Kenya has recently taken a major step towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by introducing the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF). SHIF replaces the National Hospital Insurance Fund and is intended to provide more comprehensive access and coverage. While social health insurance can help countries attain UHC, international experience suggests that implementing such reforms is […]
Latest articles
From Texts to Triage: The WhatsApp Clinic Experience
In a bustling paediatric clinic in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, the day begins not only with appointments but also with a steady stream of WhatsApp messages from anxious parents. The screen flickers as a mother text for advice, the urgency in her tone unmistakable: her 4-year-old son has a high-grade fever and refuses to […]
Faustine E. Ndugulile: Positioning Tanzania as a Model for African Public Health
The landscape of public health leadership in Africa has been indelibly marked by individuals whose efforts and vision extend beyond their immediate environments, crafting frameworks for transformations, sustainable health interventions, and policy reforms. Among these eminent figures was Dr. Faustine E. Ndugulile, a multi-skilled public health leader with nearly three decades of experience leveraging […]
Health is the new Global Plastics Treaty Battleground
In November, international delegates to INC-5, the international negotiating committee for a Global Plastics Treaty (GPT) held in Busan, South Korea, failed to agree on a legally binding United Nations treaty on plastic pollution. The main fault lines lie between countries supporting an ambitious treaty, including a cap on plastic production, and a minority […]
Summit of the Future: Critical Reflections From Young People
The Summit of the Future, held from 22nd to 23rd September, 2024 in New York, vouched to commit to “bold new solutions,” responded to the current challenges, and renewed action towards fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals. The Summit brought forth a Pact for the Future, along with two other key documents—the Declaration on Future […]
Strengthening civil society actions to combat transnational corporations
On April 21, 2024, the Chief Minister of Kerala, received a letter from the CEO of Coca Cola informing the company’s intent to bequeath it’s 35-acre land that contain the now shut bottling plant established in 2000 in Plachimada village of Palakkad district. While this may read positive for the uninitiated as few are […]
Challenges of a medical student in Gaza
My name is Nermeen abo Mostafa, and I am a medical student in Gaza. Do you know how I study? Do you ever wonder how the medical students of Gaza access and submit their exams? Despite the power outage and the lack of books, I walk long distances to search for good internet so […]
Expanding ORS/zinc coverage for childhood diarrhoea: is institutionalising free distribution the answer?
As we commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the 2004 global recommendation of oral rehydration salts and zinc sulphate (ORSZ) as the standard treatment for diarrhoea, sub-Saharan Africa continues to face persistently low coverage rates (19%). Diarrhoea remains a leading cause of child mortality, responsible for approximately 9% of all deaths among children under age […]
AI, AMR and Behavioral Economics: Transforming antibiotic prescribing practices to curb AMR
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most pressing public health issues today, with the potential to cause 10 million deaths annually by 2050, according to the World Health Organization. One of the key drivers of AMR is the inappropriate use of antibiotics, especially within primary care settings. While healthcare professionals are aware of […]
Addressing the Silent Epidemic: Collective Memory and the Path to Global Health Equity
Our collective memory: how we remember – or choose to forget – the history of global health is playing a silent yet powerful role in shaping which issues receive attention and funding. This distorted memory acts as a long-standing epidemic that undermines the effectiveness of today’s health systems. According to a 2024 UN report, […]