- Viral hepatitis and HIV are spreading among Russian soldiers. Some soldiers with these diseases have been separated into special units and marked by distinctive armbands, reports Meduza. Russia's practices of segregating and labeling HIV and hepatitis-positive individuals can reinforce stigma and deepen discrimination. In the military, viruses are often transmitted through blood transfusions and wound treatment in combat conditions, shortages of sterile instruments, and blood-to-blood contact in the battlefield. These risks can be minimized through vaccination, treatments, and early identification of infections – interventions that have stagnated in Russia over time.
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An editorial from The Lancet warns that Russia’s HIV epidemic is worsening amid reduced state funding, bans on external financing, and crackdowns on civil society organizations' activities. In 2024, antiretroviral coverage reached only 50% of people living with HIV, and treatment interruptions affected more than 43,000 individuals. With over 1.2 million people estimated to have HIV in the country, Russia now faces a rapidly expanding epidemic that threatens to overwhelm its already strained public health system.
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The new America First Global Health Strategy framework offers an opportunity for African governments to anchor foreign partnerships within Africa-led health strategies, argues Ebere Okereke in Think Global Health. While maintaining support for programs like PEPFAR, the strategy tied African nations to performance benchmarks and cofinancing requirements. To strengthen health sovereignty, African leaders must shape U.S. engagement through clearly defined bilateral partnerships, coordinated regional negotiation, increased domestic investment, protection of industrial policy, and reciprocal approaches to data and disease surveillance.
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Researchers at the Duke Global Health Institute reviewed nine statistical models predicting the effects of funding cuts to HIV prevention and treatment programs and concluded that an estimated 10 million more people could contract HIV, and 3 million more could die within five years. Discussing the research, Hock Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Duke Global Health Institute and former PEPFAR chief of staff Jirair Ratevosian warned that "if we fail to invest in careful handoffs, we risk dismantling the health systems, supply chains and workforce that have been the backbone of HIV progress for two decades."
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Health officials are warning of a worsening Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 57 cases and 35 deaths have been reported since early September, according to AP News. Experts project that a $20 million response is needed over the next three months, yet current funding covers only a fraction of that amount. Limited vaccine access, poor infrastructure, and reduced international funding are directly posing challenges to containment efforts.
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