Global Health Matters

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 of recent conflict in Sudan. Their testimony is discussed with Susannah Sirkin, former Director of Policy at Physicians for Human Rights, and Samer Jabbour, a cardiologist who has worked in the area of conflict in health since war broke out i...

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 Aslanyan explores this question and more with two guests who bring deeply complementary perspectives. Magda Robalo is a public health physician and President and co-founder of the Institute for Global Health and Development, who has served as G...

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. Sanjoy Bhattacharya considers the decolonization of global health and the democratic founding of WHO, which holds great promise for WHO’s future. Anne-Emanuelle Birn speaks about the evolution of global health and the rise of other key pla...

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 eliminação da malária e, de forma mais ampla, o campo da saúde global.

Nascido em Taguatinga, no entorno de Brasília, Marcus relembra os missionários...

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 between how AI is built and who it's built for, to the normalization of hate eroding global solidarity, to the rise of regional institutions like Africa CDC and the African Medicines Agency — this episode maps a global health landscape genuinely...

"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 landscape.

 For this episode, Garry sat down with Marcus Lacerda at WHO headquarters in Geneva. Marcus joined TDR as Director in March 2026 from Fiocruz Amazônia and Fundação de Medicina Tropical Doutor Heitor Vieira Dourado in Brazil...

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 memoir, The Cave. Her story has also been told in an Academy Award-nominated documentary. She currently serves as Programme Advocacy Officer at the Syrian American Medical Society...

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 diplomats. 

Aída Mencía Ripley, Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at Universidad Iberoamericana in the Dominican Republic, shares an insightful case study of how diplomacy enabled researchers at her university to contribute to the...

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, and why the gap between intent and action remains stubbornly wide. The guests also discuss a recent publication on the carcinogenicity of e-cigarettes.

Related episode documents, transcripts and other information can be found on our website.

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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 like? In this episode, host Garry Aslanyan explores these questions with two guests who bring deeply complementary perspectives. Deborah Doane is a Partner at Rights CoLab and the convener of The Ringo Project, an initiative dedicated to reimagining international NGOs so t...

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, politics and AI. Together, they unpack the headlines with candid conversations grounded in lived experience. If you work in global health and want a better understanding of what’s happening, why it matters and what to watch out...

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 of the global health agenda, that is the subject of the health of refugees and migrants.  This podcast episode lays out the key issues for the listener and through our guests it b...

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. Host Garry Aslanyan is joined by Laura Spinney, a science journalist, novelist and author of two books -- "Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World" and "Proto: The Hidden Origins...

In our first episode of The Inside Track, we examine the fragile state of information integrity in global health. Host Garry Aslanyan and recurring expert-pundits Catherine Kyobutungi and Ricardo Baptista Leite unpack how misinformation spreads, why trust erodes and what responsibility health leaders carry in this environment. We explore how perception, belief and narrative shape public understanding — especially in the wake of COVID-19. We also react to a recent Guardian article linking climate change to chikungunya in Europe, questioning why warnings so often fail to translate into sustained action. We close with some gratitude — spotlighting promising innovations and leadership, and r...

“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 landscape.

For this Trailblazer episode, Garry met up with Ntobeko Ntusi in Cape Town, South Africa. Ntobeko has been president and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council since 2024 after serving as Head of the Departme...

Across the global health landscape, governments are facing mounting debt, development assistance is under pressure and the gap between ambition and available resources continues to widen. So how do we mobilize resources differently? What does innovative finance look like? And which approaches are truly scalable, equitable and fit for today's realities? To explore these questions, host Garry Aslanyan speaks with two leaders who have spent decades working at the intersection of health, finance and global cooperation. Christoph Benn is Director for Global Health Diplomacy at Joep Lange Institute. He's a physician who has played a central role in shaping...

"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 landscape.

For this episode, Garry sat down with Axel Pries during the World Health Summit in Berlin in October 2025. Axel is the President of the World Health Summit, based in Germany. He is a medical doctor by tra...

Brain health influences whether people can live productive and meaningful lives and whether the economies of countries can thrive. In this episode, host Garry Aslanyan is joined by two pioneers who advocate not only for brain health, but also for brain capital and the brain economy. George Vredenburg is the founding chairman of the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative, a global public-private initiative focusing on linking and scaling Alzheimer's and brain health research and delivery systems worldwide. Joining him is Rajinder Dhamija, distinguished neurologist, Professor of neurology and Director at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences in New De...

“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 landscape.

 For this episode, Garry visited Professor John Gyapong at the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) in Accra, Ghana. Since taking up the role of Secretary General of ARUA in 2024, John has been passionately leading efforts to streng...

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. 

In this episode of Dialogues, we take a deeper look at stigma and how often unconsciously we as global health professionals may be perpetuating it. Host  Garry Aslanyan is joined by Alex Brewis, Regents and Presidents Professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University, where she previously fo...

Global Health Matters is the monthly podcast from TDR, please subscribe.  GHMs brings you topical subjects and insightful discussions with health experts from across the globe, including a focus on low-to middle-income countries.

Are you a professional looking to progress further or perhaps a global health student at the early stage of your career? There are so many routes to get into a career in global health, so this podcast episode discussion is with two career professionals sharing their knowledge of how they chose their path and giving clear guidance on ways to get the support needed t...

In partnership with the World Health Summit for an episode recorded live at this year’s meeting in Berlin, host Garry Aslanyan sat down with Monica Bharel, Clinical Lead of Public Sector at Google, and Joy Phumaphi, Executive Secretary of the Africa Leaders Malaria Alliance. Global health knowledge sharing is rapidly evolving due to advances in technologies, increased data availability, stronger community engagement and the rise of voices beyond traditional institutions. Joy and Monica shared insights into building a more inclusive global health knowledge ecosystem—one that ensures communities everywhere can benefit from credible information, contribute their perspectives and take...

"Trailblazers with Garry" is a new series from Global Health Matters, where host Dr 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 landscape.

In this Trailblazers episode, host Garry Aslanyan sits down with Lena Nanushyan, First Deputy Minister of Health of the Republic of Armenia to speak about her work to strengthen tobacco control, a commitment that e...

This episode launches Season 5 of Global Health Matters, which will explore the future of global health. In a time of turbulence, transition and transformation, we need diverse voices to help shape what comes next. In this episode, host Garry Aslanyan speaks with two thought leaders: Paola Abril Campos Rivera, Research Professor of health policy at Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico, and Catherine Kyobutungi, Executive Director of the African Population and Health Research Center in Kenya. Together, they explore how global health is being reshaped amid shifting geopolitics, declining aid and the rapid rise of new technologies.

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From climate change and conflict to economic instability, today’s converging global crises are reshaping the landscape of child health. In this episode, host Garry Aslanyan  speaks with two leading voices in global health: Landry Tsague, Director of the Center for Primary Health Care at Africa CDC, and Debra Jackson, Takeda Chair in Global Child Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. They share insights on what should be done to strengthen health systems, empower communities and create conditions where children not only survive, but thrive amid the turbulence of the metacrisis.

Related episode documents, tra...

"Trailblazers with Garry" is a new series from Global Health Matters, where host Dr 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 landscape.

In this Trailblazers episode, Garry sits down with Adalsteinn (Steini) Brown, Dean of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, to talk about the future of public health educat...

In 2021, the World Health Organization made a historic recommendation: to widely use the first ever malaria vaccine, RTS,S. This recommendation was based on evidence generated from a pilot vaccine implementation programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has reached more than 800 000 children since 2019. This is an excellent example of how evidence based on implementation research tells us whether health interventions, such as vaccines, will be effective in real life, after clinical trials show its efficacy and safety. In this episode, Margaret Gyapong of the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ghana shares her first-hand experiences and learnings...

What are the colonial legacies in global health? And what impact have they had on how some health and health research programmes are run in Africa? In this episode, we speak to two visionary women leaders who tell us what’s wrong in global health and give concrete steps toward more equitable and inclusive partnerships. 

Host Garry Aslanyan speaks with the following guests:

Catherine Kyobutungi, Executive Director of the African Population and Health Research Center in KenyaAgnes Binagwaho, Vice Chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda

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