Global Health

A 21-year-old Romanian woman says she had no one to turn to for help when she got pregnant in 2019.

Activists Say Romania Has Been Quietly Phasing Out Abortion

8:48am September 01, 2021

by Lucía Benavides

Doctors are using conscientious objection to turn down patients. Religious anti-abortion clinics are springing up. Advocates say abortion rights are under threat again in Romania.

WHO Weighs In On Countries Offering A Booster Shot

5:10pm August 31, 2021

NPR's Leila Fadel talks with Dr. Margaret Harris, spokesperson for the World Health Organization, about the organization's position on booster shots.

How the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine protects you

Immunity To COVID-19 Could Last Longer Than You'd Think

12:40pm August 31, 2021

by Michaeleen Doucleff

New studies look at how the mRNA vaccines affect the cells in your body in the short run and the long run. The findings are a counterpoint to concerns about waning immunity.

Health & Safety

A Controversial Solution To Menstrual Exile: Building Better Menstrual Huts

9:39am August 29, 2021

by Sushmita Pathak

There's long been opposition to the practice of forcing a woman on her period to menstrual exile to huts, which can be unsafe and unsanitary. One charity has a new interim response: Upgrade the huts.

Doctors administer the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to patients at the Wazir Akbar Khan hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan in July.

The Troubled History Of Vaccines And Conflict Zones

7:23am August 29, 2021

by Madeline Dexter

History has shown that it's possible to pause war and conflict to distribute lifesaving vaccines for diseases such as Guinea worm and smallpox. Can the world do the same for the COVID-19 vaccine?

Blanca Cardenas, professor of ethnology at the National School of Anthropology and History, wears the mask "COVID Tiger," by Nahua artisan Armando Pascualeño from Zitlala, Guerrero, Mexico.

PHOTOS: Mexican Artists Create Fantastical Masks To Show The Many Faces Of COVID

8:43am August 28, 2021

by Cathy Newman

Two professors invited indigenous artisans to make masks portraying the agent of the pandemic — the coronavirus — through the lens of their cultural traditions.

Health & Safety

COVID Booster Shots Are Coming. But Most Of The World Hasn't Gotten Its First Vaccine

8:01am August 28, 2021

NPR's Scott Simon speaks to Dr. Krishna Udayakumar, Director of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center, about inequities in global vaccine access.

People don face masks to help keep the coronavirus at bay in June in Ankara, Turkey. But what about earlier recommendations to stay 6 feet away from others and limit close contact to 15 minutes? Are these still effective against the contagious delta varia

Coronavirus FAQ: How Do The Rules of 6 Feet And 15 Minutes Apply To The Delta Variant?

7:05pm August 27, 2021

by Sheila Mulrooney Eldred

It was drummed into our brains: Stay 6 feet from others! Limit close contact to 15 minutes. With the highly contagious delta variant, do we need to rethink those numbers?

Yemeni children diagnosed with cancer wait to receive treatment at an oncology ward of a hospital in Sana'a on February 4. A new study looks at the impact of COVID-19 on kids with cancer.

Why COVID Takes A Harsher Toll On Children With Cancer

6:54pm August 26, 2021

by Marc Silver

A new study looks at how kids diagnosed with cancer react to a COVID-19 infection compared to the general population of youngsters.

Aid Groups Wonder Whether To Stay Or Go As The Taliban Take Over Afghanistan

5:13pm August 26, 2021

by Joanne Lu

Now that the Taliban are back in power, aid agencies in Afghanistan are bracing for an uncertain future — and hope to maintain the progress they've made over the past two decades.