EXCLUSIVE: Congo’s Ebola epidemic started at least 4 months before it was detected

A remote mining town gripped by fear saw hundreds of suspected cases before the government declared an outbreak, report says

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Healthy diet too expensive for one in three people globally, UN report finds

Global hunger declined for the third year in a row in 2025 but experts call for action to bring down costs of fruit, vegetables and dairy as report shows 2.69bn people can’t afford to eat well

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Progress against cancer not shared by poorer countries, WHO report finds

‘Persistent’ inequities found to exist in access to prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care, annual global review says Remarkable scientific progress against cancer has changed very little for millions of patients globally, who face devastating physical, emotional and financial consequences after diagnosis, a new World Health Organization report has warned. One person in five will develop cancer, according to WHO estimates, and the disease will touch 92% of people, either through their own diagnosis or that of a close family member. Continue reading...

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Catnip lotion as effective as Deet at repelling mosquitoes, study finds

Researchers testing a cheap, homegrown oil in Uganda found what cats knew all along – it worked as well as the artificial chemical used globally

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What will define Elon Musk’s legacy? Doge cuts to USAID Ebola programs

Experts say cuts have hindered the response to DRC’s Ebola outbreak and resulted in ‘significant numbers’ of deaths

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The Guardian: Decades of Progress Reducing Child Malnutrition in Nepal Under Threat

Despite significant challenges, Nepal has steadily reduced the number of children suffering from acute malnutrition in recent years. Yet, new data from a nationwide survey of children under five revea...

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‘The next pandemic will not wait’: Lula and WHO director in urgent plea for leaders to finalise agreement

As Ebola spreads in the DRC, the Brazilian president and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus ask leaders to agree pandemic treaty created after Covid World leaders have been urged keep a promise to the millions of people who died during Covid – by finalising an agreement on how to deal with future pandemics. As a G7 summit begins in France, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, and Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, have issued a joint letter saying a treaty needs urgent political backing at the highest level because “the next pandemic will not wait for us”. Continue reading...

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Ebola one month on: will the latest outbreak in DRC become the most deadly yet?

With more than 670 confirmed cases and over 135 deaths, the disease has yet to be contained amid funding shortfalls, fear and disinformation

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Funding cuts and repressive laws raise risk of new HIV epidemic, says UNAids

UN agency head warns of ‘major threat’ as global testing and treatment falls

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The race to combat Ebola: what vaccines and treatments are being developed and how long will it take?

With the Bundibugyo strain of the disease spreading across the DRC and Uganda, scientists and researchers are trying to find rapid solutions

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World ‘unprepared’ for next pandemic as countries fail to agree on sharing information, tests and vaccines

Finalisation of pact governing global response to disease outbreaks delayed as talks on how to share benefits stall

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First malaria drug for babies is approved in ‘major public health milestone’

WHO prequalification of Coartem Baby means newborns can be safely treated rather than using medication for older children

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‘Astonishing’ discovery could help save children from deadly disfiguring condition

A previously unknown species of bacteria found in patients with noma could be key to creating treatments for the neglected tropical disease The “astonishing” discovery of a new bacteria could open the door to better ways to prevent, detect and treat a fatal and disfiguring childhood disease, researchers hope. Noma, which is fatal in 90% of cases without treatment, begins as a sore on the gums but goes on to destroy the tissues of the mouth and face. Continue reading...

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Can you stop malaria crossing borders? One nation’s bid to wipe out the disease

Informal migration, plus climate change and rising numbers of cases globally, are complicating the tireless efforts of the landlocked African country to eradicate the killer disease

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‘No more than a drop in the ocean’: this drug could end new HIV infections in Eswatini – why isn’t there enough?

The southern Africa country has the world’s highest prevalence of HIV but the amount of lenacapavir reaching it is too small to reach all those at risk

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Polio virus detected in London days before ministers cut global eradication funding

Campaigner criticises ‘shortsighted and self-defeating’ decision and says it increases risk to the UK public The polio virus was detected in London sewage for the second time this year, days before ministers withdrew funding for global polio eradication efforts. Its detection reveals the spending cuts to be “shortsighted and self-defeating”, campaigners said. Polio is an extremely infectious viral disease, which typically affects young children under-five. It can cause paralysis by damaging nerves in the spine and base of the brain, and can be life-threatening if it affects muscles used for breathing. Continue reading...

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WHO warns of health crisis ‘unfolding in real time’ across Middle East

Hostilities should halt and healthcare facilities must be treated as ‘safe havens’, WHO’s regional chief has said * Middle East crisis – live updates A total stop to hostilities in the Middle East is needed to halt a “health crisis unfolding in real time”, the World Health Organization’s chief in the region has said. Hospitals and other healthcare facilities must be treated as “safe havens”, urged Dr Hanan Balkhy, the WHO’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean. Continue reading...

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The Myanmar nurses dodging drones to graduate from a secret jungle school

This week, the first students completed a three-year degree course, ready to treat displaced people and pro-democracy fighters unable to risk government-run hospitals

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UK government axes flagship global health project

Programme which supports schemes in six African countries was previously hailed as vital protection for Britain against future pandemics

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Experts fear ‘unethical’ vaccine trial in Africa is ‘prototype’ for US studies under RFK Jr

Danish researchers whose work on effects of vaccines has been called into question are at center of US vaccine policy

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Weight-loss jab could be made for $3 a month, study finds

Cheap semaglutide, the drug in Ozempic and Wegovy, could help millions with diabetes and obesity in 160 countries Weight-loss jabs such as Wegovy and Ozempic could be made for just $3 a month, according to new analysis, potentially making the treatment available to millions in poorer countries as patents expire. More than a billion people live with obesity worldwide, with rates rising fast in lower-income nations as they shift to westernised diets and more sedentary lifestyles. Continue reading...

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Rising anger over ‘lop-sided’ and ‘immoral’ US health funding pacts with African countries

Zimbabwe refuses to sign agreement and Kenya faces a court case over data sharing as new aid deals come under scrutiny

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US accused of ‘shameless exploitation’ over proposed Zambian health aid deal

Leaked draft of $1bn memorandum of understanding reveals mandatory targets, sharing of data, and reported access to mining concessions

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Traditional food could help reverse Nepal’s ‘diabetes epidemic’, studies suggest

With medication largely unaffordable in the country, experts hope community support and a change in diet could reduce soaring type 2 diabetes rates

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Aid cuts could cause 22m avoidable deaths by 2030, study finds

Modelling suggests 5.4m children under five among those who could die if budgets of donor countries such as UK and US continue to be slashed

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Ultra-processed foods should be treated more like cigarettes than food – study

UPFs are made to encourage addiction and consumption and should be regulated like tobacco, say researchers

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Death of Nigerian singer after snakebite highlights crisis of ‘preventable’ fatalities

Ifunanya Nwangene died in hospital after being bitten in her Abuja home, raising questions about the availability of effective antivenoms

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‘It’s the sovereignty of the country’: Guinea-Bissau says US vaccine study suspended

Despite US pushback, officials in west Africa say controversial hepatitis B study on pause amid ethics concerns

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