When speaking with American and Bolivian doctors, global health students, and public health advocates alike about the persistence of Chagas disease in Bolivia, I frequently hear statements like, “there’s just not enough education on the disease” and “people don’t know how to protect themselves from it.” But, how do we know what people know, […]
Category: infectious diseases
Polio beyond a medical problem
Polio—a disease that was once believed to be close to eradication worldwide—has reemerged in Pakistan compared with previous years, according to World Health Organization. The country reported 70 cases of poliomyelitis due to wild poliovirus 1 in 2024. This emerging situation impacts decades of global and national progress. Vaccination drives are under obstruction, with […]
What we’ve learned from trachoma elimination can help fight other infectious diseases
Last summer the World Health Organization confirmed Iraq as the 18th country in the world to eliminate the blinding disease trachoma as a public health problem, just months after Benin and Mali achieved the same goal. Each elimination takes us another step closer to beating this ancient scourge which turns sufferers’ eyelashes inwards causing […]
Look to Ebola survivors for lessons to prevent the next outbreak
Universal health coverage (UHC) is defined as ensuring health for all and a great aspiration for humankind. Sadly, this is constantly being undermined by the threat of infectious diseases. Global health security and universal health coverage are two sides of the same coin. Hence, it is impossible to achieve one without the other. This […]