Eleven years ago, the landmark Lancet Commission on Global Surgery (LCoGS) revealed that at least 5 billion people lacked access to safe, timely, and affordable surgical care. The commission also highlighted the enormous mortality associated with inadequate access to surgical…
There is a huge mismatch at the heart of global health, and it’s time we address it constructively, for progress. Consider the reality: Africa carries roughly 25% of the global disease burden, yet the continent currently generates less than 2%…
On 17 May 2026, the World Health Organization declared the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEOIC). A day later, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention…
Across Africa today, thousands of premature and critically ill newborns are fighting for survival in overcrowded neonatal units, rural clinics, and under-resourced hospitals. Some will survive because a nurse stayed awake through the night monitoring oxygen levels by hand. Others…
Where do viruses go when they are not causing havoc or dominating front-page headlines? When an outbreak fades and immediate public panic subsides, a dangerous illusion of safety usually settles over our communities. This is the moment when an active…
Hantavirus, a rare but serious disease caused by a virus carried mainly by rats and mice, hit the headlines recently after reports of cases detected on an international cruise ship and the subsequent medical evacuations to South Africa. This has…
Imagine a busy border crossing in the Great Lakes region or along the corridors of East Africa. Hundreds of traders, students, and seasonal workers move between nations every hour, working to sustain local economies and familial ties. Now, take a…
I am at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital in Uganda, where I have witnessed the faces of parents who have traveled too far with too little, desperately seeking healthcare for their children. For these families, the distance to our facility is…
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is often described as a "silent pandemic," but for those of us on the front lines in East Africa, this silence is breaking. The resistant microorganisms have been taking advantage of our porous borders, from the busy…
When we encounter data on maternal and newborn mortality, it is tempting to see these as only numbers. Yet, the statistics translate into families torn apart, a diminished workforce, and the loss of precious lives that would have fueled our…
