International Health

Many of this year’s biggest stories marked the beginning of—or turning points for—important public health issues.

In October 2025, global health leaders, policymakers, youth advocates, and researchers convened in the nation’s capital for a two-day A Call to Action for Youth Mental Health. The event served as the U.S. launch of the report of the Second Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing, an international effort to address the urgent and escalating challenges facing adolescents worldwide. Hosted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Mental Health, the convening followed the World Health Assembly launch in May 2025. 

The next steps will be to continue collaborating with partners across the U.S. and the world to support the actions responsive to youth needs, including, 

• Integrate youth lived experience expertise into mental health research, policy, and practice
• Apply data-driven accountability for equitable access to quality care
• Shape urban environments to promote youth mental health
• Understand gendered drivers and tailored responses to support youth mental health
• Catalyze intersectoral engagement for youth mental health: health, education, and social support systems 

Volunteering as a data collector for a serological survey during the COVID-19 pandemic ignited Pratik's passion for public health. 

The global push to scale up surgical care is well-aligned with the America First Global Health Strategy—creating an opportunity that aid-seeking countries cannot afford to overlook.

Malaria treatment has relied on artemisinin for decades—amid rising resistance, another option is on the horizon. But how should it be used?

GHN takeaways from the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) 2025 in Bogotà, Colombia. 

Is extreme heat causing an epidemic of kidney disease among otherwise healthy workers?

Drowning is a leading cause of death for young children worldwide—and one of the most preventable.

Drawing on decades of experience in global health and international scientific exchanges, Can Scientists Succeed Where Politicians Fail makes the case that evidence and collaboration—even simply forging friendships—can offer a path forward where political systems too often falter. 

Putting ‘America First’ in global health risks unraveling decades of progress, argue two health leaders.

Rehabilitation is one of the most overlooked elements of disaster response. Even after years of global advocacy and guidance, early rehab is still seen as optional or secondary and is systemically excluded from emergency response plans. 

Amid conflict and U.S. cuts, MSF clinics in Yemen see vaccine-preventable diseases “on a daily basis.” 

Grilo will oversee the growing suite of leadership programs following the recent retirement of Steve Tamplin.

Developed countries and international organizations must immediately step up to stabilize the situation in Sudan and build back pediatric health infrastructure, writes Habab A. Iraqi in a GHN commentary.

Robbins co-leads the Risk Assessment and Early Detection Team at the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.