Why child-killer diseases like dengue, cholera and mpox have surged worldwide

Special Why child-killer diseases like dengue, cholera and mpox have surged worldwide
A mother holds her son as he receives his daily injection while being treated for mpox at the Kavumu health center in Kabare territory, South Kivu region, DR Congo, on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. (Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Updated 26 January 2025
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Why child-killer diseases like dengue, cholera and mpox have surged worldwide

Why child-killer diseases like dengue, cholera and mpox have surged worldwide
  • Three child-killer diseases witnessed major resurgences in 2024, fuelled partly by climate crises and conflict
  • Poor sanitation, displacement, and war-damaged infrastructure left millions vulnerable to fatal illnesses

DUBAI: When the UN launched the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, it set out a bold action plan to eliminate premature death and needless suffering caused by preventable diseases by 2030.

With just five years to go, the world appears to be moving backwards. Indeed, 2024 actually witnessed an alarming surge in a triad of preventable or manageable child-killer diseases.

Dengue, cholera and mpox returned with a vengeance, claiming the lives of thousands of children. With their weaker immune systems, the young are particularly vulnerable to infection and often fatal complications.





Bangladeshi children suffering from dengue fever rest at a ward at the Mugda Medical College and Hospital in Dhaka on August 8, 2019. (AFP file)

This multifaceted health emergency has compounded the suffering of already stricken communities in impoverished countries and conflict zones, where climate change, inequality and underfunded health systems have left many without access to basic care or sanitation.

“Currently, about half of the world’s population is not fully covered by essential, quality, affordable health services, denying them their right to health,” said Dr. Revati Phalkey, global health and nutrition director at Save the Children International.

“Health systems are under enormous pressure to deliver universal health coverage, with the majority of countries experiencing worsening or no significant change in service coverage since the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015.”

According to the World Health Organization, dengue fever — a mosquito-borne disease that causes severe fever, pain and in some cases death — saw an alarming spike in 2024.

Dengue cases doubled from 6.65 million in 2023 to 13.3 million in 2024. The total number of dengue-related deaths globally last year was 9,600. The WHO estimates some four billion people are now at risk of dengue related viruses. 




A woman carries her children while workers spray mosquito repellent as part of a prevention campaign against dengue fever in Banda Aceh on January 22, 2025. (AFP)

Children who play outside with limited protection against mosquitoes are often more exposed and therefore more vulnerable to the virus than adults. The absence of mosquito nets where children sleep is also a key contributing factor.

In developing countries in Southeast Asia, parts of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, dengue fever is especially prevalent. Informal settlements in these regions often lack basic infrastructure for waste management, sewage or clean water.




Infographic courtesy of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

These conditions offer a fertile breeding ground for mosquitoes and for the disease to spread. Meanwhile, rising temperatures associated with climate change have expanded the range of mosquito habitats, allowing them to flourish across a wider region.

The spread of dengue, sometimes known as “breakbone fever” due to the severe fatigue it causes, represents “an alarming trend” according to WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebereyesus, with 5 billion people at risk of being infected by 2050.

FASTFACT

13,600

Deaths from dengue, cholera, or mpox in 2024.

Dengue is not the only danger. In Yemen, Sudan and Gaza, where conflict has displaced thousands and destroyed critical civilian infrastructure, cholera has become a major threat to adults and children alike.

A deadly bacterial infection spread through contaminated water, cholera is another consequence of poor sanitation. The infection causes rapid dehydration through severe diarrhea and vomiting, which can quickly lead to death if left untreated.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East released a statement in June warning of a cholera outbreak in the Gaza Strip amid severe water shortages and damage to sanitation services.




A woman and children sit outside tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 8, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (AFP file)

Several UN agencies have issued warnings about the high risk of infectious diseases in overcrowded refugee camps across the Middle East and North Africa, where displaced households have limited access to clean water and proper sanitation.

In Sudan, as of last November, the WHO reported more than 37,514 cholera cases across the country and at least 1,000 deaths. “We are racing against time,” Sheldon Yett, the UN children’s fund representative to Sudan, said in a statement in September.

“We must take decisive action to tackle the outbreaks as well as invest in the health systems underpinning the essential services vulnerable children and families in Sudan so desperately need.”




A health care worker attends to a young patient at a cholera treatment center in Gedaref state, Sudan,  November 2024. (Photo courtesy of UNOCHA / Yao Chen)

Despite efforts by the international community to provide vaccines and clean water, outbreaks in conflict zones have proven difficult to keep under control. The collapse of sanitation services, in particular, has left millions of children vulnerable to the disease.

Although the overall number of cholera cases worldwide fell by 16 percent in 2024, there has been a 126 percent spike in the number of deaths as a result of the disease.

Another health crisis threatening the world’s children is mpox, formerly known as monkeypox. The virus reemerged in 2024 to devastating effect across parts of Africa, with children suffering the most severe consequences.

Once a rare disease confined to rural areas of Central and West Africa, mpox has now become a significant public health crisis with thousands of reported infections, particularly among children under the age of five.

Mpox, contracted through contact with infected people and animals, bodily fluids and contaminated objects, causes fever, rashes, and painful lesions that in turn can lead to other illnesses and afflictions such as pneumonia and blindness.

While it can be controlled using vaccines, such resources remain scarce in parts of Africa. Having already been overwhelmed by Ebola and malaria, the region’s health systems are stretched to the limit, leaving treatment out of reach for thousands of children.

Moreover, poor sanitation, crowded living conditions, and rapid urbanization have increased the risk of transmission.




Dr. Robert Musole, medical director of the Kavumu hospital, visits patients recovering from mpox in the village of Kavumu, 30km north of Bukavu in eastern DR Congo on August 24, 2024. (AFP file)

Children in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo have been the worst affected by the mpox virus, with the WHO declaring the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. Around 75 percent of cases are in children under the age of 10.

The surge in these diseases reflects the broader, interconnected crises faced by the world, where the most vulnerable populations are left with limited means to recover and adapt.

In wealthier countries, child deaths resulting from cholera and dengue have dropped significantly thanks to well-functioning sanitation services and accessible healthcare systems that have weathered the blows of the coronavirus pandemic.




A boy carries a child to receive treatment at a medical centre near a camp for people displaced by conflict in Abs in Yemen's Hajjah province on August 27, 2024. (AFP)

However, in low income countries, particularly those in the midst of conflict, healthcare systems are extremely vulnerable, with medical staff overstretched, medicines in short supply, and wards overwhelmed by the sick and wounded.

The grim reality for millions of children across the world underscores the urgent need for global action.

“We need greater global investments to build strong health systems that are able to deliver essential health services, especially vaccines and essential medicines, while responding to global health emergencies including emerging issues like mpox,” said Dr. Phalkey.




A medic gives the cholera vaccination to a child in the town of Maaret Misrin in the rebel-held northern part of the northwestern Idlib province on March 7, 2023. (AFP

“It is time for governments and the international community to step up and ensure all children are protected against disease and have access to adequate health services when they need them and where they need them.

“Every child has the right to survive and thrive, and it is our collective responsibility to deliver on this.”
 

 


Trump issues orders to promote school choice, end “anti-American” teaching

Trump issues orders to promote school choice, end “anti-American” teaching
Updated 38 sec ago
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Trump issues orders to promote school choice, end “anti-American” teaching

Trump issues orders to promote school choice, end “anti-American” teaching
  • Order prioritizes federal funding for school choice programs
  • Second order aims to block federal funding related to “gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology” in schools

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed executive orders to promote parental choice in school selection and end federal funding for curricula that he called the “indoctrination” of students in “anti-American” ideologies on race and gender.
The two directives, which come a week after Trump was sworn into his second term of office, are in keeping with his campaign promise to remake the country’s education system in line with a rigorous conservative agenda that Democrats say could undermine public schools.
The first order directs the Department of Education to issue guidance on how states can use federal education funds to support “choice initiatives,” without providing further details.
“It is the policy of my Administration to support parents in choosing and directing the upbringing and education of their children,” the president said in the order. “Too many children do not thrive in their assigned, government-run K-12 school.”
His second directive aims to stop schools from using federal funds for curriculum, teacher certification and other purposes related to “gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology.”
“In recent years, however, parents have witnessed schools indoctrinate their children in radical, anti-American ideologies while deliberately blocking parental oversight,” it reads.
Trump and his allies throughout the campaign have accused public schools of teaching white children to be ashamed of themselves and their ancestors due to the country’s history of slavery and discrimination against people of color.
The second order, without evidence, claims that teachers have been “demanding acquiescence” to concepts of “white privilege” or “unconscious bias” and thereby promoting racism and undermining national unity.
The executive order will have a “chilling effect” on subjects related to race and ethnicity in schools, said Basil Smikle Jr., a political strategist.
“I would imagine that it would restrict the kind of reading materials that are even available to students outside of the classroom,” he said.
Although that order does not invoke the term “critical race theory” by name, it employs the language often used by CRT opponents to criticize teaching about institutional racism.
A once-obscure academic concept, the theory has become a fixture in the fierce US debate over how to teach children about the country’s history and structural racism. An academic framework most often taught in law schools but not in primary and secondary schools, it rests on the premise that racial bias — intentional or not — is baked into US laws and institutions.
Conservatives have invoked the term to denounce curricula they consider too liberal or excessively focused on America’s history of racial discrimination. Supporters say understanding institutional racism is necessary to address inequality.
Christina Greer, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University, said the order came as no surprise.
“As a candidate, he said there was radical indoctrination of students,” she said. “He’s making sure to frighten students and educators across the country so they can’t teach the real history of the United States.”
It was not clear how the order issued on Wednesday would affect how the history of race relations is taught in American schools. During his inaugural address last week, Trump criticized education that “teaches our children to be ashamed of themselves — in many cases, to hate our country.”

SCHOOL CHOICE

The first order also directs the US Department of Education to prioritize federal funding for school choice programs, a longstanding goal for conservatives who say public schools are failing to meet academic standards while pushing liberal ideas.
Many Democrats and teachers’ unions, on the other hand, say school choice undermines the public system that educates 50 million US children.
Federal test scores released by the National Assessment of Educational Progress on Wednesday underscored the challenge faced by educators in the wake of widespread learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The scores showed that one-third of eighth graders tested below NAEP’s “basic” reading level, the most in the test’s three-decade history, while some 40 percent of fourth-graders also fell below that basic threshold.
That executive order also directs US states on how they could use block grants to support alternatives to public education, such as private and religious schools.
US education is primarily funded via states and local taxes, with federal sources accounting for about 14 percent of the funding of public K-12 schools, according to Census data.
Trump’s order could affect some $30 billion to $40 billion in federal grants, estimated Frederick Hess, an education expert at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute.
“This stuff is directionally significant,” said Hess, adding that Trump’s directive represented “the most emphatic support for school choice we’ve ever seen at the federal level.”
The first order also calls for allowing military families to use Pentagon funds to send their children to the school of their choosing. It also mandates that Native American families with students in the Bureau of Indian Education be allowed to use federal funds in selecting their schools.
A number of Republican-leaning states have in recent years adopted universal or near-universal school choice policies, paving the way for vouchers or other methods that allocate taxpayer funds for homeschooling or private tuition.
Josh Cowen, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University, said that Trump’s executive order is aimed at sending “an aggressive statement about his position on vouchers” even if his power to reallocate funds is limited.
Cowen said the bigger potential financial impact on education lies with a bill reintroduced in Congress this week that would create a federal school voucher program with an estimated $10 billion in annual tax credits. 


Rohingya refugees stranded on boat off Indonesia

Rohingya refugees stranded on boat off Indonesia
Updated 30 January 2025
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Rohingya refugees stranded on boat off Indonesia

Rohingya refugees stranded on boat off Indonesia
  • Authorities block migrants from disembarking at tourist beach ‘in case they escape’

JAKARTA: At least 75 Rohingya refugees including four children were stranded aboard a migrant boat off the coast of western Indonesia on Wednesday after authorities blocked them from landing at a tourist beach.

Security officers prevented the Rohingya from disembarking at Leuge beach in Aceh province and ordered them to stay aboard the boat. Police were deployed to monitor the beach, while local residents took photos of the boat and provided the refugees with food.
“For now, they are not allowed to disembark, considering today is a public holiday. Many tourist activities are taking place ... there are concerns that they might blend in with the crowd and escape,” local official Rizalihadi said.
“The temporary policy is for them to remain on the boat while waiting for representatives from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration to arrive.”

The Muslim minority Rohingya are persecuted in Myanmar, and thousands risk their lives each year on long and dangerous sea journeys to Malaysia or Indonesia.


Meta agrees to pay $25 million to settle lawsuit from Trump after Jan. 6 suspension

Meta agrees to pay $25 million to settle lawsuit from Trump after Jan. 6 suspension
Updated 30 January 2025
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Meta agrees to pay $25 million to settle lawsuit from Trump after Jan. 6 suspension

Meta agrees to pay $25 million to settle lawsuit from Trump after Jan. 6 suspension

WASHINGTON: Meta has agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against the company after it suspended his accounts following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, according to three people familiar with the matter.
It’s the latest instance of a large corporation settling litigation with the president, who has threatened retribution on his critics and rivals, and comes as Meta and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, have joined other large technology companies in trying to ingratiate themselves with the new Trump administration.
The people familiar with the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity Wednesday to discuss the agreement. Two people said that terms of the agreement include $22 million going to the nonprofit that will become Trump’s future presidential library and the balance going to legal fees and other litigants.
Zuckerberg visited Trump in November at his private Florida club as part of a series of technology, business and government officials to make a pilgrimage to Palm Beach to try to mend fences with the incoming president. At the dinner, Trump brought up the litigation and suggested they try to resolve it, kickstarting two months of negotiations between the parties, the people said.
Meta also made a $1 million donation to Trump’s inaugural committee and Zuckerberg was among several billionaires granted prime seating during Trump’s swearing-in last week in the Capitol Rotunda, along with Google’s Sundar Pichai, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, who now owns the platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ahead of Trump’s inauguration, Meta also announced that it was dropping fact-checking on its platform — a longtime priority of Trump and his allies.
Trump filed the suit months after leaving office, calling the action by the social media companies “illegal, shameful censorship of the American people.”
Twitter, Facebook and Google are all private companies, and users must agree to their terms of service to use their products. Under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, social media platforms are allowed to moderate their services by removing posts that, for instance, are obscene or violate the services’ own standards, so long as they are acting in “good faith.” The law also generally exempts Internet companies from liability for the material that users post.
But Trump and some other politicians have long argued that X, formerly known as Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms, have abused that protection and should lose their immunity — or at least have it curtailed.
The Meta settlement comes after ABC News agreed last month to pay $15 million toward Trump’s presidential library to settle a defamation lawsuit over anchor George Stephanopoulos’ inaccurate on-air assertion that the president-elect had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll.
The network also agreed to pay $1 million in legal fees to the law firm of Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito.
The settlement agreement describes ABC’s presidential library payment as a “charitable contribution,” with the money earmarked for a non-profit organization that is being established in connection with the yet-to-be-built library.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the settlement.


Trump officials discussing tightening curbs on Nvidia’s China sales, sources say

Trump officials discussing tightening curbs on Nvidia’s China sales, sources say
Updated 30 January 2025
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Trump officials discussing tightening curbs on Nvidia’s China sales, sources say

Trump officials discussing tightening curbs on Nvidia’s China sales, sources say
  • Conversations to restrict shipments of those chips to China are in very early stages

US President Donald Trump’s administration is considering tightening restrictions on artificial intelligence leader Nvidia’s sales of its H20 chips designed for the China market, three people familiar with the matter said.
Conversations to restrict shipments of those chips to China are in very early stages among Trump officials, the people said, adding the idea has been under consideration since Democratic former President Joe Biden’s administration. H20 chips can be used to run AI software and were designed to comply with existing US curbs on shipments to China, spearheaded by Biden.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Nvidia said in a statement it is “ready to work with the administration as it pursues its own approach to AI.”
Nvidia shares, which were already down for the day, added slightly to losses after the news, first reported by Bloomberg.
Worries are mounting that China is catching up to the US in AI development after China’s DeepSeek
last week launched a free assistant
it says uses less data at a fraction of the cost of incumbent players’ models, possibly marking a turning point in the level of investment needed for AI.
“This topic has been discussed for more than half a year,” among high-level officials, said Lennart Heim, a researcher at RAND, saying it was a recommendation made during the Biden administration as well. “DeepSeek highlights it,” he added.
Biden, who left office this month, put in place a raft of restrictions barring exports of AI chips to China and capping their shipment to a host of other countries. However, some AI chips, including Nvidia’s H20 can still be lawfully shipped to China.


Trump White House rescinds memo freezing federal money after widespread confusion

Trump White House rescinds memo freezing federal money after widespread confusion
Updated 30 January 2025
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Trump White House rescinds memo freezing federal money after widespread confusion

Trump White House rescinds memo freezing federal money after widespread confusion
  • Although Trump had promised to turn Washington upside down if elected to a second term, the effects of his effort to pause funding were being felt far from the nation’s capital

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s budget office on Wednesday rescinded a memo freezing spending on federal loans and grants, less than two days after it sparked widespread confusion and legal challenges across the country.
The memo, which was issued Monday by the Office of Management and Budget, had frightened states, schools and organizations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington.
Administration officials said the pause was necessary to review whether spending aligned with Trump’s executive orders on issues like climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
But on Wednesday, they sent out a two-sentence notice rescinding the original memo. The reversal was the latest sign that even with unified control of Washington, Trump’s plans to dramatically and rapidly reshape the government has limits.
Administration officials insisted that despite the confusion, their actions still had the intended effect by underscoring to federal agencies their obligations to abide by Trump’s executive orders.
“The Executive Orders issued by the President on funding reviews remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented by all agencies and departments,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, blaming the confusion on the courts and news outlets, not the administration. “This action should effectively end the court case and allow the government to focus on enforcing the President’s orders on controlling federal spending.”
The White House’s change in direction caught Congress off guard, particularly Trump’s Republicans allies who had defended him throughout the brief saga.
“This is Donald Trump. He throws hand grenades in the middle of the room, and then cleans it up afterwards,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota. “I just think the guy’s a genius.”
Cramer acknowledged the initial memo may have generated too much political heat, with red and blue states raising alarms over the funding freeze. But the senator suggested Trump “maybe didn’t understand the breadth” of what had been proposed.
But Democrats said the White House had overreached beyond what Americans want.
“Most people voted for cheaper eggs,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico. “They did not vote for this chaos.”
The funding pause was scheduled to go into effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday. It was stayed by a federal judge until at least Monday after an emergency hearing requested by nonprofit groups that receive federal grants. An additional lawsuit by Democratic state attorneys general was also pending.
After the initial memo was distributed, federal agencies were directed to answer a series of yes or no questions about each program by Feb. 7. The questions included “does this program promote gender ideology?” and “does this program promote or support in any way abortion?”
Although Trump had promised to turn Washington upside down if elected to a second term, the effects of his effort to pause funding were being felt far from the nation’s capital. Organizations like Meals on Wheels, which receives federal money to deliver food to the elderly, were worried about getting cut off. Even temporary interruptions in funding could cause layoffs or delays in public services.
On Tuesday, Trump administration officials said programs that provide direct assistance to Americans, including Medicare, Social Security, student loans and food stamps, would not be affected.
However, they sometimes struggled to provide a clear picture. Leavitt initially would not say whether Medicaid was exempted from the freeze, but the administration later clarified that it was.
Democratic critics of the order moved swiftly to celebrate the memo’s rescinding.
“This is an important victory for the American people whose voices were heard after massive pressure from every corner of this country,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington. She said Trump had “caused real harm and chaos for millions.”
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said that “Americans fought back and Donald Trump backed off.”