Global Health Matters

What did the World Health Summit 2026 reveal about the future of global health? Despite growing geopolitical tensions, funding challenges and uncertainty, the summit brought a renewed sense of optimism and determination to reshape global health. In this episode, host Garry Aslanyan is joined by Carsten Schicker , CEO of the World Health Summit, and Ilona Kickbusch , Co-Chair of the World Health Su...

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Climate change is placing growing pressure on health systems around the world, but its impacts do not happen in isolation. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, climate risks intersect with water scarcity, conflict, instability and existing pressures on health services. How can health systems prepare for these challenges while continuing to meet the needs of communities today? And wha...

Childhood cancer is one of the most treatable cancers — in wealthy countries, more than 80% of children survive. Yet in much of the world, a child's chances depend not on the disease but on where they are born. In parts of Nigeria, a child with cancer may have only a 30% chance of survival. So what stands between children and the survival we know is possible? What does it take to deliver qual...

Who gets to read the science, and who pays for it? Fresh back from summer (tans included),  Garry Aslanyan and co-hosts  Catherine Kyobutungi and Ricardo Baptista Leite return for the fifth installment of The Inside Track . This time they're joined by special guest Ashley Farley , Senior Officer for Knowledge and Research Services in Global Health at the Gates Foundation, to dig into open acc...

"Trailblazers with Garry" is a series from Global Health Matters, where host Garry Aslanyan sits down with trailblazers — thinkers, leaders, and influencers shaping the future of global health — for short face-to-face conversations, available in both audio and video formats. It’s a chance to get to know the people behind the work and hear their perspectives on the current global health l...

In this video trailer, Host Garry Aslanyan shares a mid‑season update on Season 5 of Global Health Matters , highlighting the four types of episodes the show now offers — Signature deep‑dives, Dialogue interviews, Trailblazers recorded during his travels, and the newest format, The Inside Track. He also announces that video versions of two episode types will soon be available on Apple Podcasts, Sp...

Building stronger health systems requires more than technical solutions. It requires understanding the people, relationships and power dynamics that shape health outcomes. As countries work towards more equitable and resilient health systems, how can gender and inclusion become central to research, policymaking and practice? And how can partnerships help ensure that evidence reflects the realities...

In May 2025, the world adopted a landmark agreement to prepare for future pandemics. It was the product of 3 years of negotiation across deep political divisions, including the withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization. How did the countries with the smallest delegations build real influence at the table? How do health leaders keep people's health at the center of a d...

Dialogues is a series from the Global Health Matters podcast that includes interviews with some of the world’s sharpest global health minds and brightest thinkers. The goal of each Dialogue is to go beyond the echo chambers that exist in global health and to have in-depth conversations with guests who have explored global health issues from their multi-disciplinary perspectives. In this episode of...

In global health, control means keeping a disease in check and accepting that some cases will remain. Zero is a different proposition altogether: it demands that every village, every community and every child is equally worth reaching. Only smallpox has ever been eradicated, and the diseases closest to that line are held back by conflict, funding pressure and fading public memory. So what does it...

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming health systems, creating new opportunities to improve disease surveillance, diagnostics and decision-making. Yet as AI becomes more integrated into healthcare, important questions remain. How do we ensure these technologies are designed responsibly? How can they strengthen health systems without reinforcing existing inequalities? And what role should...

The Safeguarding Health in Conflict coalition recently published a report that documented 232 health workers killed, more than 700 incidents where health facilities were damaged and almost 300 health personnel kidnapped in 2022.  This episode dives into the circumstances and risks health workers face in conflict settings. Host Garry Aslanyan speaks to a health worker who has been on the frontline...

Across more than four decades, HIV has driven some of the most remarkable scientific progress — and most powerful activism — that global health has ever seen. Today, ending AIDS is within reach. Yet funding is being cut and political priorities are shifting. As the response shifts from emergency footing toward long-term, chronic care, what risks are being left behind? In this episode, host Garry A...

In this episode we explore the multifaceted history of global health and how the narratives borne out of colonization, geopolitical events, and national ownership of public health inform policy and practices today. Among the narratives is that of the World Health Organization, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.  Host Garry Aslanyan navigates global health history with two guests....

Neste episódio, Garry se sentou para uma segunda conversa em português com Marcus Lacerda na sede da OMS, em Genebra. Marcus assumiu a direção do TDR em março de 2026, vindo da Fiocruz Amazônia e da Fundação de Medicina Tropical Doutor Heitor Vieira Dourado, no Brasil. Médico infectologista e pesquisador em medicina tropical, ele tem uma trajetória que influenciou profundamente as estratégias de e...

Can global health serve an increasingly fragmented world? That’s the question Garry Aslanyan asks co-hosts  Catherine Kyobutungi and Ricardo Baptista Leite in the latest installment of “The Inside Track.” And this time, the trio is joined by special guest Tenu Avafia , Deputy Executive Director of Unitaid. Their conversation spans AI governance, geopolitics, and access to health. From the mismatch...

"Trailblazers with Garry" is a series from Global Health Matters, where host Garry Aslanyan sits down with trailblazers — thinkers, leaders, and influencers shaping the future of global health — for short face-to-face conversations, available in both audio and video formats. It’s a chance to get to know the people behind the work and hear their perspectives on the current global health l...

In this episode of Dialogues, we learn how courage can turn a hospital basement into a symbol of defiance . Host Garry Aslanyan is joined by Dr Amani Ballour, a Syrian paediatrician and the first female doctor of a hospital in a Syrian war zone. For six years, she worked in an underground hospital, treating the wounded, the starving and the survivors of chemical attacks. She tells her story in her...

How can scientists and diplomats work together to advance the global health agenda?   Ilona Kickbusch, who founded the Global Health Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute, reflects on her experiences working within science diplomacy and the importance of having strong evidence to be able to reach a diplomatic consensus. She also urges scientists to initiate dialogue with policy-makers and diplom...

Host Garry Aslanyan poses the question at the heart of the latest Inside Track conversation: in 2026, after everything COVID-19 taught us, are we genuinely better prepared for the next pandemic-like event? It's the question that sets the tone for a frank conversation with Catherine Kyobutungi and Ricardo Baptista Leite   — covering vaccine manufacturing in Africa, the politics of preparedness...

For decades, international NGOs have been central pillars of global health and humanitarian response efforts. But with aid budgets shrinking, trust eroding and local civil society organizations demonstrating the power of proximity every day, the model is under scrutiny. Who gets to lead? Who gets to decide? And what would more equitable, locally grounded  international cooperation actually look li...

The Inside Track is a new series from Global Health Matters offering context, clarity and foresight that you won’t find in traditional news shows. Each episode brings host Garry Aslanyan together with two recurring voices: Catherine Kyobutungi, who brings insight from the frontlines of health research and policy in Africa, and Ricardo Baptista Leite, a physician and global thinker on health, polit...

Global Health Matters is the monthly podcast from TDR, if you like our content then please subscribe. We embrace the fact that public health and global health are intertwined and through our podcast we hope to engage with broader topics bringing together experts from across the globe providing a platform for wider engagement.      For this episode we bring you a topic that rarely reaches the top o...

Dialogues is a series from the Global Health Matters podcast where we bring you interviews featuring fresh perspectives on global health issues. The goal of each Dialogues episode is to break through the echo chambers that exist in global health through in-depth, thoughtful conversations. For this episode, we turn to language, memory and the threads that connect pandemics and people across time. H...