Category: Global Health & Development

Antibiotics are one of the most powerful tools in medicine, and most are prescribed in outpatient settings, like doctors’ offices and clinics. However, research has shown that in the United States up to 28 percent of these prescriptions are unnecessary. Unnecessary or inappropriate antibiotic use can allow pathogens to develop the ability to resist the […]

Your Haven, an addiction recovery community organization in Buchanan, Georgia, sits on a quiet side street—a small, beige building against a stand of Loblolly pines. But its unassuming façade belies its impact here as a place of deep connections, second chances and new beginnings. Opened in 2020 in response to the opioid crisis in rural […]

The world lost a visionary champion of health with the passing of William (Bill) Foege, MD, MPH, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and public health pioneer whose groundbreaking work was instrumental in eradicating smallpox.  Over a career of more than 60 years, Dr. Foege dedicated himself to public health, […]

When Rwanda’s Ministry of Health confirmed the country’s first-ever outbreak of Marburg virus disease (MVD) in September 2024, alarm spread quickly, both within the country and across the globe. Clinically similar to Ebola, MVD has, in past outbreaks, claimed the lives of up to 88 percent of those infected. Though the virus was first identified […]

As we reflect on the life and career of Walter Reid Dowdle, PhD, EIS ’91, we are reminded of the profound impact an individual can have on the world. Few individuals have left an indelible mark as Walt. His remarkable career, characterized by unwavering dedication, innovative thinking and a commitment to improving health outcomes, stands […]

By Stacey Koehnke, MedShare CEO/Executive Director In recent years, a convergence of global and domestic policy shifts has placed women’s health—particularly maternal and child health—under mounting pressure. Budget cuts, program disruptions, and international funding restrictions have created ripple effects that disproportionately impact vulnerable women, girls, and families. Amid these growing challenges, free and charitable clinics […]

Setting the Stage for Development New parents spend much of their time staunchly attuned to every smile or plaintive cry from their newborn. Equally important to a baby’s early development, however, is their own relationship to sound. Because babies begin to learn communication, language and social skills by listening to and interacting with those around […]

The career of F. Marc LaForce, MD began in 1965 with an assignment to the United States Public Health Service at the Communicable Disease Center—now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—in Atlanta, GA. Dr. LaForce’s public health career has spanned multiple continents and changed countless lives. In his senior year of high school, […]

On 400 acres of scenic farmland in Fayetteville, Georgia, there is an inspiring organization dedicated to serving youth and veterans called Camp Southern Ground. Founded by GRAMMY award-winning artist Zac Brown, Camp Southern Ground offers residential summer camp experience for kids aged 7 to 17, and workforce and wellness transition programs to help veterans transition to […]

In today’s volatile healthcare environment, access to quality care is at even greater risk—especially for the most vulnerable among us. Charitable healthcare providers across the U.S. are under intense pressure: facing funding cuts, uncertainty around Medicaid distributions, and surging demand from patients in crisis. As these providers fight to do more with less, organizations like […]

On tough days, Kelly Pinzon is reminded of what her boss once explained to her. “This is the worst day of a person’s life, and we’re reading their story, and we’re honoring what happened with them.” As a data abstractor in the New Jersey Department of Health, it is Pinzon’s job to log data from […]

In communities across Atlanta, women are the backbone of families, neighborhoods, and workplaces. They lead, nurture, and advocate often without pause. But when it comes to their own health, too many women are forced to choose between caring for others and caring for themselves. That tradeoff is costing lives. Cardiovascular disease affects nearly half of […]

The Oglala Lakota Sioux reservation of Pine Ridge in South Dakota is one of the largest in the country and is home to approximately 18,000 people, many of whom live in remote areas across nearly 2 million acres of land. For the past year, obstetrician-gynecologist (OB/GYN) Ryan Duggal, MD, has been serving as a staff […]

When Jill Kingston and her husband started fostering newborns exposed to substances in 2013, they could not have imagined where that journey would lead. Through the experience, Kingston saw firsthand the impact of substance use disorder on mothers and babies and the struggles families faced when children were born into homes with mothers with substance […]

For much of history, physicians made disease diagnoses by simply using their senses. What does the skin look like? How do the lungs sound? Do any bodily fluids have a particular smell? As we have learned more about the nature of diseases and developed more advanced tools, testing has become one of our strongest defenses […]

By Adriana Dragicevic and Amaya Carthan Each year, World No Tobacco Day reminds us that protecting future generations from tobacco harms is a population health imperative because tobacco is the world’s leading cause of preventable deaths. In 2025, the campaign’s theme, “protecting children from tobacco industry interference,” rings especially urgent. An area of growing concern […]

Collecting accurate, up-to-date and accessible cause-of-death data remains a challenge in many areas throughout the world. This information is critical to allow communities to know why people are falling ill and dying, so officials can create policies and programs to address diseases at both the regional and national levels. The Data for Health initiative launched […]

In metro Atlanta, nutrition security remains one of the most urgent health challenges impacting families’ ability to thrive and directly influencing the community’s rates of chronic disease. Nearly 1 in 8 Georgians face food insecurity, and for neighborhoods already confronting high rates of high blood pressure and limited access to health care, the lack of […]

Across the United States, millions of people face barriers to accessing nutritious food. Feeding America reports that 47 million individuals—including 1 in 5 children—experience food insecurity, a pervasive challenge demanding bold and unified solutions. The CDC Foundation is committed to advancing the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, which was spearheaded with bipartisan support […]

By Stacey Koehnke, MedShare CEO & Executive Director Maternal and child health is a cornerstone of public health, reflecting the overall health and well-being of a community. Unfortunately, current maternal and child health outcomes around the world, while improving, still reveal significant challenges and disparities that require urgent attention and action.  MedShare has a long […]