Global Issues News Headlines for “Health Issues”

Former rebel fighters join campaign against Ebola in the DR Congo

2026-08-15T05:00:00-07:00

Demobilised former combatants are actively joining the fight against Ebola by participating in public information campaigns in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

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PARAGUAY: ‘Transparency Should Strengthen Democracy, Not Turn Criticism of Those in Power into a Cause for Suspicion’

2026-08-14T05:54:28-07:00

CIVICUS discusses the challenges posed by Paraguay’s ‘anti-NGO law’ with Hugo González, executive director of the Paraguayan Network of LGBTQ+ Artists (REPAR+), a civil society organisation (CSO) that promotes the rights of LGBTQI+ people, which has joined the constitutional challenge against this law.

Read the full story, “PARAGUAY: ‘Transparency Should Strengthen Democracy, Not Turn Criticism of Those in Power into a Cause for Suspicion’”, on globalissues.org →

An attack on healthcare every six hours, and no one held to account

2026-08-14T05:00:00-07:00

Across the world, healthcare has suffered more than 10,000 attacks in the past eight years, including during the brutal conflict in Ukraine and efforts to contain the current Ebola outbreak spreading rapidly in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Read the full story, “An attack on healthcare every six hours, and no one held to account”, on globalissues.org →

Meth trafficking across Middle East becoming more advanced, UNODC warns

2026-08-14T05:00:00-07:00

Authorities in Iran intercepted 3,663 kilogrammes of methamphetamines headed for Europe and the Persian Gulf in the first quarter of 2026, according to the UN’s drugs and crime fighting agency (UNODC).

Read the full story, “Meth trafficking across Middle East becoming more advanced, UNODC warns”, on globalissues.org →

African Rights Advocates Coordinate Response to Family Law Backlash

2026-08-13T08:31:42-07:00

NAIROBI, August 13 (IPS) - Women’s rights advocates, judges and lawyers have launched a coordinated campaign to reform family laws that discriminate against women and girls in Africa.

Read the full story, “African Rights Advocates Coordinate Response to Family Law Backlash”, on globalissues.org →

Why Dhaka Floods Every Monsoon

2026-08-13T05:54:24-07:00

DHAKA, Bangladesh, August 13 (IPS) - Dhaka’s recent and recurrent flooding is often treated as a natural disaster, but rain is only the trigger. The deeper causes are political, planning and ecological failure: wetland loss, canal encroachment, unplanned growth, weak enforcement, fragmented institutions and short-term engineering fixes. Dhaka is not drowning because it rains; it is drowning because it has been built as if water had nowhere to go.

Read the full story, “Why Dhaka Floods Every Monsoon”, on globalissues.org →

Nicaragua: End of the Electoral Illusion

2026-08-12T08:57:34-07:00

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, August 12 (IPS) - On 19 July, the 47th anniversary of the Sandinista revolution that first brought him to power, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega declared that his country would hold ‘no more elections’ so that the opposition could never again try to ‘seize power’. Just like that, he scrapped a presidential vote that had previously been pushed back to 2027, abandoning even the fiction of democratic legitimacy. The move changes little in practice, since no free vote had been possible for years. But it’s still revealing: a government that controls the army, the courts, the electoral machinery and the police, and will still not risk even a stage-managed ballot, is one that has lost confidence in its people.

Read the full story, “Nicaragua: End of the Electoral Illusion”, on globalissues.org →

UN Special Rapporteur Urges the Protection of Children’s Rights Amid Deepening Conflict and Digital Threats

2026-08-12T08:00:18-07:00

UNITED NATIONS, August 12 (IPS) - On July 7, the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres presented a report from the Special Rapporteur on the sale, sexual exploitation, and sexual abuse of children, Ai Kihara-Hunt, to the General Assembly, underscoring her goals and priorities for the implementation of protection measures for children worldwide. The report, submitted in coordination with the Human Rights Council, highlights the systemic barriers that leave children increasingly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse, including weak government oversight, limited support and justice services for victims, and worsening protracted crises.

Read the full story, “UN Special Rapporteur Urges the Protection of Children’s Rights Amid Deepening Conflict and Digital Threats”, on globalissues.org →

WHO chief voices concern over Trump Administration’s executive order on vaccines

2026-08-12T05:00:00-07:00

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday upheld the safety of childhood vaccines in response to a new directive from the White House to overhaul the recommended inoculation schedule.

Read the full story, “WHO chief voices concern over Trump Administration’s executive order on vaccines”, on globalissues.org →

Obstetric Violence: Syrian Women Speak Out

2026-08-11T07:44:01-07:00

ALEPPO, Syria, August 11 (IPS) - The abuse 30-year-old Nour Al-Badawi experienced in an Aleppo public hospital while giving birth resulted in her having two major follow-up operations and left her with depression and anxiety.

Read the full story, “Obstetric Violence: Syrian Women Speak Out”, on globalissues.org →