By Donald G. McNeil Jr., The New York Times

The hormone shot — popular among African women who must use birth control in secret — is as safe as other methods, scientists reported.

For decades, many African women in need of birth control they could use in secret have relied on intramuscular hormone injections that prevent pregnancy for three months.

Wednesday, June 12, 2019 marked the 12th Department of Global Health graduation since the department’s founding in 2007. This year’s celebration saw a record number of students, as 74 students received their degrees, up from last year’s total of 56. Of the 74 graduates in the Class of 2019, 62 received Masters in Public Health and 12 earned PhDs in Global Health Implementation Science, Global Health Metrics, or Pathobiology.

By Alan Mozes / HealthDay Reporter

In a recent study, researchers calculated that tens of thousands of lives in major U.S. cities would be saved annually if rising temperatures were curtailed.

"Extreme heat is related to higher human morbidity and mortality in cities," explained study author Y.T. Eunice Lo. She is a research associate with the Bristol Research Initiative for the Dynamic Global Environment at the University of Bristol, in England.

But, "by limiting the amount of warming, U.S. cities' exposure to extreme heat would decrease," Lo said.

Mina Halpern’s interest in global health issues began when she worked as a peer educator at Planned Parenthood while attending high school in Olympia. She says this experience sparked a passion for HIV research, eventually leading her to the University of Washington, where she graduated with a Master’s in Public Health in 2006.

Part of the University of Washington Department of Global Health’s wide-ranging reach includes involvement in Washington state high schools that have designed global health classes of their own. Tami Caraballo teaches at Glacier Peak High School in Snohomish, about 25 miles north of Seattle. Caraballo is in her fourth year teaching a Global Health 101 course, and has nearly ten years of experience teaching Advanced Molecular Biology for Global Health.

Preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission, conducting novel research on West Nile Virus, and developing better approaches to mental health are just some of the ways that UW global health students are already making positive health impacts locally, nationally and globally. Each year, the Department of Global Health recognizes graduating Master’s, PhD and medical  student scholars who are exemplary students and engaged leaders in global health.

This year’s awardees included Rabi Yunusa, who received the Global Health Outstanding Master’s Student award.