A National Weather Service for disease?

Welcome to Harvard Public Health Weekly. You can get this newsletter directly from us to your inbox. Sign up here.

Many U.S. hospitals struggled to predict demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to serious financial consequences. Policy experts blamed the CDC’s ad hoc approach, lambasted by Foreign Affairs as “an arbitrary assortment of academics” making snap decisions. The CDC is determined not to make that mistake again—and that’s where Insight Net comes in. It’s a nationwide network linking academic disease modelers with public health practitioners.

A National Weather Service for disease? → by Chris Berdik

What's working in the countries on track to help end AIDS

Nearly 20 countries have either met or are on track to meet an ambitious set of goals meant to help end AIDS by 2030. Despite challenges like stigma and barriers to access, successes in Botswana, Cambodia, Malawi, and Zambia could provide a roadmap for the rest of the world.

What's working in the countries on track to help end AIDS → by Andrew Green

Battling period poverty in Kenya

Kenyan Senator Gloria Orwoba's fight against period poverty in Kenya helped triple the country's budget for sanitary pads in schools and prisons, but her plans to destigmatize menstruation didn't end there. She also oversaw the creation of a “bank” for pad donations—and she has big plans for Africa’s first “menstruation museum.”

Battling period poverty in Kenya → by Lenny Rashid Ruvaga

To meet demand, blood donation should not rely solely on volunteers

Blood shortages in low-income countries lead to preventable deaths. Incentivizing blood donations is one way to increase the supply, but it’s controversial. Jlateh Vincent Jappah and Ruoying Tao are studying which incentives are the most effective. They argue the demand is too great to eschew any opportunity to increase donations.

To meet demand, blood donation should not rely solely on volunteers → by Jlateh Vincent Jappah and Ruoying Tao

What we’re reading this week

Who gets obesity drugs covered by insurance? In North Carolina, it helps if you’re on Medicaid. → KFF Health News

How to take climate change out of the culture wars → Grist

Many long COVID patients adjust to slim recovery odds → Reuters

In ‘Radical Endurance,’ author Andrea Gilats looks clear-eyed at the mental health impact of aging → MinnPost

Crafting a sustainable, African-led HIV response → Devex

People in the U.S. experience period poverty, too. Read Allison Torres Burtka’s feature story from last year to learn more.

See you next week, dear readers!?

—Jo Zhou