Noncommunicable Diseases

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Two women cook dinner after Cuba's national electric grid collapsed for the second time in a week, amid the U.S.-imposed oil blockade, in Havana, Cuba, on March 21, 2026.

Cuba's Health Care Buckles Under Fuel Blockade

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A professor of Latin American public health details how the 2026 fuel blockade has affected every domain of Cuba's health system

A street vendor selects cigarettes for a customer, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on May 27, 2024.

Busting 10 Myths About Health Taxes

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Ahead of the World Health Assembly, Resolve to Save Lives CEO Tom Frieden discusses how health taxes can raise money and improve physical well-being

Indonesia's Efforts to Lead Cervical Cancer Elimination

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The country's ambitious vaccination and treatment strategies seek to eliminate its cervical cancer burden by 2027

Women workers plant beans, in Majalaya, Indonesia, on October 12, 2017.

Syrian Doctors Fight Infant Blindness After War

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Syrian American ophthalmologists are banding together to improve pediatric tests for retinopathy of prematurity

A nurse checks a premature baby at a maternity hospital, in Idlib, Syria, on February 27, 2020.

Ultra-Processed Foods Take Pointers From Big Tobacco

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Like commercial tobacco, ultra-processed foods are engineered to drive consumption and could be regulated accordingly

Breakfast cereals are displayed for sale at a grocery store, in Medford, Massachusetts, on April 22, 2025.

Where the Iran War Could Disrupt Pharmaceutical Supply Chains

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Pharmaceutical company executives are responding to the immediate supply-chain threats by targeting unconventional routes

Worldwide Flight Services personnel prepare humanitarian aid packages for the first French humanitarian flight to Beirut, carrying 60 tons of relief supplies and pharmaceutical products, at Paris‑Charles de Gaulle Airport, in Roissy‑en‑France near Paris, France, on March 12, 2026.

Childhood Nutrition Challenges in India

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Ultra-processed food consumption and rising sedentary behavior mean India's children will enter the workforce already managing chronic illness

School boys carry their tiffin boxes as they wait to receive their free mid-day meal, distributed by a government-run primary school, in New Delhi, India, on July 19, 2013.

Reversing Ukraine's Population Loss After Four Years of War

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Ukraine is facing demographic erosion and devising plans to encourage refugee returns and the birth rate

Bohdana Zhupanyna, a 30-year-old mother-to-be, stands inside her apartment that was damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 23, 2025.

Indonesia Delays Sugary Drink Taxes, Yet Again

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Conceived a decade ago, Indonesia's tax on sugar-sweetened beverages is now tied to an easy-to-miss economic target

A street vendor prepares drinks for sale at Jatinegara, a traditional market in Jakarta, Indonesia, on May 21, 2020.

Gold Prices Reach Record High, Poisoning Ghana's Land

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As gold demand grows, Ghana's rural families turn to riskier operations, worsened by lax regulations and porous supply chains

An artisanal miner climbs out of a gold mine with a bag of rocks broken off from inside a mining pit, at the unlicensed mining site of Nsuaem Top, in Ghana, on November 24, 2018.

Does Pandemic Preparedness Depend on Confronting the Chronic Disease Crisis?

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An analysis looks at whether strategies to reduce the global burden of noncommunicable disease could aid pandemic preparedness

A line chart titled “Health Risks in LMICs” shows how the leading risk factors for disease burden change in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 1990 to 2023. In 1990, malnutrition ranks highest, followed by unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), household air pollution, high blood pressure, dietary risks, tobacco, and high body-mass index. Over time, noncommunicable disease risks rise. By 2023, high blood pressure and dietary risks are the top contributors, while malnutrition and household air pollution decline in rank. Tobacco and high body-mass index increase modestly, and unsafe WASH drops to the lowest rank. The chart highlights a shift from communicable and environmental risks toward chronic disease risks in LMICs.

Why 1 in 3 People Worldwide Suffer From Headaches

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Pain medication misuse can stem from inadequate awareness around the global burden of headaches

A horizontal bar chart titled “Headaches Cause More Harm in Women.” The chart shows age-standardized years lived with disability (YLDs) per 100,000 people in 2023, comparing women (dark blue) and men (yellow). For all headache disorders, women experience roughly twice the YLDs of men. The gap is larger for migraine, with women showing substantially higher disability than men. For tension-type headache, disability levels are much lower overall but remain higher in women than men. Source: IHME; chart by CFR/Allison Krugman for Think Global Health.