黑料不打烊 University researchers have developed and are licensing a digital tool to help safely reduce patients鈥� use of medications that may be unnecessary or even harmful to them.

When clinicians review a patient鈥檚 file, flags potentially inappropriate medications. In a , the software helped deprescribe such medications in 36 per cent of long-term care residents, nearly triple as many as when reviews were done without the tool.

黑料不打烊 University researchers have developed and are licensing a digital tool to help safely reduce patients鈥� use of medications that may be unnecessary or even harmful to them.

When clinicians review a patient鈥檚 file, flags potentially inappropriate medications. In a , the software helped deprescribe such medications in 36 per cent of long-term care residents, nearly triple as many as when reviews were done without the tool.

黑料不打烊 University researchers have developed and are licensing a digital tool to help safely reduce patients鈥� use of medications that may be unnecessary or even harmful to them.

When clinicians review a patient鈥檚 file, flags potentially inappropriate medications. In a , the software helped deprescribe such medications in 36 per cent of long-term care residents, nearly triple as many as when reviews were done without the tool.

黑料不打烊 University researchers have developed and are licensing a digital tool to help safely reduce patients鈥� use of medications that may be unnecessary or even harmful to them.

When clinicians review a patient鈥檚 file, flags potentially inappropriate medications. In a , the software helped deprescribe such medications in 36 per cent of long-term care residents, nearly triple as many as when reviews were done without the tool.

Cholera is ripping through North Darfur, Sudan, threatening thousands of children already weakened by hunger and displacement, UN Children鈥檚 Fund (UNICEF) warned on Sunday, as aid convoys struggle to reach cut-off communities amid escalating conflict.

Sub-Saharan Africa has taken a cautious but critical step toward greater health self-reliance as locally produced HIV medicines and diagnostic tests begin reaching national programmes 鈥� including, for the first time, procurement of African-made treatment for Mozambique.

96 Global Health NOW: CTE in the Spotlight; Inside Brazil鈥檚 Human-Trafficking Crisis; and Mercury鈥檚 Toll on Mental Health July 31, 2025 Flowers and a balloon reading "love one another" that were left outside the 345 Park Avenue building, the scene of a July 28 deadly shooting in Midtown Manhattan, New York. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty CTE in the Spotlight 
  The gunman who killed four people in a Manhattan office shooting this week said in a note that he believed he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the degenerative disease that stems from repeated hits to the head. 

It is unclear whether he had the condition, as it can only be diagnosed posthumously in an autopsy. But the violence has brought renewed attention to CTE鈥攁long with scrutiny about how the shooter was able to access a gun despite documented mental health hospitalizations, and deploy it in a city with some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, . 

Concerns about CTE and full-contact sports have been building for two decades, as more studies have shown how repeated blows to the head lead to the buildup of brain-damaging proteins, . 

• A number of former football players who turned to violence鈥攑articularly suicide鈥攚ere found posthumously to have CTE, . 


• But self-diagnosis comes with its own dangers, 鈥攅specially as links between CTE and high school football, which the gunman played, remain understudied. 


• And the majority of people with CTE never engage in violence, Daniel H. Daneshvar, chief of brain injury rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School : 鈥淚 would never draw a direct line between someone鈥檚 brain pathology and any specific violent act.鈥� 

Loopholes in gun laws: The perpetrator had twice been hospitalized for mental health reasons, but was still able to have a concealed carry license and access a gun in his home state of Nevada, which does not automatically disqualify someone from possessing or buying guns, despite having had emergency hospitalizations, .

• And such laws may not have mattered: The NYPD has said the shooter鈥檚 AR-style rifle was likely assembled using parts.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Cholera threatens ~80,000 children across West and Central Africa, with active outbreaks in DRC and Nigeria posing a high risk of cross-border transmission; hardest-hit DRC reports 38,000+ cases, 951 deaths, and an alarming 8% case fatality rate in July.
 
As deadly heat waves sweep East Asia, South Korea has recorded 13 heat-related deaths so far this year鈥�3X the same period last year鈥攁nd Japan recorded its highest-ever temperature of 41.2 degrees Celsius in Tamba.

A large fungal meningitis outbreak in the U.S. that sickened 24 patients and killed 12 occurred among people who received epidural anesthesia for cosmetic surgeries in Matamoros, Mexico, in 2023, , which highlights the need for more rigorous diagnostic measures.

Dormant breast cancer cells in the lungs can be awakened by respiratory infections like COVID-19 or the flu, has found; the data could have implications for human cases, as SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection has been linked with a nearly 2X increase in cancer-related death. U.S. and Global Health Policy News The Role of International Aid in Supporting Ukraine鈥檚 Recovery Efforts 鈥�

Abortion shield laws are under fire 鈥�

Trump Prepares to Revoke Lifesaving Abortion Care for Veterans 鈥�

Ousted vaccine panel members say rigorous science is being abandoned 鈥�

Top FDA vaccine regulator under Trump ousted amid conservative criticism 鈥� GHN EXCLUSIVE A sunset in January over the Branco River in Roraima, Brazil's capital city, Boa Vista (Good View). Julianna Deutscher From Displacement to Exploitation: Inside Brazil鈥檚 Human-Trafficking Crisis
BOA VISTA, Brazil鈥擳he capital of northern Brazil鈥檚 Roraima state is known for the placid Branco River, gorgeous sunsets, and beautiful landscapes.

Yet behind the attractive fa莽ade, desperate  in drugs, weapons, gold, people, and organs.

Persistent risks: Many fall prey to Brazilian and Venezuelan criminal groups that lure migrants to the garimpos (illegal gold mines) with false promises but then trap them in modern slavery. Women are forced into sex work, often at the mines, posadas (motels), and restaurants.

Migrants are often bound not by physical captivity but by 鈥渋nvisible chains鈥濃�攆ear for a loved one鈥檚 safety, dependence on shelter, language barriers, or the urgent need to feed their children.

Back story: A year after the contentious reelection of President Nicol谩s Maduro, hundreds of Venezuelans still arrive daily through a small Brazilian border town north of Boa Vista.

In this second part of a series on Venezuelan migrants鈥� experiences in Brazil, Julianna Deutscher describes the migrants鈥� plight and the policy and funding barriers to their protection.

Editor鈥檚 note: Julianna Deutscher, MD, MPH, reported this article鈥攖he second in a series鈥攚ith support from the . Read the first article . GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Mercury鈥檚 Toll on Mental Health 
Widespread mercury poisoning has been linked to high attempted suicide rates among youth in the Indigenous Grassy Narrows First Nation in Ontario, . 

Background: Mercury contamination in the region began in the 1960s鈥�70s, when a paper mill dumped ~10 tons of mercury into local rivers used for fishing.  

• Over the years, the Grassy Narrows First Nation community has seen suicide attempts increase dramatically鈥�3X higher than in other First Nation communities in Canada.

Findings: Researchers analyzed mercury levels in 162 children and 80 mothers, finding three generations of mercury exposure linked to emotional and behavioral problems鈥攑articularly among women who ate fish during pregnancy. 

The Quote: 鈥淥ur way of life has been totally destroyed,鈥� said Grassy Narrows First Nation Chief Rudy Turtle

  ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION Literary Tails 
Bookshop pets have a pretty tough gig, considering their full-time job is to literally curl up with a good book.

And these days, they have even more responsibility thanks to social media鈥攚hich has conferred main-character status upon the cockatiels, cats, and King Charles Spaniels inhabiting the stacks.

• 鈥淲e get a whole bunch of readers, but people really come to see the animals,鈥� said Anna Hersh, a co-owner and 鈥渁nimal care coordinator鈥� of Wild Rumpus in Minneapolis鈥攁 mythic menagerie of birds, cats, fish, and a pair of chinchillas named Newbery and Caldecott. 

Where the Wild Things Are:

• Bear Pond Books in Vermont is under the supervision of Veruca Salt, , who hosts an annual birthday party with cake and stories鈥攏otably The Tortoise and the Hare.


• The Literary Cat Co. in Kansas partners with a local animal rescue to fostered at the shop. 


• Scattered Books in New York hires booksellers based on their bunny expertise鈥攁nd not just knowledge of the plotlines of Peter Rabbit or Watership Down: 
  
  
  • 鈥淧eople come in and they鈥檙e like, 鈥業 love to read.鈥� I鈥檓 like, 鈥楬ow are you with rabbits?鈥欌�� said owner Laura Schaefer, whose 鈥溾�� have top shelf status (despite being confined to empty bottom shelves). 

QUICK HITS Canada鈥檚 Measles Outbreak Exceeds Cases in the U.S. 鈥�

Safety of JN.1-Updated mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines 鈥�

The status of ownership and utilization of long-lasting insecticidal treated nets in war-torn Tigray, Ethiopia 鈥�

U.S. Visa Bureaucracy and Its Burdens Among Early Career Scholars 鈥�

Scientists just invented a safer non-stick coating鈥攁nd it鈥檚 inspired by arrows 鈥�

She ended up with a bat in her mouth 鈥� and $21,000 in medical bills 鈥�  Issue No. 2767
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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As Myanmar reels from deadly floods, renewed fighting and widespread displacement, the United Nations warned on Thursday that urgent humanitarian needs are going unmet due to escalating violence and blocked access.

Modern medicine is largely reactive鈥攖reating illness only after symptoms emerge. But a new study from the Research Institute of the 黑料不打烊 University Health Centre (The Institute) and 黑料不打烊 University points to a more proactive future: one where silent signs of infection are detected before we even feel sick.

Modern medicine is largely reactive鈥攖reating illness only after symptoms emerge. But a new study from the Research Institute of the 黑料不打烊 University Health Centre (The Institute) and 黑料不打烊 University points to a more proactive future: one where silent signs of infection are detected before we even feel sick.

Modern medicine is largely reactive鈥攖reating illness only after symptoms emerge. But a new study from the Research Institute of the 黑料不打烊 University Health Centre (The Institute) and 黑料不打烊 University points to a more proactive future: one where silent signs of infection are detected before we even feel sick.

Modern medicine is largely reactive鈥攖reating illness only after symptoms emerge. But a new study from the Research Institute of the 黑料不打烊 University Health Centre (The Institute) and 黑料不打烊 University points to a more proactive future: one where silent signs of infection are detected before we even feel sick.

Modern medicine is largely reactive鈥攖reating illness only after symptoms emerge. But a new study from the Research Institute of the 黑料不打烊 University Health Centre (The Institute) and 黑料不打烊 University points to a more proactive future: one where silent signs of infection are detected before we even feel sick.

96 Global Health NOW: Migration Response Done Right: Brazil鈥檚 Model; EPA Aims to Gut Key Climate Ruling; and Sierra Leone Ordered to Criminalize FGM July 30, 2025 GHN EXCLUSIVE Venezuelan refugees walk after crossing the border between Venezuela and Brazil in the city of Pacaraima, Roraima State, Brazil, on September 13, 2024. Alan Chaves/AFP via Getty Migration Response Done Right: Brazil鈥檚 Model for a World in Crisis
PACARAIMA, Brazil鈥擬aria* steps out of a white truck on January 10 and walks toward a crowd of newly arrived Venezuelans.

• Alone and far from home, women and girls like Maria have faced gender-based violence and human trafficking as they fled Venezuela鈥檚 political and economic collapse, in Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.

A warm welcome: Migrants in Brazil had much more positive experiences than those in the other countries. The difference, says study author Susan Bartels, is the work of Opera莽茫o Acolhida (Operation Welcome).

• The Brazilian government launched the program in 2018, as a unique collaboration with UN agencies and NGOs. The partnership blends military logistical support with respect for humanitarian autonomy, a rare balance in crisis response. 

A streamlined process: Maria is connected to free essential services, applies for asylum or permanent residency, and receives information about universal health care.

• She can also get free transportation to be reunited with family or friends across Brazil and is connected with employment services.

Challenges remain: U.S. government cuts to foreign aid are forcing some organizations to scale back their support of Opera莽茫o Acolhida鈥嬧��, but on this day, Maria鈥檚 new life begins. 

*Maria鈥檚 name was changed to protect her privacy.

Editor鈥檚 note: Julianna Deutscher, MD, MPH, reported this article鈥攖he first in a series marking today鈥檚 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons鈥攚ith support from the . GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Cholera is a 鈥渇ull-blown public health emergency鈥� in DRC six months into renewed fighting that has obliterated sanitation and water supply systems, per Oxfam鈥檚 DRC director, Manenji Mangundu鈥攚ith ~35,000 suspected cases and at least 852 related deaths since January, a 62% increase compared to 2024.

Liver cancer cases are projected to double鈥攆rom ~870,000 cases in 2022 to 1.52 million cases by 2050鈥攂ut at least 60% of those cancers could be preventable,  published Monday. 

Undocumented immigrants faced a much higher risk of death at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic鈥攚ith Latino essential workers in particular showing a staggering 91% increase in deaths compared with 8% for the white U.S.-born subgroup鈥�. 

All NIH research funding was temporarily halted Tuesday because of a footnote from an Office of Management and Budget document that limited NIH funding to staff salaries and expenses, not to research grants; the billions of funds were restored hours later in a turnabout NIH officials described as 鈥渃haos.鈥� U.S. and Global Health Policy News Budget cuts knock down a 鈥榩illar of public health,鈥� ending nutrition education 鈥�

US placed on rights watchlist over health of its civil society under Trump 鈥�

There's a major publishing slowdown at CDC's flagship journal 鈥�

Susan Monarez confirmed as Trump鈥檚 CDC director 鈥�

Dozens of state laws take aim at food dyes, amid a wave support for MAHA 鈥� CLIMATE CHANGE EPA Aims to Gut Key Climate Ruling 
The U.S. EPA will seek to rescind a key scientific finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare鈥攁 move that could dismantle the legal basis for much of the country鈥檚 climate policy, . 

Background: In 2009, the EPA determined that CO2 and other greenhouse gases can be regulated under the Clean Air Act because they harm human health. That 鈥溾�� has since underpinned regulations on emissions standards for everything from factories to cars, . 

Repeal: Yesterday while at a car dealership, EPA head Lee Zeldin announced to eliminate the standards, .

• The move is the latest Trump administration effort to roll back climate initiatives, including the country鈥檚 withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, . 


• One ecologist likened a repeal to 鈥渁 driver who is speeding towards a cliff taking his foot off the brake and instead pressing the accelerator.鈥�

What鈥檚 next: The proposal must undergo public comment and is likely to face legal challenges from environmental groups and states.

Meanwhile, the WHO is at a global climate and health conference in Bras铆lia鈥攁s the 鈥渓ived reality鈥� of climate change 鈥渢hreatens to undo decades of global health progress.鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HUMAN RIGHTS Sierra Leone鈥檚 President Ordered to Ban FGM
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) court of justice has ordered Sierra Leone to criminalize female genital mutilation (FGM), calling it 鈥渙ne of the worst forms of violence against women.鈥� 

• A 2019 survey found that 83% of women in Sierra Leone had undergone FGM鈥�71% of them before age 15. 

In early July, Sierra Leone passed the Child Rights Act 2025, which prohibits all forms of mental and physical violence against children鈥攂ut as it does not specifically address FGM, human rights advocates are encouraging President Julius Maada Bio to send the act back to parliament for revision. 

• Despite recently becoming chair of ECOWAS, Bio has yet to publicly acknowledge the court鈥檚 ruling.

QUICK HITS People are dying of malnutrition in Gaza. How does starvation kill you? 鈥�

Colombia Opens South America's First Safe Injection Sites 鈥�

Kratom and 7-OH: What to know about the "legal morphine" compound 鈥�

AMR surveillance project in Nigeria delivers life-saving impacts 鈥�

In Uganda a new epidemic alert system is helping fight mpox 鈥�

The Dutch Intersection Is Coming to Save Your Life 鈥� Issue No. 2766
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

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  Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.


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People in Haiti have expressed 鈥渄espair鈥� following the 鈥渁brupt suspension鈥� of a wide range of humanitarian services, according to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, in the Caribbean country.

Some 80,000 children are estimated to be at high risk of cholera in West and Central Africa as the rainy season begins across the region, the UN Children鈥檚 Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday. 

96 Global Health NOW: A Temporary Dip in Global Hunger?; Why European Vaccine Policies Don鈥檛 Fit the U.S.; and Remembering David Nabarro July 29, 2025 A South Sudanese refugee carrying her child on her back works at her vegetable crops. Turkana County, Kenya, October 2, 2019. Luis Tato/AFP via Getty A Temporary Dip in Global Hunger? 
Global hunger decreased slightly last year, but rising food prices and falling aid contributions mean that momentum will be unlikely to continue in the coming years, according to the  published yesterday.

Takeaways:

• 8.2% of people worldwide, or 673 million people, were estimated to have experienced hunger last year, a drop from 8.5% in 2023 and 8.7% in 2022.


• 22 million fewer people experienced hunger last year compared to 2022.


• 2.3 billion people were considered moderately or severely food insecure last year, according to the report from five UN agencies.


• Advances in Southeastern Asia, Southern Asia, and South America were largely responsible for the lower global hunger numbers.

Threats:

• Hunger in much of Africa and Western Asia continues to rise.


• Global food inflation, driven by the pandemic, climate change, and the war in Ukraine, rocketed to almost 17% in early 2023 from 2% in late 2020, .

Food violence: At least two people were shot and killed yesterday by police battling desperate refugees in a northern Kenya refugee camp experiencing a food crisis, .

The Quote: 鈥淭hese figures 鈥� are alarming enough, but the worst may be yet to come,鈥� Kate Munro, of Action Against Hunger UK, told The Telegraph. 鈥淐uts in international aid will hit the most vulnerable populations hardest.鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Danish researchers combed the records of 1.2 million+ children over a 24-year period and found no evidence that the use of aluminum salts in vaccines increased the risk of asthma, autism, and a wide range of conditions diagnosed in childhood, per . 

Common pollutants like PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide, and soot are all linked to a significantly higher risk of dementia, per a sweeping review of studies  that drew on data from nearly 30 million people. 

Nearly a quarter of African American adults had eye disease that went  undetected,  ages 40 and older with eye conditions in a Los Angeles suburb; diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration were especially common.  Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe!

The Chinese government will offer parents a $500 subsidy per year for each child under the age of three, aimed at boosting the country鈥檚 slumping birth rate, but some economic analysts say the sums are too small to make an impact. U.S. and Global Health Policy News Odds of winning NIH grants plummet as new funding policy and spending delays bite 鈥�

Group criticizes NIH over suspended funding for TB research 鈥�

Judge blocks Trump administration鈥檚 efforts to defund Planned Parenthood 鈥�

Senate to vote on Trump鈥檚 pick to lead the CDC 鈥� THE QUOTE
  "Venoms are evolutionary masterpieces, yet their antimicrobial potential has barely been explored. " 鈥斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌� C茅sar de la Fuente of the University of Pennsylvania, senior author of a research project that used AI to sift through global venom libraries and uncovered dozens of promising drug candidate蝉.&苍产蝉辫;鈥� VACCINES Why European Immunization Policies Don鈥檛 Fit the U.S.
As Trump administration health officials question the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule, they are pointing to European countries as a model for a more minimalist approach that requires fewer immunizations than U.S. guidelines call for.

Apples and oranges: But global health experts argue that differences in vaccine schedules are not due to disagreements about safety, but instead are shaped by local disease risks, demographics, and health systems. 

• In the U.S., a more fractured and inaccessible health system means a broader vaccine schedule allows for continuity and protection that might otherwise be lost. 

The key question: 鈥淕iven our specific disease burden and public-health goals, are we effectively protecting the most vulnerable people? Based on overwhelming evidence? The answer is yes,鈥� said Jake Scott, an infectious disease physician at Stanford University. 

OBIT Remembering David Nabarro, 鈥楢 Great Champion of Global Health鈥�
David Nabarro, a key figure in global health who helped lead the international response to health threats ranging from Ebola to the COVID-19 pandemic, died Friday at age 75.

• 鈥淒avid was a great champion of global health and health equity,鈥� WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus wrote.

Legacy of service: Nabarro was a physician whose early career focused on nutrition and child health throughout Iraq, South Asia, and East Africa. 

• He also helped coordinate the WHO鈥檚 response to the 2004 Indian earthquake, and took part in efforts to contain AIDS, malaria, bird flu, and the 2014 Ebola outbreak. He led the WHO鈥檚 messaging during COVID-19鈥攁 role that earned him a knighthood. 

鈥淭he Gandalf of the UN鈥�: Colleagues praised Nabarro鈥檚 humility and his way of 鈥渜uietly bringing people to the table who otherwise would not speak to each other.鈥� 

RESOURCES QUICK HITS Cholera rampant among displaced and refugees in Darfur and eastern Chad 鈥� 

Measles Elimination Status: What It Is and How the U.S. Could Lose It 鈥�

WHO urges action on hepatitis, announcing hepatitis D as carcinogenic 鈥�

Preventing Firearm Suicide In Wyoming 鈥�

PAHO/WHO convenes journalists to reshape how road safety is covered in Latin America 鈥�  

845,000 dead on U.S. highways. Why not address the main cause? 鈥�

Michigan led on safe water after Flint, but mobile home parks are stubborn rough spot 鈥�

Looking at a sick person in VR can rev up our bodies鈥� immune systems 鈥� Issue No. 2765
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->



  Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.


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96 Global Health NOW: Instability in Syria; Ivermectin for Added Protection?; and Nigeria鈥檚 Human Flycatchers July 28, 2025 Medical workers disinfect a hospital bed outside Sweida National Hospital, in southern Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida, on July 20. Shadi Al-Dubaisi/AFP via Getty Instability in Syria 
Deadly sectarian clashes in Syria鈥檚 southern Sweida province have led to mass displacement, hundreds of deaths, and a paralyzed health system鈥攖hreatening the country鈥檚 tenuous postwar stability, . 

Background: The violence was sparked earlier this month by kidnappings between Bedouin tribal fighters and armed factions of the Druze minority group, . 

• 800+ people have been killed, , and so far ~176,000 people have been displaced, . 


• Syrian government forces have intervened and established a ceasefire, but they are accused of siding with the clans and targeting civilians. 

Health system 鈥榰nder immense strain鈥�: The , including the killing of two doctors and obstruction of ambulances. 

• Hospital workers and patients described violence within wards and bodies piling up inside as the city morgue reached capacity. 


• Hospitals are now under 鈥渋mmense strain,鈥� said WHO representative Christina Bethke鈥攆acing severe shortages of personnel, water, electricity, and essential supplies.

Aid access blocked: Poor security conditions are limiting the ability of the UN and partners to deliver medical supplies and other aid to those affected by the violence鈥攍eading to 鈥渟evere humanitarian consequences for civilians,鈥� . 

Related Webinar Tomorrow: Stabilizing Syria: Rehabilitating Syria鈥檚 Public Health System in a Fragile Transition, hosted by the Center for Strategic & International Studies Middle East Program, featuring keynote remarks by Syria鈥檚 Transitional Minister of Health Musaab Nazzal Al-Ali and a panel discussion with Syria experts Bachir Tajaldin, Lolwa Al-Abdulmalek, and Diana Rayes, moderated by Mona Yacoubian.

• Tuesday, July 29, 11 a.m.鈥�12:15 p.m. EDT

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES Today Is World Hepatitis Day The Latest One-Liners   Timor-Leste has been certified malaria-free by the WHO, which praised the country for 鈥渟trong political will, smart interventions, sustained domestic and external investment and dedicated health workers鈥� in its efforts; the designation marks the malaria-free, and the third to be certified in the WHO鈥檚 South-East Asia region.

At least 300 people鈥攎ainly children in Africa and Asia鈥攈ave died since 2022 from cough and paracetamol syrups containing toxic industrial chemicals, that says 鈥渃riminal networks鈥� exploit weak regulations to use the chemicals as cheap substitutes for medicinal glycol.

A dengue outbreak in Samoa has led to a government-ordered closure of all schools in the country for a week, as children are most affected; 900+ cases were reported last week alone, , with 2,254 cases reported since January.

A Salmonella outbreak tied to raw milk from a California dairy farm sickened 171 people, including 120 children and adolescents, between October 2023 and March 2024, published last week. U.S. and Global Health Policy News Lesotho mothers fear passing HIV to their babies as US aid cuts halt testing 鈥�

Rural Oklahoma kids were getting more counselors 鈥� then federal cuts pulled funding 鈥�

Trump targets supervised consumption of drugs and harm reduction in executive order 鈥�

As the ADA turns 35, groups fighting for disability rights could see their federal dollars slashed 鈥�

Congressional panels resist White House proposals for sharp cuts in indirect cost rates 鈥� MALARIA Ivermectin for Added Protection?
A new malaria control strategy involving mass administration of the antiparasitic drug ivermectin is showing promise, per results from a large trial in Kenya . 

Background: Ivermectin makes human blood toxic to mosquitoes鈥攁llowing humans to target mosquitoes via their food source, . 

Trial details: The trial, which targeted school-age children, involved 20,000+ participants across 84 communities who received ivermectin or a control drug during the rainy season. 

• The communities that administered ivermectin saw a 26% reduction in new malaria infections. 


• The intervention showed added protection beyond existing bed net use鈥攎eaning it shows potential as a complementary tool, . 

Mixed reception: While some researchers praised the findings and described the drug as an 鈥渁ddition to the malaria control arsenal,鈥� others questioned the modest impact and 鈥渜uestionable public health benefits,鈥� including ivermectin鈥檚 unsuitability for pregnant women and very young children.

What鈥檚 next: The WHO has said more evidence will be needed before it can endorse the approach. GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES NEGLECTED DISEASES Nigeria鈥檚 Human Flycatchers 
In the battle against onchocerciasis, the parasitic disease that causes river blindness, researchers in Nigeria are relying on 鈥渉uman landing catches鈥� to help them mark progress.

• 40 million people are at risk of onchocerciasis in Nigeria, where there are 120,000 cases of related blindness.

How it works: Volunteers expose their skin to lure and trap the black flies that transmit the disease.

Why? The main strategy to curb transmission is mass drug administration to prevent the parasite鈥檚 spread. But researchers can only know how the effort is working by testing flies. 

A push for alternatives? Using humans as bait has long raised ethical concerns. Researchers are currently testing other trap models to potentially use instead.

QUICK HITS Israel pauses attacks in some of Gaza to allow limited aid, as global criticism grows 鈥�

鈥楥hanged my life鈥�: hepatitis treatment offers hope but not enough receiving care, report finds 鈥�

Native leaders push back on gender-affirming care restrictions for tribal citizens 鈥�

E.U. regulator approves injectable HIV drug that experts say could help stop transmission 鈥�

Coercive Care: Southern Europe鈥檚 Reliance on Elder Restraints 鈥�

Other nations had a pandemic reckoning. Why hasn鈥檛 the US? 鈥�

America is in denial about its flood risks 鈥�

WHO unveils health and environment scorecards for 194 countries 鈥�

The Ghost in the Therapy Room 鈥� Issue No. 2764
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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UN Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres has welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Cambodia and Thailand following days of deadly fighting over their mutual border. 

An interagency group from the UN released the flagship 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report on Monday, estimating a global, yet uneven, decline in hunger since 2022.