In The News

Newsweek: Half of World’s Olive Oil Threatened by Deadly Bacteria in Spain

Jessica Wapner July 10, 2017
Spain has more than 340 million olive trees, and the world’s largest olive oil producer is especially vulnerable to the deadly plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa. The first case on mainland Spain was confirmed earlier this month. X. fastidiosa is native to the Americas, and its first reported sighting in Europe was in Italy four years ago, killing approximately 1 million olive trees there. Many...

The Conversation: Big Alcohol Is Poised to Expand Into Africa

Karen Hofman and Charles Parry June 2, 2017
The alcohol industry confronts low population growth rates and regulatory barriers in the developed world, its traditional source of profits. So the industry is focusing on Africa with its increasing affluence and what is described as a “high-intensity consumption of beer,” according to Karen Hofman and Charles Parry in the Conversation. AB Inbev, maker of Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois...

The Diplomat: Why China Could Be a Game Changer for Global Health

Charlotte Röhren April 28, 2017
In recent years, China has begun to take a leadership role in the arenas of trade, foreign policy, and climate change. Global health is next, argues Charlotte Röhren for the Diplomat. In 2014, Beijing provided critical assistance to combat Ebola, “an important milestone in its growing integration in global health governance.” Besides humanitarian reasons, the country stands to benefit by...

Factory Farming Blamed for Massive Bird Flu Outbreak: Experts

Kim Da-sol January 6, 2017
A highly pathogenic form of avian flu was detected in South Korea in November, and experts suggest that crowded conditions in industrial poultry farms have accelerated the spread of disease. “While the government has yet to offer clear reason for the worsening situation, casting the blame on migratory birds, experts pointed out that the battery cage-facilities at poultry farms and stockbreeding...

Global Health Funding Faces a Shortfall of Billions to Fight Diseases

Andrew Green November 1, 2016
The global health community has tools to prevent and treat diseases, however, a “decline in global health funding threatens not just to stymie scientific advances against diseases like HIV, but to actually reverse gains made in the past decade,” writes Andrew Green for World Politics Review. Research on diseases has contributed to the largest population of young people in the planet’s history,...

Chronic Problems, Not Just Crises, Should Be a Global Health Priority

James Chen September 1, 2016
Sudden outbreaks of diseases like Zika or Ebola ignite alarm while chronic medical conditions, many easily prevented, are often ignored or accepted because they seem less urgent. Societies must revise priorities to “unlock the full potential of the developing world, argues James Chen, writing for Stanford Social Innovation Review. “The World Health Organization recently estimated that the global...

UN Admits Role in Cholera Epidemic in Haiti

Jonathan M. Katz August 19, 2016
Disasters like the earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010 require fast response. But such responses can bring new problems. A cholera outbreak emerged in Haiti later that year. A UN report, prepared by law professor Philip Alston, suggests that the epidemic “would not have broken out but for the actions of the United Nations.” The report focuses on a peacekeeping group of more than 400 members...