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Nurith Aizenman

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Friday

TOPSHOT - A malnourished Palestinian child is examined at Al-Awda hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on June 30, 2025. After more than 20 months of devastating conflict between Israel and the Hamas Islamist militant movement, rights groups say Gaza's population of more than two million face famine-like conditions.

A malnourished Palestinian child is examined at a Gaza hospital. A U.N.-backed panel has now declared that famine is underway in northern Gaza and warned it could extend to central and southern Gaza by late September. Eyad Baba/AFP/via Getty Images hide caption

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Eyad Baba/AFP/via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

Famine is declared in Gaza: What does it take to make this pronouncement?

An announcement of famine — as has now happened regarding Gaza — is a complicated decision. Here's what must be considered before such a declaration is made.

Friday

GAZA CITY, GAZA - JULY 23: Palestinians carrying pans, gather to receive hot meals, distributed by a charity organization in Gaza City, where residents are struggling to access food due to the ongoing Israeli blockade and attacks in Gaza City, Gaza on July 23, 2025.

Palestinians in Gaza City hold out pans at a food distribution run by a charity. The World Food Programme said Monday that hunger in Gaza has reached "astonishing levels," with a third of the population of just over 2 million people currently going multiple days without eating. Khames Alrefi/Anadolu/via Getty Images hide caption

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Khames Alrefi/Anadolu/via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

What does it take for a famine to be declared in Gaza?

Reports of starvation in Gaza raise the questions: Why the hesitation in labeling it a famine? And who are the authorities with the power to make that call?

Monday

Patricia Neves (left) and Ana Paula Ano Bom take a break at the institute in Rio de Janeiro where they work. The two scientists say they've been inseparable since they met in college. Now their friendship has made it possible to launch a remarkable partnership to make mRNA vaccines accessible to the world.

Patricia Neves (left) and Ana Paula Ano Bom take a break at the institute in Rio de Janeiro where they work. The two scientists say they've been inseparable since they met in college. Now their friendship has made it possible to launch a remarkable partnership to make mRNA vaccines accessible to the world. Ian Cheibub for NPR hide caption

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Ian Cheibub for NPR

Goats and Soda

Whatever happened to ... the Brazilian besties creating an mRNA vaccine as a gift to the world

Frustrated when Brazil could not get COVID vaccines, two Brazilian doctors (who have been best friends since college) decided to invent their own version and offer up the patent essentially for free.

Sunday

Ltesekwa Lekuuk, Paris's half-brother and a fellow moran, heads toward the mountain campsite where Paris had been living until a few weeks ago.

Ltesekwa Lekuuk, Paris's half-brother and a fellow moran, heads toward the mountain campsite where Paris had been living until a few weeks ago. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Goats and Soda

Kenya's Samburu boys share a sacred bond. Why one teen broke with the brotherhood

After initiation rites – including circumcision – the boys leave their families to take charge of the herds, driving them high into the mountains. It's a way of life that climate change is testing.

Kenya's Samburu boys share a sacred bond. Why one teen broke with the brotherhood

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Friday

What World War II taught us about how to help starving people today

Surviving children of the Auschwitz concentration camp, one of the camps the Nazis had set up to exterminate Jews and kill millions of others. Research into the appropriate way to "re-feed" those who've experienced starvation was prompted by the deaths of camp survivors after liberation. ullstein bild/Getty Images hide caption

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Goats and Soda

What World War II taught us about how to help starving people today

The modern study of starvation was sparked by the liberation of concentration camp survivors. U.S. and British soldiers rushed to feed them — and yet they sometimes perished.

What World War II taught us about how to help starving people today

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Friday

There's already 'catastrophic' hunger in Gaza. Who decides when to call it a 'famine?'

Palestinian people with empty bowls wait for food at a donation point in Rafah. A report out this week shows widespread hunger and malnutrition in Gaza but stopped short of declaring it a "famine." Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images hide caption

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Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

There's already 'catastrophic' hunger in Gaza. Who decides when to call it a 'famine?'

A report out this week says hunger, malnutrition and even starvation are widespread in Gaza, but stopped short of declaring it a 'famine.' Here's a primer on what that means, and who gets to decide.

Thursday

Wednesday

Health

In Africa, world health officials roll out first routine malaria vaccine

Cameroon has officially rolled out the first malaria vaccine approved for routine vaccination, targeting children 6 months and older. It reduces severe disease by 30% among young kids.

In Africa, world health officials roll out first routine malaria vaccine

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Monday

Anthropologist Carla Handley, center, meets with Wario Bala, right, to present the results of a DNA study she conducted seven years ago in his community in northern Kenya.

Anthropologist Carla Handley, center, meets with Wario Bala, right, to present the results of a DNA study she conducted seven years ago in his community in northern Kenya. Rebecca Siford hide caption

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Rebecca Siford

Goats and Soda

If you donate DNA, what should scientists give in return? A 'pathbreaking' new model

That's how a prominent medical ethicist describes a researcher's innovative plan to share study results with participants in Kenya.

If you donate DNA, what should scientists give in return? A 'pathbreaking' new model

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Wednesday

Some overlooked good news from 2023: Six countries knock out 'neglected' diseases

Left to right: Alexis Mukwedi tested positive for sleeping sickness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A sandfly, whose bite can spread the parasite causing visceral leishmaniasis, lands on the photographer for a blood meal. A woman in Vietnam receives an eye exam to see if she has trachoma, which can cause blindness. Last year several countries eliminated the threat from this disease. Xavier Vaheed-DNDi, James Gathany/CDC, AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Xavier Vaheed-DNDi, James Gathany/CDC, AFP via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

Some overlooked good news from 2023: Six countries knock out 'neglected' diseases

In 2023, six nations were able to eliminate virtually all cases of at least one of the illnesses on the World Health Organization's priority list of "neglected tropical diseases."

Some overlooked good news from 2023: Six countries knock out 'neglected' diseases

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Sunday

Global Health

Several countries made progress in disease elimination this year

This year, six countries have managed to eliminate the threat of at least one of the diseases on the WHO's list of "neglected tropical diseases."

Several countries made progress in disease elimination this year

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Thursday

It's one of the biggest experiments in fighting global poverty. Now the results are in

A 2017 meeting of a rotating savings club formed in a village near Lake Victoria soon after every adult there was chosen to receive a monthly through GiveDirectly's experiment. The clubs have enabled recipients to convert their grants into lump sum payments: Each month the members put $10 into the communual pot — for a total of $100 — and a different person takes it home. Nichole Sobecki for NPR hide caption

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Nichole Sobecki for NPR

Goats and Soda

It's one of the biggest experiments in fighting global poverty. Now the results are in

The study focuses on a universal basic income and spans 12 years and thousands of people in Kenya. How did the money change lives? What's better: monthly payouts or a lump sum.

It's one of the biggest experiments in fighting global poverty. Now the results are in

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Tuesday

Africa

People can do more with lump sum of money than payments, experiment in Kenya suggests

The first results are in from a charity experiment in Kenya. Those who got a lump sum of money were far more likely to start a business — and earn more — compared to those who got monthly payments.

People can do more with lump sum of money than payments, experiment in Kenya suggests

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Wednesday

Climate

As life under climate change grows more difficult, one group says cash aid can help

Many of the world's poorest places are getting even more difficult to live in as climate change fuels an upswing in natural disasters. One group says cash aid can help.

As life under climate change grows more difficult, one group says cash aid can help

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Tuesday

Why villagers haven't left mudslide-prone mountain — and how a novel plan might help

The aftermath of a mudslide that ripped through villages on the foothills of Mount Elgon in 2012, killing at least 18 people. The slopes of this extinct volcano in eastern Uganda have become increasingly prone to such disasters as a result of climate change. The looming question: How do you help people find a safe new place to live? Isaac Kasamani/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Isaac Kasamani/AFP via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

Why villagers haven't left mudslide-prone mountain — and how a novel plan might help

On an extinct volcano in Uganda, hundreds of thousands face disaster due to climate change. The charity GiveDirectly is trying a surprising approach to help them get out of harm's way.

Why villagers haven't left mudslide-prone mountain — and how a novel plan might help

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Tuesday

Wednesday

What if you had dementia — and didn't know it?

Joyce Mutisya, 71, outside her home in Wote, Kenya. For years she's struggled with symptoms of dementia. But she didn't realize it was a condition for which she could seek professional help. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Goats and Soda

What if you had dementia — and didn't know it?

In Kenya, someone with symptoms of dementia may not be able to get a diagnosis — leaving both patient and family with no idea of what is going on. A program is trying to change that.

What if you had dementia — and didn't know it?

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Tuesday

Africa

A project in rural Kenya aims to help those with dementia

Dementia is a largely overlooked health problems in Africa. A new effort is trying to change that, sending volunteers house to house in a rural part of Kenya to identify people with signs of dementia.

A project in rural Kenya aims to help those with dementia

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Wednesday

This GOP Fight Could Devastate George W. Bush's Global Health Win

Former U.S. President George W. Bush speaks during an event to mark the 20th anniversary of PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) at the United States Institute of Peace on February 24, 2023 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

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Alex Wong/Getty Images

The NPR Politics Podcast

This GOP Fight Could Devastate George W. Bush's Global Health Win

Concern from some Republicans over abortion — and resurgent skepticism of foreign aid — could severely curb the effectiveness of the AIDS prevention program PEPFAR. Also known as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, PEPFAR is credited with saving more than 25 million lives since it began in 2003.

This GOP Fight Could Devastate George W. Bush's Global Health Win

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Monday

Health

The successful anti-AIDS program PEPFAR is under threat in Congress

The AIDS relief plan PEPFAR is in the crosshairs of abortion politics in Congress. It has widely enjoyed bipartisan support, until now, and a key re-authorization may lapse.

The successful anti-AIDS program PEPFAR is under threat in Congress

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Tuesday

Whatever happened to the project to crack the wealthy world's lock on mRNA vaccines?

Gerhardt Boukes, chief scientist at Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, formulates mRNA for use in a vaccine against COVID-19. The company — based in Cape Town, South Africa — is the linchpin of a global project to enable low- and middle-income countries to make mRNA vaccines against all manner of diseases. Tommy Trenchard for NPR hide caption

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Tommy Trenchard for NPR

Goats and Soda

Whatever happened to the project to crack the wealthy world's lock on mRNA vaccines?

Lower-income countries did not get the COVID vaccines they needed. So the World Bank and other partners tapped a South African company to cook up the (undisclosed) recipe for the Moderna mRNA vaccine.

Friday

In a hot room, you're told to play a vicious game. Will heat make you behave badly?
Kaz Fantone/NPR

Goats and Soda

In a hot room, you're told to play a vicious game. Will heat make you behave badly?

The study assigned subjects to one of two rooms: 68 degrees or a sweat-inducing 86 degrees. They played a computer game that can bring out the worst in human nature. What are the real-world lessons?

In a hot room, you're told to play a vicious game. Will heat make you behave badly?

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Monday

Science

Does heat make us more aggressive? Researchers put it to the test

Periods of sweltering temperatures like the current global heat wave seem to drive up civil conflicts. But why? To find out, researchers put thousands of people in hot rooms - with surprising results.

Does heat make us more aggressive? Researchers put it to the test

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Sunday

Science

How scientists are using fish music to protect coral reefs

Questioning if fish bay at the moon could lead to ways to protect the ocean's damaged ecosystems. (Story first aired on All Things Considered on June 15, 2023.)

How scientists are using fish music to protect coral reefs

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