News archive

Unicef is launching a report written by two KI researchers that describes the devastating consequences of climate change for children's health globally. The report summarises research from the field and over 30 experts. It identifies the six main climate hazards and shows that they pose a serious threat to children's health and well-being.

Research published in the Lancet Global Health describes the crucial role that pulse oximeters have in risk-stratification in both hospital and primary care or outpatient settings. Carina King, Associate Professor at the Department of Global Public Health has had a leading role in the newly published viewpoint.

In 2021, Makerere University in Uganda and Karolinska Institutet established the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health based on their strong partnership. The Centre aims to develop capacity and mobilise actions to drive the agenda for sustainable health. We asked the current and former Chairs of the steering committee about the Centre's significance and its impact.

This week, Karolinska Institutet, reached an agreement on a new exciting multiyear partnership with Carl Bennet AB in support of academic collaboration between Karolinska Institutet and Universitas Airlangga in Surabaya, Indonesia. President Annika Östman Wernerson signed the agreement with Carl Bennet outlining a four year program, totalling 8 million Swedish kronor.

Claudia Hanson, research group leader for IMPAQT at GPH, had her inaugural lectureship as Professor at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on 23 May. She shared her experience of moving through different disciplines, institutions, and countries – always with the passion to improve health for women, mothers, and their babies in low- and middle-income settings. We asked her a few questions about her research.

Last week of May four researchers from Ukraine came to Karolinska Institutet for a week of research exchange and collaboration. They are part of the Doc-Stud-Ukraine project funded by the Swedish Institute, focused on supporting Ukrainian PhD students and young researchers to contribute effectively to health systems strengthening, particularly for children and adolescents in deoccupied territories in Ukraine.

Anna Kågesten, Elin Larsson, and Anna Mia Ekström recently attended the official launch of the ENGAGE project during its inception meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This 4-year project aims to co-design a differentiated care package for vulnerable groups of adolescent girls and young women with HIV, addressing their poorer outcomes and higher rates of vertical HIV transmission.

How can we help decision-makers during health crises, by developing rapid and useful decision bases, built on research and proven experience? With this question in mind, the Centre for Health Crises gathered a group of curious participants in Aula Medica on Thursday 29 May for a full-day workshop on creating rapid response briefs for decision-making in health crises.

The first-ever GPH PhD conference took place on 11 April 2024 under the theme “Mastering research methods and creating opportunities for the future”. Approximately 40 PhD students and 40 researchers from GPH participated in the event, making it a vibrant platform for academic exchange and networking. The conference featured parallel workshops focusing on specific aspects of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research.

The Global Child Health and SDGs research group is currently hosting three researchers from the HoliCare project’s African partner institutions, namely Senegal, Ethiopia and Uganda. The aim of the exchange is research capacity building of local researchers in partnership with Africa-based research institutions that are project partners.

Elena Rafetti joined the Department of Global Public Health and the PRIME group in October 2023. She has a rich experience from previous roles at the University of Cambridge, Uppsala University and PhD at KI. Elena's research focuses on the effects of climate extremes on population health. This addition to the Department brings a new perspective to the Global Public Health research.

Karolinska Institutet (KI) and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité) have entered into a bilateral agreement. The Internationalisation Board at KI is pleased to announce the availability of limited competitive funds for KI faculty and staff for grant applications to strengthen collaborative interactions within research and education.

The large hall at Münchenbryggeriet in Stockholm was buzzing with life on Friday morning 12 April when general physicians from all over Sweden practiced mass casualty management and triage, using the simulation exercise AnTriEx, which is developed and instructed by the research group Global Disaster Medicine - Health Needs and Responses at KI.

Dr Joseph Kabatende is a Health Products and Regulatory Systems Specialist working for the WHO. He completed his PhD in 2023 from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden after defending his doctoral thesis entitled “Pharmacovigilance of Mass Drug Administration for Control of Schistosomiasis and Soil Transmitted Helminths in Rwanda".

Karolinska Institutet and Makerere University in Uganda have been working together for over 20 years. In 2021 they established a Centre based on their strong partnership to bring people together, recognize their health challenges and mobilize actions towards well-being. Today the Centre provides tools, resources and training programs for researchers, students, professionals and policy makers globally.

Tigist Dires Gebreyesus is an Ethiopian public health specialist with a master’s in public health from University of Gondar, Ethiopia. She has been working within the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority, the former Ethiopian Food, Medicine and Healthcare Administration and Control Authority. In December 2023, Dr Gebreyesus defended her doctoral thesis that was part of the PROFORMA project at Karolinska Institutet, Department of Global Public Health.

KI will be expanding the Master's Programme in Global Health from a one-year programme to a two-year master's programme. KI has been offering the master's program in global health since 2012. In the fall semester of 2025, the first batch of students will begin the first round of the two-year master's program.

The 13 March, Karolinska Institutet hosted several prominent researchers from The Lancet Global Health Commission on Medical Oxygen Security at the Widerström building, with a focus on discussing how to secure the availability of medical oxygen in the world.

The EU Horizon Changemaker project, led by Kristi Sidney Annerstedt, on sustainable adolescent nutrition in Kenya, Tanzania and Burkina Faso, successfully completed the first Consortium meeting.

Nina Viberg and Tobias Alfvén have received funding from the Swedish Institute for a one year project to support Ukrainian PhD students and young researchers. The aim of the project is to build capacity for PhD student and young researcher so that they can effectively contribute to health systems strengthening especially for children and adolescents in deoccupied territories in Ukraine.

In February 2024, the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health and GPH colleagues had the pleasure to accompany Vice President Martin Bergö to Makerere University in Uganda, a long-term partner of Karolinska Institutet. During the visit the vice president was introduced to the Karolinska Institutet – Makerere collaboration and got the possibility to meet colleagues and see different projects.

On Wednesday, March 6, the university management, President Annika Östman Wernerson, Vice President Martin Bergö and University Director Veronika Sundström visited the Department of Global Public Health, to gain a better insight into the department's activities. Key issues discussed included global awareness, the department's strengths and how dialogue can strengthen cooperation. In addition to the university management, the department's management team and Dean Carl Johan Sundberg participated.

Adam Mitangu Fimbo is a doctoral student at Karolinska Institutet, but not for much longer. On April 26 he will defend is doctoral thesis titled Pharmacovigilance of Mass Drug Administration as Preventive Chemotherapy to Control and Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis in Tanzania. Meet the Director General of Tanzania Medicines and Medical Devices Authority, and expert on the safety and quality of drug administration.

Zambia is currently experiencing the worst cholera outbreak in over two decades. The acute diarrhoeal disease can be deadly if not treated, however with rapid and correct help, the majority of people affected can be treated successfully. The Centre for Health Crises as seconded members of staff to cholera outbreaks before, and on the 26th of January, Caroline de Groot went to Zambia, via the Centre’s collaboration with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

The eastern mediterranean region is currently facing a brewing health crisis, brought on not least by the war in Gaza. The danger of spread of infectious diseases means that effective epidemiological surveillance and action is key. To assist in these efforts, the Centre for Health Crises has seconded epidemiologist Moa Herrgård via our membership in WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN).

In February, Vice President Martin Bergö visited Makerere University in Uganda, a long-term partner of Karolinska Institutet. As the chairman of the steering committee for the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health (CESH), a collaborative initiative between Karolinska Institutet and Makerere University, he met his counterparts at the university and the college of health sciences, toured research sites, discussed global health challenges, and met with alumni and partners.

Both programs have been running since 2020 at the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health - a collaboration between Karolinska Institutet and Makerere University in Uganda.

Professor Eleni Aklillu, from the GH-Pharma research group, is leading a clinical trial capacity strengthening initiative in Rwanda.

Every year worldwide, around 1 billion children aged 2–17 experience physical, sexual or psychological violence or neglect, representing approximately half of the global child population. Sociologist Sergio Keita Nhassengo investigates epidemiology of violence against children in Mozambique and the readiness of stakeholders across organisations to counter and prevent child maltreatment. Meet the PhD student who wants a future where all children can live in a safe environment free from violence.

Beyond surviving after an injury comes living. To what extent a person is able to return to the life and independence previously enjoyed is an important aspect of recovery and rehabilitation is often a crucial factor in that. Nonetheless, it is a factor often overlooked in humanitarian settings and it is an area where more research is needed. Bérangère Gohy’s PhD thesis looks beyond survival, to how recovery is measured and what the patients’ road to regained independence looks like.

The internationalisation board is pleased to announce the availability of limited competitive funds for grant applications to strengthen collaborative interactions within oral health and innovations.

On November 9, the seminar ”How can Sweden contribute to Global Neonatal Research” was organized on the initiative of Global Youth and Child Health, a section of the Swedish Paediatric Society and the Swedish Network for Global Child Health. Around 50 physical participants and up to 70 online with different engagements in global newborn health attended the seminar. From researchers and academics to clinicians working for NGOs and public health specialists participated.

Five researchers at the Department of Global Public Health have been awarded a number of grants in medicine and health from The Swedish Research Council.

This year, Forte has awarded funding to a total of 20 projects at Karolinska Institutet, including three researchers from the Department of Global Public Health, Anna-Clara Hollander, Sibylle Herzig Van Wees and Lene Lindberg.

Global health is becoming increasingly complex, ranging from pandemics and climate change to wars, migration and deteriorating mental health. There is an urgent need for a new generation of global health leaders, equipped with the skills to navigate different political environments and drive change. The Stockholm School of Economics and Karolinska Institutet are now launching a new initiative to meet the challenges ahead.

Karolinska Institutet and Professor Eleni Aklillu at the Department of Global Public Health leads a new initiative, that aims to enhance the oversight of medicines, medical devices, diagnostics, research ethics, and clinical trials in Tanzania and Rwanda.

Giulia Gaudenzi and Kelly Elimian are currently running a research project focused on assessing the diagnostic accuracy of rapid diagnostic test kits for detecting cholera in environmental water in comparison to standard diagnostic methods, such as culture and PCR, in Nigeria. They have conducted trainings in Nigeria on the use of these test kits.

Taking place in Stockholm on 11-12th October the ENBEL transdisciplinary conference brought together researchers, policy makers, NGOs and private sector representatives to present and discuss climate change effects on health, as well as adaptation, societal consequences, and opportunities for climate resilient development. One of the main objects of the EU-funded project is to enhance collaboration between health, environmental and climate research.

Global Child Health and Sustainable Development Goals group member Anna-Theresia Ekman had her halftime seminar October 9 for her PhD project titled: Prevalence, associated risk factors, and early detection of developmental delay and disabilities among young children living in Sub-Saharan Africa.

It began with a text message in the early hours of the morning. A few hours later he was on a plane to Morocco, reading the first reports and trying to start a secondary data analysis of the situation. Within the 48 hours after the earthquake, he was in the most affected region. He had barely gotten back from that mission, when he was asked to go to Libya and to do the same thing all over again, this time in a heavily flooded town.

With only six years left until 2030 when the Sustainable Development Goals are to be achieved, this year's Sustainability Forum was organised with a focus on the role of universities in sustainability work. The organisers were the University Alliance Stockholm Trio. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends infants to be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development, and health. But in some contexts, such as in a humanitarian emergency, adopting and maintaining optimal breastfeeding practices could be challenging. Unpacking what the challenges and opportunities of breastfeeding support in humanitarian emergencies are, and how to conduct such support effectively, is the topic of Nieves Amat Camacho’s PhD.

The yearly StratNeuro retreat gathers neuroscience researchers from Karolinska Institutet, Umeå University, and the Royal Institute of Technology for a couple of days of networking and getting up to date with the latest research from across the spectrum of neuroscience topics aligning with the interests that the StratNeuro constellation represents. This year, our retreat took place on the 29th and 30th of May, at Djurönäset, in a picturesque location by the Stockholm archipelago.

Ángela Amorós Molina is a former Global Health master student who was invited to present at Rowan University that has hosted a workshop series about teaching and research on the Sustainable Development Goals. Her paper Integrating the United Nations sustainable development goals into higher education globally: a scoping review, sparked the workshop participants to reflect on the importance of raising awareness among the students of the role of the SDGs and increase their presence in university.

Team member Carina King with colleagues’ have an article published in this month’s issue of The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. The paper that is also featured on the cover, is about a multifacility, prospective, observational study conducted in rural Bangladesh to evaluate the potential effect of pulse oximetry implementation on the WHO IMCI-based outpatient care of 3848 young children with suspected pneumonia.

Dr Giulia Dallagiacoma graduated from medical school at the University of Pavia, Italy, where she also recently completed her specialty in Public Health and Preventive Medicine. As part of her specialty training, she had the opportunity to visit another university and therefore joined Karolinska Institutet as a guest researcher to write her thesis project on RSV prevention among children.

Recently four of the researchers at the Department of Global Public Health received funds for different research projects, Kristi Sidney Annerstedt, Anna Ohlis, Ann Liljas, and Renee Gardner. We asked them a few questions to know more about the projects and what the funds will contribute to.

According to UNICEF, approximately one in five young people suffer from mental health issues, which in turn often leads to risk-taking with alcohol, tobacco and drugs. In the long run, it can cause lifelong health impairments in adulthood. In a three-year project coordinated by Karolinska Institutet, a method used to improve young people’s wellbeing in India, Kenya, the U.S. and Colombia is being evaluated to see if it can work in other parts of the world.

Lifestyles, the pandemic and dental care were some of the topics under discussion when Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health Jakob Forssmed visited Karolinska Institutet on 28 August, the same day as the autumn term kicked off.

Earlier this summer UIDP in collaboration with Karolinska Institutet held a two-day event where strategic thinkers and leading practitioners met to discuss approaches for increasing innovation and building strong partnerships between universities, industry, and government. One of the invited speakers was Tobias Alfvén, who discussed how different sectors can contribute to the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).