Global Health

Brisket is a classic cut of meat for the low and slow cook. Joel Villanueva/Getty Images hide caption

A worker at the Wupperthal Original Rooibos Co-operative's processing facility carries a bag of freshly harvested rooibos to the processing area. The country's rooibos tea exports have skyrocketed from barely 500 tons in 1996 to nearly 9,000 tons today — enough to fill 3.6 billion teabags. But Indigenous farmers were long cut out of the revenues, until a ground-breaking agreement was forged. Tommy Trenchard for NPR hide caption

A face mask languishes in the grass in Krakow, Poland. With the state of emergency over, some people are relishing freedom from masks while others believe masking up is still a wise preventive measure. Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption

Ophelia Dahl, cofounder of the global group Partners in Health, is the recipient of the 2023 Radcliffe Medal from Harvard University, awarded each year to "an individual who has had a transformative impact on society." Partners in Health builds local partnerships to address health issues. Dahl was hailed for her "unfailing optimism, clarity of vision and unsurpassed ability to get the work done." Ben Gabbe/Getty Images for Greenwich International Film Festival hide caption

Study participants in The Gambia received a measles vaccine through a virtually pain-free sticker. Early data on adults and children as young as nine months suggest the syringe-free skin patch is safe and effective. Micron Biomedical hide caption

A picture from May 1 shows an abandoned hospital in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, a state in Sudan. Weeks of fierce fighting in the country have had a devastating impact on health care. AFP via Getty Images hide caption

This choir from South Africa spent two years singing in Britain, and even performed for Queen Victoria in 1891. But their journey did not end well. Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images hide caption

Death cap (Amanita phalloides), Amanitaceae. De Agostini Picture Library via Getty Images hide caption

They're hip-hop artists who weave public-health messages into their rhymes: From left: Sister Fa, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels and Ali A.K.A. Mind perform at the Skoll World Forum 2023. During this rap, McDaniels called out: "I'm not afraid of the dark anymore/because I am the light./I'll be there at the start of the war/Because I am the fight." Skoll Foundation hide caption

Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame of Ghana is the new chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities — the first African woman in that post. Asked to define disability, she says: "It is not the presence of the impairment, but it is the social and attitudinal barriers that are hindering our performance." Ernest Ankomah for NPR hide caption

A poster in Kolkata, India, from peak pandemic days sends a message to mask up. Now that the official COVID-19 global emergency is no longer in effect, some folks are thrilled to stop masking — but others wonder if it's a good idea to keep up certain precautions. NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption

Pregnant women at Sierra Leone's Gondama Referral Center. Sierra Leone has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world. A new study looks at an intervention to prevent death from postpartum hemorrhage. Lynsey Addario/Getty Images hide caption

Journalist Thomas Bwire asked these Kenyans how the pandemic has changed their lives. Top row from left: Abdala Hamadi, Judith Shitabule and Innocent Agwenyi. Bottow row from left: Phillister Atieno, Father Ignacio Flores Garcia and Valary Judith Atieno. Thomas Bwire for NPR hide caption