India’s rapid urbanization demands healthy urban planning: an opportunity to revive the WHO healthy cities approach?

  India has been transitioning from rural to quasi-urban due to rapid urbanization over the last two decades and is expected to continue in the coming years. It is estimated that 43.2% of India’s population, i.e., 675 million people, will reside in Urban conglomerates by 2035 (UN-Habitat 2022). While urbanization has provided economic growth and […]

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At COP27: Address the health impacts of climate change, focus on local solutions

  For many years, addressing climate change has largely hinged on macro-level government policies and market-driven approaches to halt emissions. While societal and economic shifts remain critical, we increasingly recognize the present, life-altering impacts of climate change on every aspect of life from food security and water access to health risks and economic challenges. Climate […]

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Mental health crisis in war-torn country – Ethiopia

  The 2019 novel coronavirus shocked the world beyond our wildest imagination. The severe impact of this pandemic hinted at the fragility of our public health policy, disaster preparedness, and global collaboration. This global crisis is not entirely unprecedented; different scientific community members have predicted this and warned us, with a minor or insignificant response. […]

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Global Health’s Identity Crisis

  Lately, the field of global health–led by journals like the BMJ Global Health that often set the discourse–has opened itself up for introspection. Researchers and writers from around the world have been critiquing the field, its theory and praxis. As encouraging as this attempt at introspection and critique is, it runs the risk of […]

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Equity at the intersection of tuberculosis and disability

  One in seven people—more than one billion individuals worldwide—have some form of disability. One in four people, or 1.7 billion individuals, are infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the infectious agent that causes tuberculosis (TB). TB is a disease that causes visible and invisible disabilities, a disease whose treatment can cause disability, and a disease which disproportionately affects […]

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An opportunity to step up: World Field Epidemiology Day

  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 […]

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