A new oral drug that could simplify treatment for sleeping sickness has received a positive scientific opinion from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), raising hopes for faster elimination of the deadly disease in Africa.

Bangladesh is widely recognised as a global success story in public health. Over the past few decades, the country has made remarkable progress in reducing maternal and child mortality, expanding immunisation coverage and increasing life expectancy.

A new multi-country initiative aimed at improving maternal health and nutrition across Africa has been launched with an initial investment of $54 million from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF).

Bangladesh’s Child Health Research Foundation (CHRF) has received a prestigious Wellcome Discovery Award to investigate severe viral pneumonia in children, marking a significant milestone for the country’s biomedical research landscape.

Smoking traditional cigarettes or using e-cigarettes may significantly raise the risk of high blood pressure, according to new research that adds to growing concerns about nicotine use.

WD2026 centers community-led, feminist solutions grounded in lived experience, dignity, and long-term resilience. The Conference will show and celebrate approaches that invest in what works at the community level, alongside concurrent sessions focused on advancing community-led solutions.

As the world marks International Women’s Day 2026 under the theme “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls”, Women Deliver is calling for changes in how global systems operate and how power and resources are distributed.

Dr Maliha Khan, President and CEO of Women Deliver, speaks to Dr Tareq Salahuddin of The Daily Star about decolonising aid, defending gender justice, and why the next decade could redefine global cooperation.

Digestive diseases range from common problems such as acidity and ulcers to life-threatening cancers of the stomach, pancreas and colon. During a recent visit to Dhaka, Clin Associate Professor Christopher Khor Jen Lock, Senior Consultant Gastroenterologist at Singapore General Hospital, spoke to The Daily Star about modern endoscopic procedures, cancer prevention, lifestyle risks, and how artificial intelligence is reshaping gastroenterology.

Bangladesh continues to face a disproportionately high burden of head and neck cancers, many of which are detected late. During two separate visits to Dhaka, Dr Szymon Mikulski, Consultant Head and Neck Surgeon at Singapore General Hospital, spoke at length about early warning signs, lifestyle risks, advances in treatment, and why timely diagnosis can make the difference between cure and lifelong disability.

Since the last Women Deliver Conference in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2023 (WD2023), the global gender equality landscape has shifted sharply. Across regions, movements are facing widening pressure on rights and civic space while also accelerating movement-building, cross-border collaboration and youth leadership in response.

Dr William Herbert Foege, a lifelong servant of medicine and public health, was born on 12 March 1936 in Decorah, Iowa, United States. He was not only a physician but also an epidemiologist, public health leader, scientist, and global vaccine expert. He helped lead humanity to one of its greatest collective achievements: the eradication of smallpox. He passed away at the age of 89 on 24 January 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.

During his recent visit to Dhaka, Clinical Associate Professor Doric Wong, a Singapore-based ophthalmologist and retinal specialist, spoke to The Daily Star about common retinal diseases, advances in eye care, and why early screening can save sight.

Women Deliver has today announced the first speakers confirmed for the Women Deliver 2026 Conference (WD2026), taking place in Narrm (Melbourne) from 27–30 April 2026.

IAS 2027, the 14th IAS Conference on HIV Science, will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, and virtually from 11 to 15 July 2027, IAS – the International AIDS Society – announced.

Consultations to create a global Feminist Playbook - organized by Women Deliver and its vast network of partners - are responding to growing political pressure on gender equality and human rights, with feminist leaders, movements and communities across regions describing the process as timely and urgently needed.

In a powerful confluence of music, memory, and mission, the Cancer Connect Initiative Foundation (CCI Foundation) successfully hosted “Harmony of Hope: Concert for Cancer Connect”, a landmark fundraising concert aimed at supporting cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers across Bangladesh.

During his recent visit to Dhaka, Prof Brian Goh Kim Poh, a senior Singaporean specialist with extensive experience in hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) and transplant surgery, spoke to The Daily Star about liver and pancreatic diseases, their growing public-health relevance, and the importance of prevention, early diagnosis, and system-level preparedness.

A recent study published in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Ju-Young Shin at Sungkyunkwan University, Republic of Korea, and colleagues suggests that early life antibiotic exposure is not associated with an increased risk of autoimmune diseases in children.

The second WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine, jointly organised with the Government of India, concluded on December 22, 2025, in New Delhi, marking a major milestone for global health as it drew over 16,000 online registrations and brought together 800 delegates from more than 100 countries, including ministers from over 20 nations.