London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

It’s not enough to have useful tools like vaccines to tackle disease epidemics. Those tools also need to be used. But countries are facing growing obstacles, from false information about disease threats to a lack of trust in the measures required to tackle them.

Becoming a parent is a major life event. It brings new responsibilities, demanding time, money and emotional resources, all coinciding with loss of sleep and with biological changes. Depression is common in new parents, affecting around a sixth of mothers and a tenth of fathers – and this matters for both of them and their babies.

Recent political changes have shifted the priorities of wealthier countries away from health, equity, and sustainable development, creating huge challenges for health and science communities worldwide. Science itself is being attacked, and scientists are afraid to speak out. In addition, unprecedented cuts have been made to international development, science and health budgets, with devastating results for health programmes across the globe. 

Reading glasses are an essential and normal part of life for many adults. Yet globally it is estimated that up to 800 million people need spectacles for close work, but do not have them.