NYU GPH Journal of Public Health Disasters
A student-led journal driven by the latest research in public health disaster preparedness and management.
On August 14, 2003, 50 million people across the eastern United States and Canada lost power. The outage lasted anywhere from two hours to up to four days, with hundreds of thousands of people stranded without access to major communication outlets.
Continue reading “Emily Carbajal’s Case Study on the Blackout of 2003”
Nigeria’s healthcare system faces a troubling crisis as hospitals unlawfully detain newborns and their mothers over unpaid medical bills. This practice, which disproportionately affects low-income families, raises serious ethical concerns and exposes vulnerable infants to severe health risks. Despite efforts to expand health insurance coverage, gaps in implementation continue to leave many without protection, allowing this issue to persist.
Continue reading “Trapped at Birth: The Unlawful Detention of Newborns in Nigerian Hospitals”
In November 2024, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) used its disaster insurance policy for the first time to respond to a series of natural disasters in Asia and Africa. The alarming increased frequency and severity of such extreme weather events and disasters comes with the paralleled increased cost of emergency response mechanisms.
Continue reading “Red Cross Files First-Ever Insurance-Backed Payout”
Introduction: West Africa experienced the largest and longest-known Ebola epidemic from 2013 to 2016. In August 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the situation a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), and by the time the epidemic was declared over in June 2016, there were 28,610 reported cases and 11,308 deaths. The scope of the epidemic revealed the inadequacies of many West African countries’ modern healthcare systems and indicated the need for better global health security.
Continue reading “Angela Dai’s Case Study on Ebola Outbreak in Western Africa”
One on top of the other, Cuba has been burdened with multiple emergencies. Last November, the citizens of Cuba faced “two hurricanes (Oscar, Category 1, and Rafael, Category 3) and two earthquakes (magnitudes 5.9 and 6.8)” that led to flooding disasters and the disruption of healthcare and food/water services. The country has been in a continuous fight with the Dengue and Oropouche epidemics, now being exacerbated by the recent natural disasters. The crises that Cuba is facing are increasing the gap between socioeconomic levels, further aggravating Cuba’s socioeconomic crisis.
Continue reading “Cuba’s Perfect Storm: The Burden of a Socioeconomic Crisis on Health”
From 2014 to 2016, the world’s first and largest Ebola epidemic occurred in West Africa. An estimated 28,600 cases and 11,300 deaths occurred across 10 countries during the two years. The U.S.’s CDC played a key role in managing the outbreak from abroad, while limiting domestic cases and fatalities.
Continue reading “Olivia Morris’ Case Study on the Ebola Epidemic “
The H5N1 virus, commonly known as bird flu, is disrupting the dairy industry and prompting concerns about a potential outbreak. While the virus has primarily affected poultry in the past, its recent spread to cattle and documented cases in humans signal a growing epidemiological challenge. As for now, the bird flu has caught the public eye through its impact on egg prices, sensationalized by potential correlations to recent layoffs in public health agencies and promises by the current administration under President Donald Trump.
Continue reading “Bird Flu Hits Dairy Industry, Sounds Alarms in Public Health”
Over 900 people fell ill from mystery “Disease X” between October and December 2024 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This unknown virus circulated throughout the country, specifically in rural regions, putting many people without easy access to healthcare facilities at risk. The circulation of this disease resulted in 48 deaths, underscoring the urge to enhance primary healthcare (PHC).
Continue reading “Democratic Republic of Congo Hit with ‘Disease X’”
Health professionals—from seasoned veterans to newly trained medical students—are fleeing Sudan at an alarming rate. At the root of this mass migration lies the destructive effects of the Sudanese civil war, which has already displaced over 11 million people since the conflict first unfolded in April 2023, while more than 3 million have fled Sudan. Hospitals have been bombed, medical schools shuttered, and humanitarian aid obstructed, forcing Sudan’s healthcare workers to seek opportunities elsewhere, often turning to adjacent countries.
Continue reading “Sudan’s Civil War Force Mass Departure of Medical Workers”
In 2016, the multidrug-resistant fungal strain of Candida auris reappeared in the U.S., being traced back to a case in 2013. As of January 2025, nearly 3,000 cases have been reported in New York. A particular surge of cases during the COVID-19 pandemic led to many improvements in case screening and management by the New York Department of Health.
Continue reading “Natalia Ramon’s Case Study on the New York C. Auris Outbreak”