Kat Lay

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘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

U.S. health officials insisted it was still on. African health leaders said it was cancelled. A hotly debated study on hepatitis B in Guinea-Bissau is indeed halted, as I reported last week. Here's my latest:
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Global midwife shortage raises rates of maternity intervention, report warns World is short of a million midwives, report finds, with adequate access potentially saving 4.3m lives a year

Global midwife shortage raises rates of maternity intervention, report warns

Cloth wraps treated with ‘dirt cheap’ insecticide cut malaria cases in babies Soaking fabrics in a commonly used insect repellent is a simple and effective tool as mosquito bites become more common during daytime, study shows

Cloth wraps treated with ‘dirt cheap’ insecticide cut malaria cases in babies

Controversial US study on hepatitis B vaccines in Africa is cancelled $1.6m project drew outrage over ethical questions about withholding vaccines proven to prevent disease

BREAKING: The controversial hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau has been *cancelled,* I can now report. A senior official with Africa CDC confirmed the cancellation and said GB officials are working to make sure any research is conducted ethically:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Face masks ‘inadequate’ and should be swapped for respirators, WHO advised Experts are urging guideline changes on what health professionals should wear to protect against flu-like illnesses including Covid

Doctors and nurses should be wearing respirator-grade masks rather than "inadequate" surgical masks or no face covering at all when in front of patients, a group of experts has said, urging WHO guideline changes www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

‘We were sitting with our calculator saying “we can afford that!”’ Joy for families as cystic fibrosis drug prices fall within reach The cost of medication was too high for thousands of CF sufferers around the world. Now a Bangladeshi company is making a generic version that will change lives

‘We were sitting with our calculator saying “we can afford that!”’ Joy for families as cystic fibrosis drug prices fall within reach

Five big global health wins in 2025 that will save millions of lives From HIV to TB, scientists and doctors made breakthroughs in treatment and prevention of some of the world’s deadliest diseases

Five big global health wins in 2025 that will save millions of lives

‘A potential treasure trove’: World Health Organization to explore benefits of traditional medicines UN body to study possibility of integrating centuries-old practices into mainstream healthcare From herbalists in Africa gathering plants to use as poultices to acupuncturists in China using needles to cure migraines, or Indian yogis practising meditation, traditional remedies have increasingly being shown to work, and deserve more attention and research, according to a World Health Organization official. A historical lack of evidence, which has seen traditional practices dismissed by many, could change with more investment and the use of modern technology, according to Dr Shyama Kuruvilla, who leads the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre. Continue reading...

‘A potential treasure trove’: World Health Organization to explore benefits of traditional medicines

US plan for $1.6m hepatitis B vaccine study in Africa called ‘highly unethical’ Experts decry ‘neocolonialist’ Guinea-Bissau study after Trump administration changed advice for US babies

The CDC just announced a new study on hepatitis B vaccination on newborns in Guinea-Bissau – a move that researchers call “highly unethical” and “extremely risky”. Happy to team up with @katlay.bsky.social on this story:
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Figures reveal stark reality of US funding cuts as 1,394 family planning clinics shut Survey by world’s largest network for sexual and reproductive health shows devastation to services, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, and amplification of anti-rights voices

Figures reveal stark reality of US funding cuts as 1,394 family planning clinics shut

New antibiotics hailed as ‘turning point’ in treating drug-resistant gonorrhoea First new treatments for sexually transmitted disease in decades approved by US Food and Drug Administration as number of cases worldwide surge to 82m The first new treatments for gonorrhoea in decades could be a “huge turning point” in efforts to combat the rise of superbug strains of the bacteria, researchers have said. Gonorrhoea is on the rise around the world, with more than 82m infections globally each year and particularly high rates in Africa and countries in the World Health Organization’s Western Pacific region, which reaches from Mongolia and China to New Zealand. Cases in England are at a record high, and rates in Europe were three times higher in 2023 than in 2014. Continue reading...

New antibiotics hailed as ‘turning point’ in treating drug-resistant gonorrhoea

How the cuts have shaken HIV/Aids care to its core and will mean millions more infections ahead Reports highlight devastating impact of slashed funding, especially in parts of Africa, that could lead to 3.3m new HIV infections by 2030

How the cuts have shaken HIV/Aids care to its core and will mean millions more infections ahead

Control of HIV, TB and malaria at risk after global health fund donations fall Leading past donors including France, Japan and European Commission fail to contribute at pledging summit Control of the deadly infectious diseases HIV, tuberculosis and malaria “hangs in the balance” after a shortfall in donations to a leading global health fund, advocates have warned. Only $11.3bn of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria’s $18bn (£14bn) targeted budget for 2026 to 2028 has been confirmed so far. Continue reading...

Control of HIV, TB and malaria at risk after global health fund donations fall

New drug could be a breakthrough in treatment for killer TB, trial suggests Sorfequiline shows stronger action than existing treatments against illness that killed 1.23 million last year

New drug could be a breakthrough in treatment for killer TB, trial suggests

‘Utter hypocrisy’: tobacco firm lobbied against rules in Africa that are law in UK British American Tobacco pushed Zambian ministers to drop or delay ad bans, health warnings and restrictions on flavoured products, letter shows

‘Utter hypocrisy’: tobacco firm lobbied against rules in Africa that are law in UK
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

US to demand countries share data on ‘pathogens with epidemic potential’ in return for health aid Draft template seen by the Guardian has no reference to countries receiving benefits for sharing information, such as guaranteed access to medicines developed as a result

US to demand countries share data on ‘pathogens with epidemic potential’ in return for health aid

‘Not a luxury, a necessity‘: how aid cuts to birth control harm Senegal’s women ‘The women here are warriors,’ says a midwife in Joal, and contraception is key to their health and life chances. But now UK and US aid cuts threaten to undo years of progress

‘Not a luxury, a necessity‘: how aid cuts to birth control harm Senegal’s women

Anti-malaria funding cuts could lead to ‘deadliest resurgence ever’, study warns Expected reduction in contributions by wealthy countries likely to cost millions of lives and billions in lost growth

Anti-malaria funding cuts could lead to ‘deadliest resurgence ever’, study warns

AI-generated ‘poverty porn’ fake images being used by aid agencies Exclusive: Pictures depicting the most vulnerable and poorest people are being used in social media campaigns in the sector, driven by concerns over consent and cost AI-generated images of extreme poverty, children and sexual violence survivors are flooding stock photo sites and increasingly being used by leading health NGOs, according to global health professionals who have voiced concern over a new era of “poverty porn”. “All over the place, people are using it,” said Noah Arnold, who works at Fairpicture, a Swiss-based organisation focused on promoting ethical imagery in global development. “Some are actively using AI imagery, and others, we know that they’re experimenting at least.” Continue reading...

AI-generated ‘poverty porn’ fake images being used by aid agencies

Is this response real? Imposters are putting health studies at risk Automated bots and people lying about their conditions risk skewing the results of medical research, Oxford academics have warned

🚨 Imposter alert 🚨

Studies into everything from cancer and HIV being plagued by "fraudulent" participants

Includes people pretending to have the diseases

It's undermining the reliability of trials and potentially harming patients

Stark warning here:
www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a...

US ‘undermining global health’ by threatening to strip funding from aid projects that do not fit its political agenda Trump administration reported to be planning expansion of ‘global gag rule’ to halt any initiatives promoting diversity, equity and inclusion

US ‘undermining global health’ by threatening to strip funding from aid projects that do not fit its political agenda

‘Most people are just toughing it out’: shortage of drugs leaves Gaza’s wounded without pain relief Operations are being carried out without proper anaesthetics and what painkillers there are have to be rationed, say doctors

‘Most people are just toughing it out’: shortage of drugs leaves Gaza’s wounded without pain relief www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

How the next Archbishop of Canterbury is chosen and what happens next The election for the new Archbishop of Canterbury is shrouded in secrecy. From the likely shortlisted faces to what happens next, here’s our visual guide

Who'd want to be Archbishop of Canterbury?!

We're close to finding out who's got the job

But how are they chosen? Who's in the frame? And what happens next? Is there any conclave-style ceremony to it?

Peer behind the cloak of confidentiality, as I explain all:
www.thetimes.com/uk/religion/...

Cheap supplies of HIV-prevention jab for poorer countries hailed as ‘genuine chance to end’ global epidemic Lenacapavir described as ‘next best thing’ to an HIV vaccine will cost $40 a year for each patient in 120 countries from 2027, funders say

Cheap supplies of HIV-prevention jab for poorer countries hailed as ‘genuine chance to end’ global epidemic

Death by aid cuts: how a decision in the US led to the loss of a mother in Yemen While the Trump administration claims no one will die over the axing of its overseas development budgets, aid agencies say the action will cost at least 3 million lives. Fatima and her baby were among the first

Death by aid cuts: how a decision in the US led to the loss of a mother in Yemen