Global Health Matters

Who gets to read the science, and who pays for it? Fresh back from summer (tans included),  Garry Aslanyan and co-hosts  Catherine Kyobutungi and Ricardo Baptista Leite return for the fifth installment of The Inside Track. This time they're joined by special guest Ashley Farley, Senior Officer for Knowledge and Research Services in Global Health at the Gates Foundation, to dig into open access and the paywalls that keep research away from the people who need it most. They talk about why the Gates Foundation stopped paying article processing charges and the growth of Diamond Open Access. The pundits then pick apart Lithuania's controversial plan to send newly trained doctors to rural areas. They close with kudos for El Salvador eliminating trachoma, promising mRNA cancer vaccine results and the public health thinking behind Addis Ababa's makeover.
Related episode documents, transcripts and other information can be found on our website.

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 Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Global Health Matters podcast series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of TDR or the World Health Organization.  
 
 All content © 2026 Global Health Matters.

"Trailblazers with Garry" is a series from Global Health Matters, where host Garry Aslanyan sits down with trailblazers — thinkers, leaders, and influencers shaping the future of global health — for short face-to-face conversations, available in both audio and video formats. It’s a chance to get to know the people behind the work and hear their perspectives on the current global health landscape.
For this episode, Garry sat down with Priti Patnaik, an independent investigative journalist and the founding editor of Geneva Health Files — a reader-funded newsletter that tracks the power and politics of global health. Founded in 2020, Geneva Health Files reaches 7,000 readers in 150 countries and has multiple contributors. In this conversation, Priti explains why global health cannot be understood disease by disease, and how her trade and finance lens reveals the money and power behind health decisions.  There GHF newsletter can be found here. 
Related episode documents, transcripts and other information can be found on our website.

Subscribe to the Global Health Matters podcast newsletter. 
 
Follow us for updates:
@TDRnews on X
TDR on LinkedIn
@ghm_podcast on Instagram
@ghm-podcast.bsky.social on Bluesky
 
Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Global Health Matters podcast series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of TDR or the World Health Organization.  

All content © 2026 Global Health Matters.

In this video trailer, Host Garry Aslanyan shares a mid‑season update on Season 5 of Global Health Matters, highlighting the four types of episodes the show now offers — Signature deep‑dives, Dialogue interviews, Trailblazers recorded during his travels, and the newest format, The Inside Track. He also announces that video versions of two episode types will soon be available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, encouraging listeners to keep watching and stay tuned for more content through 2026 and 2027.
We also thank you for listening to Global Health Matters. This short survey (about 8 minutes) will help us understand what is working, what we can do better, and what you would like to hear in Season 6. Your answers are anonymous unless you choose to leave your details at the end.
Related episode documents, transcripts and other information can be found on our website.

Subscribe to the Global Health Matters podcast newsletter. 
 
Follow us for updates:
@TDRnews on X
TDR on LinkedIn
@ghm_podcast on Instagram
@ghm-podcast.bsky.social on Bluesky
 
Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Global Health Matters podcast series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of TDR or the World Health Organization.  

All content © 2026 Global Health Matters.

In this video trailer, Host Garry Aslanyan shares a mid‑season update on Season 5 of Global Health Matters, highlighting the four types of episodes the show now offers — Signature deep‑dives, Dialogue interviews, Trailblazers recorded during his travels, and the newest format, The Inside Track. He also announces that video versions of two episode types will soon be available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, encouraging listeners to keep watching and stay tuned for more content through 2026 and 2027.
We also thank you for listening to Global Health Matters. This short survey (about 8 minutes) will help us understand what is working, what we can do better, and what you would like to hear in Season 6. Your answers are anonymous unless you choose to leave your details at the end.
Related episode documents, transcripts and other information can be found on our website.

Subscribe to the Global Health Matters podcast newsletter. 
 
Follow us for updates:
@TDRnews on X
TDR on LinkedIn
@ghm_podcast on Instagram
@ghm-podcast.bsky.social on Bluesky
 
Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Global Health Matters podcast series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of TDR or the World Health Organization.  

All content © 2026 Global Health Matters.

Building stronger health systems requires more than technical solutions. It requires understanding the people, relationships and power dynamics that shape health outcomes. As countries work towards more equitable and resilient health systems, how can gender and inclusion become central to research, policymaking and practice? And how can partnerships help ensure that evidence reflects the realities of the communities health systems are designed to serve?
In this episode of Guiding Research, Dr. Sam Oti, Senior Programme Specialist at Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), speaks with Professor Asha George, health systems researcher at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa.
Together, they explore why context matters, how lived experience should complement data, and why long-term partnerships are essential for creating sustainable change. The discussion highlights the importance of community participation, inclusive research and ensuring that those whose voices are too often overlooked are meaningfully involved in shaping health systems. Throughout the conversation, one question continues to emerge: Who is missing?

In this episode

Gender and inclusion in health systems 
Community participation and partnerships 
Evidence, lived experience and policymaking 
Equity and social justice Building people-centred and resilient health systems 
This episode forms part of the Guiding Research podcast series, produced by Global Health Matters in collaboration with Health Systems Global (HSG). The series explores the themes of the Health Systems Research (HSR) 2026 Symposium and brings together leading voices in health policy and systems research.
* HSG’s involvement in the production of these podcast episodes was supported by IDRC.
Subscribe to the Global Health Matters podcast newsletter. 
 
Follow us for updates:
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TDR on LinkedIn
@ghm_podcast on Instagram
@ghm-podcast.bsky.social on Bluesky
 
Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Global Health Matters podcast series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of TDR or the World Health Organization.  

All content © 2026 Global Health Matters.