When did “stating the obvious” become “pathbreaking”: Global health newsletter edition – 9

By Megha Kaveri  

Hello everyone, 

In this edition of the newsletter, we begin with an opinion piece. In this piece, the author wonders how we, humanity, reached a place where we need studies to tell us things that we knew were right all along, like exercise or movement and avoiding over-processed foods to help us live healthier. They are right. How did we get here and why do we (scientists, informed community) have to keep saying these things? This piece in The Sydney Morning Herald might push you to give it some thought. 

Childhood obesity is not only a major non-communicable disease but also could give children a slew of mental health issues. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a set of guidelines on how to holistically approach this issue by targeting early diagnosis and even intense counselling for children. However, medical experts remain divided on the guidelines as elaborated in this piece. 

World TB Day is around the corner (March 24). One of the oldest diseases to have affected human beings, TB is still around. It kills roughly 1.5 million people every year and is still a major global health concern. This story offers a glimpse into newer TB treatment regimens and possible ways to end TB soon. 

As part of our regular reminder that Covid-19 still exists, the World Health Organization (WHO) has, once again, urged China to release all information related to the origins of the pandemic. This was after some data was shared for a very short time, on the international database to track pathogens. Read the stories here and here to know a bit more about the history and the evolution of this demand. 

Another piece of news that captured my attention the past few weeks was the cap on insulin prices announced by several pharma companies. Sanofi, along with two other major manufacturers of Insulin, has been facing tremendous backlash from the public over insulin prices. Read this story to know more. 

Here are some ICYMI news stories, papers, podcast episodes and events curated for you: 

ICYMI Reads: 

Don’t Put COVID-19 in the Rearview Mirror. Now We Need to Prepare for the Next Pandemic (Time)

Pfizer Spends Big on IP Lobbying With Billions on the Line (Sludge)

The Polarized Pandemic (Think Global Health)

Scientists deliver ‘final warning’ on climate crisis: act now or it’s too late (The Guardian)

Malawi president declares half of the country damaged by cyclone (The Guardian)

Papers: 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on Editorial Boards of Global Health Journals (Springer, Open Access)

The reputed journal BMJ Global Health is launching a new journal to cater to the increasing scholarship and expertise on public health. Called “BMJ Public Health”, this journal is all set to launch in April 2023. Stay tuned here to receive updates on it. 

Podcast episodes: 

BBC Health Check – Obesity drug: New hope for weight loss?

SHE Research Podcast – Oliver Razum – Public Health and War: Hope among the horrors

Events: 

Breaking taboos in Global Health (Choice between March 23 and March 24)

Organised by the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp. More details and the registration link can be found here here.

Making health insurance responsive to citizens: learning from countries (March 23)

Organised by the WHO. More details and the registration link can be found here here.

Corruption in healthcare: A global health blind spot (March 23)

Organised by the International Geneva Global Health platform at the Geneva Graduate Institute. More details and the registration link can be found here.

We hope you liked our curation of selected news pieces for you. We aim to improve our choices in the coming days. Global Health Initiative is a student initiative at Geneva Graduate Institute where students passionate about global health policy meet and network. For more information about us, check us out on Instagram @graduateinstitute_ghi  

Whilst you are here!

The Graduate Press is currently raising funds for our 5th-anniversary print edition and we need your help. The last 5 years at the institute have seen some incredible highs and lows and TGP has been there for them all. Now TGP wants to immortalise that history.

If you can, we are currently accepting donations via our GoFundMe page.And if you would like to be involved with The Graduate Press and the 5th anniversary edition you can email us at gisa.thegraduate@graduateinstitute.ch or via Instagram.