New data shows that nearly three in four countries in Europe now use Artificial Intelligence in their health services to make a diagnosis.
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW Special Edition: Takeaways from CUGH
In this special issue, we鈥檙e sharing some CUGH takeways that inspired us鈥攊ncluding this year鈥檚 Untold Global Health Stories Contest winners!
April 17, 2026
SPECIAL ISSUE: CUGH 2026 TAKEAWAYS
Panelists at the closing plenary of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health. Washington, D.C., April 12. Robb Cohen Photography & Video
EDITORS鈥� NOTE
A Memorable, and Inspiring, CUGH
A big thank you to the Consortium of Universities for Global Health for an excellent conference last weekend in Washington, D.C. With this special edition of GHN, we鈥檙e sharing some of the takeways that inspired us鈥攊ncluding this year鈥檚 Untold Global Health Stories Contest winners! We鈥檒l be sharing interviews with our two grand prize winners soon, so keep an eye out for that.
We also want to thank all of the new readers who signed up at CUGH鈥攍et us know what you think, and if you find GHN useful, please share with your friends and colleagues. We always love to expand our circle.
鈥�Dayna dkerecm1@jhu.edu
鈥�Brian bsimpso1@jhu.edu
IN FOCUS: GHN EXCLUSIVE From Rupture to Renaissance If the global health order is broken, some global health leaders are primed to chart a new way forward. Gathered last Sunday for the Consortium of Universities for Global Health annual meeting in Washington, D.C., they shared their concerns about the irrevocable changes in the structure, norms, and rules governing international relations鈥攂ut devoted most of their time to discussing how to respond. For Olusoji Adeyi, president of Resilient Health Systems and a senior associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, global health funding cuts and disruptions to the field are an overdue opening to self-determination. Now, he said, global health groups should 鈥渟eize the opportunity and behave differently and do better.鈥� Key takeaways: A vision anchored by an African renaissance: 鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge opportunity here for Africa to take care of itself by raising resources, by strengthening the academic institutions on the continent, and by helping our government to plan better to prepare better for the future,鈥� said Nelson Sewankambo, former dean of Makerere University School of Medicine in Kampala, Uganda. Building political will: Former NIH director Francis Collins challenged CUGH to 鈥渂ecome more of an activist organization,鈥� serving as incubator for bold initiatives and nurturing the next generation of global health scholars.
An invigorated role for universities: 鈥淟et鈥檚 step forward and present ourselves to our governments and act as thinkers and advisers,鈥� Sewankambo said.
Congrats to the winners of the Untold Global Health Stories contest, co-sponsored by CUGH and GHN! We鈥檒l be publishing interviews with the two grand prize winners in upcoming editions of GHN.
Grand Prize Winners A mental health crisis facing unaccompanied Moroccan boys in Ceuta, Spain Audrey Claire Benson, Barcelona Institute of Global Health / University of Pompeu Fabra / No Name Kitchen, Barcelona, Spain Health disparities in widowhood: A global health blind spot Jackline Odhiambo, Maseno University, Kisumu, Kenya鈥傗�� Honorable Mentions
Judicial experts as guardians of occupational health in Mexico Shaira Gabriela Camacho
Gaza鈥檚 alarming surge in Guillain鈥揃arr茅 Syndrome Yara Ashour
Health care abandonment of trans communities in the South and Appalachia Beau Morgan
Health care barriers for U.S. refugees with disabilities Mustafa Rfat
Modernizing medical education in the Balkans Timothy Gaul
The silent crisis of dengue in rural Bangladesh Amit Banik
Toxic heavy metal exposure among auto mechanics in Accra, Ghana Anushka Peer
Thank you to everyone who contributed. The judging was harder than ever, given the caliber of ideas submitted. All of the stories deserve to be told.
PULITZER CENTER 鈥� CUGH FILM FESTIVAL The Pulitzer Center upheld its tradition of hosting a film festival at CUGH, sharing a double feature of hard-hitting documentaries: An Atlanta News First documentary on a measles outbreak in Samoa, shared above, and a in central Kenya, by William Brangham and Molly Knight Raskin. THE QUOTE
鈥淲hat gives me hope is the fact that people are willing to come together. They鈥檙e willing to convene, they鈥檙e willing to put their best foot forward. They鈥檙e willing to take their knowledge, capabilities, passions, and desires to be able to improve the health of people and the health of our planet.鈥� 鈥斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌� Keith Martin, MD, PC, executive director, CUGH, interviewed at CUGH for The Havey Institute for Global Health's OPPORTUNITY Next Stop for CUGH: Lima, Peru
It鈥檚 an exciting first: Next year, the CUGH Annual Conference will be held outside the U.S.鈥撯�搃n Lima, Peru, February 25鈥�28, 2027. We hope you鈥檒l be there! Issue No. 2900
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 .
A big thank you to the Consortium of Universities for Global Health for an excellent conference last weekend in Washington, D.C. With this special edition of GHN, we鈥檙e sharing some of the takeways that inspired us鈥攊ncluding this year鈥檚 Untold Global Health Stories Contest winners! We鈥檒l be sharing interviews with our two grand prize winners soon, so keep an eye out for that.
We also want to thank all of the new readers who signed up at CUGH鈥攍et us know what you think, and if you find GHN useful, please share with your friends and colleagues. We always love to expand our circle.
鈥�Dayna dkerecm1@jhu.edu
鈥�Brian bsimpso1@jhu.edu
IN FOCUS: GHN EXCLUSIVE From Rupture to Renaissance If the global health order is broken, some global health leaders are primed to chart a new way forward. Gathered last Sunday for the Consortium of Universities for Global Health annual meeting in Washington, D.C., they shared their concerns about the irrevocable changes in the structure, norms, and rules governing international relations鈥攂ut devoted most of their time to discussing how to respond. For Olusoji Adeyi, president of Resilient Health Systems and a senior associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, global health funding cuts and disruptions to the field are an overdue opening to self-determination. Now, he said, global health groups should 鈥渟eize the opportunity and behave differently and do better.鈥� Key takeaways: A vision anchored by an African renaissance: 鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge opportunity here for Africa to take care of itself by raising resources, by strengthening the academic institutions on the continent, and by helping our government to plan better to prepare better for the future,鈥� said Nelson Sewankambo, former dean of Makerere University School of Medicine in Kampala, Uganda. Building political will: Former NIH director Francis Collins challenged CUGH to 鈥渂ecome more of an activist organization,鈥� serving as incubator for bold initiatives and nurturing the next generation of global health scholars.
An invigorated role for universities: 鈥淟et鈥檚 step forward and present ourselves to our governments and act as thinkers and advisers,鈥� Sewankambo said.
- Adeyi added that individual countries need to be encouraged to devise鈥攁nd debate鈥攖heir own plans. When global health experts 鈥渕eet in Washington or London or Brussels or Seattle and package things and expect them to just happen cleanly in Tanzania and Nepal and Sierra Leone,鈥� they deny those countries opportunities to shape their health systems.
Congrats to the winners of the Untold Global Health Stories contest, co-sponsored by CUGH and GHN! We鈥檒l be publishing interviews with the two grand prize winners in upcoming editions of GHN.
Grand Prize Winners A mental health crisis facing unaccompanied Moroccan boys in Ceuta, Spain Audrey Claire Benson, Barcelona Institute of Global Health / University of Pompeu Fabra / No Name Kitchen, Barcelona, Spain Health disparities in widowhood: A global health blind spot Jackline Odhiambo, Maseno University, Kisumu, Kenya鈥傗�� Honorable Mentions
Judicial experts as guardians of occupational health in Mexico Shaira Gabriela Camacho
Gaza鈥檚 alarming surge in Guillain鈥揃arr茅 Syndrome Yara Ashour
Health care abandonment of trans communities in the South and Appalachia Beau Morgan
Health care barriers for U.S. refugees with disabilities Mustafa Rfat
Modernizing medical education in the Balkans Timothy Gaul
The silent crisis of dengue in rural Bangladesh Amit Banik
Toxic heavy metal exposure among auto mechanics in Accra, Ghana Anushka Peer
Thank you to everyone who contributed. The judging was harder than ever, given the caliber of ideas submitted. All of the stories deserve to be told.
PULITZER CENTER 鈥� CUGH FILM FESTIVAL The Pulitzer Center upheld its tradition of hosting a film festival at CUGH, sharing a double feature of hard-hitting documentaries: An Atlanta News First documentary on a measles outbreak in Samoa, shared above, and a in central Kenya, by William Brangham and Molly Knight Raskin. THE QUOTE
鈥淲hat gives me hope is the fact that people are willing to come together. They鈥檙e willing to convene, they鈥檙e willing to put their best foot forward. They鈥檙e willing to take their knowledge, capabilities, passions, and desires to be able to improve the health of people and the health of our planet.鈥� 鈥斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌� Keith Martin, MD, PC, executive director, CUGH, interviewed at CUGH for The Havey Institute for Global Health's OPPORTUNITY Next Stop for CUGH: Lima, Peru
It鈥檚 an exciting first: Next year, the CUGH Annual Conference will be held outside the U.S.鈥撯�搃n Lima, Peru, February 25鈥�28, 2027. We hope you鈥檒l be there! Issue No. 2900
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
96
Global Health NOW: Africa鈥檚 Monumental Vaccination Gains; and South Korea鈥檚 Deadly 鈥楨R Runaround鈥�
Plus: A Fandom for the Greatest Fans
April 16, 2026
TOP STORIES
$1.5 billion for humanitarian aid in Sudan was pledged this week as international leaders met in Berlin on the third anniversary of the country鈥檚 civil war; the meeting sought to increase aid support and revive negotiations to end the fighting.
A review of Alzheimer鈥檚 drug studies spanning a decade concluded the drugs had negligible clinical benefit; but many Alzheimer鈥檚 experts criticized , saying it unfairly put a range of dissimilar drugs鈥攊ncluding failed drugs and two recently approved treatments鈥攊n one category.
Drug-resistant Shigella infections are on the rise in the U.S., ; the bacterial infection, which causes diarrhea, increased 8.5% from 2011 to 2023 and is a 鈥減ublic health threat鈥� due to its easy spread and lack of FDA-approved treatment.
Former Deputy U.S. Surgeon General Erica Schwartz has received HHS support to be the next CDC director, sources say; the CDC has been without a permanent director since August.
EDITORS' NOTE
Tomorrow: A Special CUGH Takeaways Edition
We usually don鈥檛 publish on Fridays, but tomorrow we鈥檒l be sending a special edition of GHN with exclusive coverage from the Consortium of Universities for Global Health meeting鈥攊ncluding the announcement of this year鈥檚 Untold Global Health Stories contest winners! 鈥擳he Editors
IN FOCUS
A community health worker administers an oral vaccine during a door-to-door polio immunization campaign in Mbezi Makabe, Tanzania, on May 21, 2022. Ericky Boniphace/AFP via Getty
Africa鈥檚 Monumental Vaccination Gains
The first-ever comprehensive analysis of immunization in Africa has found that 500 million+ children have accessed routine vaccination since 2000, preventing 4 million+ deaths each year, .
Key breakthroughs detailed in :
Patients seeking emergency services in South Korea increasingly struggle to access care amid stringent hospital entry policies, with fatal delays becoming more frequent. Policy constrains paramedics: South Korean law requires first responders to gain hospital permission before transporting patients to an ER. But amid a shortage of ER doctors and overcrowding, paramedics must often call dozens of hospitals before finding a bed鈥攁 crisis dubbed 鈥淓R runaround鈥� and 鈥渁mbulance pingpong.鈥�
Humanitarian workers and health professionals are invited to apply for the Health Emergencies in Large Populations (H.E.L.P.) course hosted virtually by the . The H.E.L.P. course equips participants with practical knowledge and skills to respond to the health needs of populations affected by humanitarian crises, whether conflict, natural disasters, or complex emergencies. Key areas covered:
Mascots have a weighty job. Their fuzzy, begloved hands carry the agony and ecstasy of fandom.
But who is cheering them on? This month, it seems everybody is.
One intense U.S. high school mascot tournament pitted animal, vegetable, mineral, and against each other in online voting, . A more scientific approach: To predict which March Madness mascot would dominate in a real-world encounter, meteorologists, the staff of Chicago鈥檚 Lincoln Park Zoo, and other experts to judge a pool including 鈥渁 variety of dogs, Quakers, multiple birds, weather events, various historic military figures,鈥� and more. Meanwhile, in mascot-saturated Pennsylvania, the governor鈥檚 office courted chaos by launching a tournament won by the Phillie Phanatic, : 鈥淲e are equal parts excited and terrified to see how responds to this result.鈥� Love to the moon and back: Leaving Artemis II鈥檚 beloved mini-moon plushie mascot behind was 鈥渘ot something I was going to do,鈥� Flouting NASA鈥檚 post-splashdown checklist, he tucked the little guy in his pressure suit. The two have . QUICK HITS Can you stop malaria crossing borders? One nation鈥檚 bid to wipe out the disease 鈥� Two to three cups of coffee a day linked to lower risk of mental health disorders, study finds 鈥� Black maternal mortality gap still persists in U.S. 鈥� FDA to consider lifting restrictions on peptides touted by RFK Jr. 鈥� After 'unprecedented' results, SF researchers get closer to HIV cure 鈥� Would you save more lives or more years of life? A global study reveals how people really think 鈥� Issue No. 2899
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 .
Key breakthroughs detailed in :
- Measles vaccinations halved deaths from the virus, saving ~20 million lives since 2000, .
- The eradication of wild poliovirus in 2020 was a 鈥渉istoric milestone.鈥�
- Meningitis deaths have fallen by nearly 40%.
- Maternal and neonatal tetanus have been eliminated in most countries.
- In 2024 alone, vaccines saved ~2 million lives.
- 10 countries account for 80% of children who haven鈥檛 received any vaccine in the region, said Janabi, calling it 鈥渁 profound equity issue鈥� in a press briefing, per the AP.
- Meanwhile, health systems face growing vulnerability amid drastic funding cuts, particularly from the U.S; and global conflicts including the Iran war are disrupting critical supply chains.
Patients seeking emergency services in South Korea increasingly struggle to access care amid stringent hospital entry policies, with fatal delays becoming more frequent. Policy constrains paramedics: South Korean law requires first responders to gain hospital permission before transporting patients to an ER. But amid a shortage of ER doctors and overcrowding, paramedics must often call dozens of hospitals before finding a bed鈥攁 crisis dubbed 鈥淓R runaround鈥� and 鈥渁mbulance pingpong.鈥�
- In 1,000+ incidents last year, ambulances had to call 20+ hospitals before finding beds for their patients.
- The average time for major trauma patients to be accepted by an ER has doubled since 2019.
Humanitarian workers and health professionals are invited to apply for the Health Emergencies in Large Populations (H.E.L.P.) course hosted virtually by the . The H.E.L.P. course equips participants with practical knowledge and skills to respond to the health needs of populations affected by humanitarian crises, whether conflict, natural disasters, or complex emergencies. Key areas covered:
- Epidemiology
- Communicable and noncommunicable disease control
- Nutrition
- Water and sanitation
- Mental health and health systems in crises
- July 13鈥�24, 2026
Mascots have a weighty job. Their fuzzy, begloved hands carry the agony and ecstasy of fandom.
But who is cheering them on? This month, it seems everybody is.
One intense U.S. high school mascot tournament pitted animal, vegetable, mineral, and against each other in online voting, . A more scientific approach: To predict which March Madness mascot would dominate in a real-world encounter, meteorologists, the staff of Chicago鈥檚 Lincoln Park Zoo, and other experts to judge a pool including 鈥渁 variety of dogs, Quakers, multiple birds, weather events, various historic military figures,鈥� and more. Meanwhile, in mascot-saturated Pennsylvania, the governor鈥檚 office courted chaos by launching a tournament won by the Phillie Phanatic, : 鈥淲e are equal parts excited and terrified to see how responds to this result.鈥� Love to the moon and back: Leaving Artemis II鈥檚 beloved mini-moon plushie mascot behind was 鈥渘ot something I was going to do,鈥� Flouting NASA鈥檚 post-splashdown checklist, he tucked the little guy in his pressure suit. The two have . QUICK HITS Can you stop malaria crossing borders? One nation鈥檚 bid to wipe out the disease 鈥� Two to three cups of coffee a day linked to lower risk of mental health disorders, study finds 鈥� Black maternal mortality gap still persists in U.S. 鈥� FDA to consider lifting restrictions on peptides touted by RFK Jr. 鈥� After 'unprecedented' results, SF researchers get closer to HIV cure 鈥� Would you save more lives or more years of life? A global study reveals how people really think 鈥� Issue No. 2899
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
