A year ago, Global Health NOW's readers stepped up to support the news website and newsletter in its first fundraising campaign. This week, GHN is returning to its readers for support in its mission to share essential global health news and original news articles.
The new campaign is raising funds to support publication of GHN's newsletter and news articles as well as its Local Reporting Initiative and other projects.
From a text-only email sent to Office of External Affairs staff at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the GHN newsletter now reaches more than 50,000 readers in 170 countries. The curated newsletter has become important reading for the global health community—and for those interested in human health and global issues.
Last year, more than 550 readers gave to the publication.
"We were astounded by the generosity and commitment of our readers," said editor-in-chief Brian W. Simpson. "It helped us realize GHN is more than a daily newsletter. We're part of a community of smart individuals who care about human health. Every day we strive to share original news and curate up-to-the minute news with critical context and background."
Since last year's campaign, GHN has redesigned its newsletter and website and published 240 issues of the weekday newsletter, covering the almost-daily evolutions of the omicron subvariants of COVID-19; heartbreaking crises in Ukraine, Ethiopia, Yemen, and elsewhere; the reversal of Roe v. Wade; and many other developments shaping global health.
With reader support, GHN launched its Local Reporting Initiative, which is building a global network of reporters skilled in explaining their countries' pressing health issues. Since the initiative began in the late spring, GHN has published more than a dozen articles from eight countries on five continents. Topics included the unrealized potential of red palm oil, the persistence of leprosy in India, and how a bullring was used to address homelessness in Lima.
GHN also publishes commentaries by global health experts, including a commentary last week by Matshidiso Moeti, WHO's regional director for Africa. Previous contributors include former Africa CDC director John Nkengasong, former U.S. CDC director Tom Frieden, Lancet editor-in-chief Richard Horton, and others.
GHN aims to provide a platform for emerging leaders as well—including many GHN readers with ties to schools across Johns Hopkins University, like Dominique Guillaume, a PhD student at the School of Nursing who co-authored a commentary about the media's problematic coverage of Haiti for GHN.
"Our readers have sparked some of our most intriguing pieces and story ideas over the years—introducing us to unsung experts, expanding our breadth of perspectives, and challenging global health norms," says GHN managing editor Dayna Kerecman Myers. "They've helped to shape not only our daily coverage, but the evolution of our mission over the last eight years."
This year's campaign aims to build on GHN's momentum and fund expanded coverage of global health issues and more original news articles on under-covered health issues around the world.
"Local journalists know their communities best, and it's always been a goal of ours to expand our network of reporters who experience firsthand the issues we cover," associate editor Annalies Winny says. "Last year, readers' generous donations made it possible to get the ball rolling, and provide proof-of-concept for the Local Reporting Initiative. This year's campaign aims to build on that success, because we're just getting started."
You can subscribe for free to Global Health Now on the publication's website.
