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Young (and occasionally less young) researchers, mostly from LMICs, present their views on global health issues.
The UN General Assembly in its resolution adopting 21st June as the International Day of Yoga (IDY) recognizes that “yoga provides a holistic approach to health and well-being”. Yoga, like the Ubuntu and Tao philosophies, believes in oneness of the force linking the self and all creation. The fact that IDY is the first ever resolution to b...
For the past two weeks, as much of the world went about its business unaware, a critical meeting has been held in Geneva regarding the state of the world’s health – the 68th World Health Assembly. This year’s theme was resilient health systems, which when considering the number of complex disasters, humanitarian crises, conflicts, and health...
How do we manage disparity? I’m not talking about the recommendations we make in our reports on the social determinants and how to address healthcare inequality. I’m talking about how we live our lives. Our work is full of accounts of injustice. While there are success stories, policy victories and research breakthroughs, our work is often s...
I’m about to leave Geneva, after my first ever “immersion” in the World Health Assembly. The assembly is not even halfway, and so I have absolutely no intention of giving key messages so far. But the main reason for being cautious is this one: I agree wholeheartedly with the assessment given to me by a senior Swiss lady who has been fo...
Don Juan is a mythical figure often viewed sympathetically as a harmless and near irresistible babe magnet (think pre-marriage George Clooney, Yanis Varoufakis before the media tore him apart, or Julio Frenk when he was still young and handsome). Sorry to disappoint, you, ladies, but this blog will not be debating Don Juan’s (many) merits and ...
Together, the BRICS countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa constitute 25 percent of the world’s GNI, 40 percent of the world’s population and 40 percent of the global burden of disease. BRICS countries play an increasing role in global health, both by improving health outcomes in their own countries and by engaging in mutu...
As we commemorate the end of the Second World War in Europe and elsewhere, it becomes more and more clear that the Third World War has indeed started. Not in the way you sometimes read in magazines like Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs or some other glossy international politics journal, that we’re sort of “sleepwalking” into a new World ...
Use of evidence in decision making is viewed as a crucial step in attainment of good health outcomes. Evidence on the most cost effective interventions exists, but its use in decision making is still suboptimal. Uptake of evidence in public health policy development, also referred to as knowledge translation (KT), is poorly understood, especiall...
Migration is on the rise globally, not only between low/middle income and high income countries, but also within countries (rural-urban migration). Lately there has even been some migration from developed countries in crisis to former colonies in better shape economically. Currently, a lot of attention is being paid to migrants trying to reach...