Read online and a comment from me below: https://healthpolicy-watch.news/global-health-leaders-warn-trust-in-scie...
TDR Supported Series 18/03/2026 - Health Policy Watch
Global health is facing a crisis not only in funding, leadership, and trust, but also in information integrity, according to speakers on the first episode of The Inside Track, a new series from the Global Health Matters podcast.
Host Garry Aslanyan was joined by Catherine Kyobutungi and Ricardo Baptista Leite for a conversation on how misinformation spreads, why trust in science has eroded, and what health leaders can do to push back.
Kyobutungi said the problem has grown alongside an expanding information economy, where sensationalism often travels faster than facts. Scientists, she argued, have not adapted quickly enough to a landscape shaped by influencers, closed online communities and monetised content.
“The biggest, maybe the most colossal failure that … the global health community had was a failure of communication,” she said, pointing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the inability to clearly explain concepts such as risk to the public...
Kyobutungi urged scientists and global health professionals to return to the public square, speak more clearly and engage not only with those spreading falsehoods, but also with the wider audience watching from the sidelines.
COMMENT (NPW): “The biggest, maybe the most colossal failure that … the global health community had was a failure of communication.” Yes, but the solution for this is not simply that "scientists and global health professionals [should] speak more clearly", but that the global evidence ecosystem as a whole is dysfunctional and needs to be strengthened. A strong global evidence ecosystem is a prerequisite for enabling access to relevant, reliable healthcare information. HIFA seeks to support the system by facilitating communication among stakeholders across the system (HIFA forums), understanding of information needs and how to meet them (HIFA projects), and advocacy for political and financial commitment. In 20226 we have a strong focus on advocacy. Our global consultation (2024) indicated overwhelmingly that WHO should explicitly champion universal access to reliable healthcare information, and we are now supporting WHO in this direction. In 2025 WHO used the words 'WHO is championing universal access to credible health information’, although these were buried deep in its website and remain invisible. HIFA is now working to develop a technical brief for WHO with options on the ways forward, in official relations with WHO. Our budget is $10k and we invite your support to be part of this transformation. Please email me for a copy of the plan if you feel you may be able to support us. https://www.hifa.org/projects/hifa-official-relations-who
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org