Bird Migration, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, and a Potential Next Pandemic
BY PAIGE MAHONEY On September 25th, 2025, over 1.2 billion birds took to the skies, setting a record for the largest single-night migration total ever recorded.1 Bird migration is arguably one of nature’s most impressive phenomena, a feat of endurance that requires constant communication with other members of a flock and precise navigation skills. These…
The Mental Health Crisis Among Refugees
BY ISABELLE WOLCHEK In June 2025, over 117 million people were forcibly displaced globally, including 42.5 million refugees and 67.8 million internally displaced people.1 Families and individuals are uprooted for various reasons, such as conflict, ethnic oppression, political beliefs, and group affiliation.2 As a result, refugees face elevated rates of psychological disorders, such as post-traumatic…
Beyond Extraction: How Bilateral Collaboration Can Salvage Global Health Equity
BY ANNABEL WOODWORTH While migration in healthcare is normally discussed in terms of patient access, the movement patterns of healthcare providers are critical in building viable global health systems and delivering equitable care. Since the emergence of the term ‘Brain Drain’ in the early 1960s, the migration of highly skilled professionals, particularly in healthcare, has…
Migrating for a Miracle: The Geographic Divide in Rare Cancer Treatments
BY MATEO RAMÍREZ-VALENTINI Medical Migration in Rare Pediatric Cancers In 2021, an eight-year-old girl named Delfi Bollo traveled from Córdoba, Argentina to Houston, Texas, seeking a treatment that her country could not offer her. Her family raised more than $350,000 through crowdfunding and an Instagram account—@todos.por.delfi.cba, “all for Delfi”—built entirely by her parents. It still…
Emigration on Eating: A review of climbing obesity trends amongst Mexican Immigrants
BY MYLA TOLIVER In recent decades, there has been a dramatic increase in the prevalence of obesity in the U.S.: men’s rates rose from 11.7% in 1991 to 39.2% in 2021, and women’s from 12.2% to 41.3%1 2. This health crisis is expected to worsen, with a projected 50% of Americans expected to be obese…
The Global Price of Progress: The Geography of Robotic Surgery
BY EVAN BOWMAN As surgical robots take over more of the operating room, surgeons feel their hands slipping further from the patient, and the trade-offs—costly machines, unequal access, and shifting skills—cut closer to the bone. A patient lies asleep in the center of an operating room. Blue drapes cover their body, leaving only an opening…
Yale Global Health Review 