Simon Bland | The National

Three former directors of the Global Smallpox Eradication Programme: Dr J Donald Millar, Dr William H Foege and Dr J Michael Lane, with the 'World Health' magazine, 1980. Centres for Disease Control / Smith Collection / Gado/ Getty

Smallpox was wiped out – other diseases can be too

How do we arrive at a world free of infectious diseases? As new tools and approaches are developed, the World Health Organisation has identified several diseases as eradicable

CommentFebruary 08, 2024

A flood victim takes care of her ailing baby at a hospital in Jamshoro, Pakistan, on Monday. Reuters

The Pakistan floods have dealt a body blow to its public health system

The impact of climate change on health has been increasingly affecting populations globally

CommentSeptember 22, 2022

While some Arab countries have high vaccination rates, figures for the region as a whole remain poor. Reuters

The Middle East needs to think of Covid-19 as a regional problem

The pandemic cannot be tackled on a country-by-country basis

CommentAugust 16, 2021

More countries are receiving coronavirus vaccine jabs, but many have still been left out of global inoculation drives. AP

Vaccine rollouts must not become an excuse for complacency

Successful jabs are only the beginning of the end of Covid-19

CommentMay 12, 2021