inequality

The U.S. Presidential Malaria Initiative is a project that has been in place since 2005 to reduce malaria cases and deaths in Africa. The Donald Trump administration has halted some of its services and questioned its continuity. Now, a team has analyzed the possible consequences in 27 of the most affected countries on the continent. According to their estimates, some 104,000 deaths and around 13.6 million cases would be avoided if full funding were maintained. The results are published in The Lancet.  

US President Donald Trump has announced that all goods imported into the United States will be subject to a 10 % tariff. In the case of goods from the European Union, this will increase to 20 %, according to the executive order signed by Trump, which will affect the EU's science and health industry. This tariff will be even higher with other trading partners. The measure will not affect pharmaceuticals for the time being.

Cuts in international HIV funding could cause between 4.4 million and 10.8 million new HIV infections between 2025 and 2030 in 26 low- and middle-income countries. In addition, these funding reductions could result in between 770,000 and 2.9 million HIV-related deaths, according to a study published in The Lancet HIV. Five countries that together provide more than 90% of funding for international HIV interventions - the US, UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands - have announced reductions in funding between now and 2026, the article explains. This includes the immediate suspension, in January 2025, of US funding, which accounted for nearly three-quarters of the total.

On Tuesday the European Commission presented the draft of its new Critical Medicines Act. Its objective is to address the serious shortage of medicines and healthcare products, reduce external dependence on critical medicines and ingredients — especially from Asia — and guarantee the supply of affordable medicines in the European Union.

One study suggests that conservation efforts are concentrated around a small number of charismatic species, such as elephants. However, there are undervalued species, such as fungi, plants and invertebrates, that are critical to the functioning of ecosystems. The research, published in the journal PNAS, analysed more than 14,000 conservation projects spanning a 25-year period - from 1992 to 2016. Of the nearly $2 billion allocated by the projects, 83% went to vertebrates. Plants and invertebrates each received 6.6% of the funding, while fungi and algae received less than 0.2%.

An international team has analysed data on the incidence and mortality of breast cancer in 185 countries. In 2022, 2.3 million new cases and 670,000 deaths were recorded and, with this trend, it is predicted that by 2050 these figures will increase by 38% and 68% respectively, particularly affecting low-income countries. Although the mortality rate fell in 30 of the 46 countries studied over the last ten years, only seven of them met the WHO targets of reducing it by at least 2.5% each year. The results are published in the journal Nature Medicine.

Every 11 February is celebrated as World Medical Women's Day, which coincides with the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, although its commemoration refers to Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to obtain a medical degree in the USA, in 1849. More than a century and a half later, despite the increasing number of women graduates, inequalities persist in the profession, especially in senior positions.

The report Participation of women scientists as expert sources in the media: motivations and obstacles, carried out by FECYT's SMC España with the Gureiker research group (UPV/EHU) analyses the data from a survey, a pioneer in Spain, on the factors that influence the media participation of scientists as expert voices. All the people contacted as information sources by the SMC Spain team were surveyed over a three-month period, starting in March 2024. Of the sources consulted, 43.91% were women and 56.09% were men. However, of the total number of people who accepted SMC's proposals and appeared as sources, 37.66% were women and 62.34% were men. The greater media exposure of male scientists benefits them for future interventions. In terms of barriers that prevent researchers from speaking in the media, lack of time due to family responsibilities affects female scientists (22.95 % of respondents) more than male scientists (10 %).  

World Cancer Day is celebrated on 4 February. Behind the cases of this disease there are people who, although they have overcome it, bear the burden of the diagnosis years after the end of their treatment. Survivors demand the right to be forgotten so as not to suffer financial, employment and social discrimination.

The new US president, Donald Trump, announced on his first day that the country will leave the World Health Organisation (WHO) within the next twelve months. The reasons behind the decision, according to him, are the ‘mismanagement of the covid-19 pandemic and other global health crises’, as well as ‘disproportionate payments compared to other countries’ dues’.