International Health: Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026

In the latest edition of International Health, a Letter to the Editor recommends improving water safety in India around the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage. Other highlights include two Lessons from the Field, look respectively at a disease outbreak warning system deployed in conflict-affected areas of Sudan and efforts to continue malaria interventions in Uganda during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Reviews

Risk factors and mortality rates for children co-infected with HIV and TB in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Fassikaw kebede Bizuneh, Tsehay Kebede Bizuneh, Biruk Beletew Abate, Atitegeb Abera Kidie, Gataye Tizazu Biwota, Tilahun Gizaw Ayenew
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 145–153, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf085

Prevalence of Clostridioides difficile contamination in healthcare and non-healthcare environments: a global systematic review and meta-analysis
Mohammad Hasan Rabiee, Lida Abdolmohammadi Khiav, Mohammad Hossein Fallah Mehrabadi
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 154–165, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf111

Original Articles

Is equitable access to health and social care possible for Vietnamese older adults? Care providers’  perspectives
Man Thi Hue Vo, Keiko Nakamura, Dai Tri Han Tran, T J Robinson Moncatar
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 166–173, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf066

Global, regional and national burden of skin and subcutaneous diseases: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
Deng Li, Siqi Fan, Haochen Zhao, Jiayi Song, Wei Li, Xuewen Xu
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 183–196, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf070

Use effectiveness of the symptothermal method to ameliorate unmet need for family planning in Kisumu County, Kenya
Catherine E Igben-Pender, Peter Omemo, Gideon Ng'wena
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 197–207, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf072

Trachoma prevalence surveys in 15 indigenous and non-indigenous evaluation units in Brazil, 2018–2023
Célia Landmann Szwarcwald, Maria de Fátima Costa Lopes, Paulo Roberto Borges de Souza Junior, Daniela Vaz Ferreira Gómez, Expedito José de Albuquerque Luna, Wanessa da Silva de Almeida, Giseli Nogueira Damacena, Joana da Felicidade Ribeiro Favacho , Norma Helen Medina , Luciano Chaves Franco Filho , Aiara Cogo , Sarah Boyd , Ana Bakhtiari, Cristina Jimenez, Sandra L Talero, Martha Idalí Saboyá-Díaz, Anthony W Solomon, Emma Harding-Esch
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 174–182, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf067

Cross-sectional study of maternal iodine nutrition and salt iodization in Kyrgyzstan: urban–rural and socioeconomic factors
Iuliia Chyngyshpaeva, Zhyparkul Derbishalieva, Zhokhongir Dzhaliev, Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno, III, Kenesh Dzhusupov
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 218–229, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf076

Susceptible window identification of the relationship between maternal ozone exposure and preterm birth
Kang-kang Zhong, Rui Yang, Xue-chun Liu, Jie He, Chuan-ting Wen, Zhi-wei Zhu, Ming-xuan Fan, Teng Bao, Qi Zhong
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 208–217, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf073

Safer at school? Experiences of families on school closure during COVID-19 in an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya
Elizabeth Echoka, Violet Wanjihia, Prisca Otambo, Lilian Nyandieka, Zipporah Bukania
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 230–236, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf082

Oral cholera vaccine uptake, acceptance and confidence among residents of a high-risk township in Zambia: key insights for future vaccination programs
Ernest Miti, Moses Mukosha, John Mwaba, Malala Mulavu, Johanna C Meyer, Steward Mudenda, Brian Godman, Chiluba Mwila, Audrey Hamachila, Aubrey C Kalungia
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 254–263, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf087

Livestock farmers’  knowledge, attitudes and practices relating to zoonoses in the Coastal Savannah zone of Ghana
Sylvia Afriyie Squire, Godwin Yao Ameleke, Edmund Tei Sottie, Hilda Ohene-Asa, Nancy Mensah, Dorothy Takyiakwaa
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 294–304, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf101

Examining wealth-related inequality in childhood vaccination in Fiji using the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2021
Connie Lam, Md Irteja Islam, Rachel Devi, Meru Sheel, Alexandra Martiniuk
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 237–244, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf084

Mental health issues, risks and barriers to care for Bangladeshi children and adolescents: insights from lived experiences
Md Omar Faruk, Kamal Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, Sabiha Jahan, Erminia Colucci
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 264–273, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf091

Does persistent active trachoma mandate antibiotic mass drug administration? A comparison of prevalence of trachomatous inflammation–follicular with that of conjunctival infection and anti-chlamydial antibodies, Western Province, Zambia
Consity Mwale, Chileshe Mboni, Ngonda Saasa, Chummy S Sikasunge, Chisanga Chelu, Phyllis M Moonga , Grace Hameja , Levison Nkhoma , Frank Shamilimo , Namasiku S Kunda, Glenda Mulenga, Tabonga Naluonde, Nicholas Mutale, Sarah Boyd, Rosemary Pearson-Clarke, Ana Bakhtiari, Cristina Jimenez, Emma M Harding-Esch, Michael Dejene, Katherine Gass, Katrina Farber, Mohamed Bah, Caleb Mpyet, Freddie Masaninga, Nathan Nsubuga Bakyaita, Mwila Lundamo, Grace Chipalo Mutati, Sikufele Mubita, Davison J Kwendakwema, Paul Courtright, Anthony W Solomon, Kangwa I M Muma
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 274–281, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf092

Challenges faced by adolescents and lung function technicians in Anuradhapura district, Sri Lanka, during spirometry: a qualitative study
Devanji Perera, Gajaba Nayakarathne, Parami Chandrasiri, Kasuni Ananda, Hasara Nuwangi, Shashanka Rajapakse
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 282–293, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf097

Lessons from the Field

Ensuring continuity of malaria services in times of crisis: lessons learned in Uganda during the COVID-19 pandemic
Emma K Manning, Godfrey Magumba, James K Tibenderana, Anthony Nuwa
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 137–139, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf107

Piloting a mobile early warning alert and response system for East and Central Darfur, Sudan 
Kazuki Shimizu, Muhammad Ali Raja, Muntasir Mohammed Osman, Elfadil Mohammed Mahmoud, Mazza Abasher Alzain, Rizwan Ayub, Marcel Woung, Sara Ahmed, Egmond Samir Evers, Sherein Elnossery, Douaa Fouad Osman Ibragem, Siddeg Khalafalla Ahmed Mustafa, Liesbeth Aelbrecht, Muhammad Fawad Khan, Simon Kaddu Ssentamu, Hala Khudari, Hani Haidar, Shible Sahbani, Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim Awadallah, Boris Igor Pavlin
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 140–144, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf122

Commentary

Strengthening antimicrobial resistance surveillance across African military settings
Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 305–309, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf102

Letter to the Editor

John Snow and the contaminated water of River Ganga at Kumbh Mela in India
Sushila Tiwari, Rahul M Jindal, Dileep Mavalankar
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Pages 310–311, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf081

Corrigendum

Corrigendum to: Antibiotic prescription sources and use among under-5 children with fever/cough in sub-Saharan Africa
International Health, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2026, Page 312, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf118