Kat Lay
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katlay.bsky.social
Kat Lay
@katlay.bsky.social
Journalist - global health correspondent at The Guardian (kat.lay@theguardian.com)
‘Utter hypocrisy’: tobacco firm lobbied against rules in Africa that are law in UK
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
‘Utter hypocrisy’: tobacco firm lobbied against rules in Africa that are law in UK
British American Tobacco pushed Zambian ministers to drop or delay ad bans, health warnings and restrictions on flavoured products, letter shows
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Reposted by Kat Lay
US to demand countries share data on ‘pathogens with epidemic potential’ in return for health aid
US to demand countries share data on ‘pathogens with epidemic potential’ in return for health aid
Draft template seen by the Guardian has no reference to countries receiving benefits for sharing information, such as guaranteed access to medicines developed as a result
www.theguardian.com
November 8, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Reposted by Kat Lay
‘Not a luxury, a necessity‘: how aid cuts to birth control harm Senegal’s women
‘Not a luxury, a necessity‘: how aid cuts to birth control harm Senegal’s women
‘The women here are warriors,’ says a midwife in Joal, and contraception is key to their health and life chances. But now UK and US aid cuts threaten to undo years of progress
www.theguardian.com
October 27, 2025 at 5:25 AM
Reposted by Kat Lay
Anti-malaria funding cuts could lead to ‘deadliest resurgence ever’, study warns
Anti-malaria funding cuts could lead to ‘deadliest resurgence ever’, study warns
Expected reduction in contributions by wealthy countries likely to cost millions of lives and billions in lost growth
www.theguardian.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:12 AM
Reposted by Kat Lay
🚨 Imposter alert 🚨

Studies into everything from cancer and HIV being plagued by "fraudulent" participants

Includes people pretending to have the diseases

It's undermining the reliability of trials and potentially harming patients

Stark warning here:
www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a...
Is this response real? Imposters are putting health studies at risk
Automated bots and people lying about their conditions risk skewing the results of medical research, Oxford academics have warned
www.thetimes.com
October 16, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Reposted by Kat Lay
US ‘undermining global health’ by threatening to strip funding from aid projects that do not fit its political agenda
US ‘undermining global health’ by threatening to strip funding from aid projects that do not fit its political agenda
Trump administration reported to be planning expansion of ‘global gag rule’ to halt any initiatives promoting diversity, equity and inclusion
www.theguardian.com
October 8, 2025 at 11:20 AM
‘Most people are just toughing it out’: shortage of drugs leaves Gaza’s wounded without pain relief www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
‘Most people are just toughing it out’: shortage of drugs leaves Gaza’s wounded without pain relief
Operations are being carried out without proper anaesthetics and what painkillers there are have to be rationed, say doctors
www.theguardian.com
September 29, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Reposted by Kat Lay
Who'd want to be Archbishop of Canterbury?!

We're close to finding out who's got the job

But how are they chosen? Who's in the frame? And what happens next? Is there any conclave-style ceremony to it?

Peer behind the cloak of confidentiality, as I explain all:
www.thetimes.com/uk/religion/...
How the next Archbishop of Canterbury is chosen and what happens next
The election for the new Archbishop of Canterbury is shrouded in secrecy. From the likely shortlisted faces to what happens next, here’s our visual guide
www.thetimes.com
September 26, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Reposted by Kat Lay
Cheap supplies of HIV-prevention jab for poorer countries hailed as ‘genuine chance to end’ global epidemic
Cheap supplies of HIV-prevention jab for poorer countries hailed as ‘genuine chance to end’ global epidemic
Lenacapavir described as ‘next best thing’ to an HIV vaccine will cost $40 a year for each patient in 120 countries from 2027, funders say
www.theguardian.com
September 24, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Reposted by Kat Lay
Death by aid cuts: how a decision in the US led to the loss of a mother in Yemen
Death by aid cuts: how a decision in the US led to the loss of a mother in Yemen
While the Trump administration claims no one will die over the axing of its overseas development budgets, aid agencies say the action will cost at least 3 million lives. Fatima and her baby were among the first
www.theguardian.com
September 23, 2025 at 5:47 AM
Reposted by Kat Lay
Good news! Ring vaccinations against #Ebola have begun in DRC, according to @who.int:
“An initial 400 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine—from the country’s stockpile of 2000 doses prepositioned in the capital Kinshasa—have been delivered to Bulape, one of the current hotspots of the outbreak.”
Ebola vaccination begins in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Bulape, Democratic Republic of the Congo—Vaccination of frontline health workers and contacts of people infected with Ebola virus disease has begun in Bulape health zone in the Democratic Republic of ...
www.afro.who.int
September 14, 2025 at 2:07 PM
More children and teens worldwide are obese than underweight for the first time, according to a UN report that blames increasing levels of junk food in their diets www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Junk food leads to more children being obese than underweight for first time
Cheap ultra-processed food behind rise in overweight children, with one in 10 now obese globally, says Unicef
www.theguardian.com
September 10, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Reposted by Kat Lay
Smoking avatars and online games: how big tobacco targets young people in the metaverse
Smoking avatars and online games: how big tobacco targets young people in the metaverse
Cigarettes and vapes are being smuggled into virtual spaces beyond the reach of regulation, creating a new battleground for health campaigners
www.theguardian.com
July 22, 2025 at 7:26 AM
Sudan’s children face growing threat of deadly infectious diseases as vaccination rates halve www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Sudan’s children face growing threat of deadly infectious diseases as vaccination rates halve
The country, beset by war, has the world’s lowest rates of vaccination, says the World Health Organization, as global immunisation drive also stalls
www.theguardian.com
July 17, 2025 at 10:45 AM
High-risk HIV groups facing record levels of criminalisation as countries bring in draconian laws
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
High-risk HIV groups facing record levels of criminalisation as countries bring in draconian laws
Curbs on LGBTQ+ rights and a halt to US funding may reverse decades of progress in fight to end Aids epidemic, warns UNAids
www.theguardian.com
July 10, 2025 at 10:13 AM
‘Delay is catastrophic’: how swift administration of antibiotics could save thousands of African children in comas www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
‘Delay is catastrophic’: how instant antibiotics could save thousands of African children in comas
Analysis finds key to survival for children found to be unconscious and unresponsive is a quick dose of drugs and fast access to specialist care
www.theguardian.com
July 3, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Vapes threaten to undo gains in tackling dangers of tobacco, health leaders warn www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Vapes threaten to undo gains in tackling dangers of tobacco, health leaders warn
WHO calls for higher cigarette taxes, plus graphic warnings on vapes, heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches
www.theguardian.com
June 24, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Reposted by Kat Lay
A drug with the potential to “end the #HIV pandemic” will launch in the US this week.

We join @unaids.org's call to "make #lenacapavir available and affordable for all who need it."

Read the latest by @katlay.bsky.social from @theguardian.com ⤵️
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
‘HIV-ending’ drug could be made for just $25 per patient a year, say researchers
As regulator prepares to approve Lenacapavir in the US, campaigners are urging the manufacturer, Gilead, to make it ‘available and affordable for all who need it’
www.theguardian.com
June 17, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Reposted by Kat Lay
Mother to child transmission of HIV is completely preventable with antiretroviral drugs. We cannot go back to the 80s and 90s of the HIV epidemic.
June 16, 2025 at 11:11 AM
World (finally) agrees pandemic accord for tackling future outbreaks

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
World agrees pandemic accord for tackling outbreaks of disease
Hailed as ‘a victory for public health,’ the agreement aims to build on the lessons of Covid-19 and protect the globe from pathogenic threats
www.theguardian.com
May 20, 2025 at 10:46 AM