Infectious Diseases Are Rising Globally

By Allison Kozicharow; Edited by Elizabeth Fine

Infectious diseases — such as cholera, malaria, mpox, measles — are skyrocketing.

Sadly, many of the infectious diseases found in low-resource regions of the world are already endemic. These areas also experience (1) seasons of severe flooding or drought from climate change, (2) political unrest due to conflict (3), poor sanitation, (4) food insecurity and (5) a lack of doctors and nurses amid weak health infrastructure.

When in 2025 the Trump Administration slashed global health aid, WiRED International stepped up to the plate to enhance our training and tools for community health workers (CHWs), so key in underserved countries to provide education and comfort to the populations they serve. For example, WiRED CHWs in Kisumu, Kenya reach about 10,000 people each month with health services!

WiRED pledged to use every tool at our disposal to empower CHWs to teach behavioral prevention for disease, especially for communicable illnesses, so clearly on the rise. Completed actions since 2025 include:

• updating our innovative HealthMAP App, now available and easily accessible for free download for both Android users and Apple users,
• growing our library of hundreds of health education modules (including Understanding Communicable Diseases) as emerging diseases and concerns arise,
• creating a One Health Training Series to map the vital relationship between humans, animals and the environment,
• training new CHW teams in Kenya and in other underserved countries and
• launching a Continuing Medical Education Program, tracker tool and webpage.

(Note that WiRED is releasing an Advanced Training Course for CHWs sometime before summer 2026.)

Further, WiRED fast tracked a suite of infectious disease training animations to prepare communities to slow the spread of illness. The cost-free, downloadable animations are designed to engage students and their families in learning about the diseases and how to prevent them. The animations include:

• Infectious Disease Basics
• Recognizing Signs and Symptoms of Illnesses
• Personal Hygiene and Healthy Living
• Water Sanitation and Purification
• Fighting Cholera Together.

The World Health Organization reports that 1.3 million people are affected right now by extreme flooding in Southern Africa. Currently WiRED is on the ground in Kenya. We will post a story on the flooding situation through our eyes shortly.

Water-borne diseases, particularly acute watery diarrhea and cholera are serious threats in sites hosting people displaced by the deluge due to overcrowding, poor access to hygiene and sanitation services as well as inadequate safe water. WiRED just released an Advanced Rehydration and Diarrheal Disease Management module to help CHWs teach their communities about rehydration and how to use the life-saving oral hydration solution. We will provide a more detailed account of the training in several days.

The training modules provided by WiRED are a critical resource in our current global landscape. As of 2026, the intersection of climate change and increasing global conflicts has created a perfect storm for the resurgence of infectious diseases, making community-led education more vital than ever.