Editorial: WHO Needs Funding, Not Scapegoating (Seattle Times, Quotes Judd Walson

Congress must quickly reverse President Donald Trump’s defunding of the World Health Organization.

This should be a bipartisan priority, to provide U.S. leadership in combating the worldwide pandemic and support WHO’s broader, ongoing global-health mission.

The WHO made errors in its initial response to the coronavirus but so did Trump, who is scapegoating and undermining a critical health organization when it’s desperately needed to save lives.

DGH Faculty Receive Grants from Population Health Initiative

With its Population Health Initiative, the University of Washington annually distributes research grant funding for one-of-a-kind projects that address unique health challenges here in Washington and around the world. This year, three of the awarded research teams include faculty members from the Department of Global Health: Peter Rabinowitz, Charles Mock, James Pfeiffer, Rachel Chapman, and Steve Gloyd.

Africa Needs Afrocentric Solutions to Beat COVID-19 (Seattle Times - Written by Kingsley Ndoh)

While the U.S. and Europe battle to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, I can’t help but think about how Africa will cope when it becomes the next epicenter. Based on the three-month-old data that we have about the virus and its spread, guidelines on prevention, containment and mitigation have been set by the World Health Organization (WHO). So far, several African governments have adopted the U.S. and European approach that is centered on lockdowns, social distancing and frequent hand washing with soap and water.

Senior Community Protected in 'Outbreak that Didn’t Happen' (Study led by Alison Roxby)

Newly reported research findings may help in detecting and preventing the spread of COVID19 at independent and assisted living community for senior adults.

One of the valuable lessons from the study at an affected retirement center in Seattle:  Health-professionals should not rely solely on symptoms to determine if an older adult should receive a lab test for the coronavirus.

Now is the Time for a National Public Health Reserve (The Hill - Co-Authored by Alison Drake)

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, health departments had limited staff, resources and time to support the diverse public health needs of our communities. This system will be further strained as the epidemic grows. We must immediately create a national public health reserve to shore up public health systems. 

Kristie Ebi Receives Honorary, Lifetime NASEM Title

Kristie Ebi of the University of Washington School of Public Health was recently designated a National Associate of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, an honorary title that recognizes Ebi’s extraordinary service to help provide analysis and advice to the government and the public on matters of science, engineering and medicine.

Pages