There is a women’s health crisis in this country. And it is about to get much worse. The United States has the highest rates of maternal mortality in the industrialized world. Women are twice as likely to die from complications of pregnancy or childbirth in the U.S. than in Canada or the United Kingdom. For … Continue reading “The crisis of maternal mortality”
The scientific and political elite have long assumed that the global North is the best place to develop solutions for challenges in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. In an era of overwhelming global challenges, the worlds of science and public health can no longer afford this arrogance. People in the global North must stop … Continue reading “The global South deserves respect—and support”
The leaked opinion did not mince words. Roe v. Wade “was egregiously wrong from the start,” Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito wrote. Therefore, “it must be overruled.” No. Roe v. Wade was not egregiously wrong. Here’s what is: Denying women the right to control their own bodies. Stripping pregnant people of access to fundamental health … Continue reading “An egregious wrong”
Recently I spoke to a global network of nurses and midwives from more than 800 organizations in 80 countries. They are all members the Nursing Now Challenge, a movement to empower early-career nurses and midwives as the health leaders of the future—as agents of change It’s a movement I fervently believe in. Nurses and midwives … Continue reading “A seat at the table for nurses and midwives”
The Presidential Committee on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery has released a powerful report surfacing obscured, forgotten, and ignored revelations about Harvard’s deep entanglement with the institution of slavery. Delving into this harrowing material is hard — but grappling with the truth matters. What hit me as I absorbed this painstaking report is how profoundly … Continue reading “The danger of erasure”
A recent headline in the New York Times rang alarm bells for me: “When it comes to living with COVID, businesses are on their own.” That is unacceptable. The pandemic has done immense and irreparable harm around the globe. But if we learn the right lessons, we can build back a society that works better for everyone — a … Continue reading “Business leaders need help shaping the future of work. We’re here for them.”
I’ll begin with a question: How did a Jamaican girl from Queens, the oldest of four children, the daughter of wonderful parents who had no more than nine years of formal education between them, rise to become the first black female dean of a Harvard graduate school? First, I did not get here alone. We … Continue reading “Reflections inspired by International Women’s Day”
Paul Farmer never accepted the status quo. That’s what made him so remarkable. And it’s why his untimely death at age 62 is such an enormous loss for the world. Inequality is status quo. Racism is status quo. The notion that the poor will live in misery and die from diseases that are eminently treatable—that’s … Continue reading “The status quo must not stand”
