Suggested Stories: Global Health

CHOOSE YOUR STORY

Global Health includes stories about health science, inequities, mental health, outbreaks and epidemics, food security, clean water, and more. Explore the stories below to find one that interests you. Then, use this worksheet to support you with writing a letter that asks a decisionmaker to take action.

CONTEST GUIDELINES

Stories for Grades 3 and Up

Story	Media	Publication	Content Warnings
“Ticks Are Thriving in Southwest Virginia. Here’s What That Means for Your Health.” by Katie L. Burke	Audio, Text	WVTF	N/A
“Wildfire Smoke Can Cause Health Problems, Even Death” by Keith Matheny and Eric Seals	Text	Detroit Free Press	N/A
“Next Generation of Doctors Prepares To Tackle Rural Health Care Shortage in West Virginia” by William Brangham, Caleb Hellerman, and Matt Ehrichs	Video with transcript	PBS NewsHour	N/A
“Public Health Impact of the Drainage System in Lagos: A Photo Essay” by Precious Williams	Photo, Text	Pulitzer Center	N/A

Stories for Grades 6 and Up

Story	Media	Publication	Content Warnings
“How Billions of Hacked Mosquitoes and a Vaccine Could Beat the Deadly Dengue Virus” by Lucila Pinto	Text	Nature	N/A
“A Growing Trend: Opting Out of Childhood Vaccinations” by Andy Pierrotti	Video, Text	Atlanta News First	N/A
“Fight Against Tuberculosis Stalls in Bangladesh As U.S. Cuts Aid” by Fred de Sam Lazaro and Simeon Lancaster	Video, Text	PBS NewsHour	N/A
“Like ‘Driving to San Francisco and Back, Every Week’: In Rural America, Cancer Patients Face Tall Hurdles To Get Care” by Caleb Hellerman	Text	CNN	N/A
“Community Plays a Key Role in New Approaches To Neurodiversity in the U.K.” by Erin Johnson	Photo, Text	Pulitzer Center	N/A
“Softly Into the Night: An End of Life Love Story” by Joseph Scheller	Photo, Text	Montana Standard	N/A
“In the Shadow of War, Life Begins Anew in a Congolese Maternity Ward” by Sophie Neiman	Photo, Text	Christian Science Monitor	Reference to sexual violence
“Pressure Takes a Toll on Mississippi Black Teachers' Mental Health” by Asia Alexander	Photo, Text	Pulitzer Center	N/A
“Health Care Professionals Who Are Transgender and Non-binary Are Changing the Exclusionary Health Care System” by Rachael Sorcher	Photo, Text	Pulitzer Center	N/A

Stories for Grades 9 and Up

Story	Media	Publication	Content Warnings
“A World Away, a Warning Ignored: Measles Vaccines in Samoa” by Andy Pierrotti and Luke Carter	Video, Text	Atlanta News First	N/A
“Without a Lifeline: The Children Left Behind in Global Health Cuts” by Catherine Offord	Photo, Data visualizations, Text	Science Magazine	N/A
“Where There Is Salt: U.S. Company Drilled for Oil in Kenya — and Left Behind Soaring Cancer Rates” by Georgia Gee and Nelly Madegwa	Photo, Text	The Intercept	N/A
“Could a Conflict-Borne Superbug Bring On Our Next Pandemic?” by Eli Cahan	Text	Rolling Stone	Descriptions of suffering from injuries and illness
“Microplastics Linger Inside People and Animals, Multiple Studies Show. But Regulation Is Still Far Off.” by Michael Hawthorne	Text, Photo	Chicago Tribune	N/A
“A Better Solution for Sickle Cell Care in Africa Amid Aid Cuts?” by Brian W. Simpson and Joanne Cavanaugh Simpson	Photo, Text	Global Health Now	N/A
“Those Who Don't Exist: Long COVID in Mexico” by Alice Pipitone and Quetzalli Blanco	Video, Photo, Text	palabra.	N/A
“In the Deadly Heat, Iraq’s Hospitals Have Become the Ground-Zero Battlefield in the Country’s Climate Crisis” by Susan Schulman	Photo, Text	Daily Maverick	Discussions of violence
“Lassa Fever Is Surging in West Africa. Researchers Want To Know Why” by Leslie Roberts	Photo, Text	Science	Descriptions of suffering from illness
“Argentina’s Leader Takes Ax to Program That Drove Down Teen Pregnancy” by Natalie Alcoba, Anita Pouchard Serra, and Leila Miller	Photo, Text	New York Times	N/A
“This Queer Couple Supports LGBTQ+ and BIPOC Farmers’ Mental Health” by Nicole J. Caruth	Photo, Text	Civil Eats	Discussion of suicidal ideation
“‘A Deliberate Poisoning’: How a Banned Pesticide Haunts the French Caribbean” by Mathilde Augustin	Photo, Text	The Guardian	N/A