Global Health

Health & Safety

The Great Influenza: Lessons To Learn From The Spanish Flu

8:34am April 30, 2020

John Barry, the author of The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, talks about the lessons we can learn from the 1918 Spanish Flu and answers listener questions.

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Preliminary results of a study of the antiviral drug remdesivir show it is effective in shortening the recovery time for patients with COVID-19.

Health & Safety

Antiviral Drug Remdesivir Shows Promise For Treating Coronavirus In NIH Study

10:00pm April 29, 2020

The preliminary results showed that hospitalized patients who received remdesivir recovered 31% faster. Dr. Anthony Fauci hailed the findings as "quite good news."

This Bornean horseshoe bat and other bat species can harbor coronaviruses. The nonprofit group EcoHealth Alliance had U.S. government funding for an ongoing research project in China on bats and coronaviruses — until the money was cut on April 24.

Why The U.S. Government Stopped Funding A Research Project On Bats And Coronaviruses

8:43pm April 29, 2020

by Nurith Aizenman

The project, run by the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance, aimed to identify places to monitor, come up with strategies to prevent spillover of the virus and get a jump on creating vaccines and treatments.

A booth was taped off to ensure social distancing at a coffee shop in Woodstock, Ga., on Monday, as Gov. Brian Kemp eased restrictions in the state and allowed dine-in service.

Compared With China, U.S. Stay-At-Home Has Been 'Giant Garden Party,' Journalist Says

5:19pm April 29, 2020

by Dave Davies

New York Times health reporter Donald McNeil points to China as one extreme way to stop a pandemic in its tracks. "We're reluctant to follow China, but they did it," he says. At least for now.

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People line up for temperature checks at the Xinyi District Health Center in Taipei on April 14.

Taiwan's Coronavirus Moment — And Delicate Balancing Act

5:04pm April 29, 2020

by John Ruwitch

The pandemic provides an opportunity for Taiwan to raise its international profile. But that is unlikely to go over well in Beijing, which is facing pressures for its own handling of the virus.

People work in a call center of Covidom, a new remote medical monitoring app, inside the Paris public hospitals' Campus Picpus last month.

In France, A New App Is Helping Doctors Monitor COVID-19 Patients Remotely

2:48pm April 29, 2020

by Eleanor Beardsley

The Covidom app allows thousands of patients with non-critical cases of COVID-19 to ride the virus out at home. They answer questions on a range of health indicators and doctors follow up by phone.

Mark Green has stepped down as administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) after nearly three years on the job.

Exiting USAID Chief On The Pandemic, Foreign Aid, Trump's Policies

12:59pm April 29, 2020

Mark Green talks to NPR about what it's like leaving during a global health crisis — and what the future may hold for the agency.

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A Senegalese migrant collects oranges on the plain of Rosarno and San Ferdinando in Calabria, Italy, on Feb. 6. The lockdown countries imposed to stop the coronavirus pandemic have cut off the usual flow of seasonal farmworkers.

Italy Considers Permits For Undocumented Migrants To Fill A Big Farmworker Gap

12:01pm April 29, 2020

by Sylvia Poggioli

The country faces a shortfall of up to 350,000 laborers just when it is bracing for deep economic impacts from the novel coronavirus pandemic.

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Maria Nakalanda (right), Edward Arineitwe and Charles Batte are Ugandan health care workers who have faced difficulties in getting to and from work after their country's transportation lockdown.

Commuting In A Pandemic: These Health Workers Are Trekking And Canoeing

10:53am April 29, 2020

And a canoe is not the best option when the paddler can't swim. Here's how doctors and nurses are getting to work in Uganda after the government clampdown on traffic to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, seen in parliament on Tuesday in Tokyo, said it would be "impossible" to hold the already delayed Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2021 if the disease is not brought under control.

No Tokyo Olympics Next Year Unless COVID-19 Can Be Contained, Japan's Abe Says

9:54am April 29, 2020

by Scott Neuman

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said it would be "impossible" to hold the already delayed Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2021 if the disease is not brought under control.