Lancet

I spent most of my 2010 wedding day in the emergency ward of my local hospital. Instead of exchanging vows, I was desperately trying to convince the doctors there not to call elder protective services regarding the woman who was about to become my mother-in-law. She had been preparing for the marriage of her youngest son for weeks. Between cooking for more than 200 guests, pressing all the wedding finery, and trying to educate the American bride who would be joining her family on Vietnamese traditions, she kept telling us she was “so tired”.

Dec 8, 2024, marked the end of the five-decade long regime of Bashir al-Assad and the Assad family in Syria, characterised by systemic repression, human rights abuses, and crimes against humanity.1 After the protests of 2011, Assad's response involved indiscriminate bombings, targeting of health-care facilities and health-care workers, and the use of internationally prohibited chemical weapons, triggering one of the worst humanitarian crises since World War 2.1

Bashar al-Assad, an ophthalmologist who graduated from Damascus University (Syria) and specialised at the Western Eye Hospital in London (UK), had a sudden career shift to politics and became Syria's President in 2000 following the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad.1 Despite his medical training, which undoubtedly included ethics education, his actions while at the helm of a 24-year presidency reflected a complete abandonment of any medical ethics he once learned. His leadership was marked by authoritarian rule and a 13-year long civil war, concluding with the Fall of Damascus by a coalition of opposition groups on Dec 8, 2024.

The outbreak of an undiagnosed disease in DR Congo, reported by WHO on Dec 8, 2024,1 is a pressing global health concern that demands swift and coordinated action. As of Dec 5, 406 cases and 31 deaths have been reported in the Panzi health zone in Kwango province, with influenza-like symptoms and anaemia. Most affected individuals are children aged younger than 5 years, many of whom are severely malnourished.

Spatial repellents have been used as commercial household bite prevention products since the early 1900s, but significant research into their application for public health only began in the 2000s. Spatial repellents have since evolved from formats requiring frequent replacement (daily or weekly) and external energy sources (such as mosquito coils, or fan–heat assisted release) to spatial emanator formats that passively dispense the active ingredient for months without heat or combustion. This makes them more suitable for public health use as they do not require electricity or regular compliance.

On Nov 22, 2024, WHO identified that mpox remains a global health crisis.1 Meanwhile, financing for pandemic preparedness and response is in a permanent state of emergency. A revolving fund model could offer an alternative solution. The current approach embodied in The Pandemic Fund has three main limitations. First, most beneficiaries are not investors in the fund. The Pandemic Fund has attracted new donors, such as China, India, and Indonesia, and requires the countries receiving funds to match resources; however, the absence of direct investment from beneficiaries reduces their sense of ownership and the impetus for domestic resource mobilisation.

Our trial provides the first evidence of a demonstrative spatial repellent protective efficacy in reducing risk of malaria infection in an African setting characterised by high malaria transmission, pyrethroid resistant malaria vectors, and high coverage of insecticide treated nets. Results support spatial repellent products as a beneficial component of malaria prevention.

With global measles cases surging more than 20% in a year, the spectre of an anti-vaccine leader like Robert F Kennedy Junior at the helm of US health policy has alarmed public health experts. Kennedy, a well-known vaccine sceptic, has long promoted dangerous misconceptions about vaccines, and his influence could worsen an already dire situation.

Africa's low COVID-19 mortality rates concealed important vulnerabilities, including poor health infrastructure and manufacturing constraints,1 highlighting the need for a proactive, continent-wide pandemic response. The emphasis on local solutions to global health challenges was a crucial reason for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to declare mpox a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security.2 A coordinated and cost-effective continental response platform was created to achieve the 6-month pandemic control goal,3 adopting the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations' 100 Days Mission monitoring framework.

The search for effective therapies in ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory condition affecting the colon and rectum with a relapsing–remitting course, has been a long and challenging journey, especially for patients who do not reach remission with the current treatment options. Therapeutic limitations, such as the therapeutic ceiling, especially for bio-exposed patients, and the loss of response over time with long-term remission rates below 50% with advanced therapies, highlight the complexity of treating ulcerative colitis.

Guselkumab was effective and safe as induction and maintenance therapy in patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis.

In November, 2024, the UK Parliament voted to support the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.1 The bill would allow terminally ill adults with a prognosis of less than 6 months to request and be provided with assistance to end their lives. This bill is now at the Committee Stage of the parliamentary process and is expected to continue its passage to eventually become law. This change to UK law will have far-reaching impacts for death, dying, and palliative and end-of-life care for UK citizens.