What We’re Reading
From Our January 2026 Connections Newsletter
2025: A Brutal Year for Global Health [Health Policy Watch]
Why Are Malnutrition Deaths Soaring in America? [Washington Post]
- Unexpected Global Health Wins in the US Foreign Aid Bill [Devex]
- Inside US-UN Plan to Remake Funding for Humanitarian Crises [Devex]
- Opinion | Public Health Data Should Be as Available as the Weather Forecast [STAT]
- We Dodged a Vaccine Disaster (for Now). [Your Local Epidemiologist, Substack]
- After a Year of Chaos, US CDC’s Global Health Work Hangs in the Balance [Devex]
- In a Year of Steep Challenges, There Were Still Shining Moments in Global Health [NPR]
- 20 Public Health Wins in 2025 [Your Local Epidemiologist]
- No Health Without Peace [The Lancet]
- In a Tumultuous Year, US Health Policy Has Been Greatly Reshaped Under RFK Jr. [MedPage Today]
- The Old Aid Model Is Dead. Now Comes the Fight Over What Replaces It [Devex]
- Can the US Formally Withdraw from WHO without Paying Its Debts? [Devex]
- Key Moments for Climate & Health Diplomacy in 2026 [Health Policy Watch]
- In 2026, Kennedy’s MAHA Vision Gets Put to the Test. Here Are 3 Issues to Watch [STAT]
- New Vaccine Schedule Adds Near- & Long-Term Risks for Children, Experts Warn [STAT]
- Hospitals & Doctors Are Ignoring RFK Jr.’s New Vaccine Schedule & Relying on Pediatricians’ Guidance Instead [STAT]
- Measles Cases Jump Again in South Carolina, Rising to More than 550 [STAT]
- The Role of Doctors Is Changing Forever [New Yorker]
- RFK Jr.’s War on Antidepressants Is Coming — & It Will Cost Lives [STAT]
- Democrats Say America’s Role as a Scientific Leader Is Slipping, While Republicans Remain Unworried [STAT]
- US Overdose Deaths Fell through Most of 2025, Federal Data Reveals [AP News]
- US EPA Dismisses WHO Cancer Agency Determination That Widely Used Herbicide Is ‘Probably Carcinogenic’ [Health Policy Watch]
- Pregnancy Prosecutions Are on the Rise [Axios]
- EU & US Regulators Reach Landmark Accord on AI Principles in Drug Development [Health Policy Watch]
- UN Agencies Embrace AI as Budgets Fall & Staff Demand Rises [Devex]
- Gates & OpenAI Team Up to Pilot AI Solutions to African Healthcare Problems [Health Policy Watch]
- Low-Resource Nations May Leapfrog Wealthier Ones in Using AI for Health [Devex]
- US Signs Bilateral Health Agreements with 14 African Countries – With Some Key Exceptions [Health Policy Watch]
- Alarm Bells Ring as US Rolls Out Transactional Strings for Health Deals [Devex]
- US Pulls Out of 66 Multilateral Bodies Including Key Climate Convention [Health Policy Watch]
- Gates Foundation Commits to Historic $9B Annual Payout, Strengthens Stewardship to Maximize Mission Impact Through Closure in 2045 [Gates Foundation]
- Bird Flu Viruses Raise Mounting Concerns Among Scientists [New York Times]
- Analysis Suggests HPV Vaccine Protects Unvaccinated People Through Herd Immunity [CIDRAP]
- Gaza Famine Pushed Back, but Millions Still Face Hunger & Malnutrition [UN News]
- Inside a Gaza Medical Clinic at Risk of Shutting Down After an Israeli Ban [NPR]
- Controversial US-Backed Vaccination Study Begins in Guinea-Bissau [Health Policy Watch]
- Superbug Fears as New Drug-Resistant Strains of Typhoid Emerge in Asia [The Telegraph]
- Novel Cholera Vaccine Shows Promise in Phase 1 Trial [CIDRAP]
- Tens of Thousands of Mothers Are Bleeding to Death Giving Birth. Aid Cuts Are Denying Them a Solution [The Independent]
- African Countries Should Demand Better than $150M Zipline Deal [ICTworks]
- Shrinking Forests Are Giving Mosquitoes a Greater Taste for Human Blood, Study Suggests [ABC News]
- Opinion | Rising Climate Shocks Threaten Health in 2026 — Here’s How to Respond [Devex]
- Baltimore Drove Down Gun Deaths. Now Trump Has Slashed Funding for That Work. [KFF Health News]
- Listen. The Latest from the World Economic Forum Meeting in Davos [Devex]