This two-part episode shines a light on the lived experiences of two remarkable individuals affected by NTDs. We explore firsthand how disability influences and affects their lives. In part 2, host Garry Aslanyan speaks with Dan Izzett, a former civil engineering technician and pastor who has turned his retirement into a powerful mission advocating for people living with leprosy. Peter Waddup, the CEO of the Leprosy Mission in Great Britain, provides a thoughtful reflection on Dan's message and its practical implications for the global health community.

This two-part episode shines a light on the lived experiences of two remarkable individuals affected by NTDs. We explore firsthand how disability influences and affects their lives. In part 1, host Garry Aslanyan speaks with Mulikat Okanlawon, a survivor of noma in Nigeria and President of the Elysium Noma Survivors Association. Thanks to the tireless advocacy of Mulikat and other survivors, noma was officially recognized as an NTD by the World Health Organization in 2023. Claire Jeantet, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, speaks about collaborating with Mulikat over the past eight years to bring her story and the stories of other noma survivors to policymakers, academics and the public.

The world is witnessing its largest youth generation ever, with half of the global population under 30. A sustainable future hinges on the meaningful engagement of young people. In this episode, host Garry Aslanyan speaks with three charismatic young global health leaders. Inês Costa Louro is a first-year medical doctor from Portugal and the Vice President for External Affairs of the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations. Aloyce Urassa is a public health scientist from Tanzania and Chairperson of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance Youth Advisory Council. And Hamaiyal Sana is a Pakistani medical doctor and Vice Chair of the World Health Organization’s Youth Council. Together, they delve into the crucial role young people are playing in shaping health-related decision-making today and in the future.

UNICEF estimates that 13% of adolescents live with a diagnosed mental health disorder, with depression and anxiety accounting for 40%. To explore the challenges surrounding the mental health of today’s youth, host Garry Aslanyan speaks with Jaime Young, a passionate youth leader, mental health advocate and family caseworker at the Saint Lucia Social Development Fund, and Zeinab Hijazi, a clinical psychologist and Global Lead on Mental Health at UNICEF. Together, they discuss how resilience can be cultivated and share inspiring examples of young people around the world developing solutions for mental health for their peers.

Significant progress has been made towards a malaria-free world. Forty-three countries have successfully eliminated malaria, with Cabo Verde becoming the third African country declared malaria-free earlier this year. Africa, however, still continues to experience the highest share of the global malaria burden, with 94% of malaria cases and malaria deaths. To discuss the challenges and opportunities to eliminate malaria, host Garry Aslanyan speaks with two influential African women leaders. Francine Ntoumi is the Founder, President and Executive Director of the Congolese Foundation for Medical Research in the Republic of the Congo who served as the first African leader of the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria. Corine Karema is the Director of Malaria, NTDs and Global Health at Quality & Equity HealthCare in Rwanda. Corine is also the former Director of the Rwanda National Malaria Control Programme and served as Interim CEO of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership.

We kick off season 4 of the Global Health Matters podcast with an episode that highlights the remarkable career journeys of two research leaders and the role of capacity development in their formation. Host Garry Aslanyan speaks with Wilfried Mutombo, the Head of Clinical Operations at the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as Yasmine Belkaid, President of the Institut Pasteur in France. As this episode is produced in celebration of the 50th anniversary of TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, TDR Director John Reeder also joins this episode to reflect on the challenges and future frontiers of capacity development.

This bonus episode is slightly different as our Executive Producer and Host Garry Aslanyan changes seats with Senior Producer, Lindi van Niekerk, to look behind the scenes of the Global Health Matters podcast. Many of you, our listeners, were curious about what it takes to host and produce your favourite podcast. Producing a podcast is both an art and a skill. It requires great consideration in identifying representative guests, asking thoughtful questions, and drawing out relevant and transferrable lessons for a global audience. A podcast also requires a talented and multi-disciplinary team.

GUESTS:
Paul Adepoju, Freelance Journalist and Community Manager, International Center for Journalists
Stephanie Nolen, Global Health Reporter, The New York Times

In an age where misinformation and disinformation are valid threats to global health, reliable and trustworthy journalism is essential. In this episode, host Garry Aslanyan speaks with two health journalists who might tell the same story in different ways because of their respective audiences. Stephanie Nolen, the global health reporter for The New York Times, has reported from more than 80 countries around the world. Paul Adepoju is a Nigeria-based freelance health journalist and scientist who regularly reports for top media and science outlets such as Nature, The Lancet, Devex and CNN. He is also the community manager of the Global Health Crisis Forum, which is part of the International Center for Journalists.

GUESTS:
Jesús Carlos Soto, Head of the Mobility and Transportation Department of the city of Guadalajara
Silpa Wairatpanij, Committee Member of the Thailand Walking and Cycling Institute Foundation in Bangkok

It's estimated that 68% of the world's population will be living in cities by 2050. In this episode, host Garry Aslanyan speaks with two pioneering leaders who have taken up the quest to make their cities healthier places by encouraging safe and active mobility. Jesús Carlos Soto is the Head of the Mobility and Transportation Department of the city of Guadalajara, and Silpa Wairatpanij is a Committee Member of the Thailand Walking and Cycling Institute Foundation in Bangkok. Guadalajara and Bangkok are two of 73 cities in Partnership for Healthy Cities, a global network of cities committed to reducing noncommunicable diseases and injuries through evidence-based interventions. The Partnership is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Vital Strategies and the World Health Organization.

GUEST:
Ayoade Alakija, Chair, Africa Union African Vaccine Delivery Alliance

In part 2 of our episode on the geopolitics of global health, host Garry Aslanyan speaks with Ayoade Alakija, who says "everyone in the health sector must have a basic understanding and training in geopolitics." Ayoade is the co-chair of the African Union’s African Vaccine Delivery Alliance and WHO Special Envoy and co-chair for the ACT-Accelerator. She speaks about the world becoming a “geopolitical cauldron” and how that directly influences global health practice and policy.

GUEST:
Ricardo Baptista Leite, CEO, HealthAI

In part 1 of our episode on the geopolitics of global health, host Garry Aslanyan speaks with Ricardo Baptista Leite, who maps his career journey from treating patients with HIV and tropical diseases to serving four terms as a Member of Parliament in Portugal. He is also the founder and president of the UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health, which brings together current and former political leaders in more than 100 countries pushing for science-based health policies. Together, Garry and Ricardo reflect on the global forces and factors that shape the economic, social, and political landscape affecting health for all.

GUEST:
Annie Sheria Msosa, Sentior Campaigner, Global Policy and Campaigns Team, WaterAid
David Wheeler, Executive Director, Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute

According to WHO, improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) can save 1.4 million lives a year. In this episode, host Garry Aslanyan is joined by Annie Msosa, the Advocacy Advisor for WaterAid in Malawi, who speaks about a recent cholera outbreak in her country that revealed the dangers of unsafe water in health care facilities. David Wheeler, the Executive Director of the Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute in the United States, makes the case for investing in WASH as an essential approach to preventing disease.

GUESTS:
Fan Hui Wen, Production Director, Instituto Butantan
Diogo Martins, Snakebite Lead, Wellcome
Thea Litschka-Koen, Founder & Chariperson, Eswatini Antivenom Foundation

In this episode, our guests tackle snakebite, a topic suggested by one of our research partner organizations, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) in Brazil. While snakebite is a neglected public health issue, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that each year, 5.4 million people are bitten by snakes, and up to 137,880 people die from snake bites. Host Garry Aslanyan speaks with Fan Hui Wen and Thea Litschka-Koen, snakebite gurus in Brazil and Eswatini, respectively, who reveal untold truths about snake bites in their communities and the complexities associated with producing and administering antivenom. Diogo Martins, the research lead for snakebite at Wellcome in the United Kingdom, makes the case for why we should consider snakebite a global health issue.

GUESTS:
Susannah Sirkin, Independent advocate and former Director of Policy, Physicians for Human Rights
Samer Jabbour, Cardiologist and researcher, Syrian Center for Policy Research

The Safeguarding Health in Conflict coalition recently published a report that documented 232 health workers killed, more than 700 incidents where health facilities were damaged and almost 300 health personnel kidnapped in 2022. This episode dives into the circumstances and risks health workers face in conflict settings. Host Garry Aslanyan speaks to a health worker who has been on the frontline of recent conflict in Sudan. Their testimony is discussed with Susannah Sirkin, former Director of Policy at Physicians for Human Rights, and Samer Jabbour, a cardiologist who has worked in the area of conflict in health since war broke out in his home country of Syria.

GUESTS:
Carmen Barroso, Sexual and Reproductive Health Lifelong Advocate
Dakshitha Wickremarathne, Senior Technical Lead, FP2030

In the second of our history matters episodes suggested by you, our listeners, our two guests reflect on their personal experiences and engage in an intergenerational discussion on the evolution of sexual and reproductive health. Host Garry Aslanyan’s guests are Carmen Barroso, a lifetime advocate, researcher and implementer for sexual and reproductive health, and Dakshitha Wickremarathne, senior technical lead overseeing the implementation of FP2030’s Asia Pacific Hub. The discussion highlights how history supports future leaders through intergenerational learning and charts a hopeful path for the evolution of key global health challenges.

GUESTS:
Shweta Narayan, Global Climate & Health Campaigner, Health Care Without Harm
Rico Euripidou, Campaign Coordinator, groundWork, Friends of the Earth South Africa

This episode brings together two grassroots advocates for clean air who share country case studies from India and South Africa, explaining why it is impossible to have healthy people living on a sick planet. Host Garry Aslanyan navigates the concepts of environmental justice and the impact of air pollution on communities with Shweta Narayan who shares how community health workers were successful in pushing for stronger pollution control measures, and Rico Euripidou who reiterates the need for the health sector to advocate for environmental justice.

GUESTS:
Sanjoy Bhattacharya, Head, School of History, and Professor, Medical and Global Health Histories, University of Leeds
Anne-Emanuelle Birn, Professor of Global Development Studies and Global Health, University of Toronto

In this episode we explore the multifaceted history of global health and how the narratives borne out of colonization, geopolitical events, and national ownership of public health inform policy and practices today. Among the narratives is that of the World Health Organization, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

GUESTS:
Emmanuella Amoako, co-host of Global Health Unfiltered podcast
Leshawn Benedict and Gordon Thane, hosts of Public Health Insight podcast
Mark Goldberg, host of Global Dispatches podcast
Priti Patnaik, editor of Geneva Health Files

The growing popularity of podcasts as an innovative platform for sharing experiences and views on a wide range of topics was one of the inspirations for startingGlobal Health Matters. As engaging and learning from our stakeholders is one of our goals, we invited some fellow podcasters and our listeners to join a live Twitter Space discussion on how podcasts are sparking conversations on global health. This bonus episode shares some highlights from the Twitter Space moderated by host Garry Aslanyan, covering topics such as the unique advantages of podcasts compared with other communication tools, the accessibility of podcasts, and how they are used by educators in the classroom.

GUESTS:
Ilona Kickbusch, Founder and Chair of the International Advisory Board, Global Health Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute
Aída Mencía Ripley, Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, Universidad Iberoamericana

How can scientists and diplomats work together to advance the global health agenda? Ilona Kickbusch, who founded the Global Health Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute, reflects on her experiences working within science diplomacy and the importance of having strong evidence to be able to reach a diplomatic consensus. She also urges scientists to initiate dialogue with policy-makers and diplomats. Aída Mencía Ripley, Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at Universidad Iberoamericana in the Dominican Republic, shares an insightful case study of how diplomacy enabled researchers at her university to contribute to the national COVID-19 response.

GUESTS:
Tim Mackey, Professor, University of California San Diego
Yara Aboelwaffa, Independent Digital Health Consultant

We kick off the new year with a conversation about new advances in technologies that are transforming public health practice. In this episode, we explore the promise and perils of artificial intelligence (AI), big data, infodemics and the importance of culturally appropriate innovations. While speaking with Florence 2.0, an AI health worker, host Dr Garry Aslanyan tries to get advice on leading a healthier lifestyle. Yara Aboelwaffa, co-founder of Health 2.0 Egypt, tells us about the fastest-growing innovations in the Middle East. And Tim Mackey, co-founder of a health care big data startup, shares the realities of attracting funding for public health-focused innovations.

GUESTS:
Monica Kirya, Senior Adviser, U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre
Patty Garcia, Former Minister of Health, Peru. Professor of Public Health, Cayetano Heredia University
Jonathan Cushing, Global Health Programme Director, Transparency International

This podcast episode on corruption is opening up the discussion to a wider audience to understand the scale of the problem for health systems and to hold more people to account for their part in the resulting damage.
Our host Dr Garry Aslanyan delves deep into the topic to uncover the sources, the offenders and the solutions from our panel of experts. Together they are able to define the subject matter, provide examples from around the globe and piece together the puzzle of how to solve this conundrum.

GUESTS:
John McCauley, Former Director, Worldwide Influenza Centre, Francis Crick Institute
Mahmudur Rahman, Former Director, Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research and National Influenza Center

For this episode, TDR have partnered with GISRS, the World Health Organization’s Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System. Your podcast host, Garry Aslanyan, brings together two professors to share their unique experiences from both the global and national level of the influenza response: John McCauley and Mahmudur Rahman.

GUESTS:
Eugen Ghiță, Human Rights Monitor and President, Roma Lawyers Association, Romania RomaJust
Reem Mussa, Humanitarian Advisor and Coordinator of the Forced Migration Team, Médecins Sans Frontières

For this episode we bring you a topic that rarely reaches the top of the global health agenda, that is the subject of the health of refugees and migrants. This podcast episode lays out the key issues for the listener and through our guests it builds an awareness to ensure this topic gets better attention in the future. During this podcast we hear the health experiences of Eugen Ghita who was a migrant and he is now working as a human rights monitor on behalf of the Roma community in Europe. Reem Mussa is able to give us context in relation to the policies of the different types of refugees and migrants, including the repercussions for the health of the newcomers may encounter on their journey such as mental health needs or respiratory conditions for those subjected to detention.

GUESTS:
Stephanie Topp, Associate Professor, Global Health and Development in the College of Public Health, James Cook University
Renzo Guinto, Chief Planetary Health Scientist, Sunway Centre for Planetary Health and Director, Planetary and Global Health, St. Luke's Medical Center

This month's podcast is about global health career paths and approaches. Garry Aslanyan speaks with two career professionals sharing their knowledge of how they chose their path and giving clear guidance on ways to get the support needed to make a difference in the field of global health. Stephanie Topp looks at how global health can support the next generation of thinkers and leaders, and Renzo Guinto challenges power structures to address the inequities that exist in global health.

GUESTS:
Marie Ba, Director of the Ouagadougou Partnership Coordination Unit
Tom Wein, Director, Dignity Initiative IDinsight

An important Global Health Matters podcast topic discussing the need to build an awareness of the ways we interact with colleagues in the workplace to adapt our programmes to be more inclusive. We need to talk about “the future of global health through diversity and dignity”. Host Garry Aslanyan interviews our special guests who have a deep understanding of diversity and dignity and their application worldwide. Marie Ba questions whether diversity is just a tick-box exercise, ensuring that we break down the definition and elements that make up the term “diversity”. Tom Wein is based in Kenya where he leads research on dignity in development with IDinsight. By analysing further the two concepts of diversity and dignity together, the link is formed and shows that representation is only one aspect, and that agency and equality also need to be factored in to realize dignity within diversity.

GUESTS:
Bill Rodriguez, CEO, FIND
Sikhulile Moyo, Research Laboratory Director, Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a new global awareness of the accessibility of diagnostics: we need to test to protect with equal access for all. In this episode of Global Health Matters, we answer key questions such as “how available are essential diagnostics in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)?” Host Garry Aslanyan interviews our special guests who have a deep understanding of diagnostics and their application worldwide. Bill Rodriguez is CEO of FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics, and is also founder of his own diagnostics company, Daktari Diagnostics. Our second guest is Sikhulile Moyo who led the team that helped discover the Omicron variant in Botswana through careful cross-examination of COVID-19 tests.

GUESTS:
Uche Amazigo, CEO, Pan-African Community Initiative on Education and Health
Aidan O’Leary, Director, WHO Polio Eradication
David Reddy, CEO, Medicines for Malaria Venture

What are the differences between the various paths to a disease-free world? Why are we pursuing eradication of some diseases while for others, control or elimination is the more realistic option? In this episode, host Garry Aslanyan speaks with three experts who answer these questions and more. Uche Amazigo shares lessons she learned during her tenure as the Director of the WHO African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control; David Reddy discusses the new and exciting innovations for malaria elimination; and Aidan O’Leary makes the case for pursuing worldwide eradication of polio. Join us in this discovery of what is needed to reduce or remove the risk of infectious diseases.

GUESTS:
Fatima Hassan, Founder, Health Justice Initiative
Petro Terblanche, Managing Director, Afrigen Biologics
Judit Rius Sanjuan, Policy Specialist, Health Technologies Innovation & Access, UNDP

As the world commits to equitable access to medicines and vaccines, is this just on paper or a reality? In the case of COVID-19, as of early March 2022, 74% of those in high-income countries have been fully vaccinated, compared with just 11% of people in low-income countries. Can South Africa’s experience with tackling HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 point to future solutions for other low- and middle-income countries? How has intellectual property rights affected development of vaccines across Africa?

GUESTS:
Teresa Soop, Senior Research Advisor, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
Mohammad Alsafadi, Senior Health Officer, Global Polio Eradication Initiative

Throughout the first season of Global Health Matters, we’ve covered a range of topics including research during the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling racism within global health, science communication and implementation research. For this bonus episode, host Garry Aslanyan sat down with two of our listeners who shared their reflections on various episodes from Season 1.

GUESTS:
Catherine Kyobutungi, Executive Director of the African Population and Health Research Center in Kenya
Agnes Binagwaho, Vice Chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda

What are the colonial legacies in global health? And what impact have they had on how some health and health research programmes are run in Africa? In this episode, we speak to two visionary women leaders who tell us what’s wrong in global health and give concrete steps toward more equitable and inclusive partnerships. Host Garry Aslanyan speaks with Catherine Kyobutungi and Agnes Binagwaho.

GUESTS:
Alvin Marcelo, Executive Director of Asia eHealth Information Network and Chief Medical Information Officer of St. Luke's Medical Center in the Philippines
Karin Källander, Senior Health Adviser and Chief of the Digital Health & Information Systems Unit, UNICEF

Increasingly, digital technologies are transforming the delivery of health services and the functioning of health systems. Many of these technologies have also presented new ways of doing research and informed rapid decision-making. In this episode, we hear how UNICEF worked with Jamaica to rapidly deploy an electronic registry solution for the COVID-19 vaccine. We also learn that the Government of the Philippines created a huge opportunity for research by allowing open access to data from COVID-19 tests.

GUESTS:
Margaret Gyapong, Director, Institute for Health Research at the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ghana
Lee Hampton, Vaccine preventable disease surveillance and vaccine safety focal point at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Switzerland

The World Health Organization recently made the historic recommendation to widely use the first ever malaria vaccine, RTS,S. This recommendation was based on evidence generated from a pilot vaccine implementation programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has reached more than 800 000 children since 2019. This is an excellent example of how evidence based on implementation research tells us whether health interventions, such as vaccines, will be effective in real life, after clinical trials show its efficacy and safety. In this episode, Margaret Gyapong shares her first-hand experiences and learnings from the malaria vaccine pilot. Lee Hampton also tells us how implementation research has played a key role in the success of health programmes for diseases such as yellow fever, typhoid and more.

GUESTS:
Natalia Pasternak, Founder, Instituto Questão de Ciência in Brazil
Imogen Foulkes, Geneva correspondent, BBC News and SWI swissinfo.ch
Sonia Lowman, Filmmaker and Senior Communications Specialist, International Medial Corps

This episode features three renowned communicators of science who work to inform, educate and inspire the public about health issues. Microbiologist Natalia Pasternak has become one of the leading communicators of science in Brazil and internationally. As founder of Instituto Questão de Ciência, she offers advice on how others can set up science communication institutes in their countries. Imogen Foulkes reflects upon how scientists can better communicate their research to the public, given her experience as a journalist with the BBC and SWI swissinfo.ch based in Geneva. And Sonia Lowman of International Medical Corps highlights the power of film to connect audiences to global health issues and create a vision for the way forward.

GUESTS:
Karlee Silver, Co-CEO, Grand Challenges Canada
Tembeka Mpako-Ntusi, former Director of Research, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa

Strong research ecosystems require strong research leaders. In this episode, we hear from Karlee Silver who speaks about how Grand Challenges Canada has supported the discovery and research of new solutions to health and other challenges. Tembeka Mpako-Ntusi of Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa says research management at universities should address not only current challenges but also those lurking on the horizon.

GUESTS:
Paul Gwakisa, Professor of Immunology, Sokoine University of Agriculture, United Republic of Tanzania
Pierre Quiblier, Programme Officer, Chemicals and Health Branch, United Nations Environment Programme

Most climate change predictions show an upward trend in temperature for at least the next nine decades. Rural communities whose health and livelihoods depend on the environment are more vulnerable to climate change. In recent years, persistent droughts have made Maasai communities in northern Tanzania vulnerable to sleeping sickness, a disease spread by the tsetse fly. Paul Gwakisa has dedicated his research to helping the Maasai people better understand and prevent outbreaks of sleeping sickness in their communities. Pierre Quiblier also speaks about global efforts to better tackle climate change through an integrated “One Health” approach that brings together sectors such as agriculture, health and the environment.

GUESTS:
Magaly Blas, Director, Mamás del Río (Mothers of the River)
Luis Gabriel Cuervo, Senior Advisor, Pan American Health Organization

Mamás del Río is a social innovation focused on improving maternal and newborn health in rural regions of the Amazon in Peru and Colombia. This episode explores how communities, citizen-led organizations and researchers are driving social innovations such as Mamás del Rio to improve health service delivery and strengthen health systems.

GUESTS:
Paul Kazyoba, Director of Research, Tanzania National Institute for Medical Research
Thabi Maitin, Division Manager, South African Medical Research Council

Africa has not seen the same scale of devastation from COVID-19 seen in other regions. Join host Garry Aslanyan as he and his guests explore some of the reasons why African countries have been able to deal with the pandemic so effectively. These include a prior experience in dealing with epidemics such as Ebola, strong sub-regional research networks and long-standing investments in research capacity.

GUESTS:
Roopa Dhatt, Executive Director of Women in Global Health
Rose Leke, Founder of HIGHER Women Consortium Cameroon
Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization

In science, globally, women account for only about 30% of researchers, according to UNESCO, and evidence shows that their participation is even lower at leadership and decision-making levels. Why is that, and what is being done to better support women’s careers in science? Join Dr Garry Aslanyan and his expert panel of guests as they share their inspiring journeys as women leaders in global health. They also discuss the root causes of gender inequality in science and some strategies they have developed to address them.

GUESTS:
Dissou Affolabi,National Tuberculosis Programme manager in Benin; Executive Secretary of the West and Central African Regional Networks for Tuberculosis Control
Muna Abdi, Director of Somaliland Central Statistics Department; Principal Investigator for a Study on Female Genital Mutilation Prevention and Care
Suneeta Krishnan, Deputy director of Strategy, Planning & Management, and Evaluation at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s India Country Office

The first episode of Global Health Matters takes us on a journey to Somalia, India and Benin to explore how researchers have adapted to one of the greatest challenges we have ever faced – the COVID-19 pandemic. Join Dr Garry Aslanyan and his expert panel of guests as they discuss the innovative approaches they have taken to continue their work amid the crisis.