July 18, 2025

Image

Better health begins with ideas

 

Editors’ Note

U.S. measles cases are at their highest level in 33 years, with approximately 1,300 incidents recorded as of July 15. The announcement coincides with growing vaccine distrust among Americans and comes after Europe recorded more than 127,000 measles cases in 2024, its highest mark since 1997.  

 

A new study estimates more than 15 million children missed their necessary childhood vaccination between 2020 and 2023. TGH Associate Editor Allison Krugman interviews two researchers behind the work—Jonathan Mosser and Emily Haeuser from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). They explain what could lie ahead for immunization campaigns. 

 

Expanding on our recent coverage of violence against health care during the so-called 12-day war, Insecurity Insight’s Tim Bishop presents 2024 data on those attacks, exposing the Middle East as ground zero for a global crisis.  

 

To wrap up, physician and journalist Ferrukh Faruqui outlines the risks behind the human egg donation industry. Faruqui describes how the $400 million sector is booming as more women choose to delay having children, but clinics typically do not disclose the lack of research on long-term health consequences.   

 

Until next week!—Nsikan Akpan, Managing Editor, and Caroline Kantis, Associate Editor 

 

This Week’s Highlights

 

GOVERNANCE

Palestinians inspect the damage after two Israeli missiles hit a building inside the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, in the Gaza Strip, on April 13, 2025.t the liquid oxygen storage tank installed at Bir Hospital by the United States Agency for International Development, in Kathmandu, Nepal, on February 9, 2025.

Health Care Under Fire: How the Middle East Reflects a Global Crisis 

by Tim Bishop 

Humanitarian law obliges all conflict parties to protect health facilities and workers, yet deadly attacks persist 

      

Read this story

 

Figure of the Week

 

A line chart showing average global vaccination coverage from 1980 to 2023

Read this story

 

Recommended Feature

 

GENDER

Kristia Rumbley of Birmingham, Alabama used in vitro fertilization to have three children, and has kept two embryos on ice for eight years. Photo taken February 23, 2024.

The Money and Risks Behind Human Egg Donation 

by Ferrukh Faruqui

U.S. egg donation is a $400 million sector, but a dearth of federal oversight means some health risks go unmeasured 

 

Read this story

 

What We’re Reading

Use of Antibiotic to Reduce STIs Appears to Be Fueling Some Antibiotic Resistance, Research Shows (STAT)

Colombia Deploys Armed Drones in Escalating Fight Against Drug Gangs (NPR)

Men Might Be the Key to an American Baby Boom (The Atlantic)

Belém and Its Challenges Await COP30 (Americas Quarterly)

 

The Atomic Bomb Marker Inside Your Body (BBC)

 

China’s Insertion Into India-Pakistan Waters Dispute Adds a Further Ripple in South Asia (The Conversation)

 

Interested in submitting?

Review our Submission Guidelines

Image
Twitter Bluesky

An initiative from the Council on Foreign Relations

58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065

Unsubscribe

View in Browser

Manage Your CFR Email Preferences