Advances in technology have transformed access to foods, with online food delivery services (OFDS) growing rapidly. Platforms such as UberEats, Menulog, and DoorDash in Australia, and Meituan and Ele.me in China, make ordering food simple and fast. Usage surged during COVID-19 and remains high. China is the largest global market, valued at $37.7 billion […]
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Eliminating Uncorrected Refractive Error by 2030: LMICs Need Policies and a Roadmap, Not Just Intentions
Eye health intersects with several key UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), making it a critical issue globally. An estimated 2.2 billion people suffer from impaired vision, and uncorrected refractive error (URE) is among the primary, preventable causes of vision loss. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), approximately two-thirds of those who need spectacles lack access […]
Deafness is not an infectious disease but a global health priority
Introduction The UK Government’s 2025 Spending Review has struck another blow to global health research. Beyond the reduction of the Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) budget to 0.3% of Gross National Income, it has introduced a new prioritisation in what is funded: activities related to global health security and ODA contributions to multilateral institutions. This […]
Sex education in India: An elephant in the room
It is a Wednesday afternoon, and the ‘Moral Science’ class is about to begin. Miss Seema walks in and announces, “We are going to have a special class today for the girls, and all the boys can go play outside.” There were giggles, suppressed laughter on some faces, and genuine curiosity on others. It […]
Is it wise to have an integrated ayurveda-modern medicine course?
Ayurveda, India’s traditional medicine, has historically been open-minded and inclusive. In the ancient and medieval times, it collaborated actively with the traditions of alchemy and Unani to incorporate into its knowledge-base whatever appeared true and useful. The Charaka-Samhita, a 2000-year old classic on which Ayurveda is based, expressly upheld humility and openness in the […]
Scaling Up Solutions: The Need for a High-Impact Innovations List
In global health, many promising innovations struggle to reach their full potential, especially in resource-limited settings. To help address this challenge, the World Health Organization (WHO) and global health leaders could consider establishing a High-Impact Innovations List (HIIL)—a strategic tool to identify and elevate innovations with the greatest potential to improve health outcomes globally. […]
Opinion: In the face of backlash against women’s rights, we need accountability
As 2025 unfolds, the fight for women’s rights is confronting unprecedented threats. Hard-won rights for women and girls are being rolled back at an alarming pace, from restricted access to abortion care in the United States to Afghanistan’s silencing of women in public life and Iraq’s introduction of a law allowing girls as young […]
Faustine E. Ndugulile: Positioning Tanzania as a Model for African Public Health
The landscape of public health leadership in Africa has been indelibly marked by individuals whose efforts and vision extend beyond their immediate environments, crafting frameworks for transformations, sustainable health interventions, and policy reforms. Among these eminent figures was Dr. Faustine E. Ndugulile, a multi-skilled public health leader with nearly three decades of experience leveraging […]
Summit of the Future: Critical Reflections From Young People
The Summit of the Future, held from 22nd to 23rd September, 2024 in New York, vouched to commit to “bold new solutions,” responded to the current challenges, and renewed action towards fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals. The Summit brought forth a Pact for the Future, along with two other key documents—the Declaration on Future […]
Strengthening civil society actions to combat transnational corporations
On April 21, 2024, the Chief Minister of Kerala, received a letter from the CEO of Coca Cola informing the company’s intent to bequeath it’s 35-acre land that contain the now shut bottling plant established in 2000 in Plachimada village of Palakkad district. While this may read positive for the uninitiated as few are […]