Global health review
A weekly round-up of all the latest global health research from MSF projects and beyond
21 August 2026
The call for abstracts for MSF Paediatric Days 2027 is now open, welcoming submissions that explore innovative and impactful research or case studies that advance the health and care of children in humanitarian settings. Read more about submission guidelines here.
This week, an MSF-authored preprint in BMC Neurology studied the prevalence of epilepsy and associated sociodemographic factors in the general population in the Gbêkê region of Côte d'Ivoire. The study found that epilepsy prevalence was higher than global estimates and highlighted a large treatment gap in diagnosis and access to therapies.
In PLOS Global Public Health, Epicentre and MSF evaluated an AI tool for identifying potential TB on chest X-rays in Manila, Philippines, showing how adapting referral thresholds to local data and health worker feedback supported the screening of nearly 15,000 people and detection of 633 TB cases over one year.
DNDi published a study protocol in Infectious Diseases and Therapy outlining a Phase IIa trial of oxfendazole, which has shown promise in preclinical studies against lymphatic filariasis. The trial will compare two doses against a placebo to assess whether the drug kills the adult worms causing the disease, with results expected to guide its further development.
Finally, an Epicentre article in Vaccine found that a new five-strain meningitis vaccine was highly effective when used during reactive vaccination campaigns in Niger, with an estimated effectiveness of 88-92% among those aged 1-19.
Best regards,
Clara Von Kaehne, Rosie Wharton, 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.
Climate change and planetary health
The Lancet • Correspondence: The 2026 Kumamoto earthquake: rescue alone is not enough
The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology • other: Toxic chemicals: the fight for planetary health
JAMA • News: Drinking Water Contaminants Associated With Uterine Cancer Risk
JAMA • News: Wildfire Smoke Linked to Increase in ED Visits for Migraine and Headache
The BMJ • Opinion: India’s heatwaves expose the gendered harms of the climate crisis
BMC Health Services Research • Article: Climate-resilient health systems in the face of extreme weather events in Uganda: a qualitative study in three high-risk districts
Conflict, migration and health
The Lancet Global Health • Comment: Disability, conflict, and emergencies: 17 years on
BMJ Global Health • other: The arms industry as a commercial determinant of health in the Middle East: a call for research
BMC Health Services Research • Article: Implementation and feasibility of telemedicine post-surgical follow-up clinics in Gaza during active conflict
BMC Health Services Research • Article: Women’s perspectives on the impact of war on maternal and reproductive health: a cross-sectional study from Gaza
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine • Article: Changes to the Number and Profile of Attendances to a Civilian Emergency Department Following Ceasefire to a Conflict: An Interrupted Time-Series Analysis
Ebola
JAMA • News: Ebola Outbreak Intensifies
Global health
The Lancet Global Health • Article: Sustainability and adherence to behaviour change: a cross-sectional 3-year follow-up survey of an innovative Community Mobilisation and Community Incentivisation strategy (CoMIC trial) for child health in rural Pakistan
The Lancet Regional Health Africa • Article: The epidemiology of healthy ageing scores in mid-age and older adults from the Gambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa: a cross-sectional study
BMJ Global Health • Article: Assessing the quality of care in low- and middle-income countries: a rapid review of the landscape of assessment tools
Global Public Health • Comment: Redesigning humanitarian health interventions: A framework for sustainable integration with local systems
BMC Health Services Research • Article: Geographical access to health care facility among residents of Kalutara district in Sri Lanka- a cross sectional study
HIV
The Lancet • Article: Switch to once-weekly, single-tablet islatravir–lenacapavir from daily standard of care for HIV-1 (ISLEND-2): a multicentre, randomised, open-label, active-controlled, phase 3 non-inferiority trial
The Lancet • and comment: Once-weekly oral antiretroviral therapy for HIV
The Lancet Global Health • Article: Integrating hypertension care into the existing HIV services package in Botswana (InterCARE): a pair-matched, cluster-randomised, type 2 hybrid effectiveness–implementation trial
Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene • Case Study: The changing spectrum of cutaneous leishmaniasis and HIV coinfection in Bolivian Amazonia: a case report
Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene • Article: Molecular detection of pulmonary tuberculosis and Candida albicans co-infection in people living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria
Clinical Infectious Diseases • Correspondence: Clinical Excellence Amidst Fiscal Erosion: ADAP and the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative
Health Policy and Planning • Article: A process evaluation of Community-led Distribution of HIV self-testing kits in rural communities in Zimbabwe
Infectious diseases
Global Public Health • Article: ‘COVID kills, and it's not joking around’: Perceptions and experiences of COVID-19 in Soweto, South Africa
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases • Article: Predictors of mortality from diarrhea during a cholera outbreak in Haiti’s Artibonite and Centre regions, 2022–2024
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases • Article: Burden of Shigella infection in children under five years living in a peri-urban area of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: A community-based cohort study
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases • Article: Two decades of cholera in Dhaka, Bangladesh: Epidemiology, seasonal patterns, and environmental risk, insights from 2004–2024
The BMJ • Feature: What do we know about covid-19 and smell loss?
BMJ Global Health • Article: Economic burden of typhoid among hospitalised children in Kenya
Clinical Infectious Diseases • Article: Whole genome sequencing of influenza virus transmission pairs confirms the efficacy of baloxavir in reducing household transmission
Clinical Infectious Diseases • Article: Real-World Experience of Hepatitis C Treatment With Glecaprevir-Pibrentasvir During Pregnancy
Clinical Infectious Diseases • and comment: Treatment of Hepatitis C During Pregnancy: We Are Approaching a “Tipping Point”
Clinical Infectious Diseases • Article: A novel RNA nucleic acid amplification test more accurately distinguishes active Clostridioides difficile infection from colonization
BMC Health Services Research • Article: Barriers to disease notification among primary healthcare physicians in West Bank, Palestine: a cross-sectional survey
Malaria
The Lancet Global Health • Article: Long-term mortality and risk of chronic kidney disease in children following severe malaria complicated by acute kidney injury: a prospective observational study
The Lancet Global Health • and comment: Beyond survival: malaria-associated acute kidney injury
The BMJ • Editorial: Scaling up malaria vaccines in Africa
BMJ Global Health • Article: Where and why malaria persists in heterogeneous transmission settings: insights from routine health facility data
Malaria Journal • Article: Treatment-seeking time and its determinants among patients with confirmed malaria in Thailand: a national surveillance analysis, 2012–2024
Malaria Journal • Article: Escalating pyrethroid resistance in Anopheles funestus increases Plasmodium transmission
Malaria Journal • Article: Evaluation of adherence to WHO guidelines for prescription of artemisinin combination therapy (ACTs) and artesunate in Kilifi County, Kenya
Malaria Journal • Article: First report of severe Plasmodium vivax malaria with sub-microscopic co-infection of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum and their clinicodemographic correlates: a study from hyperendemic areas of Tripura
Malaria Journal • Article: Strengthening malaria case management in Plateau State through on-the-job mentorship and supervision: evaluating the effects of targeted capacity building on diagnostic accuracy and data quality
Malaria Journal • Article: Barriers to the functionality and responsiveness of the malaria surveillance and data use system in Cameroon: a qualitative cross-sectional study
Maternal and child health
The Lancet Global Health • Article: Causes of mortality and severe morbidity in young children in Sierra Leone: a prospective cohort study
Health Policy and Planning • Practice: Maternal Health Infrastructure Investments in Zambia: Leveraging Geospatial Evidence to Inform Planning and Prioritization
BMC Health Services Research • Article: Emergency obstetric referrals in public primary health care centres in Benin City, Nigeria: a qualitative study
BMC Health Services Research • Article: Parental satisfaction with pediatric healthcare services is low in Eastern Ethiopia
Neglected tropical diseases
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases • Article: Factors influencing vector control for onchocerciasis in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases • Article: Assessing the efficacy of high-dose rifampicin plus albendazole against onchocerciasis
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases • Article: Previous schistosome infection and the risk of incident hyperuricemia: A prospective cohort study
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases • Article: Surveillance data and progress assessment of the targets of the WHO Global Leprosy Strategy 2016–2020: A retrospective registry-based analysis in Ghana
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases • Article: High brucellosis prevalence and risk among children aged 5–14 years in Kenyan pastoral health facilities: A facility-based surveillance study
BMC Health Services Research • Article: Leprosy control in Sri Lanka after eliminating the disease as a public health problem: implications for elimination of transmission of infectious diseases
Non-communicable diseases
The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women's Health • Comment: Female-specific risk factors in cardiovascular risk prediction
Outbreaks
JAMA • News: Measles Cases in the US Reach Highest Number in More Than 3 Decades
World Health Organization • News: Strengthening the Bundibugyo virus disease response through community evidence
Research and reporting
PLOS Medicine • Article: Retrofitting fiscal policies to reduce the double burden of malnutrition in Peru: A system dynamics modelling study
PLOS Medicine • Article: Comparative effectiveness of lipid-nutrient spread supplementation regimens for moderate acute malnutrition in Ethiopia: The MODAM-MAM individually randomized controlled trial
Clinical Infectious Diseases • Article: Quantitative PCR Bacterial Levels Cannot Distinguish Recurrent UTI from Other Non-infectious Urinary Symptoms
BMC Health Services Research • Article: Knowledge, attitude, practice of doctors, and health facilities readiness to manage sepsis in the Health Antenna of Butembo in the Eastern region of the D.R. of Congo
BMC Health Services Research • Article: Health workforce management under shocks: evidence from the 2023 Türkiye earthquake
Sexual and reproductive health
The Lancet Global Health • Article: Drivers of adolescent pregnancy decline in five adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights exemplar countries: a quantitative decomposition analysis
Global Public Health • Comment: From blame to belonging: Social and behavior change strategies to address infertility-related stigma in sub-Saharan Africa
Tuberculosis
The Lancet Infectious Diseases • Review: Guiding principles for pragmatic randomised trials of tuberculosis treatments
BMC Health Services Research • Article: Evaluating a digital platform for community-led TB monitoring in Mozambique: implementation research findings
Vaccines
Health Policy and Planning • Article: Examining evidence use in vaccine policymaking in Kenya: A qualitative case study
The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health • Article: Rotavirus vaccine effectiveness against rotavirus and acute gastroenteritis mortality: an analysis of pooled case–control studies from the MNSSTER-V dataset
The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health • and comment: Rotavirus vaccine success and the challenge of vaccine equity
The Lancet Global Health • Comment: Optimising pneumonia vaccine programmes: a strategic opportunity for child survival and lifelong lung health
The Lancet Global Health • Article: 8-year vaccine protection following a single dose of Vi-tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine in children in Nepal (TyVOID): a prospective cohort follow-up study of the TyVAC Nepal randomised controlled trial
The Lancet Global Health • and comment: Long-term effectiveness of typhoid conjugate vaccine in Nepal
The Lancet Regional Health Africa • Article: Trends and inequities in childhood immunisation coverage across West Africa, 1992–2024: a pooled analysis of 81 Demographic and Health Surveys from 14 countries
JAMA • News: What to Know About the mRNA Flu Vaccine, Newly Approved by the FDA
The BMJ • News: RSV vaccination programme may have halved numbers of baby admissions to ICU
Clinical Infectious Diseases • Article: Influenza Vaccination and Symptom Burden in Ambulatory Patients with Confirmed Influenza: Evidence from Case-ascertained Household Transmission Studies