Global Health : Shots - Health News Global health
Stories About

Global Health

Climate-influenced disasters are making people sick. When wildfire smoke from massive fires in Canada blanketed the U.S. in the summer of 2023, emergency rooms saw a spike in admissions for lung problems but also heart attacks and other health issues. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

Ambassador-at-Large John Nkengasong, who will lead the State Department's Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy, speaks to the press about the new agency. He told NPR that the pandemic "taught us three key lessons. We are collectively more connected than we thought. We are more vulnerable than we thought. And we have [vast] inequities" when it comes to disease threats. Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

A new U.S. agency is a response to the fact that nobody was ready for the pandemic

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1191872141/1192047177" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

The World Health Organization led this measles vaccination campaign in India in 1974 — reflecting its mission "to promote and protect the health of all peoples." Nik Wheeler/Sygma via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Nik Wheeler/Sygma via Getty Images

Aspergillus fumigatus can infect the lungs, causing pneumonia-like symptoms that can progress into more severe sickness. BSIP/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
BSIP/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

People protest during a rally calling for more government action to combat the spread of monkeypox at Foley Square on July 21, 2022 in New York City. Jeenah Moon/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Jeenah Moon/Getty Images

Aerial view of the Beckton Sewage Treatment Works in London. Between February and May, U.K. scientists found several samples containing closely related versions of the polio virus in wastewater at the plant. mwmbwls/Flickr hide caption

toggle caption
mwmbwls/Flickr

Female community health care workers protest in New Delhi, India, in August 2020. The women are part of a government program called Accredited Social Health Activists — and are demanding higher pay and better working conditions. In May, the program won an award from the World Health Organization. T. Narayan/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
T. Narayan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

USAID Administrator Samantha Power delivered a speech on her "new vision" for the agency on Nov. 4 at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

In his new book for young teenagers, Charles Kenny points out signs of global progress, including the growing number of kids in school. Above: The Oloo Education Center aims to provide an education to kids in Kibera, a poor community in Nairobi, Kenya. When you type "Kibera" into the Uber app, it comes up as "Kibera slum." Julia Gunther for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Julia Gunther for NPR

Abraar Karan spent time in rural India in 2008 while working for Unite for Sight, a nonprofit group that provides eye care. Above: He interviews a woman about the challenge of living from severe cataracts. Daniel Carvalho hide caption

toggle caption
Daniel Carvalho

Dr. Eugene Richardson in a helicopter during the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, where he worked as a clinical lead for Partner in Health's response to the outbreak. He is the author of the new book Epidemic Illusions: On the Coloniality of Global Public Health. Katie Barron hide caption

toggle caption
Katie Barron

President Biden signs executive actions hours after his inauguration on Wednesday. He is expected to reverse several Trump-era policies. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Evan Vucci/AP

Surrounded by some members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, President Trump speaks at a press conference on COVID-19 in March in the Rose Garden. Of the 27 task force members, two are women, standing to Trump's left: Dr. Deborah Birx and Seema Verma (holding the sheaf of papers). Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S., according to the World Health Organization, has paid none of this year's assessed fees and still owes $81 million from last year. Denis Balibouse/Reuters hide caption

toggle caption
Denis Balibouse/Reuters

U.S. Was Behind On Payments To WHO Before Trump's Cutoff

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/850326053/851826604" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

World Health Organization leaders at a press briefing on COVID-19, held on March 6 at WHO headquarters in Geneva. Here's a look at its history, its mission and its role in the current crisis. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

Nurses and health care workers light candles outside Manhattan's Mount Sinai Hospital on Friday as they mourn and remember their colleagues who died during the coronavirus pandemic. Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images
Stories About

Global Health