Scaling up community-led public health response: The perspective from and for Gaza

  In the aftermath of October 7, 2023, continuous violence in Gaza has resulted in a significant loss of life in a short timeframe, multiple forced displacement, an alarming rate of reported infectious disease cases, concerning estimates of mental health issues, and an impending famine. The destruction of infrastructure, shortages of water, lack of shelter, […]

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Unidentified Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon: An Untold Tale of Extreme Social Exclusion

  Lebanon is located within a region that continues to face protracted conflict, from the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict to the disaster currently unfolding in front of our eyes. The displacement of millions of citizens into neighbouring countries has become common place in the region and Lebanon has been – and continues to be – host […]

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Protecting India’s sanitation workers: Addressing period taboos in menstrual waste management

  The fifth National Family Health Survey notes that almost 90% of menstruating women, aged between 15-24, in urban India use hygienic menstrual products. This includes disposable sanitary pads and locally produced napkins. The increasing use of sanitary pads is essential for Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM). At the same time, the improper disposal of used […]

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Navigating Geopolitics and Global Health: Insights from PMAC 2024

  In a world marked by escalating geopolitical tensions and multifaceted crises, the intersection of politics and health emerges as a critical focal point for global discourse. The Prince Mahidol Award Conference (PMAC) in 2024, held in Bangkok, provided a platform for probing the complexities of this intersection and exploring pathways towards equitable global health. […]

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Lessons from rural Bolivia: the United States must rethink community-based medicine

  As I witnessed a team of Bolivian nurses venture on-foot into the rural outskirts of their communities to administer childhood vaccinations, antiparasitic medications, and wound care, I quickly recognized the imperative to extend this approach to community medicine in the United States. These nurses operate from a primary-health clinic created under the Sistema Único […]

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Mind the widening gap: A trauma-driven mental health crisis in Nigeria

  Background Nigeria is currently facing its worst economic crisis in about 30 years. The headline inflation rate, largely driven by food inflation, rose to 33.3% in March of this year. Similarly, the Nigerian naira had weakened to an all-time low in February of this year before appreciating in the succeeding months. The persistent economic […]

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Lack of children’s hospitals: challenge in delivering comprehensive care for children in LMICs.

  Children don’t get sick as often as adults. Cardiovascular diseases and killer tumors are luckily not as prevalent as in adults. But these facts can never overshadow the peculiar and sophisticated care children require when they develop or are born with certain ailments. In the global south, there is a rapidly expanding demography resulting […]

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Confronting the manufactured famine in Gaza, Palestine

  It is our duty as healthcare professionals to prevent humanitarian crises. Yet, we are currently witnessing a preventable famine unfold in Gaza, Palestine. On 18 March 2024, The Famine Review Committee (FRC) of The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification described the Gazan population as the “highest share of people facing high levels of acute […]

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