Global health review
A weekly round-up of all the latest global health research from MSF projects and beyond
3 July 2026
Just a few days remain to submit abstracts for MSF Scientific Days Latin America 2026. If you have conducted research aligned with the theme "Adapting to a changing humanitarian landscape: innovative responses to evolving health challenges in Latin America", visit the Science Portal to view the submission guidelines and submit your abstract before 23:59 GMT on 5 July 2026.
This week, an MSF preprint in Discover Mental Health examined predictors of treatment outcomes and adherence among survivors of torture and ill-treatment (SOITs) attending a comprehensive care centre for migrants and refugees in Mexico. The findings highlight the diverse therapeutic needs of SOITs and the importance of treatment retention in improving mental health outcomes. In the same journal, an Epicentre study explored how displacement, gender-based violence exposure, and Anglophone identity intersect to shape the mental health experiences of internally displaced women in Cameroon.
A perspective co-authored by MSF in The New England Journal of Medicine called for long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapies to be evaluated in HIV-affected populations facing the greatest barriers to care, ensuring those most in need are not left behind.
Finally, an Epicentre study in SAGE Open Medicine examined compliance with WHO-recommended antenatal care contacts in Uganda. The study found higher compliance among women living closer to health facilities, with higher incomes, and those initiating antenatal care early in pregnancy.
Best regards,
Ahmed Abdelghany, Lillian Matthes, and Holly Baker with MSF-authored article assistance from Alys Barton and Amelia Zhao.
All MSF-authored publications can be found on the MSF Science Portal, as well as recordings, abstracts and posters from the MSF Scientific Days 2026 conference.
Antimicrobial resistance
CMI Communications • Article***MSF AUTHOR***: AdMiRE study: Development and validation of a WHO-aligned tool to assess healthcare access and antibiotic use among migrant populations in Europe—a multicountry Delphi and psychometric study on behalf of ESGITM group
Climate change and planetary health
The Lancet Planetary Health • other: Correction to Lancet Planet Health 2026, 10: 101423
Conflict, migration and health
Conflict & Health • Article: Determinants of recovery time from cholera in a conflict-affected agro-pastoral region of ethiopia: evidence from survival models
Ebola
The Lancet Infectious Diseases • Comment***MSF AUTHOR***: Bundibugyo Ebola in DR Congo and Uganda: community-centred response must be operational, not rhetorical
The Lancet Infectious Diseases • Comment: Clinical trial priorities, adaptive strategies, and equitable partnerships for the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak
The Lancet Infectious Diseases • Article: Size of the 2026 Ebola outbreak and risk of cross-border spillover from Bundibugyo virus in Ituri Province, DR Congo, and its implications for preparedness: a recalibrated stochastic modelling study
The Lancet Infectious Diseases • Comment: Can stochastic modelling predict cross-border spread of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus outbreak in Africa?
Global health
The Lancet • Comment: How middle powers can strengthen global health governance: the case of South Korea
The Lancet • Correspondence: The Global Fund needs a more open search for its next leader
The Lancet • Comment: Indonesia's health reform: from pandemic mandate to the six pillars of transformation
The Lancet • World Report: LGBTQ+ Russians increasingly avoiding doctors
The Lancet Global Health • Correspondence: Hantavirus at sea: a test of the revised IHR and global health solidarity
The BMJ Global Health • Analysis: The value of adding ‘grey literature’ in evidence synthesis for equity-driven global health: a case study from Small Island Developing States
The BMJ Global Health • Practice: Bridging the gap between public health, academia and policy
The BMJ Global Health • Practice: Early essential newborn care: a decade of scaling up quality, life-saving interventions across East Asia and the Pacific (2013–2023)
The BMJ Global Health • Article: Historical roots of hospital-centred operational governance in China: a path dependence analysis and its implications for global health system reform
The BMJ Global Health • Article: From implicit to explicit: an evidence-informed deliberative process for health benefits package revision using the WHO UHC Compendium in Kyrgyzstan
Bioethics • Article***MSF AUTHOR***: On the Destruction and Humanitarianisation of the Health System in Gaza and the Need for a Biopolitical Bioethics
HIV
The Lancet HIV • Article: Cost-effectiveness of emergency department opt-out testing for HIV in England: a modelling study
The New England Journal of Medicine • Perspectives***MSF AUTHOR***: Long-Acting Treatment and Advanced HIV Disease — Addressing a Public Health Priority
Infectious diseases
The Lancet Infectious Diseases • News: Indigenous Australians see surge in diphtheria cases
Malaria
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseasaes • Article: A rapid immunochromatographic test for antibody detection as a new tool for monitoring malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax
Malaria Journal • Article: Healthcare workers’ knowledge and acceptance of the malaria vaccine in the Nanoro Health District of Burkina Faso: a cross-sectional study
Malaria Journal • Article: Where did the nets go? Tracing long-lasting insecticidal net migration on Bioko Island
Malaria Journal • Article: Adherence to 14-day primaquine treatment for radical cure of Plasmodium vivax and mixed malaria patients treated at health centers in Yilmana Densa district, Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study
Malaria Journal • Article: Genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum helical interspersed subtelomeric (phistb) gene in Tanzania and neighboring countries
Malaria Journal • Article: Plasmodium-induced disruption of brain endothelial barrier integrity in vitro and in mice is prevented by inhibitors of farnesyltransferase
Maternal and child health
The Lancet • Comment: The next step towards lower complication rates in fetal therapy for congenital diaphragmatic hernia
The Lancet • Comment: New responses required to address rapidly changing needs: a Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing in China
The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology • Comment: Endocrine–neuropsychological interplay underpinning maternal postpartum depression
The Lancet Respiratory Health • Article: Prevalence and disease trajectories of pulmonary fibrosis of childhood interstitial lung disease: a register-based, multicentre observational study
The BMJ • Opinion: Social media restrictions require timely and coordinated evaluation
The BMJ Global Health • Article: Untargeted and targeted fortified balanced energy-protein (BEP) dietary supplementation during pregnancy and birth outcomes: a cluster-randomised effectiveness trial in rural Bangladesh
The BMJ Global Health • Article: Availability and readiness of health facilities to provide emergency obstetric care in eight low- and lower-middle-income countries: insights from nationally representative health facility surveys
Sage Open Medical • Article***EPICENTRE AUTHOR***: Compliance with WHO-recommended ≥8 antenatal contacts and associated factors among women at primary health facilities in Mbarara district, Uganda
Mental health
Discover Mental Health • Article***EPICENTRE AUTHOR***: Understanding the nexus between gender-based violence and mental health among Anglophone internally displaced women in Littoral Cameroon through an intersectional socioecological lens
Discover Mental Health • Article***MSF AUTHOR***: Predictors of mental health outcomes among survivors of torture and ill-treatment in a Médecins Sans Frontières retrospective cohort study in Mexico
Neglected tropical diseases
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseasaes • Article: Molecular detection and subtype characterization of Blastocystis in diarrheal outpatients in Shanghai, China: A case-control study
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseasaes • Article: Contrasting geographic patterns of parasite and hantavirus diversity in the rodent Oligoryzomys longicaudatus (Rodentia, Cricetidae)
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseasaes • Article: Assessing the sustainability of Rwanda’s mass drug administration program for schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis: A mixed-methods application of the program sustainability assessment tool
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseasaes • Article: Seasonal dynamic modeling for real-time prediction of human brucellosis epidemiological trends in Gansu, Guangdong and Sichuan Provinces, China
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseasaes • Article: Toxoplasmosis meets the World Health Organization criteria for a neglected tropical disease
Malaria Journal • Article: Prevalence of malaria and its major parasite species in Bangladesh: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Non-communicable diseases
The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology • Correspondence: Diabetic foot ulcer prevention in Kuwait
The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology • Correspondence: High cost and poor availability of continuous glucose monitoring in low-income and middle-income countries
The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology • Article: Whole-population trends in obesity across dimensions of inequality in England, 2019–25: a retrospective, longitudinal cohort study of 54 million adults
The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology • Comment: An important new data source for obesity trends in England
The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology • Opinion: Intermittent fasting to treat diabetes: time to update clinical practice guidelines
The Lancet Global Health • Comment: Peripheral arterial disease: beyond prevalence estimates to equitable care
The Lancet Respiratory Health • Article: Severe asthma and remission prospects in Europe (SHARP): insights from a multicentre observational study based on the European Severe Asthma Registry
The Lancet Respiratory Health • Comment: Heterogeneity of severe asthma in Europe: a SHARP-er view
Outbreaks
The Lancet Infectious Diseases • Correspondence: Real-time epidemic intelligence in a public health emergency: the 2026 Bundibugyo virus outbreak
The Lancet Global Health • Practice: Institutionalising public health emergency preparedness and responses in Africa: lessons learned during the 2022-2025 outbreaks with crossborder spread potential
Research and reporting
The Lancet • Article: Non-invasive removal of the Smart tracheal occlusion device for fetal congenital diaphragmatic hernia: a single-arm, open-label, phase 1 study
The Lancet • Article: Combined bladder–kidney transplantation: first-in-human feasibility trial
The Lancet • Comment: Kidney–bladder transplantation: redefining surgical options for patients with concurrent bladder and kidney disease
The Lancet • Correspondence: The beautiful ad: alcohol promotion at the 2026 men's World Cup
The Lancet • Article: Efficacy and safety of tirofiban after successful endovascular reperfusion in acute ischaemic stroke (ATTRACTION) in China: a multicentre, double-blind, randomised controlled trial
The Lancet • Comment: Oral ghrelin receptor agonist: a new promise for the improvement of systolic function
The Lancet • Comment: Tirofiban and thrombectomy for acute ischaemic stroke
The Lancet Digital Health • Article: Predicting the risk of serious muscle disorders in individuals eligible for statin treatment in England: derivation and validation of a clinical prediction model
The Lancet Respiratory Health • other: Correction to Lancet Respir Med 2026; published online May 28. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(26)00160-8
The Lancet Respiratory Health • Comment: Pulmonary fibrosis in chILD: bridging the gap
The BMJ • other: “Black hole” of medical student funding: NHS trusts have failed to account for over £400m meant for training future doctors
Sexual and reproductive health
The BMJ Global Health • Article: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for men who have sex with men and transgender women in a clinic and a community-based setting: results from the first demonstration project in India
Tuberculosis
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseasaes • Article: Long-term disability outcomes in Hansen’s disease: A 20-year comparative study of Lepromatous vs. Tuberculoid Leprosy
Scientific Reports • Article***MSF AUTHOR***: Population pharmacokinetics and target attainment of pretomanid in rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis patients
Vaccines
The BMJ Global Health • Article: Digital payments of health workers within vaccination campaigns: a mixed-methods study in Chad