The COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing multi-country monkeypox outbreak have shown that competent field epidemiologists are needed worldwide, now more than ever. As we commemorate World Field Epidemiology Day, we are presented with another chance to reflect on the emergence and development of field epidemiology training programmes (FETPs) across the world. Many more people […]
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The impact of the war on the healthcare system in Ukraine
On February 24, 2022, Russia commenced a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine. The targeting of healthcare facilities has become part of the strategy and tactics of Russian invaders. The Ukrainian healthcare system was not exemplary even in peacetime. People suffering from chronic diseases often faced interruptions in the supply of medicines, doctors complained about […]
Should Global Health institutions apply what they research, teach and advise on?
Essential workers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) won a brave campaign to be insourced, after keeping the School safe throughout the pandemic. It will be effective on 01 August 2022. Since the insourcing announcement was made, LSHTM has been reticent to negotiate their salary with the workers and to […]
Response to open letter on insourcing at LSHTM
This is a response to the ‘Open letter to London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine’ posted on the BMJ Global Health Blog on 11 July 2022. We are surprised and disappointed that members of the LSHTM community have put their names to a publication without first checking the factual accuracy and validity […]
Open letter to London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
The following is an open letter calling the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine’s (LSHTM) Senior Management to meet essential workers’ demands of fair treatment and pay, and to ask for the immediate annulation of disciplinary sanctions faced by some workers engaged in union activities and campaigns. Dear Professor Liam Smeeth, and Senior […]
The thin line between lobbying and corruption: health advocacy
What is corruption? What image comes to mind when you see the word corruption? I was born and raised in Nigeria and I associate corruption with Ghana must go bags, agbada, bullion vans, and animals swallowing money before vanishing. Lobbying never comes to mind. Lobbying conjures images of placards, campaigns for social issues and […]
For good “Global Health”, words matter
Words inspire us. They shape our culture. They have the power to divide us. When using alternative words to describe something it is not, we either promote or demote its importance. And thus, we inflate or deflate its actual power or value; sometimes intentionally, other times not. Fortunately, a group of leading scholars in […]
If global health equity is to stand a chance, the UK must cancel its plans to offshore asylum seekers to Rwanda
The United Kingdom (UK) government’s recently announced plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for offshore processing and never allow them to return to the UK raise major health and human rights concerns. The UK defends the policy by saying it aims to break smuggling networks and stem migration flow across the channel; a […]
COVID-19 could slow the humanitarian response for the Ukraine crisis
COVID-19 incidence is decreasing after a recent surge across Europe. However, 2.8 million deaths were reported in the week 20th April just after COVID-19 precautions throughout the EU have been scaled back dramatically. Poland, which has welcomed the majority of Ukrainian refugees, ended its indoor mask mandate on March 28 for all public spaces […]
Primary care physicians and clinical courage – stories from tribal Rajasthan, India
A physician practising in a remote and resource constrained setting is frequently faced with clinical situations which fall in the grey zone at the fringe of her/his competence and comfort level. In such situations, most doctors choose to refer patients to next level of care citing the poor infrastructure, and absence of the needed […]