In The News

Spiegel Online: Monsanto Faces Blowback Over Cancer Claims

Philip Bethge November 7, 2017
A class-action lawsuit in the United States claims that the active ingredient in Monsanto's herbicide Roundup, glyphosate, causes a form of lymph node cancer. “Monsanto's strategies for whitewashing glyphosate have been revealed in internal e-mails, presentations and memos,” reports Philip Bethge for Spiegel Online. The company’s argument: The chemical could not be described as a...

The New York Times: “It’s a Slow Death”: The World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis

Shuaib Almosawa, Ben Hubbard and Troy Griggs September 20, 2017
Directors of UNICEF, WFP, and WHO visited Yemen in July and described the “world’s worst cholera outbreak in the midst of the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.” Since the start of the conflict when the Houthis overthrew the government and gained control of Sana’a in 2014, Yemen has slowly collapsed. Frequent bombings have contributed to the deaths of more than 10,000 civilians and crippled the...

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...

UNICEF: 300 Million Children Breathe Toxic Air

November 4, 2016
Air pollution is an increasing danger for children’s health. One out of every seven children, 300 million in all, are exposed to toxic levels of outdoor air pollution, reports the United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF. “The World Health Organization, WHO, says air pollution kills about seven million people a year, nearly 12 percent of all deaths worldwide,” reports the Environment News...

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...

Can We Stop Mosquitoes From Infecting the World?

Cheryl Katz February 15, 2016
The World Health Organization has declared Zika a global emergency, exploring links to mosquitoes and birth defects, though much is unknown. No vaccine or treatment is available, and immediate efforts focus on mosquito control. Researchers have linked the birth defects with Zika and mosquitoes, while some doctors in Argentina question if a larvicide could be the problem. Mosquitoes are “adapting...

WHO: Extremely Alarmed by Zika, Could Reach 4 Million Cases

Tom Miles, Stephanie Nebehay and Kate Kelland January 28, 2016
The World Health Organization is convening an emergency meeting on the Zika virus. Describing the virus as a threat of alarming proportions, WHO officials anticipate it could affect up to 4 million people. The virus has been linked with severe birth defects and stunted brain development. “There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which is a close cousin of dengue and chikungunya and causes mild...