In 2015, almost a decade ago, the great journalist and former CEO of the ONE Campaign Michael Elliott wrote a Time magazine cover article, titled "The Age of Miracles," describing the prior decade in global health. It was a time in which development assistance for health grew on average by 11.1% annually. Big new initiatives—such as PEPFAR, GAVI, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria—were founded to accelerate progress. Lifesaving medical care was made available to hundreds of millions of people. The number of people who died each year from AIDS fell by 40%. Child deaths declined by nearly half.
In contrast, 2024 feels like an inflection point in global health. The societal divisions that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic remain unhealed, roiling national elections and geopolitics alike. Global health aid budgets have fallen from their 2021 peak. Remarkable successes have occurred, such as the response to Rwanda’s Marburg outbreak, but global conflicts such as in Gaza, aging societies, and the harmful effects of the changing climate are taking a heavy toll. The global consensus that characterized global health's age of miracles was absent from the pandemic accord negotiations and the fate of global health programs are uncertain amid political transitions in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere.
Can global health have a second act, another age of miracles? This is the story that Think Global Health will be watching most in 2025. In the meantime, this year's selection of stories offer insight as to what to expect in the coming year.
Think Global Health Top Picks From 2024
South Korea's Plan to Avoid Population Collapse
Proposals include more flexible work schedules and better gender equality with education
By Susan Kreimer
Rethinking Insurance for an Aging Population
Instead of patchwork policy and inaction, the United States needs a national program for long-term care
By Maya Fransz-Myers, David Knapp, and Jinkook Lee
Marburg in Rwanda: What to Expect
Physician and Ebola survivor Craig Spencer on Rwanda's response and how the international community can help
By Craig Spencer
The PEPFAR HIV Program Under Threat
A three-part series examining what caused near-fatal injuries to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Program
By Emily Bass
The Deep Imprints of Gaza's Humanitarian Catastrophe
The reemergence of polio in the Gaza Strip cannot be separated from the consequences of war
By Alex de Waal and Jeremy Konyndyk
The Pandemic Agreement Fractures in the Latest Negotiations
WHO member states continue to disagree on critical issues and might tackle them after adopting a pandemic agreement
By David P. Fidler
Shrinking Shores, Rising Risks in the Great Salt Lake
How Utah's shrinking Great Salt Lake is harming human and environmental health
By Sarah Hall, Molly Blakowski, Hilary Hungerford, Skyler Crouch, and Adriele Fugal
India's Cancer Burden Drives Generational Poverty
India should protect its people not just from cancer, but also from the financial strain of treatment
By Parth Sharma and Vid Karmarkar
In Myanmar, Health Care Has Become a Battleground
Three years after a military coup, attacks against health care in Myanmar have reached a tipping point
By Allison Krugman
What Big Cannabis Can Learn from Big Tobacco
The budding cannabis industry should take steps to protect and inform consumers
By Brooke Worster
Outlasting the Taliban's Ban on Women's Medical Education
The education ban has kept new female talent from entering Afghanistan's under-resourced health-care sector
By Mustafa Basij Rasikh and Alyssa Sharkey
Title 42, Asylum Seekers, and American Public Health in 2024 Election
Medical providers discuss the migration policy’s justification—or lack thereof
By Linda Hill, Nancy Carballo, Kathleen Fischer, Keeler Kime, Sara Baird, Christine Thorne, and Candace Russell
Africa's Music Industry Fights Health Misinformation
As misinformation grows alongside public health threats, Africa's music industry is stepping in to counter it
By Mariel Ferragamo
In India, Climate Change Drives Pesticide Use, Harming Farmers' Health
As temperatures rise, farmworkers turn to using more potent pesticides, putting themselves at further risk
By Sanket Jain
Alcohol Industry Panics as Healthier Habits Cut Sales
Industry reps cite a "war on alcohol," but consumer attitudes suggest a cultural shift toward less drinking
By Ted Alcorn
Will International Humanitarian Law Survive the Israel-Hamas Conflict?
Human rights should not be cast aside during times of war
By Rohini Haar and Saman Zia-Zarifi
Insights From India on Expanding Global Vaccine Production
The Indian pharmaceutical industry offers lessons for building vaccine-production capacity in developing countries
By Prashant Yadav
Using Game Theory to Advance the Pandemic Agreement
Rewarding drug manufacturers for sharing vaccine doses could break the impasse in negotiations
By David McAdams and Gavin Yamey
The Last Mile of Nutrition
Introducing a new way to measure the health impacts of community-based food programs and farmers markets
By Louisa Ewald, Kate LeGrand, Ali H. Mokdad, and Gregory A. Roth
Climate and Health: Global Problems, Local Solutions
For effective approaches to combat climate change, world leaders should look to cities like New York
By Ashwin Vasan
The Weaponization of Witchcraft Laws in Kenya
Poorly understood land rights and an aging population are fueling Kenya's eldercide epidemic
By Frank Burkybile
Diabetes, Colonialism, and Killers of the Flower Moon
How the Oscar nominee's depiction of diabetes outlines a greater problem for communities haunted by colonialism
By Chelsea Padilla
Better Infant Health Starts With Paid Family Leave
State-based labor legislation could inadvertently allow parents to protect their babies from winter outbreaks
By Jenaye Johnson
"Compelled by Our Fears": RFK Jr. and Vaccine Doubt
A conversation about what to expect from vaccine policy if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. runs Health and Human Services
By Nsikan Akpan
