Samantha Dolan, a PhD student in Implementation Science, has received the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Explorations award to use technology to strengthen health systems aimed at improving data use by healthcare workers in order to increase vaccination uptake amongst children in Kenya.

According to the WHO, the number of people worldwide with diabetes has risen from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. And this number is expected to keep rising, with diabetes prevalence rising more rapidly in low- and middle-income countries. Diabetes can lead to serious health problems, including blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower limb amputation. 

For students at the UW Department of Global Health, being a Research Assistant (RA) offers an enriching experience for both personal and professional growth. In 2018, 14 PhD and MPH students are undertaking Research Assistantships. Meet the current UW Department of Global Health batch of RAs, learn about their backgrounds, and get their first-hand perspective of life as an RA.

In 1978, the world’s governments came together and committed to the Alma Ata Declaration – a 20th century milestone in public health to protect and promote the health of all people.  In the subsequent four decades, those called to action by the declaration have shown varied levels of commitment to its principles.

Long-time UW partners Ruth Nduati and Dalton Wamalwa, from University of Nairobi (UoN), have received a five-year $3.2 million U.S. grant from NIH Fogarty International Center and The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to reduce the burden of HIV and improve delivery of HIV services in Kenya. The grant focuses on developing innovative, inter-professional programs in research education that target not only students but also health professionals in the Kenya Ministry of Health (MOH) and community teaching hospitals.

In the 1980s, at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, more than 59,000 Americans lost their lives to the brutal disease. The $146.6 billion that federal funding has contributed to the battle against AIDS since 2012 is paying off, but AIDS still claims far too many lives and HIV is still far too costly, increasing the average patient’s healthcare costs by roughly 20%. An infographic by WalletHub summarizes HIV/AIDS statistics, along with Q&As with a panel of experts about the disease’s costs.

The U.S. Global Change Research Program released The Fourth National Climate Assessment Volume II on Friday. The National Climate Assessment (NCA) assesses a range of potential climate change-related impacts, with an aim to help decision makers better identify risks that could be avoided or reduced.

By Stephen Bezruchka / Havard Health Policy Review

Mortality increases at the national level are very rare phenomena this century. In the 1900s, mortality only increased in countries greatly affected by World War I and II, and in the 1990s in Sub-Saharan nations with high AIDS prevalence as well as after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

By Pamela Collins / The Huddle

We live in a developing country when it comes to mental health, one of the most neglected areas of health in the world. That’s the conclusion of a Lancet Commission on global mental health that I helped author. I’m one of 28 commissioners from around the world who wrote the report, declaring a crisis of inaction. Globally, our responses to mental health needs are woefully insufficient.

You can see this on our streets, too.