Amazon could survive long-term drought but at a high cost

University of Edinburgh

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Rainforest study area in north-eastern Brazil, showing rows of transparent panels to redirect water away from trees.

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Credit: Pablo Sanchez Martinez

The Amazon rainforest may be able to survive long-term drought caused by climate change, but adjusting to a drier, warmer world would exact a heavy toll, a study suggests.

The findings show that adjusting to cope with the effects of climate change could see some parts of the Amazon rainforest lose many of its largest trees.

This would release the large amount of carbon stored in these trees to the air, and reduce the rainforest’s immediate capacity to act as an important carbon sink, researchers say.

Parts of the Amazon are expected to become drier and warmer as the climate changes, but the long-term effects on the region’s rainforests – which span more than 2 million square miles – are poorly understood.

Previously, research has raised concerns that a combination of severe warming and drying, together with deforestation, could lead to lush rainforest degrading to a sparser forest or even savanna.

Now, findings from the world’s longest-running drought study in tropical rainforest have revealed some of the profound changes the Amazon could undergo in a drier world.

Over a 22-year period, a one-hectare area of rainforest in north-eastern Amazonian Brazil – roughly the size of Trafalgar Square – has been subjected to long-term drought conditions.

The experiment began in 2002, with thousands of transparent panels installed above the ground to redirect roughly half of the rainfall to a system of gutters, taking it away from the trees.

Analysis by a team co-led by scientists from the University of Edinburgh and the Federal University of Para, Brazil, shows that most of the study area’s largest trees died during the first 15 years of the experiment, after which the forest stabilised.

The team’s findings show that for the seven years after the large initial biomass losses the availability of water increased for the surviving trees. Tests on these remaining trees showed they were now no more drought-stressed than those in nearby rainforest not subjected to drought.

Overall, the area lost more than one-third of its total biomass – the trunks, branches, stems and roots where carbon is stored in living vegetation. Such widespread losses across the Amazon would see the rainforest release vast amounts of carbon, and greatly reduce its immediate capacity to act as a sink for emissions from human activities, the team says.

Having lost carbon through excess tree deaths during the first 15 years of the study, surviving trees in the area are now making slight carbon gains, the team says.

While the study area has less woody biomass than normal rainforests in the Amazon, it still has more than many dry forests and savannas. This indicates that the rainforest has some long-term resilience to the drier conditions it could experience due to climate change, but that this comes at a high cost.

The amount of biomass the Amazon could lose, and the time required for it to stabilise, may be underestimated, as the study only assessed the effects of soil drought, the team says.

Further research is needed to assess other likely impacts, such as changes to moisture in the air, temperature and the compounding effects of other climate-related factors such as storms or fires, they add.

The study, published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, was carried out by a team led by Professors Patrick Meir of the University of Edinburgh and Antonio Carlos Lôla Da Costa of the Universidade Federal do Pará and the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Brazil. It also involved researchers from the Universities of Exeter and Cardiff, and CREAF in Spain. The research was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Royal Society and the UK Met Office Newton Fund.

Lead author Dr Pablo Sanchez Martinez, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences, said: “Our findings suggest that while some rainforests may be able to survive prolonged droughts brought on by climate change, their capacity to act as both a vital carbon store and carbon sink could be greatly diminished.”

Professor Patrick Meir, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences, said: “Ecological responses to climate can have very large impacts on our environment, locally and globally; we cannot understand and predict them without long-term collaborative research of this sort.”

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Journal

Nature Ecology & Evolution

Aerial shot of the Caxiuanã National Forest in north-eastern Brazil, where the study took place.

Credit

Paulo Bittencourt

Close-up of rainforest trees in the study area being monitored using scientific equipment. 

Credit

Pablo Sanchez Martinez

 

Does adapting to a warmer climate have drawbacks?

A laboratory study of zebrafish shows that fish can be bred to adapt to warmer water temperatures without apparent trade-offs. But it's not clear that wild fish can adapt as quickly as their pampered laboratory kin

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

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In a long term experiment designed to mimic evolution over seven generations, researchers specially selected a group of zebrafish to tolerate warmer water temperatures. Anna Andreassen, who did her PhD research at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) on this project, is shown holding some of the participants from the experiment. Photo: Thor Nielsen / NTNU

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Credit: Photo: Thor Nielsen / NTNU

Global warming is already very tough for animals in the wild, but it may be toughest for creatures like fish, whose body temperatures are controlled by the water temperatures around them.

Fish have to evolve to handle higher water temperatures, if they can’t move to areas with colder water.  But what if adapting to warmer water has other unwanted consequences?

In a new publication in Nature Climate Change, researchers looked at zebrafish that they had specially bred over 7 generations to tolerate higher maximum water temperatures.

Very few research groups have been able to test how fish can evolve when facing climate change, because it takes thousands of fish and many years of careful experiments.

In the research world, an experiment of this size and scale is unique, said Fredrik Jutfelt, senior author of the paper and head of the Jutfelt Fish Ecophysiology Lab at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Jutfelt also has a position at the University of Gothenburg.

"Very few research groups have been able to test how fish can evolve when facing climate change, because it takes thousands of fish and many years of careful experiments," he said. "That makes this work very important because we can finally start to understand how evolution may help fish adapt to warming waters.”

The study was designed to see if the higher heat tolerance would affect other aspects of the fish’s metabolism and ability to survive.

Surprising result

Much to their surprise, the researchers found that the fish that were bred to tackle warmer temperatures were also more tolerant to colder temperatures.

When we look at how well they reproduce, and how well they grow and perform, we didn't really see any trade-offs.

“What we normally expect, if we compare species in the wild that are warm adapted, is that they have lower cooling tolerance. And then we saw this higher cooling tolerance, which was surprising,” said Anna Andreassen, the first author of the new paper.

Andreassen was a PhD research fellow at NTNU in the Jutfelt group when she did this research, and is now a postdoc at the Technical University of Denmark.

What was even more surprising for the researchers was that increased heat tolerance didn’t affect other aspects of the fish’s metabolism or ability to reproduce or swim.

A wild population from India

Andreassen and her colleagues designed their experiments to compare three groups from a population of wild fish collected in India and brought back to NTNU in 2016.

One group from this population was specifically selected to be more tolerant to high temperatures. A second control group of “normal” zebrafish was allowed to reproduce without being selected for a specific heat tolerance. The third group from the same population was selected to be worse at tolerating heat.

After observing the change in warming tolerance, the researchers compared other traits among the three groups to see if being adapted to warmer temperatures gave fish a physiological or reproductive advantage or disadvantage compared to “natural” fish from the same original group.

Oxygen is key

One test involved seeing how efficiently the 2-cm-long fish used oxygen.

Just like with humans, higher temperatures increase the fish’s metabolism, so that individuals need more oxygen at higher temperatures.

One possible mechanism to explain why heat-tolerant fish do better in warmer waters might be that their bodies could use oxygen more efficiently than the controls or the fish with low warm tolerance.

“So one idea is that the (heat-tolerant) fish itself has some capacity to take up more oxygen than others,” Andreassen said.

Testing in a swim tunnel

So the researchers put the fish in a fish equivalent of a treadmill, a swim tunnel, where the researchers could adjust the water speed and simultaneously measure the oxygen consumption.

“We can measure how much oxygen they take up from the water while they're swimming at their maximum capacity,” Andreassen said. “It’s like putting them on little fish treadmills.”

But much to their surprise, they essentially found no difference in the use of oxygen among groups.

There was one exception. The group that was bred to be more sensitive to high temperatures didn’t do as well as the other groups when temperatures were highest.

In short, “we don't see that oxygen actually helps fish in tolerating warming in this case,” Andreassen said.

“And that is big in our field,” she said. “One very big hypothesis is that (global) warming itself might not limit the animals, but that oxygen becomes limited at high temperatures. But we didn’t see that.”

Swimming and having babies

The story was more or less the same when it came to other measures of what makes a successful life for a fish.

The researchers thought there might be some kind of trade-off for tolerating higher water temperatures. So they looked at the commonly accepted indicators of what makes a fish well-adapted to its environment.

“When we look at how well they reproduce, and how well they grow and perform, we didn't really see any trade-offs” for the fish that had evolved to tolerate warmer temperatures, Andreassen said.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a trade-off, she said, but that the researchers didn't find one in the most commonly accepted measures of fitness that they tested.

Better in a warming world?

Global warming means higher average temperatures, but it can also cause severe heat waves.  Researchers from all over the planet are scrambling to understand if plants and animals can handle this additional stress, and if so, how.

It took three years for researchers in the Jutfelt group to breed their heat-tolerant zebrafish. Could wild populations evolve on their own that rapidly?

Rachael Morgan, who also did her PhD with the same fish from the Jutfelt Lab concluded in a 2020 article that  there was a low potential for zebrafish to be saved by evolving to tolerate higher temperatures. Nevertheless, Andreassen said,  it’s important for biologists understand how these adaptations might actually come about.

“We’re trying to understand the physiology and what is actually changing in the body of the animals,” she said.

Jutfelt said it's important not to overlook the larger problems that come from the warming the planet is experiencing now.

“Even though the zebrafish didn’t show any adverse effects from developing a tolerance to higher water temperatures, climate change will nevertheless continue to pose unanticipated and dangerous challenges to all life on Earth,” he said.

Researchers from the Jutfelt Lab at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) traveled to India in 2016 to collect wild zebrafish. These animals were the basis for a unique study on how selecting fish for heat tolerance over seven generations would affect their evolution. 

Credit

Photo: Fredrik Jutfelt/NTNU

Reference:
Anna H. Andreassen, Jeff C. Clements, Rachael Morgan, Davide Spatafora, Moa Metz, Eirik R. Åsheim, Christophe Pélabon & Fredrik Jutfelt. (2025) Evolution of warming tolerance alters physiology and life history traits in zebrafish. Nature Climate Change. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02332-y

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Journal

Nature Climate Change

DOI

10.1038/s41558-025-02332-y 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Evolution of warming tolerance alters physiology and life history traits in zebrafish

Article Publication Date

14-May-2025

Researchers delve into incels’ rejection of work and study

McGill researchers’ analysis of online forum conversations finds that some incels offer an ideological rationale for not working or studying, one reinforced by peer pressure

TOXIC MASCULINTY LIVING IN MOM'S BASEMENT

McGill University

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Researchers delve into incels’ rejection of work and study

McGill researchers’ analysis of online forum conversations finds that some incels offer an ideological rationale for not working or studying, one reinforced by peer pressure

The critically acclaimed Netflix drama Adolescence has put a spotlight on the culture and ideas of incels (involuntary celibates), an online subculture of people (mostly male and heterosexual), who define themselves as unable to find a romantic or sexual partner, largely due to their perceived unattractiveness.

By analyzing exchanges on online incel forums, McGill University researchers have gained insights into the negative attitudes toward labour force participation held by many young men who identify as incels. The researchers suggest that while some incels struggle with finding and retaining work because of various mental health challenges, for many members of the incel forum the choice not to work, study or train for a job is based on deeply held beliefs, and that these beliefs are often reinforced by other online forum participants.

This suggests there is a need for education and employment support programs that address not only the practical barriers to employment and study, but also the deep sense of alienation and social rejection felt by many in this group, the researchers said.

Unemployment as a commitment to incel identity

Recent surveys have shown that a disproportionally high percentage (up to 30 per cent) of incels are not in employment, education or training (NEET). This prompted researchers to analyze more than 1,200 online comments on employment on 171 discussion threads on a popular incel forum during two weeks in the fall of 2022.

“They use employment status to assess the degree of commitment of their peers to incel identity and often encourage other incels to embrace a life of unemployment and isolation. Many also share the belief that the absence of a female romantic partner makes working pointless,” said Eran Shor, a McGill sociologist and co-author of the study published in the journal Gender, Work & Organization.  

High levels of internal policing help maintain inceldom

Members of the community participating in the discussions frequently encouraged others to retain their NEET status, something they praised as a confirming sign of “true” inceldom (a “truecel”).  Those who talked about trying to improve their situation by working or studying were regularly labelled “fakecels.”

Only about one-quarter of forum members suggested that they or others should try to improve their situation by studying or finding work.

“This peer pressure makes unemployment a badge of honour rather than a problem to be solved. These online spaces can reinforce harmful ideas and discourage members from seeking help or changing their situation. So, understanding how these beliefs form is the key to finding ways to support and engage with these marginalized young men,” said Shor.

Need for a multi-pronged approach to reintegrating incels into society

The researchers suggest that encouraging incels to consider changing will require a multi-layered approach. They said there is a need for education, job training and placement programs. Interventions that focus on mental health and online community engagement will also be important, they said.

Shor added, "Long-term change will require challenging harmful narratives about masculinity, relationships, and success. Instead of punishing incels or banning their communities outright, helping them reintegrate into society will be more effective.”

The study

“Don't Work for Soyciety:” Involuntary Celibacy and Unemployment by AnnaRose Beckett-Herbert and Eran Shor was published in Gender, Work & Organization.

DOI: 10.1111/gwao.13248

There were no external sources of funding for the research.

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Journal

Gender Work and Organization

DOI

10.1111/gwao.13248 

Method of Research

Literature review

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

“Don't Work for Soyciety:” Involuntary Celibacy and Unemployment

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University of Bath Press Release

Lower taxes on Heated Tobacco Products are subsidising tobacco industry – new research

Governments missing out tax revenues, hampering health policy

 

Governments which impose lower taxes on heated tobacco products in the hope of encouraging smokers away from conventional cigarettes are effectively subsidising the tobacco industry, missing out on much-needed tax revenues and hampering their own public health initiatives, new research from the University of Bath shows.

Researchers examined the effect of tax changes on the tobacco market in Ukraine, which has become one of the few countries in the world to apply equivalent specific tobacco taxes to traditional cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs).

Unlike conventional cigarettes where tobacco is burnt, and e-cigarettes which contain nicotine but not tobacco, HTPs heat tobacco to produce an inhalable aerosol. Demand for HTPs has soared in recent years as consumers look for what many regard as a less harmful product that gives a similar experience to traditional cigarettes.

In many countries, HTPs are subject to lower tax rates and lighter regulation than traditional cigarettes but the study showed lower tax rates were benefiting the tobacco companies’ bottom lines at the expense of the consumer and government coffers.

“Our study showed that tobacco companies positioned HTPs as premium products alongside their premium cigarettes. When the tax regime in Ukraine changed, the selling price point in the market didn’t change, it just resulted in the industry making less profits. This suggests that governments which apply lower taxes to HTPs are only succeeding in boosting tobacco industry profits and depriving themselves of tax revenue – essentially, they are granting a subsidy,” said lead researcher Dr Zaineb Sheikh of the university’s Tobacco Control Research Group.

Dr Sheikh said the study - Examining cigarette, heated tobacco, and e-cigarette market pricing and tax passthrough in Ukraine during the 2019-2022 tax reforms – sheds light on how tobacco companies translated taxes on HTPs into retail prices for consumers, which she said would be invaluable information for policymakers and public health strategy.

Traditional cigarettes continue to account for the largest share of the market in Ukraine but demand for HTPs and e-cigarettes, touted by tobacco companies as lower-risk options for smokers, is surging in what the researchers called ‘a new frontier in global tobacco control efforts’. Recent analysis from the Institute for Global Tobacco Control showed that, in Ukraine, HTP sales rose 278% from 2019 to 2022 while sales of cigarettes declined.

“These new products are often marketed as reduced-risk alternatives, appealing particularly to younger consumers who are often drawn to the technological allure of these devices. However, the long-term health effects of these products remain uncertain, and while some evidence suggests some of these novel products may assist in smoking cessation, others indicate limited or inconclusive efficacy or that they may undermine smokers’ efforts to quit,” Dr Sheikh said.

Another recent study by the Tobacco Research Control Group questioned claims that data from clinical studies proves HTPs are less harmful for health than conventional cigarettes. Researchers examined the data from 40 clinical trials on the potential health effects of HTPs and determined the overall findings from the studies to be inconclusive.

Co-researcher Dr Rob Branston of the University of Bath School of Management said the tobacco industry continually adapted its pricing strategies to mitigate the impact of higher taxes on its profits, often undermining public health objectives.

He said tax harmonisation such as that undertaken by Ukraine aligns with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, which emphasise that uniform taxation can prevent market segmentation and the emergence of products designed to circumvent existing regulations.

“But the taxation of such novel products has been inconsistent across different countries, with many jurisdictions applying lower tax rates or failing to tax these new products at all, so understanding how the industry responds to their tax increases has become more urgent,” Dr Branston said.

“There is some evidence that e-cigarettes may help smokers on the journey towards quitting but our view is the same cannot be argued for HTPs and nor is there compelling independent evidence that they are less harmful than combustible cigarettes – so they should be taxed accordingly,” he added.

The research team comprised Dr Sheikh, Dr Branston, Lilia Olefir of the Smoke Free Partnership in Brussels (previously of the Life advocacy Center in Kiev Ukraine), and Dr Kevin Welding of Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

ENDS/tr

Notes to editors 

• For more information please contact the University of Bath Press office at press@bath.ac.uk

The University of Bath

The University of Bath is one of the UK’s leading universities, with a reputation for high-impact research, excellence in education, student experience and graduate prospects. We are ranked in the top 10 of all of the UK’s major university guides. We are also ranked among the world’s top 10% of universities, placing 150th in the QS World University Rankings 2025. Bath was rated in the world’s top 10 universities for sport in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024.

Research from Bath is helping to change the world for the better. Across the University’s three Faculties and School of Management, our research is making an impact in society, leading to low-carbon living, positive digital futures, and improved health and wellbeing. Find out all about our Research with Impact: https://www.bath.ac.uk/campaigns/research-with-impact/

The Tobacco Control Research Group

The Tobacco Control Research Group (TCRG) at the University of Bath is part of STOP, a global tobacco industry watchdog whose mission is to expose the tobacco industry tactics that undermine public health. Comprised of a network of academic and public health organisations, STOP researches and monitors the tobacco industry, shares intelligence to counter its tactics, and exposes its misdeeds to a global audience. STOP is funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies as part of the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use (BI). TCRG is a multidisciplinary, international research group that examines how companies influence health and policy and evaluates and provides evidence for policy change.

 

 

 

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Journal

BMJ

DOI

10.1136/tc-2025-059290 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Examining cigarette, heated tobacco, and e-cigarette market pricing and tax passthrough in Ukraine during the 2019-2022 tax reforms

Article Publication Date

14-May-2025

 

Researchers from The University of Warwick warn marginalized young adults in low- and middle-income countries face “growing online abuse”

University of Warwick

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A major new international study has found that young adults in low- and middle-income countries who are sex workers, gay men, transgender or living with HIV are facing a surge in online abuse - from harassment and blackmail to the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.  

Researchers from The University of Warwick’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies warn this abuse is becoming increasingly normalised and is moving between online and in-person threats, with most victims having little access to support or justice. 

The study — the largest of its kind — focuses on Colombia, Ghana, Kenya and Vietnam, and reveals how stigma, harassment, digital exclusion and fear are creating major barriers to accessing essential health information and support online for some of society’s most marginalised  groups. 

More than 300 young adults aged 18 to 30, along with 41 experts and leaders from UN agencies, governments, HIV support networks and civil society, were interviewed for the study.  

The research was carried out by an international consortium of academics, human rights lawyers, health advocates, young leaders, and community-led organisations, with support from The University of Warwick’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies and funding from Fondation Botnar, a Swiss foundation. 

The consortium included the Ghana Network of Persons living with HIV, the Global Network of People Living with HIV, Kenya Legal & Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS, Privacy International (UK), Restless Development, STOPAIDS, Universidad de los Andes (Colombia) and the Vietnam Network of People Living with HIV. 

The research comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) reviews its Global Strategy on Digital Health, which aims to help countries integrate digital health tools into their healthcare systems to improve delivery, reduce inequalities and promote health equity. It also follows repeated calls from the UN for online platforms to be regulated to stop the spread of harmful misinformation and abuse, including a Global Digital Compact approved in 2024. 

Key findings: 

Young adults described a wide range of obstacles to safely accessing health information and support online: 

• Cost and connectivity: In Kenya and Ghana, participants described being forced to choose between buying food or mobile data. Some sex workers and young women fall into debt trying to stay online, cutting them off from both income and essential health support. 

• Stigma and exclusion: In Colombia, some transgender participants say they avoid social media altogether due to frequent harassment. In Vietnam, fear of being "outed" as a person living with HIV has led many to self-censor online. 

• Digital gender divide: Young women reported having to rely on male partners for access to phones or mobile data, and said restrictive gender norms were limiting their digital freedom 

• Surveillance fears: Across all four countries, participants fear their online activities might be monitored by their family or community, especially for those who have no choice but to share phones. In Ghana, where a draconian anti-homosexuality bill is progressing through Parliament, young adults fear being reported to authorities if they are identified online as part of a sexual minority 

• Online abuse: Over three-quarters of participants described online abuse against themselves or friends, including stalking, blackmail, extortion, and violent threats, particularly among women, LGBTQ+ individuals and sex workers. Some described how this abuse carries over into in-person encounters and is increasingly seen as a normal part of life. Few who reported abuse were able to access support or see any meaningful action from police, law enforcement or tech companies. 

• Resilience: Young activists described relying on community networks for support and advice, and shared visions for the digital future.  

In Ghana, a gay man was ambushed by attackers after being lured through a fake online romantic conversation. 

In Vietnam, a young man was blackmailed after hackers sent doctored images to his contacts. 

In Colombia, transgender sex workers reported being stalked and attacked after their phone numbers and photos were reposted from one escort site to another without their knowledge or consent. 

In Kenya, a young woman said she was evicted at just 14 years old, when a healthcare worker accidentally revealed her HIV status via a text reminder sent to a phone the young woman shared with family. 

Many young adults told the researchers that reporting abuse does not help and can even make things worse. In Ghana, one participant said a friend who reported an assault was questioned by police about being in a same-sex relationship. 

The UN recognises access to online health information and support as a fundamental part of the right to health. But the study reveals how far this right remains out of reach for many. 

Professor Sara (Meg) Davis, the report’s lead researcher at The University of Warwick’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies, said: 

“The issues we’ve documented have real consequences, not just for physical health, but for mental wellbeing, access to services, and young adults’ futures. We believe in the power of digital health, but this is a wake-up call that governments, UN agencies and others need to hear. Young adults are paying the cost, literally and psychologically, of connecting online so that they can access information and support for their health.  

“Recent cuts to Overseas Development Assistance funding in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe mean that global institutions that were at the forefront of this work are faltering, and the likelihood of countries meeting the Sustainable Development Goals is in jeopardy.” 

Dr. Bernard Koomson, co-author of the report and a postdoctoral fellow at The University of Warwick’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies (CIM), said:  

“Young adults in our study are clear that they want to use digital tools to support their health, but not at the expense of their privacy, safety or dignity. Their experiences highlight that government regulation is falling behind the pace of digital innovation.” 

Mike Podmore, Chief Executive Officer at STOPAIDS, said: 

 “The growing use of digital technologies in the global HIV response has the potential to advance the right to health—but young people living with and affected by HIV are facing online harms that deepen existing inequalities. This abuse undermines their wellbeing and ability to access digital health services or advocate for their rights.” 

Dr. Catalina Gonzalez, a research scientist at Center for Sustainable Development Goals for Latin America and the Caribbean (CODS), Universidad de los Andes in Colombia,, said:

“Our report calls for a bold reimagining of digital inclusion — one that empowers marginalized voices, protects against harm, and builds a future where technology serves as a force for equity, dignity, and opportunity for all.” 

Allan Maleche, Executive Director of The Kenya Legal & Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN), said:

"Digital health must be grounded in human rights, equity, and inclusion. The Digital Health and Rights Project underscores the urgent need for legal and policy reforms to ensure access, privacy, and protection from tech-enabled abuse, especially for youth and communities living with HIV." 

Dong Duc Thanh, Chairman of the Vietnam Network of People living with HIV (VNP+), said:

For young people living with HIV and young key populations, the digital space can sometimes feel unsafe, with risks like stigma, discrimination and breaches of privacy. To make sure technology becomes a source of strength and empowerment for every young person, we must come together to create a digital world that is safe, fair, and inclusive — where every voice is heard, and no one is left behind."  

The study calls on health ministries, lawmakers and the World Health Organization, to: 

• Prioritise the right to digital inclusion to tackle health inequality; and ensure health services remain available through both digital and non-digital channels, to avoid excluding those without internet access, 

• Take urgent action against Technology-Facilitated Abuse (TFA), using a survivor-centred approach in which survivors have a central voice in decision-making. Governments must strengthen laws, train law enforcement and hold tech companies accountable through effective regulation, 

• Strengthen digital privacy protections by enforcing strong data protection laws, and informing the public about their rights and available remedies when those rights are infringed, and 

Invest in youth leadership and civil society by ensuring young adults have a meaningful role in shaping digital health policies and strategies, including the next Global Health Strategy. 

The researchers are launching the report at a webinar on 12 May at 2pm UK time. They are also holding an online and in-person panel discussion at the World Health Assembly in Geneva on May 21 with UN agencies and youth leaders.