IMP MPH

While Africa’s high infectious disease burden has drawn the most attention from the international public health community, the continent is also facing rising impacts from non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes. Similarly, crises of food insecurity in the region have obscured the risks of obesity accompanying Africa’s increasing economic growth and urbanization.  This is changing, however,…

Dengue is the fastest-spreading mosquito-borne viral illness in the world, and has become a leading cause of morbidity in many tropical and subtropical regions – including outbreaks in recent years in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and other Latin American countries. The direct impact of these outbreaks is exacerbated by the stress they place…

Millions of people in low-income countries live with debilitating diseases such as schistosomiasis caused by parasitic worms. But despite having impacts similar in scale to malaria and tuberculosis, treatment of these neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) caused by parasites receive much less funding for treatment and research. A new initiative led by Imperial College of London…

Cardiovascular disease is one of the biggest public health challenges facing America today by any measure. It is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the U.S., resulting in 800,000 deaths and 6 million hospital admissions per year. Cardiovascular disease costs the economy $318 billion annually in healthcare costs and an additional $237 billion…

Second-hand smoke kills over 880,000 people every year globally, and a quarter of those deaths are among children 14 years or younger. These sobering statistics have helped drive smoking bans in public places in many countries, but these bans still cover just 20% of the world’s population. A new study led by Dr. Thomas Hone…

The United Nations has declared reducing inequality as one of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) both within and among countries. This includes a target for countries to adopt social protection policies that “progressively achieve greater equality.” Healthcare is a core concern of those social protection policies, and a recent study shows that expanding access to…