Only eight years separate Alan Whiteside’s HIV/AIDS: A Very Short Introduction: 2nd Edition from the original edition of 2008, but the sticker on the cover does not lie: it is a “fully updated new edition”. The content has been updated, the tone has changed too. Reading the original edition filled me with optimism; the 2nd edition made me ...

The Lancet Global Health Commission on High Quality Health Systems in the SDG Era (HQSS Commission) was launched two weeks ago drawing attention to the fact that access to healthcare, in and of itself, is not sufficient to meet the (health part of the) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  Rather, it is access to high quality healthcare that w...

So far not much has leaked out from the (second) meeting between Bill Gates and Donald Trump on Monday, apart from an ultra-short announcement by White House spokesman Sean Spicer  who said the two spoke about their “shared commitment to finding and stopping disease outbreaks around the world”  and a statement by Sarah Logan, a spokeswoman...

As is well known, the target set by the MDGs to reduce global maternal mortality by 75% has fallen short – only a 45% reduction was observed between 1990 and 2015. As a reminder: 50% of global maternal deaths occurred in 5 developing countries (India, Nigeria, DRC, Ethiopia, and Pakistan) in 2015; 66 % of all deaths took place in Sub-Saharan Afr...

Last weekend I read with interest the article ‘If not now, when’ – Time for the European Union to define a global health strategy’ in the Lancet Global Health. Some people (like Ilona Kickbusch) already commented on the viewpoint via Twitter – I suspect some people sleep next to their Twitter feed – and no doubt the piece will spark more...

Alexander von Humboldt once described Ecuadorians as strange and unique beings who sleep peacefully surrounded by roaring volcanoes, live poor among incomparable riches and become happy listening to sad music. I would agree with this assessment, but would add that we Ecuadorians also suffer from a short-term memory crisis. We forget our past qui...

People are on the move more than ever before: while some migrate in search of greener pastures, many others are forcibly displaced, fleeing conflicts or escaping persecution. This has significant implications for the health sector in countries of origin, transit and destination. Existing health systems struggle to adapt, especially in the contex...

It hasn’t been the best week for the Global Fund so far, to say the least. But perhaps this was to be expected in the new “Trumpean era”.  With hindsight, the last replenishment round in Montréal, in September 2016, might have been the swansong of the old “MDG-style” Global Fund. At least financing in the SDG era and the relationship...

“If one tells of a place where the rain met him, he is given a place to warm up by the fire” Nigerian Ibo Proverb   Between 21st and 23rd February 2017, the Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) hosted the first International Symposium on Community Health Workers (CHWs) in Kampala, Uganda. This symposium brought together over ...