A WHO/UNICEF joint report, published earlier this week, found that only half of all health facilities around the world met the criteria for having basic hand hygiene services– a figure that drops to 32% in least developed countries (LDCs). Globally, 3.85 billion people receive care from a facility that lacks basic hygiene service. According to the report, 78% of health facilities, and 53% of health facilities in LDCs, have basic water service from an improved water source, leaving 1.7 billion people without basic water service at the point of care. Recently published research, including the WHO/UNICEF report, has highlighted the importance that … Continue reading Poor Hygiene in Health Services. Time for Commitments on Infection Prevention and Control?

On the formation and roles of categories in the global health industry – the case of digital health By Robert D. Smith Throughout the past decade, and particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘digital health’ has seen an increase in interest and funding from a variety of actors. The World Health Organization has a digital health strategy, many nations have national digital health strategies, a plethora of global health organizations focus exclusively or in part on digital health, The Lancet and Financial Times Commissioned a report on digital health, hundreds of companies claim to focus on digital health and raise millions in investments. Beyond global health organizations, … Continue reading What does the global health industry mean by “digital health” and why it matters?