Zimbabwe has rejected a proposed $367 million health package from the U.S.—citing a “lopsided” deal that “undermines the sovereignty and independence of Zimbabwe as a country” and that compromises established global health frameworks, per Business Insider Africa.

Pertussis—commonly known as whooping cough—is experiencing a major resurgence in the U.S. with nearly four times as many cases as in 2023. Vaccines are the best protection against the highly contagious respiratory infection. Swipe to learn more. publichealth.jhu.edu/2026/what-to...

Wuther or not you've seen the movie yet, we're sure you'll love these memes

The detection of poliovirus in sewage treatment plants in Blantyre, Malawi, triggered a massive vaccination drive in the past week. But health authorities are fighting more than the virus.

Afghanistan faces a historic surge in malnutrition, as aid cuts, displacement, and drought leave two-thirds of the country’s population facing serious or crisis levels for acute malnutrition, reports the AP.

People with disabilities are frequently trafficked and forced to beg in Ethiopia’s major cities in an often overlooked form of human trafficking that researchers describe as a “crime hiding in plain sight,” per a new study from the Population Council.

Australia’s aggressive taxes on cigarettes have driven down smoking rates and raised an average pack’s cost to US$40. But they’ve also unleashed a nationwide black market, The New York Times reports.

The WHO is expanding the global arsenal for polio outbreak response by prequalifying an additional novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) aimed at curbing vaccine-derived outbreaks “more sustainably” in the ongoing quest to eradicate the virus.

The EPA is poised to revoke its own 2009 scientific conclusion that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health and welfare—upending the legal foundation for a wide range of federal climate protections, reports NBC News.

From healthy meals to safe spaces and mental health support, check out these eight keys to helping kids thrive. Read more: magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/8-ways-...

As U.S. immigration detention centers expand under the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign, detainees and health workers are reporting severe health and safety breakdowns—including among children.

Clashes over WHO reporting and the health situation in Gaza continue months after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire raised hopes for reconstruction and improved health.

At leprosy colonies throughout India, people who have long been cured of the disease continue to live and thrive inside the communities—a testament to the support systems there, and to the stigma that persists outside, reports NPR.

Preventive cholera vaccination programs will restart globally after a ~4-year hiatus—a signal that the global supply has seen significant recovery after critical vaccine shortages, per a joint announcement from the WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

Nearly 4 in 10 cancer cases worldwide are potentially preventable, finds a comprehensive global analysis published in Nature Medicine ahead of World Cancer Day today, reports Nature.

Today on the podcast: a human rights perspective on immigration enforcement and public protest in Minneapolis. Professor Joe Amon shares his perspective on some of the most dramatic images that have emerged over the last several weeks. podcast.publichealth.jhu.edu/1002-on-publ...

If current trends in global health funding cuts continue, 9.4 million excess deaths will occur by 2030, according to a study published in The Lancet Global Health yesterday. That’s the “mild” scenario.

U.S. doctors are learning to recognize a disease most have encountered only in textbooks as measles strengthens its grip nationwide—including in South Carolina, which is now home to the largest U.S. measles outbreak since the disease was eliminated 25+ years ago, reports the BBC.

As wealthy countries cut assistance and malaria surges in parts of Africa, the continent’s leaders must chart a new path to a malaria-free future, write Corine Karema, Francine Ntoumi, and @garryaslanyan.bsky.social in an exclusive GHN commentary.

Inside a crowded lab on the second floor of the University of Ibadan's pharmacy school, Iruka Okeke and her dozen students are running a national surveillance project for one of Nigeria's—and Africa's—most understudied problems: antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The U.S. formally leaves the WHO today, completing a yearlong withdrawal process begun on President Trump’s first day in office in 2025, and leaving a budgetary crisis and ruptured global health security in its wake, reports Reuters.

Mpox may be spreading asymptomatically in parts of Africa, new research shows—a revelation that could have significant implications for understanding and preventing transmission, reports The Telegraph.

Widely publicized studies claiming that microplastics are pervasive in human tissue and organs are being increasingly debated by scientists, some of whom argue that limits and flaws in the nascent research field may have led to distorted results.

Expanded access to HIV treatment and prevention has led to a major decline in AIDS-related orphanhood in sub-Saharan African countries like Uganda—gains that have been jeopardized by abrupt U.S. cuts to such programs, reports CIDRAP.

Faster, cheaper technologies that can do onsite genome sequencing are improving pathogen surveillance in lower-income settings.

Health care workers across Iran are describing overwhelmed hospitals and morgues as protests are being met with a violent crackdown by government security forces, reports the BBC.

As we make New Year’s resolutions, the legacy of Susan Baker, a professor emerita in @bsph-hpm.bsky.social at the @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social who is also known as the “Mother of Injury Prevention,” illuminates three important lessons. Swipe through to read Baker's advice: heyor.ca/8qlqDJ

The U.S. food pyramid is again being overhauled, as sweeping new 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released by the Trump administration yesterday, call for avoiding processed foods in favor of whole, fresh foods and increased protein, reports the AP.

Malnutrition is America’s fastest-growing cause of death—up 6X in about a decade, now ranking with arterial disease, mental disorders, and deaths from assault, reports The Washington Post.

For 150 years, Johns Hopkins University has redefined what is possible through research, education, and discovery. As we enter our Sesquicentennial year, it's time to celebrate the relentless pursuit of knowledge and the people behind it. 150.jhu.edu

Astonished U.S. health leaders are sharply criticizing the unprecedented reduction in the U.S. childhood vaccination schedule announced yesterday by federal health officials.

New efforts to prevent mothers from bleeding to death during childbirth in 10+ countries have stalled since U.S. foreign aid cuts last year—reversing decades of progress in maternal survival and imperiling vulnerable mothers, reports The Independent.

Preserving vaccine access is just one of the ways to keep American kids healthy. To read more proven strategies that help kids thrive and lay the foundation for healthy adulthoods: magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/8-ways-...

It’s been a seismic year for public health. While there have been many challenges, there were also wins to celebrate and momentum on key issues going into 2026. Swipe through to read about public health breakthroughs that happened during 2025. publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/public-...

Sorry, can't talk. Slammed before the holidays. Anyone else? Make sure to submit your application to @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social before January 3rd! Add it to your calendar now—you can thank us for the reminder later. 😏

Getting ready for a relaxing holiday break? Need something new to read for the new year? Explore Dean Keshia Pollack Porter's top reads of 2025! Drop below what your favorite reads were this year 📖

The U.S.'s surge in online sports betting, driven by widespread state-level legalization, may increase the likelihood of gambling addictions, public health advocates say.

It's stressful enough this time of year. Let's make this decision easier...Take our quiz! Should you still test to know what you’re sick with? YES! If it's COVID or flu, there are antiviral medications you can take. It can also inform if you’re still infectious, even if symptoms have subsided.

After the Trump administration’s sudden cuts to food aid early this year, U.S. officials were repeatedly warned by humanitarian advocates that the disruption would cause starvation, violence, and death among refugees in Kenya.

The surging South Carolina measles outbreak has topped 120 cases and sent hundreds into 21-day quarantines, as state health officials hunker down for a monthslong fight.

Mosquito-borne illnesses are sweeping through Cuba’s population amid medicine shortages, overcrowded hospitals, and a lack of government action and transparency, reports El País.

Childbirth in Ukraine has grown increasingly perilous, as relentless bombardments and displacement fuel a maternal mortality crisis and contribute to plunging birth rates that threaten the country’s future.

A major French study is offering one of the clearest looks yet at the long-term safety of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, concluding that the vaccines did not increase mortality rates in France, reports Radio France Internationale.

International donors committed to $1.9 billion against polio yesterday, but is it enough? The funds will be used to vaccinate 370 million children against polio each year as well as build up health systems, per the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

ACIP voted Friday to withdraw a long-standing recommendation that newborns receive a hepatitis B vaccination at birth. The decision was made without new evidence and against the strong consensus of medical groups.

The WHO has released its first guidelines on GLP-1 weight-loss medicines, signaling a continued sea change in global health policy and the clinical approach to address the growing obesity crisis, per UN News.

In recent years, more and more communities have embraced public health vending machines that dispense free doses of the lifesaving overdose reversal medication and often, a range of other harm reduction products including sharps containers and wound care kits.

India’s rare disease policy was hailed in 2021 as a turning point for patients, but funding problems have meant that some wait for medicines that never arrive, writes Rupsa Chakraborty, a Commonwealth Shared Scholar at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

The deadline for the 2026 Untold Stories of Global Health Contest is ALMOST HERE. Submit your ideas by MONDAY, 11:59 ET! The winners will receive FREE registration for the Consortium of Universities for Global Health conference in Washington, D.C.!

The breakthrough HIV prevention shot lenacapavir has arrived in Eswatini and Zambia just months after U.S. approval, marking what advocates call an unusually fast global deployment of a game-changing drug to LMICs that need it most.