Category: Health

India has responded to an alarming public health issue in West Africa by banning the production and export of two potent opioids—tapentadol and carisoprodol—following an investigation by the BBC. The two drugs, which have fueled an addiction crisis in countries like Ghana, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire, have now been deemed illegal for manufacturing and export. […]

It follows a campaign last year that reached hundreds of thousands of young children under the age of 10.  Polio virus was recently detected in wastewater samples in Gaza, indicating that circulation is ongoing, thus putting young lives at risk. The campaign is being led by the Palestinian Ministry of Health and implemented with support […]

“I was married at 14, and I lost my first child at 16 during pregnancy,” Ranu Chakma said. Child marriage is common in her village of Teknaf Upazila, on the southern coast of Bangladesh, even though it is illegal and a human rights violation. Those violations occur even at a time when many countries are banning […]

An Indian pharmaceutical company, Aveo Pharmaceuticals, has been found at the heart of West Africa’s escalating opioid crisis, manufacturing unlicensed, highly addictive drugs and exporting them illegally to countries like Ghana, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire. A BBC Eye investigation uncovered the disturbing role Aveo plays in producing tapentadol, a potent opioid, mixed with carisoprodol, a […]

For two decades, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has been a cornerstone of U.S. foreign aid, delivering life-saving HIV treatment and prevention to millions in low-income countries. Its bipartisan success story stands as one of the most impactful U.S. foreign assistance programs in history. However, as funding and operations face uncertainty, a […]

WHO said in a news release that more than 591,000 children under 10 years old will receive the vaccine to protect them from the highly infectious disease, beginning this weekend for an anticipated period of five days. The campaign follows the recent detection of poliovirus in wastewater samples in the shattered enclave which signal that […]

A new study has uncovered both promising and concerning findings about blockbuster weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy, Ozempic, and Zepbound, revealing that they do more than help with weight loss. These medications, which belong to the GLP-1 receptor agonist class, have been linked to a reduced risk of conditions like addiction, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s disease, […]

In December 2024, Mark Cuban took to social media to express his concerns about the broken U.S. healthcare system, calling its pricing “horrific” and its structure fundamentally flawed. Cuban’s criticisms focused on how the system forces doctors and hospitals into the role of “subprime lenders,” forcing them to raise prices to cover unpaid bills from […]

In a media briefing on Tuesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted the consequences of funding suspensions, including disruptions to HIV treatment, setbacks in polio eradication and limited resources for responding to mpox epidemics in Africa. “The suspension of funding to PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, caused an immediate stop to HIV […]

A federal judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s plan to slash billions in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a move that would significantly impact scientific research and the institutions that rely on these grants. The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley, prevents the NIH from implementing new rate changes […]