There was an interesting talk last Thursday at ITM about the institutional decolonization of global health, knowledge and practices. We heard from Dr. Seye Abimbola, Dr. Özge Tunçalp, Yvon Englert, Adriana Moreno Cely and Prashanth Srinivas. The session made me think of two points – as always closely connected. My first point is on the etern...

This short piece began as a spontaneous, from-the-heart intervention in the Emerging Voices for Global Health Google group – the kind of timely, unfiltered discussion that happens there from time to time. It was prompted by the broader ongoing conversations about “reimagining” global health, and specifically by the recent article “Global Healt...

We are pleased to announce the IHP call for correspondents 2026. Each year, the  International Health Policies (IHP) network issues a call for correspondents to contribute to the IHP newsletter. The weekly IHP newsletter/digest is a flagship knowledge management activity of the IHP network, funded by the Belgian Government (DGD), providing a t...

My seventy-year-old grandmother* had never been so seriously ill that she required hospitalisation. A slip-and-fall last year changed that. She fractured her spine and was advised to rest in bed and needed a urinary catheter. A few months later, she developed a urinary tract infection and was prescribed a widely used antibiotic for catheter-asso...

This year, I attended the 24th International Vaccinology Course (IVC) 2025 in Seoul, South Korea (8-12 September).  In this short article, I’ll focus on some lessons Africa could learn from South Korea on the journey towards more health sovereignty – more in particular on vaccines.  But let’s kick off with a bit of info on the course. As ...

On September 12, 2025, the US government announced an additional Php13.8 billion (USD 250 million) in foreign assistance to the Philippines, directed at strengthening health systems, improving disease detection and response, and enhancing maternal and child health services. This investment brings the total of newly announced U.S. foreign assista...

As the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) convenes in Geneva, political fragmentation and uncertainty define the global health landscape. Yet amid these challenges, one truth stands clear: feminist leadership is not a luxury—it is an imperative. Women in Global Health (WGH) delegates from Zambia, Nigeria and India are at the forefront of this tr...

Global health is currently facing a significant crisis. Substantial and abrupt funding cuts from both US and European donors threaten essential programs and organizations, including the World Health Organization. While private foundations like the Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust have signaled their inability to fully bridge these financi...

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic as SARS-CoV-2 disrupted lives across generations, geographies, and social strata. Yet, as I sifted through both Indian and international media, and statements from major public health organizations, one group remained largely overlooked: 1.2 billion young people. True, t...