the same whether they received the vaccine or a placebo. IN FOCUS Severe damage is seen at Gandi Hospital, in northern Tehran, following U.S. and Israeli joint strikes on the Iranian capital, on March 2. Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Warnings of Human Toll as Middle East Conflict Widens
As conflict spreads rapidly across the Middle East following joint U.S.-Israel strikes across Iran this weekend, global leaders are warning against escalating humanitarian impacts throughout the region鈥攊ncluding attacks on health care and other civilian institutions: 鈥淗ealth facilities are protected under international humanitarian law,鈥� in response to 鈥渆xtremely worrying鈥� reports that Tehran's Gandhi Hospital was struck during bombardment, 鈥攄etails that WHO leaders were still working to verify today.
- In Israel, health care facilities have moved operations underground and to other protected spaces, .
- such a strike as 鈥渁 grave violation of humanitarian law.鈥�
- 鈥淎s always, in any armed conflict, it is civilians who end up paying the ultimate price,鈥� said T眉rk.
- ~500 community health workers delivered tests and PrEP/PEP drugs directly to homes and coordinated follow-up care via smartphone apps.
- Overall, the intervention led to a 4X increase in use of anti-HIV drugs in people who were not infected with the virus.
1,100+
鈥斺赌斺赌斺赌�
US measles cases so far in 2026, per the CDC鈥攚ith a placing the number of confirmed cases at 1,153 since January 1.鈥�
Related: Measles outbreaks are costing the U.S. millions of dollars. The true losses can't be counted. 鈥� LETTER TO THE EDITOR Correcting the Story on Australia鈥檚 Cigarette Taxes Regarding the February 17 GHN summary on a highlighting the recent increase in illicit cigarettes in Australia, the newspaper missed crucial parts of this important story. As noted, when cigarette taxes and prices increase dramatically, some smokers may shift to illicit cigarettes. However, experiences in other countries including the U.K. and Montenegro demonstrate that straightforward measures to secure the supply chain mitigate the illegal market. In the U.K., prices are comparable to Australia鈥檚, but illicit trade is a manageable ~10%. They did this through strong policies including registering vendors who are adequately punished for tax violations; placing their customs officials in source countries through mutual agreements; and developing a tracking and tracing system for all tobacco products that permits tax authorities to know precisely where products are. Australia, however, has done little along these lines, which is their real challenge. Contrary to this reporting, higher taxes are not the central problem but rather a proven public health success. Jeffrey Drope, PhD QUICK HITS White House stalls release of approved US science budgets 鈥� More Parents Say 'No' to Vitamin K Shots for Newborns 鈥� Why new doctors aren't specializing in infectious diseases 鈥�
Families Defend Disability Services Amid Medicaid Cuts 鈥�
Ivermectin is making a post-pandemic comeback, among cancer patients 鈥� Why We Vaccinate Our Dogs and Cats 鈥� Issue No. 2872
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:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2026 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.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
UN human rights chief Volker T眉rk warned on Friday that the Epstein and Gis猫le Pellicot scandals are an illustration of intensifying threats to women and girls forced to suffer in silence.
Categories: Global Health Feed
