Imperial WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Education and Training

30/07/2026

🗓️ The midweek health check is back!

🔗 Links

🦠 This World Hepatitis Day, PAHO issued an urgent call to break down barriers to preventing access to testing and treatment - https://www.paho.org/en/campaigns/world-hepatitis-day-2026

If you would like to learn more about global hepatitis burden and trends, read the WHO’s report here: https://www.paho.org/en/documents/global-hepatitis-report-2026

🛏️Furthermore, the Australian Labor Party (ALP) has resolved to repeal the prevention of telehealth use in voluntary-assisted dying - https://theconversation.com/labor-national-conference-backs-use-of-telehealth-in-voluntary-assisted-dying-care-287188

♿Finally, for Disability Pride Month, read a blog piece by AbleOTUK’s founding member, Rachel Booth-Gardiner, where she reflects on her lived experience as a disabled OT and why this month is so important - https://www.rcot.co.uk/latest-news/disability-pride-month-proud-be-disabled-ot

If you’d like to learn more about Gardiner’s advocacy work as well as her work as an OT, see AbleOTUK’s website here: https://affinot.co.uk/ableotuk/

Learn more about disability pride here (video recommended by Motability Foundation) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZslYmOwgCQ

This week's content curated by: Rama Aowidah, WHOCC Health Comms Intern & Rachel Barker, WHOCC Communications Officer

World Health Organization (WHO) PAHO-WHO The Conversation Australia + NZ Australian Labor Party Royal College of Occupational Therapists

23/07/2026

🗓️ Another week, another midweek health check

🔗 Links

🍎 This week, the UN has published a new report on Global Hunger revealing that whilst it’s on the decline, decreases are marginal - https://www.who.int/news/item/21-07-2026-un-report--global-hunger-levels-ease-for-third-consecutive-year-as-regional-disparities-persist

💉 Furthermore, the UK has released a new Meningitis B vaccine following the outbreak in Kent. Access is targeted to older teens and young adults - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c982352my98o

🌊 Finally, floods in Bangladesh have hardest hit its most vulnerable communities, with more than 5,000 refugee shelters damaged and 17 dead - https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/415330/over-1m-hit-by-monsoon-emergency-as-iom-scales-up

If you would like to learn more about the details of the developing situation in Bangladesh, read Rohingya Coordination Platform’s report here -https://rohingyaresponse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Inter-Sector-Flash-Update-4.pdf

This week's content curated by: Rama Aowidah, WHOCC Health Comms Intern

22/07/2026

🌍✈️ Transform your summer into an overseas learning experience! 🏥

Join us at Imperial College London, ranked 2nd best university in the world, for a Public Health & Clinical Medicine short course and explore the vibrant sights and sounds of London. 💂

This immersive programme is your chance to learn, grow, and connect with like-minded students from around the globe! 🌐

Learn more about public health, global health, clinical medicine, health leadership, and multidisciplinary teamwork.

📆 Key Dates: August 10th – 21st
🔗 Sign up here: https://www.imperialwhocc.org/short-summer-and-winter-training-programmes/
▶️ See our previous cohort's achievements on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6c166by_9M

💡 Note: These are introductory short programmes. Students with advanced Master's-level training may prefer our fellowship programmes — learn more here: https://www.imperialwhocc.org/visiting-programmes/postgrad/

What happens when students step beyond the classroom and experience...

08/07/2026

⏲️ Time for your midweek health check!

🔗 Links

🪱Toxoplasmosis meets the WHO criteria for a neglected tropical disease - Toxoplasmosis meets the World Health Organization criteria for a neglected tropical disease | PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
World Health Organization (WHO)

🍎$3 million USD is put towards improving nutrition in Liberia - https://allafrica.com/stories/202607080253.html
allAfrica.com

🧪Precision and Prevention as a new frontier for cancer research - https://news.cancerresearchuk.org/2026/06/02/unlocking-a-new-era-for-cancer-prevention-research/
Cancer Research UK

Mentioned in the above article are:

Professor Ruth Langley - Expert medical oncologist at UCL - https://www.innovative-ctu.ucl.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/ruth-langley/

Professor Sarah Blagden - Experimental oncologist at Oxford - https://oxfordcancertrials.ox.ac.uk/about-us/our-team/sarah-blagden

Professor Karen Brown - Director of Leicester Cancer Research centre - https://le.ac.uk/people/karen-brown

Dr Nadia Nasreddin - Post doctoral researcher at CRUK Scotland - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadia-nasreddin-62b0231a5/

💬 please leave a comment if you have any interesting recommendations or thoughts - we’d love to hear from you ❣

This week's content curated by: Rama Aowidah, WHOCC Health Comms Intern

01/07/2026

⏲️ It’s time for your midweek health check: putting the spotlight on

🔗 Links
🏥🤝India sends a field hospital in response to Venezuela earthquakes
Indian Army field hospital begins operations in quake-hit Venezuela – Hindu 🔗 https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/venezuela-earthquake-indian-army-field-hospital-begins-operations/article71161012.ece
A disaster diplomacy perspective of acute public health events – Disasters 🔗 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/disa.12306

Please use this link to donate directly to the Cross Venezuela: Earthquakes 2026 appeal 🔗 https://donate.redcrossredcrescent.org/ifrc/venezuela-earthquake/~my-donation

🌏✈️ Measles cases in Australia and Korea linked to outbreaks in South and South-East Asia.
Measles surges in Southeast Asia; Korea reports two-thirds imported cases - 🔗 https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-science/2026/04/23/H27PLWTEFRGCFGXH5PUOFQHLFY/
Measles cases rise in Australia as authorities monitor deadly outbreaks in South and South-East Asia - 🔗https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-27/measles-cases-rise-in-australia-as-authorities-monitor-outbreaks/106722836
Travelling epidemics: Human mobility patterns and their impact on the spread of epidemics – 🔗 https://www.mpg.de/4406928/Travelling_epidemics

Watch our resident nutrition expert discussing claims of ‘immune-boosting’ diets to prevent or cure measles as part of our series of In the Hot Seat interview series where we delve deeper into headlining heath news - 🔗 https://youtu.be/Esl2o1AnSGI

🌈🦋 This last week of Pride Month, we are celebrating 56 Dean Street and TransPlus
The Soho clinic spearheading LGBTQ+ health care - RCN Magazine🔗https://www.rcn.org.uk/magazines/People/2024/Feb/Sexual-health-services-for-the-LGBTQ-community
LGBT+ Pride Month - Chelsea and Westminster NHS Hospital 🔗 https://www.chelwest.nhs.uk/about-us/organisation/our-way-of-working/equality-diversity/lgbtq-pride-month
56 Dean Street 🔗https://www.dean.st/
TransPlus 🔗 https://www.wearetransplus.co.uk/

This week's content curated by: Rachel Barker, WHOCC Communications Officer 🔗 Rachel Barker | LinkedIn

💬 please leave a comment if you have any interesting recommendations or thoughts - we’d love to hear from you ❣

25/06/2026

Our Midweek Health Check is a weekly series, where we post interesting papers, articles, and media related to public and global health - hoping to spark discussion and shed light on the diversity and range within public health 🏥🔦

💬 please leave a comment if you have any interesting recommendations or thoughts - we’d love to hear from you ❣

🔗 Links

🌍🥵 WHO/Euro Heat-Health Action Plans guidance
🔗 https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/11-06-2026-heat-action-day--new-who-guidance-helps-authorities-better-protect-people-from-the-effects-of-heat
Red heatwave alerts spread across Europe with hottest day ever in France and 40 deaths from drowning - Euronews
🔗 https://www.euronews.com/2026/06/24/red-heatwave-alerts-spread-across-europe-with-hottest-day-ever-in-france-and-40-deaths-fro

👶🏻👦🏻👧🏻🌡️ UNICEF Children’s Climate Risk Report 2026 🔗 https://www.unicef.org/reports/childrens-climate-risk-report-2026

🌈🧡🤍🩷 Pride Month Cervical Screening for WSW - Nonchalant Magazine 🔗 https://nonchalantmagazine.com/do-lesbians-need-smear-tests/

This week's content curated by: Rachel Barker https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-barker-46b540282/

04/06/2026

⏲️ Time for your midweek health check

🔗 Links

🌍This week, the Ebola Outbreak in DRC has revealed a gap in global pandemic preparedness - read more at: https://slguardian.org/ebola-diagnostics-failures-expose-global-blind-spots-in-pandemic-preparedness/

The UNDRR has made Barcelona a pilot city for increasing small business resilience: https://www.undrr.org/news/when-small-businesses-restart-cities-recover-how-barcelona-built-sme-resilience-ecosystem-and?utm_source=UNDRR+Newsletter&utm_campaign=5eaca37f17-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_03_25_12_52_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-7806e06393-516459685

🚢Finally, Human-to-Human transmission of the Hantavirus has been confirmed on the MV Hondius https://en.mercopress.com/2026/05/12/labs-across-three-continents-confirm-passenger-to-passenger-spread-on-hantavirus-cruise

If you would like to learn more about Hantavirus see our interview with Professor Zeenah Atwan! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4Lic92oLMU

This week's content curated by: Rama Aowidah, WHOCC Health Comms Intern & Rachel Barker, WHOCC Communications Officer

04/06/2026

🌍 WHA79 Recap #4 — Promote Health

The 79th World Health Assembly highlighted the importance of promoting health through stronger preparedness, more equitable systems, and renewed trust in science.

This included action on radiation and health, the adoption of the Economics of Health for All Strategy 2026–2030, and a strategic discussion on tackling health mis- and disinformation.

These discussions remind us that health promotion is not only about individual behaviour. It also requires resilient systems, informed communities, cross-sectoral collaboration, and policies that place health and wellbeing at the centre of decision-making.

04/06/2026

Blood Donation Drive | 17, 18, and 21 June | Register to donate

We are pleased to share details of an upcoming Blood Donation Drive organised in collaboration with the African Caribbean Society, as part of efforts to encourage more people to donate blood and increase the number of Black heritage donors. Giving blood saves lives. Your donation can be a lifeline in an emergency and for people who need long-term treatment. Blood donation remains urgently needed across the NHS....

01/06/2026

🚭 World No To***co Day this year is a very special one, given the recent news of the passing of the generational smoking ban here in the UK.

Today, we come to you with a question: Could a smoke-free generation become reality?

Traditional smoking rates continue to decline globally, and policymakers face a new challenge: how to protect young people from new, youth-targeted ni****ne products?

Could this new policy reduce smoking uptake among young people? Could it improve population health in the long term? And what role should emerging ni****ne products play in this conversation?

This World No To***co Day, we're exploring the evidence and the questions that remain.

🎙 We are also inviting you to revisit our previous post regarding the topic and hear from Professor Prof Lisa McNally, Worcestershire County Council Director of Public Health, Collaborator, and Honorary Professor at the University of Birmingham.

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7457836586957717505

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

🚭 Material and post prepared by Karolina Cieścińska, Medical student at Medical University of Gdańsk and WHO CC Intern & Celine Tabche, FHEA, ANtr

📹 Interview and video editing done by Kendall McBride, MPH student at Imperial College London and WHOCC Intern
Watch the full interview on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/dSWdnaiY

Learn more about our team of experts at the WHOCC: https://lnkd.in/edFrJwB3

***coDay Imperial College London World Health Organization (WHO) World Health Organization (Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office) Quit Smoking Support Group The Guardian BBC News BBC Sky News