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Global Health

Thursday

A member of a medical team at Mulago Referral Hospital administers a dose of a trial vaccine to a patient, on Feb. 3, 2025, in Kampala, Uganda.

A member of a medical team at Mulago Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, administers a dose of a trial Ebola vaccine to a patient on Feb. 3. The country is currently experiencing an Ebola outbreak. Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Images hide caption

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Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Images

Goats and Soda

Musk says work to stop Ebola was accidentally cut but restored. Experts raise doubts

Elon Musk said USAID's "Ebola prevention" was "accidentally canceled" but "immediately" restored. Health specialists following the current outbreak in Uganda raise doubts about the restoration.

Wednesday

The Trump administration's freeze of foreign aid has resulted in the loss of at least $69.7 million in aid programs across the Philippines. Pictured is a pharmacy at a community center in Manila, which is operated by LoveYourself. The nonprofit, which has provided free HIV testing and treatment services, suspended key programs such as free PrEP distribution and HIV self-testing kits due to the funding freeze.

LoveYourself, a nonprofit providing free HIV testing and treatment services in the Philippines, has suspended services due to the Trump administrations freeze of foreign aid. The Philippines has lost about $69.7 million in aid programs across the country. Ezra Acayan/Getty Images/Getty Images AsiaPac hide caption

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Ezra Acayan/Getty Images/Getty Images AsiaPac

Goats and Soda

The Trump administration kills nearly all USAID programs

The Trump administration is terminating thousands of foreign assistance grants and awards, according to a court filing. The move effectively guts the six-decade-old agency.

The Trump administration kills nearly all USAID programs

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YABELO, ETHIOPIA - MARCH 06: Young men taking pictures in front of HIV billboards during the Gada system ceremony in Borana tribe, Oromia, Yabelo, Ethiopia on March 6, 2017 in Yabelo, Ethiopia.

Young men pose for pictures in front of HIV posters in Ethiopia. Eric Lafforgue/Art in All of Us/Corbis via Getty Images/Corbis News hide caption

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Eric Lafforgue/Art in All of Us/Corbis via Getty Images/Corbis News

Goats and Soda

On Thursday word came: No more USAID funds for a clinic that gets HIV meds to kids

Supported by USAID, the Ethiopian clinic provides lifesaving medicine for HIV-positive kids and teens to suppress the virus. First came the 90-day freeze — and now an immediate termination of support.

Health clinic in Ethiopia has been unable to get drugs to HIV positive kids for weeks

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Dean Karlan, professor of economics and finance at Northwestern University and former chief economist for USAID in his office at Northwestern University on February 25. He resigned on Tuesday. He says he reached out to offer help in plotting a future course for the agency but got no response.

Dean Karlan, professor of economics and finance at Northwestern University and former chief economist for USAID, in his office at Northwestern on February 25 — the day he resigned. "I literally just emailed USAID and told them, 'I hereby cancel the contract,'" he told NPR. "And that was it." Beth Rooney for NPR hide caption

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Beth Rooney for NPR

Goats and Soda

Why Dean Karlan, chief economist of USAID, resigned this week

He was hired in 2022 so the aid agency could get 'more bang for our buck' with its projects. He tried to reach out to help in the rebuilding of the agency. On Tuesday he tendered his resignation.

Why Dean Karlan, chief economist of USAID, resigned this week

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Tuesday

Signage for the US government's humanitarian agency USAID is seen on a cargo container beside a tricycle in Manila on Feb. 4.

A cargo container in Manila bears signage for the U.S. government's humanitarian agency USAID. The Trump administration suspended most USAID projects; a judge is now calling for the freeze to be lifted. Jam Sta Rosa/AFP via Getty Images/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Jam Sta Rosa/AFP via Getty Images/AFP via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

Judge tells Trump administration it has less than 2 days to resume USAID funding

U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali said officials have provided no evidence of compliance with repeated orders to unfreeze the money.

TOPSHOT - A patient infected with mpox shows lesions on his body at the treatment centre in Kamituga, South Kivu province in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on September 20, 2024. Kamituga, one of the localities hardest hit by the epidemic with around a thousand confirmed cases, will be one of the first to receive the doses, according to the provincial health authorities. Kamituga, one of the localities hardest hit by the epidemic with around a thousand confirmed cases, will be one of the first to receive the doses, according to the provincial health authorities.

Lesions can be seen on this mpox patient in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the epicenter of an outbreak in Africa. Glody Murhabazi/AFP via Getty Images/AFP hide caption

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Glody Murhabazi/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

Goats and Soda

Why the good news about the mpox outbreak of 2025 isn't really good after all

The case counts seem to be dropping. But health officials say that's because violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo makes it difficult to get good data. And now U.S. assistance is being disrupted.

Sunday

Holes are seen on the building after signage was removed (top) while black plastic covers the logo of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) at its headquarters in Washington, DC, on February 7, 2025. President Donald Trump on February 7 called for USAID to be shuttered, escalating his unprecedented campaign to dismantle the humanitarian agency.

In early February, the signage was removed from the headquarters of the United States Agency for International Development in Washington, D.C. — one of many actions targeting the foreign aid agency since Donald Trump was inaugurated. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images/AFP hide caption

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Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

Goats and Soda

Trump officials will put 4,700 USAID employees on leave and eliminate 1,600 jobs

The decision comes in the wake of a judge's ruling that such a move will not cause irreparable harm to the employees. There will be exceptions for several hundred employees in roles deemed critical.

Friday

Ethiopians wait for their ration of food supplies in February. The U.N.'s World Hunger Programme reports that "nearly 16 million people are food insecure because of drought, floods, desert locusts, COVID-19, conflict and economic shocks." The famine in Ethiopia in the mid-1980s was the impetus for the establishment of FEWS NET, a U.S.-funded famine alert project.

Ethiopians wait for their ration of food supplies in February. The U.N.'s World Hunger Programme reports that in Ethiopia, "nearly 16 million people are food insecure because of drought, floods, desert locusts, COVID-19, conflict and economic shocks." The famine in Ethiopia in the mid-1980s was the impetus for the establishment of FEWS NET, a U.S.-funded famine alert project. Aida Muluneh / For The Washington Post via Getty Images/The Washington Post hide caption

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Aida Muluneh / For The Washington Post via Getty Images/The Washington Post

Goats and Soda

A respected U.S. famine warning system is 'currently unavailable.' What's the impact?

FEWS NET, the U.S. early warning system for famine, shut down after the foreign aid freeze. What are the consequences? And why does the U.S. has a famine early warning system in the first place?

The U.S. shut down its famine warning system. What's the impact?

Listen · 3:35
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Thursday

Doctors from the 12th Chinese medical team examine children at the Juba Orphanage in Juba, South Sudan in September 2024 -- part of China's effort to play a role in global health.

Doctors from a Chinese medical team examine children at the Juba Orphanage in South Sudan in September 2024 — part of China's effort to play a leading role in the world of global health. Denis Elamu/Xinhua via Getty Images/Xinhua News Agency hide caption

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Denis Elamu/Xinhua via Getty Images/Xinhua News Agency

Goats and Soda

As the U.S. steps back from global health, what role will China play?

With the U.S. withdrawing from the World Health Organization and rethinking foreign aid, China has an opportunity to play a bigger role — with different goals.

Wednesday

Workers removed the sign at the U.S. Agency for International Development building on Feb. 7.

Workers removed the sign at the U.S. Agency for International Development building on February 7. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images/Getty Images hide caption

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Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images/Getty Images

Goats and Soda

In potential showdown, aid groups demand court find USAID, State officials in contempt

Aid groups are urging a federal judge to find Trump administration officials in contempt to force them to reopen funding to global programs. USAID says it has a legal right to cancel aid contracts.

Tuesday

In this 2022 photo, a COVID-19 vaccine is being injected into the upper arm of a 3-year-old child. The child is wearing a lime green shirt, and the neckline has been pulled down to expose the child's left shoulder and upper arm. The syringe is pressed against the child's upper arm.

A 3-year-old receives a COVID-19 vaccine on June 21, 2022. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Shots - Health News

A pediatrician warns of 'long-lasting' consequences of RFK Jr. leading HHS

Adam Ratner predicts the appointment of anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will impact vaccine availability and hesitancy: "It is much easier to scare people than to unscare them," he says.

A pediatrician warns of 'long lasting' consequences of RFK Jr. leading HHS

Listen · 35:08
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Saturday

Children gather inside a traditional tent, known as an ortz, in the Siberian taiga of northern Mongolia, watching a documentary about a Norwegian reindeer herder who was visiting the taiga to meet and learn about the lifestyle of the region's nomadic Dukha reindeer herders. Despite its remote and isolated location deep in the forest - accessible only by horseback or reindeer - modern technology such as solar panels, car batteries, and occasional wifi connection, allows these families to stay connected with the outside world.

Children gather inside a traditional tent, known as an ortz, in the Siberian taiga of northern Mongolia, watching a documentary about a Norwegian reindeer herder. Despite their remote location deep in the forest — accessible only by horseback or reindeer — the families stay connected with the outside world through such modern technology as solar panels and the occasional Wi-Fi connection. Claire Thomas hide caption

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Claire Thomas

Goats and Soda

Prize-winning pictures: Images from this photo contest show tech changing the world

The website Rest of World got entries from 45 countries for a photo contest focusing on technology. Here are their top picks — from facial scans for migrants to kids in a Mongolian tent transfixed by a film.

Friday

KAMPALA, UGANDA - FEBRUARY 13: A man pictured reading TASO poster inside The AIDS Support Organization(TASO) office on February 13, 2025 in Kampala, Uganda. The AIDS Support Organization(TASO) is an NGO in Uganda that offers an array of HIV and AIDS services, with 50 per cent of its funding coming from The United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Following US President Donald Trump's executive order to freeze all USAID funding for 90 days, TASO's Executive Director Dr. Bernard Etukoit says that amongst their HIV positive clients there is a lot of "panic, fear, and anxiety," about how the cuts could impact their access to treatment and services. An emergency waiver issued by the US Department of State has allowed life-saving humanitarian assistance programs to continue during the freeze, including all but three of TASO's programs, but uncertainty remains for those living with the disease, as well as the network of health workers who support them. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Images)

A man reads a poster in the office of The AIDS Support Organization in Kampala, Uganda. Half the group's funding is from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The Trump administration froze virtually all foreign aid funds for 90 days, then issued a waiver for life-saving activities. Now a judge has ordered a temporary halt to the freeze. Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Images hide caption

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Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Images

Goats and Soda

A judge orders a temporary thaw to Trump's foreign aid freeze. What will that mean?

He wrote that there was no explanation "why a blanket suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid" is needed to review programs. But how funds will start flowing again is unclear.

Thursday

KAMPALA, UGANDA - FEBRUARY 12: The unstaffed reception area at the offices of Uganda Young Positives (UYP) is pictured on February 12, 2025 in Kampala, Uganda. UYP is a non-governmental organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for young people living with HIV/AIDS, and reducing infection rates through awareness campaigns and programs. Uganda has been a major beneficiary of HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs funded by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), in conjunction with The United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Following US President Donald Trump's executive order to pause all USAID funding for 90 days, UYP's Executive Director Kruish Mubiru says that 95% of his organization's programs and staff have been impacted by the cuts. US and global health officials have warned that the impacts of the cuts will be detrimental, and in some cases fatal, to people living with the disease, as well as the decades-long efforts to stem infection rates. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Images)

The unstaffed reception area at the Kampala offices of Uganda Young Positives (UYP) on February 12. UYP is a nongovernmental organization that aims to improve the quality of life for young people living with HIV/AIDS and reduce infection rates through awareness programs. President Donald Trump's executive order to pause virtually all USAID funding for 90 days has had an impact on the group's programs and staff, says UYP executive director Kruish Mubiru. Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Images/Getty Images Europe hide caption

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Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Images/Getty Images Europe

Goats and Soda

What's happening with the anti-HIV program PEPFAR? It depends whom you ask

The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has been the subject of a series of presidential orders and memos that have left uncertainty about how it operates.

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 07: A worker removes the U.S. Agency for International Development sign on their headquarters on February 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) abruptly shutdown the U.S. aid agency earlier this week leaving thousands unemployed and putting U.S. foreign diplomacy and aid programs in limbo.

A worker removes the U.S. Agency for International Development sign on their headquarters on February 7. A judge is set to extend the pause of President Donald Trump's plan to put employees on administrative leave. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images/Getty Images North America hide caption

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Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

Goats and Soda

A judge extends the pause on Trump's plan to put USAID workers on leave

A federal judge has ruled to continue for another week the freeze on the Trump administration's plan to put thousands of staffers for the U.S. Agency for International Development on paid leave.