Recorded at the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro, Ben and Dr. mike Reid discuss how climate disruption will exacerbate existing infectious diseases, enable emerging threats, and worsen non-infectious conditions, arguing global health must anticipate and mitigate climate-health impacts. They note health was sidelined at COP Egypt 2025 and that few national climate plans include health adaptation budgets. Case studies contrast Pakistan’s 2022 floods—2.6 million new malaria cases, fivefold dengue increase, and 20% of primary care facilities underwater—with Mozambique’s Cyclone Idai response, where PEPFAR-supported HIV infrastructure enabled faster recovery through reliable supply chains, information systems, energy backups, and workforce support. They emphasize integrated, resilient primary care and scaled community health workforces (e.g., Ethiopia), including community-delivered mental health care, amid shrinking donor support. mike explains applying Kate Raworth’s “donut economics” to climate-health financing, referencing the Bridgetown Initiative and proposing climate-health bonds, while also highlighting greener delivery, regional manufacturing, and lower-emission prevention tools like lenacapavir and cabotegravir.

00:00 Live from Rio

00:52 Climate-Driven Disease

03:26 Health Plans Missing

05:31 Resilient Systems

06:10 Pakistan Flood Case

08:00 Mozambique Cyclone Ida

11:35 Primary Care Backbone

12:27 Community Health Workforce

14:22 Conference Funding Shift

17:09 Donut Economics Explained

20:55 Cameroon Donut Priorities

22:25 Why Leaders Ignore Health

23:32 Financing Climate Health

29:57 Sustainable Global Health

32:09 One Key Investment

33:34 Rio Networking Surprise

35:02 Wrap-Up and Credits

Learn more about the book:

https://bit.ly/redefining-global-health

More from UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences:

https://globalhealthsciences.ucsf.edu

Check Out mike Reid’s Substack:

https://substack.com/@reimaginingglobalhealth

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https://substack.com/@benplumley1

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Redefining Global Health in the 21st Century: The Podcast (Playlist on Youtube)

https://bit.ly/rgh-book

A Shot in the Arm Podcast Youtube (Main Channel)

https://youtube.com/@shotarmpodcast

In this episode of Redefining Global Health in the 21st Century, Ben chats with authors mike Reid and Eric Goosby about how funding shocks become life-and-death realities, starting with a case from Zambia after the January 2025 U.S. pause and cuts to PEPFAR that left many without antiretrovirals and destabilized HIV services in a system heavily dependent on U.S. support. They describe behind-the-scenes efforts to warn political leaders, on-the-ground resilience and improvisation, and the emotional toll of what they view as an abandonment of dialogue. The discussion explores whether donor dependency was a design choice, the roles donors should play (equity gaps, global public goods, and underwriting transitions), and options such as co-investment requirements, government-to-government funding, debt-to-health swaps, public financial management support, domestic resource mobilization (including sin taxes), and potential roles for development finance and sovereign wealth funds, while stressing the need to define a clear destination for health financing and country ownership.

00:00 Welcome and Book Intro

00:29 Zambia Funding Shock

02:26 Why Zambia Matters

05:58 Scrambling After PEPFAR Pause

07:58 Resilience and System Fragility

09:58 Eric Goosby Reaction

15:37 Dependency by Design

18:44 Colonial Debt Reality

22:25 What Solidarity Looks Like

26:10 Donor Funding Roles

30:21 Accountability and Oversight

32:50 Co Investment and Direct Funding

35:37 Debt Relief as Co Investment

36:46 Debt for Health Swaps

37:46 Modernizing Gavi and Global Fund

41:26 Local Accountability and Trust

45:26 Post Aid Era Roadmap

48:19 Building Country Ownership

53:46 Sovereign Wealth Fund Ideas

58:04 New Finance Tools and Taxes

01:00:04 Defining the Destination

01:04:03 Call to Action and Thanks

Learn more about the book:

https://bit.ly/redefining-global-health

More from UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences:

https://globalhealthsciences.ucsf.edu

Check Out mike Reid’s Substack:

https://substack.com/@reimaginingglobalhealth

Check Out Ben’s Substack:

https://substack.com/@benplumley1

Join the Conversation!

What would it take for global health to avoid decline? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Subscribe & Stay Updated:

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform.

Watch on YouTube & subscribe for more in-depth global health — and look out for a dedicated sub channel for Redefining Global Health in the 21st Century under A Shot in the Arm’s YouTube home.

Redefining Global Health in the 21st Century: The Podcast (Playlist on Youtube)

https://bit.ly/rgh-book

A Shot in the Arm Podcast Youtube (Main Channel)

https://youtube.com/@shotarmpodcast

This episode was made in partnership with the International AIDS Society (IAS), Young Leaders Programme.

Host Ben Plumley wraps up the A Shot in the Arm Podcast from AIDS 2026 in Rio de Janeiro with Zarawu Adams, a medical scientist from Salama Clinic in Accra, Ghana, reflecting on an exhausting but valuable week balancing conference sessions with the IAS’ Young Leaders Programme. Adams highlights research linking antiretroviral treatment to metabolic crises such as type 2 diabetes, including work focused on pregnant women, and confirms through conversations with scientific leaders that this issue is still under-emphasized. She describes the Young Leaders program as a diverse international advocacy network across HIV and other infectious diseases that builds connections, fills gaps, and broadens engagement beyond science to policy, innovation, and activism. Adams emphasizes resilience, the funding crisis, and the urgent need to tackle stigma and discrimination – particularly as a driver of suicide, while noting increased visibility for LGBT communities within the IAS space.

00:00 Welcome to Rio

00:53 Metabolic Risks Spotlight

03:15 Young Leaders Program

04:53 Networking and Advice

07:26 Stigma and Discrimination

08:32 Activism and Funding Crisis

10:36 Resilience and New Ideas

14:27 Priority on Stigma

15:41 LGBTQ and Closing Reflections

17:54 Final Thanks and Sign Off

Guests:

Zarawu Adams

Medical Scientist, Salama Clinic, Accra, Ghana

AIDS 2026

https://www.iasociety.org/conferences/aids2026

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https://substack.com/@benplumley1

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#hivaids #HIV #AIDS #globalhealth #AIDS2026 #IAS

Host Ben Plumley speaks with Solange Baptiste Simon and Othoman Mellouk of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) about their packed treatment pre-conference and concerns that treatment is being sidelined amid heavy focus on PrEP and prevention. They argue the prevention-versus-treatment framing is false, emphasizing a continuum from testing to prevention to treatment, and describe on-the-ground chaos as HIV services are integrated into broader chronic care with overstretched health workers and communities. They discuss a “strange” AIDS 2026 marked by funding cuts and reduced PEPFAR influence, uneven country leadership, and a shift from scientific innovation to challenges of financing, manufacturing, regulation, and equitable delivery of long-acting technologies. They caution against product-driven responses, stress human rights and stigma realities, and conclude that community power, involvement, and resourcing remain central to sustainable solutions.

00:00 Welcome and Guests

01:08 Treatment Preconference Highlights

03:13 Prevention vs Treatment Debate

05:00 Continuum of Care Reality

07:34 Clinic Integration Chaos

10:07 Conference Avoiding Hard Truths

14:58 Post PEPFAR Future

18:39 Product Hype vs Access

22:58 Fiscal Space and Priorities

25:13 Beyond Biomedical Fixes

30:19 2030 Targets Reality Check

32:29 Crossroads and Policy Choices

36:15 Community Hope and Closing

38:23 Final Thanks and Signoff

Guests:

Solange Baptiste Simon

Executive Director, ITPC

Othoman Mellouk

Access to Medicines & Diagnostic Lead, ITPC

ITPC Global

https://itpcglobal.org

AIDS 2026

https://www.iasociety.org/conferences/aids2026

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#hivaids #HIV #AIDS #globalhealth #AIDS2026 #ITPC

At AIDS 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, host Ben Plumley speaks with Wame Jallow, Jerop Limo, and JulieBrenda Waweru about Shuga Global’s evolution from the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and why entertainment-education remains relevant for HIV prevention and youth health. They discuss how Shuga’s storytelling reflects young people’s lived realities, helps break taboos, builds agency, and connects audiences to services through a broader ecosystem that includes peer education, screenings, and chatbots. The guests describe how Gen Z’s autonomy, digital media habits, and demand for solutions require new ways of communicating health, while addressing backlash, misinformation, and harmful online influences. They also share reflections from the conference on shifting resources, community leadership, new prevention and treatment options, and the need to fund and empower youth-led solutions through stronger government and civil society collaboration.

00:00 Welcome and Guests

01:14 What Is Shuga Now

01:22 From MTV to Global Movement

02:38 Proof Entertainment Works

04:54 Why Shuga Still Matters

07:28 Fan Stories and Impact

09:16 Gen Z Needs New Approach

14:23 Solutions Not Lectures

16:14 Youth Activism and Health Demands

17:45 Media Shift And Backlash

18:32 Short Clips For Health

19:02 Shuga As Holistic Support

21:18 Competing With Misinformation

22:45 Trust And Community Dialogue

24:43 Conference Takeaways

26:34 Science And Choice Agenda

27:30 Youth Power And Funding

30:56 Partnership With Government

32:21 Watch Shuga And Wrap Up

Guests

Wame Jallow

Executive Director, Shuga Global

Jerop Limo

Executive Director, Ambassador For Youth and Adolescent Reproductive Health Program (AYARHEP)

JulieBrenda Waweru

Actress, Shuga Mashariki , Shuga Global

Shuga Global

https://shuga.global

AIDS 2026

https://www.iasociety.org/conferences/aids2026

Check Out Ben’s Substack:

https://substack.com/@benplumley1

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#hivaids #HIV #AIDS #globalhealth #AIDS2026 #Shuga #ShugaGlobal

This episode was made in partnership with the International AIDS Society (IAS), Young Leaders Programme.

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Host Ben Plumley records from a windy Rio de Janeiro at AIDS 2026 with IAS Young Leaders guests Zarawu Adams (Ghana), Xandro Xu (USA), and returning guest Mengfei Li (Hong Kong). Adams discusses research on antiretroviral therapy–related metabolic complications and an app concept to monitor metabolic panels to prevent type 2 diabetes among patients on treatment. Xu presents research on how civic engagement and political empowerment relate to more frequent HIV testing among LGBTQ+ people in the United States, with findings highlighting benefits for transgender communities. Li shares success from a hand-dance campaign and a poster on why U=U messaging struggles to gain traction across Asia Pacific, noting ongoing knowledge gaps. They reflect on conference networking, stigma, funding uncertainty, integration with broader health priorities, optimism, collaboration, communication, and self-care as they commit to long-term HIV work.

00:00 Welcome and Guests

00:49 Metabolic Crisis Research

02:39 Civic Engagement and Testing

05:19 Hand Dance Campaign Wins

06:38 U Equals U Awareness Gap

08:43 Conference Takeaways

13:09 Why We Chose HIV Work

16:58 Can We End HIV

22:42 What Fuels Optimism

25:13 Family and Health Advocacy

28:31 HIV Fatigue and Funding Cuts

31:10 Lessons and Final Advice

37:37 Closing Thanks

Guests:

Zarawu Adams

IAS Young Leader

Medical Scientist, Salama Clinic Accra, Ghana

Xandro Xu

IAS Young Leader

Researcher & Advocate, University of Pennsylvania alum

Mengfei Li

IAS Young Leader

PhD Candidate, The University of Hong Kong

AIDS 2026

https://www.iasociety.org/conferences/aids2026

Check Out Ben’s Substack:

https://substack.com/@benplumley1

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#hivaids #HIV #AIDS #globalhealth #AIDS2026

On the first full day of AIDS 2026 in Rio, the A Shot in the Arm podcast (with the International AIDS Societies Young Leaders Program) captures excitement about new HIV science alongside anxiety over PEPFAR-related funding cuts and debate about reliance on a single donor. Guests include Florence, a Botswana-Harvard lab research scientist studying HIV/HBV coinfection and occult hepatitis B, reporting mutation findings (notably in the HBx region) and urging more inclusive OBI screening and greater HBV visibility at AIDS conferences; Bernard, a Nigerian doctor practicing emergency medicine in Russia, proposing integrating HIV awareness into existing emergency/ambulance systems to reduce stigma and cost; and returning guest Maggie Duncan, who presents work improving the Intact Proviral DNA Assay for measuring HIV reservoirs across subtypes. They discuss partnerships, private sector roles, long-term post-2030 HIV response, stigma, and unequal access to technologies and reagents.

00:00 Welcome From Rio

00:30 Conference Mood Check

01:08 PEPFAR Tensions

02:13 Meet The Guests

02:30 Florence HBV HIV Research

06:04 Clinical Coinfection Basics

07:08 Bernard Emergency Integration

10:18 Stigma Sparked A Pivot

11:45 Maggie Reservoir Assay

13:53 Florence Poster Deep Dive

19:18 Partnerships And Funding

22:58 Private Sector Debate

27:18 Beyond 2030 Future Outlook

31:27 Access Equity And Stigma

34:47 Closing Thanks

Guests:

Florence Gaone, IAS Young Leader: Research Scientist, Botswana Harvard Health Partnership

Bernard Adorbe, IAS Young Leader: Medical doctor- Hospital of Emergency Medical Services, Rostov on don, Russia

Maggie Duncan, IAS Young Leader: PhD Student at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University Vancouver Canada

AIDS 2026

https://www.iasociety.org/conferences/aids2026

Check Out Ben’s Substack:

https://substack.com/@benplumley1

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#hivaids #HIV #AIDS #globalhealth #AIDS2026

From AIDS 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, host Ben Plumley talks with International AIDS Society Young Leaders Edmond Soko (Zambia, Grassroots Soccer) and Noah Mancuso (Atlanta, Emory/RTI) about where the HIV epidemic is heading. Edmond describes using soccer-based, play-focused curricula to deliver HIV prevention education and reach rural adolescents who struggle to access services. Noah outlines three posters: a systematic review on barriers and facilitators to injectable PrEP for adolescent girls and young women, an analysis of how US federal funding cuts affect geographic access to PrEP in Atlanta, and a review of 20 years of mobile health interventions showing limited translation into real-world apps. They discuss new prevention innovations like a monthly pill and a weekly prevention pill with earlier access planning, the promise and risks of AI and telehealth for reducing stigma and improving access, shifting funding realities, and ongoing activism and optimism for epidemic control.

00:00 Welcome to AIDS 2026

00:50 Meet the Young Leaders

01:24 Edmond’s Grassroots Soccer Work

03:00 Noah’s Path into HIV Research

04:09 Posters and New Findings

07:12 Soccer as Prevention Strategy

08:30 Conference Vibe and Tensions

10:24 New Prevention Innovations

12:11 Careers and Funding Cut Reality

13:34 Optimism and Activism

17:03 AI and Digital Health Trends

21:46 Telehealth Access and Stigma

25:16 Next Generation Takeaways

27:10 Closing Thanks and Sign Off

AIDS 2026

https://www.iasociety.org/conferences/aids2026

Check Out Ben’s Substack:

https://substack.com/@benplumley1

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#hivaids #HIV #AIDS #globalhealth

Ben launches the first of six daily A Shot in the Arm Podcast episodes from AIDS 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, produced with the International AIDS Society and its Young Leaders program. He interviews two young leaders: Mengfei, a Hong Kong–based PhD researcher in health communication who studies how to translate HIV science on social media and promotes U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable), and Maggie Duncan from Vancouver, a PhD researcher focused on characterizing and improving quantification of the HIV reservoir to better measure cure strategies. They discuss why HIV is uniquely complex scientifically and socially, persistent stigma and lack of U=U awareness among young people in Asia Pacific, and Mengfei‘s U=U hand-dance campaign expanding from social media to offline events. Both present on Tuesday, with a U=U pop-up Wednesday in the Global Village.

00:00 Welcome to AIDS 2026

00:44 Meet the Young Leaders

01:07 Mengfei on Health Communication

03:26 U Equals U Explained

03:49 Maggie on HIV Reservoirs

06:41 What Makes HIV Unique

09:39 Stigma Across Generations

11:32 Talking HIV With Peers

15:50 Hand Dance U Equals U Campaign

21:30 Conference Plans and Wrap Up

23:16 Credits and Goodbye

AIDS 2026

https://www.iasociety.org/conferences/aids2026

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#hivaids #HIV #AIDS #globalhealth

From AIDS 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, A Shot in the Arm Podcast hosts, Ben and Yvette, discuss why convening the global AIDS community still matters amid major financial challenges and shifts in U.S. aid. They emphasize “humanity first,” the need for African leadership, sovereignty in HIV financing, and learning how programs survived when aid decreased because “the community stayed.” They discuss remembering people lost due to changes in American aid and reject “America First” approaches in favor of multilateral collaboration. They also highlight scientific innovation and access issues, including once-monthly PrEP, once-weekly treatment, new combinations, and the importance of real choice to address treatment fatigue, along with growing interest in African manufacturing and policies like South Africa’s BEE requirements.

00:00 Welcome to Rio

00:53 Why This Conference Matters

01:42 Funding Sovereignty Debate

03:57 Resilience After Aid Cuts

05:43 New HIV Science Pipeline

07:31 Choice and Local Manufacturing

11:24 Rejecting America First

13:29 Community Power and Wrap Up

AIDS 2026, the 26th International AIDS Conference

https://www.iasociety.org/conferences/aids2026

APHA - Advocates for the Prevention of HIV in Africa

https://www.apha.org.za

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#hivaids #HIV #AIDS #globalhealth