Women make up nearly 70% of the global health workforce, even as the world faces a shortage of 34 million health workers

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation

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Women make up nearly 70% of the global health workforce, even as the world faces a shortage of 34 million health workers 

• The global health workforce nearly tripled between 1990 and 2023, with women driving most of that growth.  

• Women now make up nearly 70% of health workers worldwide but remain concentrated in professions that generally offer lower pay and fewer leadership opportunities.  

• An estimated 34.4 million additional doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, and pharmacists are needed to achieve moderate universal health coverage, with the largest shortages in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. 

SEATTLE, Wash. – August 18, 2026 – Women have driven the expansion of the global health workforce over the past three decades, yet substantial workforce shortages remain, according to a new study published in The Lancet Public Health. Researchers estimate that an additional 34.4 million doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, and pharmacists are needed worldwide to achieve moderate levels of universal health coverage, where people can access essential health services without financial hardship.  

The study found that the global health workforce nearly tripled between 1990 and 2023, growing from 40.9 million to 122.1 million workers. Women accounted for 71.4% of this growth and represented 68.9% of all health workers in 2023. Despite this progress, substantial shortages persist across many regions, particularly South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where health systems continue to face some of the world’s lowest workforce densities.  

Based on Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 estimates, this study provides the first global, sex-disaggregated estimates of 20 health worker cadres, or groups of specially trained health personnel such as doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, dentists, and community health workers, across 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2023, including the first global estimates of community health workers. It also offers the most comprehensive assessment of the global health workforce to date.   

Women have driven global health workforce growth but remain underrepresented in many higher-paid professions.  

Between 1990 and 2023, the global health workforce expanded by more than 81 million workers, including 18.9 million nurses and 8.7 million doctors. Most regions saw substantial growth over this period, although the pace of expansion varied across countries and health professions.  

In 2023, the global health workforce included 122.1 million health workers, including 33.2 million nurses, 15.1 million doctors, 7.6 million community health workers, 6.8 million pharmacists and pharmaceutical assistants, and 6.1 million dentists and dental assistants. Women represented nearly seven in ten health workers worldwide, comprising 80.7% of nurses, 96.0% of midwives, and 89.5% of community health workers, while less than half of doctors were women. Similar patterns were observed across dentistry and pharmacy, where women were more likely to work as assistants than as dentists or pharmacists.   

“Women have transformed the global health workforce over the past three decades, but they continue to be concentrated in professions that generally offer lower pay and fewer opportunities for leadership,” said Megan Knight, lead author of the study and researcher at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). “Building stronger health systems will require not only expanding the workforce, but also creating equitable opportunities for career advancement, leadership, and safe, supportive working environments.” 

Millions of health workers will be needed to achieve universal health coverage.  

Despite substantial workforce growth, researchers estimate the world would need an additional 34.4 million health workers to achieve a score of 80 out of 100 on the GBD universal health coverage effective coverage index, a benchmark representing moderate levels of universal health coverage. This includes shortages of 23.9 million nurses and midwives, 7.1 million doctors, 1.8 million dentists, and 1.6 million pharmacists.  

Workforce shortages were greatest in South Asia, which would require an additional 2.6 million doctors and 10 million nurses and midwives to reach moderate universal health coverage. Sub-Saharan Africa also faced severe shortages across major health professions, with nursing density of 14.5 per 10,000 population compared with 121.8 per 10,000 in high-income countries. At the country level, nurse density was as low as 3.2 per 10,000 in Chad and 3.3 in Madagascar, compared with 171.7 per 10,000 in Belgium and 161.4 in the United States.  

“Health workers are the foundation of every health system,” said Dr. Annie Haakenstad, senior author of the study and Assistant Professor of Health Metrics Sciences at IHME. “Although the global workforce has expanded dramatically, millions more doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, and pharmacists will be needed to ensure people everywhere can access essential health services. These findings provide countries with minimum thresholds for planning the workforce needed to strengthen health systems and move toward universal health coverage.”  

Meeting global health goals will require sustained investments in the health workforce.  

The study estimates that achieving moderate universal health coverage is associated with minimum workforce densities of 23.8 doctors and 64.5 nurses and midwives per 10,000 people, along with 5.2 dentists and 5.6 pharmacists per 10,000. These minimum benchmarks can help countries identify workforce gaps and plan the investments needed to meet future health needs.  

The estimates also provide a measure of progress toward Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 3.c.1, which calls for substantially increasing the recruitment, development, training, and retention of the health workforce, as well as SDG target 3.8 on achieving universal health coverage.   

Closing global workforce gaps will require sustained investments in health worker education, recruitment, retention, and working conditions. Gender-responsive policies, including leadership development, workplace protections, paid parental leave, and flexible work arrangements, can also help support the predominantly female health workforce. Building a well-supported health workforce will be essential to expanding access to care and ensuring health systems are equipped to meet future health challenges.  

About IHME  

An independent population health research organization based at the University of Washington School of Medicine, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) works with collaborators around the world to develop timely, relevant, and scientifically valid evidence that illuminates the state of health everywhere. In making our research available and approachable, we aim to inform health policy and practice in pursuit of our vision: all people living long lives in full health.    

For interviews with the authors, please contact IHME’s Media Team at ihmemedia@uw.edu. 

---

Journal

The Lancet Public Health

DOI

10.1016/S2468-2667(26)00145-3 

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Measuring the composition and availability of human resources for health by sex in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2023, and workforce gaps for universal health coverage: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023

Article Publication Date

18-Aug-2026

SPACE/COSMOS

Scientists Gain New Insight Into The Inner Workings Of Stellar Explosions



August 19, 2026

By Eurasia Review

Key Takeaways:

New experimental data show a key nuclear reaction that controls titanium-44 production in supernovae happens more slowly than previously thought, raising predicted titanium-44 yields by up to 35% and improving models of these explosions.

Precise measurements of a reaction powering Type-I X-ray bursts reduce uncertainty by more than tenfold and confirm that the nickel-copper cycle traps some nuclear material, affecting the bursts’ light curves.

Together the studies replace theory and estimates with experimental evidence, helping scientists better understand how stellar explosions forge and distribute chemical elements.

New clues about how stars explode and forge the chemical elements that make up everything from planets to people have come to light, thanks to research led by the University of Surrey.

In two separate papers published in Physical Review Letters, researchers investigated the nuclear reactions that take place inside supernovae and X-ray bursts – two of the Universe’s most powerful explosions. Together, the findings will help scientists build more accurate models of how stars explode and how newly formed elements are produced.

The first study focused on supernovae – bright, powerful explosions that mark the death of massive stars. Despite centuries of observations, scientists still do not fully understand how these explosions unfold. One of the best clues comes from radioactive titanium-44, which is produced during a supernova and can still be detected by space telescopes long after the explosion.


At Argonne National Laboratory in the United States, Surrey researchers obtained the first experimental data needed to determine the rate of a nuclear reaction that controls how much titanium-44 is produced during a supernova. They found the reaction happens much more slowly than previously thought, increasing predicted titanium-44 production by up to 35 per cent.

This will allow astronomers to compare computer models more closely with real observations, bringing them a step closer to understanding how supernovae occur.

The study’s lead, Dr Christopher Cousins, a postdoctoral researcher in the Nuclear Physics Group, said:

“It’s exciting to see just how far the field has come. A measurement like this would have been considered out of reach only a couple of decades ago, but it now gives us new insight into one of the biggest unanswered questions in astrophysics.”

The second study investigated X-ray bursts (Type-I) – the most frequent stellar explosions in the Universe – which occur when a dense neutron star pulls material from a nearby companion star, triggering repeated thermonuclear reactions that build heavier elements and release enormous amounts of energy.


Working at the new Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) in Michigan, USA, the team measured a nuclear reaction that powers X-ray bursts with far greater precision than previously possible, reducing uncertainty about how the reaction behaves by more than tenfold. The results settle a long-running question over the role of the nickel-copper cycle – a process that can temporarily trap nuclear material during an explosion – showing it influences X-ray burst light curves.

Lead author, Connor O’Shea, who is a postdoctoral researcher within the University of Surrey’s Nuclear Physics Group, said:

“One of the biggest unknowns was whether material becomes trapped in the nickel-copper cycle during an X-ray burst. We’ve shown that it does, but likely only a small proportion, giving us a much more realistic picture of these explosions.”

Professor Gavin Lotay, Professor of Nuclear Physics at the University of Surrey and principal investigator on both studies, said:

“Despite decades of research, we still don’t fully understand the nuclear reactions that power some of the Universe’s most spectacular stellar explosions. These two studies answer important questions about what happens inside both X-ray bursts and supernovae, providing experimental evidence where scientists previously had to rely on theory and estimates.

“Together, they give us a much clearer picture of how these explosions happen, allowing us to compare our models more closely with astronomical observations and bringing us closer to understanding how the chemical elements are created and spread throughout the Universe.”

Dark stars may have left gravitational-wave echos across the Universe

New study shows that pulsar timing arrays could probe how the Universe’s first supermassive black holes were born

Colgate University

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image: 

Predicted nanohertz gravitational-wave backgrounds from descendants of early supermassive black-hole seeds. Models in which black holes originate from collapsed supermassive Dark Stars can reach the gravitational-wave background measured by Pulsar Timing Arrays, whereas the much rarer direct-collapse-black-hole population considered in the study produces a substantially weaker signal.

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Credit: Ghodla and Ilie, Physical Review D (2026).

Hamilton, NY — August 19, 2026 — A mysterious background of extremely low-frequency gravitational waves detected by networks of pulsars may carry information about events that began more than 13 billion years ago — including the formation of some of the first supermassive black holes in the Universe.

In a new study published as a Letter in Physical Review D, Sohan Ghodla and Cosmin Ilie of Colgate University investigate whether supermassive black holes formed in the early Universe could ultimately produce a substantial fraction of the gravitational-wave background now observed by Pulsar Timing Arrays, or PTAs.

Their results establish a direct connection between two seemingly very different observational frontiers: observations of unexpectedly massive black holes in the young Universe and gravitational waves produced by supermassive black-hole binaries billions of years later.

Remarkably, the researchers find that one possible population of early black-hole seeds — black holes left behind by supermassive Dark Stars — could potentially account for a dominant contribution to the observed PTA signal. “Pulsar timing arrays are usually thought of as probes of supermassive black-hole binaries in the relatively recent Universe,” said Ilie. “What our work shows is that the signal may also contain information about how the ancestors of those black holes formed at cosmic dawn. In that sense, gravitational waves observed today could provide a new window onto the birth of the first supermassive black holes.”

Using cosmic clocks to detect enormous black holes
Pulsar Timing Arrays use rapidly rotating neutron stars called pulsars as extraordinarily precise cosmic clocks. Passing gravitational waves subtly alter the arrival times of radio pulses reaching Earth. By monitoring many pulsars over years, collaborations around the world have detected evidence for a stochastic gravitational-wave background at nanohertz frequencies.

The leading astrophysical explanation is a cosmic population of inspiraling supermassive black-hole binaries. Black holes with combined masses greater than about a billion times the mass of the Sun are particularly important contributors at PTA frequencies. But building such enormous black holes raises another question: Where did their original seeds come from? Observations with facilities including the James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra have revealed massive black holes surprisingly early in cosmic history, intensifying interest in mechanisms capable of producing massive black-hole seeds rapidly.

Ghodla and Ilie asked whether descendants of such early seeds could survive, grow with their host galaxies, eventually form binaries, and generate the gravitational-wave background measured billions of years later.

A possible gravitational-wave signature of Dark Stars
The researchers considered two early black-hole formation channels: direct-collapse black holes and the collapse of supermassive Dark Stars.

Dark Stars are a proposed type of primordial star whose principal energy source is heating associated with dark matter rather than ordinary nuclear fusion. In the WIMP dark-matter scenario considered in the study, Dark Stars can remain comparatively cool and extended while continuing to accrete matter, potentially reaching masses of a million Suns or more before collapsing into massive black holes.

In this work Ghodla and Ilie followed the cosmological evolution of black holes produced by such seeds, modeled the halos in which they reside, calculated their merger rates and predicted the resulting gravitational-wave background. They find that if supermassive-Dark-Star remnants have a number density of order (10^{-3}\ {\rm Mpc}^{-3}), their descendants can make a major — and potentially dominant — contribution to the PTA gravitational-wave signal.

The competing direct-collapse-black-hole population considered in the study is expected to be far rarer, with characteristic densities around (10^{-6}\ {\rm Mpc}^{-3}), and consequently produces a much smaller contribution.

Turning gravitational waves into a census of the early Universe
The key insight of this work is the fact that existing PTA measurements can be used to place an upper limit on how abundant the early seeds of Supermassive Black holes could have been. “Produce too many of these massive seeds and you end up over-producing the PTA-detected signal. Produce too few, and you need other sources to efficiently assemble these supermassive black holes later in the life of the universe to match PTA observations,” said Ghodla.

For the models explored in the study, the researchers find that seed densities approximately in the (10^{-2})–(10^{-1}\ {\rm Mpc}^{-3}) range would begin to overproduce the measured gravitational-wave background, with the precise constraint depending strongly on the masses of the dark-matter halos in which the seeds formed. This means PTA observations can potentially do something unexpected: constrain populations of objects that existed at redshifts greater than 10, even though the gravitational-wave-producing mergers of their descendants occur much later. The calculation also confirms a previous result that binaries with total black-hole masses roughly above (10^9) solar masses dominate the predicted PTA signal. Lower-mass binaries contribute considerably less.

The result provides a new observational connection among dark matter physics, the formation of the first luminous objects, the origin of supermassive black holes and gravitational-wave astronomy.

“Dark Stars were originally proposed as objects that might be seen directly at cosmic dawn,” Ilie said. “This work points to a completely different way of testing their possible role in cosmic history. Their descendants could leave a gravitational-wave imprint that persists all the way to the present-day Universe.”

Future improvements in PTA measurements, combined with better constraints on high-redshift black-hole populations and their host galaxies, could therefore help distinguish among different scenarios for the origin of the Universe’s first supermassive black holes.

---

Journal

Physical Review D

DOI

10.1103/hvfd-8fkr 

Article Title

Reconstructing PTA measurements via early seeding of supermassive black holes

Article Publication Date

17-Aug-2026

Cape Town’s Caracals Expose A Hidden Rat Poison Problem For The City’s Wildlife

 
A caracal hunting a rat in Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, Cape Town, South Africa, where they have been found to be exposed to high levels of rat poisons CREDIT: Jacque Smit

August 19, 2026

By Eurasia Review

Key Takeaways:

New research found highly toxic anticoagulant rodenticides in 78% of 102 caracal liver samples from the Cape Town area, with most animals exposed to multiple compounds and older individuals carrying higher burdens.

Second-generation rodenticides dominate the exposure profile and pose a “cryptic threat” through bioaccumulation in the food web, potentially causing sublethal effects even if caracals rarely die from acute poisoning.

Researchers urge stricter controls: limit over-the-counter sales of these poisons, improve traceability, prioritize non-poison methods, and treat caracals as indicator species warning of wider contamination of wildlife, pets and people.

Rat poisons used in homes, businesses and on farms are moving into South Africa’s wildlife, according to new research from the Urban Caracal Project, a key research and education initiative based in the Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa (iCWild) at the University of Cape Town, together with international collaborators from the Institute for Game and Wildlife Research (IREC) and the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (CSIC) in Spain.

In the paper, published in Environmental Pollution, researchers analysed liver samples from 102 caracal mortalities collected over ten years, mainly from car collisions, revealing highly toxic anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) in 78% of samples analysed. Most individuals were exposed to at least three different compounds, but some were found to have up to six compounds in a single sample. Older animals had higher burdens, supporting the study’s conclusion that caracal experience repeated, long-term cumulative exposure to ARs in the study area.

The research found that highly toxic second-generation compounds dominated the population’s exposure profile. Anticoagulant rodenticides are chemical poisons that inhibit blood from clotting. They work by blocking vitamin K cycle in the liver, causing fatal internal bleeding in target rodents as well as non-target mammals and birds that are exposed to lethal doses. First-generation ARs generally require repeated feeding and break down faster in animal tissues, while more commonly used second-generation products, or SGARs, were developed in the 1970s partly to overcome resistance to older poisons. SGARs are more potent, can be toxic after a single feeding, and remain in the animal’s tissues for longer. However, even a toxic dose can take a while (up to two weeks) to kill a poisoned animal. Because death is delayed, rodents may continue feeding and carry high concentrations that subsequently poison non-target predators and scavengers.


“Caracals are red warning lights at the top of the food web,” comments Dr Gabriella Leighton, the lead author and currently a lecturer at Stellenbosch University’s Department of Botany and Zoology. “Caracals move easily through natural areas, farms and suburbs and eat many kinds of prey. What accumulates in their bodies provides a broader picture of contamination across the landscape.” While felid species such as caracals are very tolerant to exposure to ARs, such that they rarely die from exposure, the authors stress that “the sublethal effects of ARs are currently unknown for caracals”. However, subadult caracals in poorer condition carried higher loads.

As apex predators in the urban food web, caracals are valuable indicator species: animals that reveal wider environmental contamination. Previous research by the Urban Caracal Project also documented AR exposure in other carnivore species in and around Cape Town including otters, large-spotted genets, mongooses, honey badgers and owls. Importantly, the current study reveals several hotspots of poison risk with higher numbers and concentrations of rodenticides in caracals using vineyards, wetlands, greener urban areas, and areas with more restaurants, cafés and other food outlets.

Research on wild carnivores globally gives cause for concern. In another wild cat, the North American bobcat, exposure has been associated with inflammation, suppressed immune responses and changes in gene activity affecting immune defence, skin integrity and toxin processing – symptoms that are correlated with greater disease susceptibility, particularly fatal mange. Reported effects in other wildlife species include impaired clotting, internal bleeding, poorer condition, lethargy, reduced movement and weakened reflexes.


These may leave animals less able to fight infection, hunt or avoid vehicles, but this has yet to be demonstrated in caracals.

“This is not only about animals dying after a large dose,” says Dr Laurel Serieys, the senior author on the paper. “Repeated lower exposure may quietly weaken animals and make it harder for them to cope with disease and other urban dangers.”

While the study could not trace caracal contamination events to individual brands, consumers should note the active ingredient and registration number on packaging, as formulations can change and some compounds are in the process of being phased out but nonetheless remain on shelves. Products to look out for that contain anticoagulant poisons detected in caracals include: Rattex (Tiger Brands), Kombat, and Jaguar (MC Pharma), which all contain brodifacoum, a highly potent SGAR. Other examples include Tomcat (MC Pharma) and Scientific Supa-Kill containing bromadiolone; and Racumin (Bayer Group) containing first-generation compounds like warfarin and coumatetralyl. Consumers should avoid anticoagulant products, especially SGARs, and use non-poison methods whenever possible. Importantly, there are no “wildlife-safe” anticoagulant poisons, so always check the packaging if trying to find a poison to control rodents.

Prevention should come first: secure food and waste, seal entry points, improve home and restaurant waste management, and use snap traps. Where poison is necessary, it should only be used briefly by trained operators in tamper-resistant stations and monitored for efficacy. Loose bait should never be scattered outdoors, and rodent carcasses and unused bait should be safely removed.

South African regulations require high-risk pest-control poisons to be restricted by how they are displayed, distributed and used, and who may use them. They also require reporting of annual national sales totals, but national totals alone cannot reveal who bought a poison, where and how it was placed, or even whether it reduced a particular infestation.

A large body of research highlights the vulnerability of both wildlife and humans to commercial over-the-counter ARs. This study supports removal or controlled access of SGARs in routine supermarket, hardware-stores and online sale outlets, reserving them for registered pest-control operators. Purchases should be capped and recorded by buyer, ingredient, quantity, batch and treatment site, with traceability through distributors. Treatments should measure rodent activity before and afterwards, inspect bait uptake, record non-target deaths and remove remaining poison. If treatment fails, the method should change, not simply the amount of poison.

“The South African public and regulators need to know who bought the poison, how much, where it was used and whether it worked,” Leighton said. “Without that accountability, we cannot protect public health while preventing avoidable contamination of native wildlife, pets, and even children.”

The study describes anticoagulant rodenticides as a “cryptic threat” to wildlife, where these poisons bioaccumulate via complex, multi-tiered processes, with impacts far beyond the intended target species or region. Caracals make this hidden pollution visible, but the red-light warning extends other predators, pets and people across the wider food web.

The paper, Toxic towns: Drivers of anticoagulant rodenticide exposure in an urban edge carnivore, was published in Environmental Pollution and co-authored by Gabriella Leighton, Jacqueline Bishop, Pablo Camarero, Rafael Mateo and Laurel Serieys

Cape Town’s caracals expose a hidden rat poison problem for the city’s wildlife

Study finds anticoagulant rat poisons in 78% of tested caracals and calls for tighter control over their sale, distribution and use.

University of Cape Town - Faculty of Science

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image: 

A caracal hunting a rat in Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, Cape Town, South Africa, where they have been found to be exposed to high levels of rat poisons

view more 

Credit: Jacque Smit

Rat poisons used in homes, businesses and on farms are moving into South Africa’s wildlife, according to new research from the Urban Caracal Project, a key research and education initiative based in the Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa (iCWild) at the University of Cape Town, together with international collaborators from the Institute for Game and Wildlife Research (IREC) and the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (CSIC) in Spain.

In the paper, published in Environmental Pollution, researchers analysed liver samples from 102 caracal mortalities collected over ten years, mainly from car collisions, revealing highly toxic anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) in 78% of samples analysed. Most individuals were exposed to at least three different compounds, but some were found to have up to six compounds in a single sample. Older animals had higher burdens, supporting the study’s conclusion that caracal experience repeated, long-term cumulative exposure to ARs in the study area.

The research found that highly toxic second-generation compounds dominated the population’s exposure profile. Anticoagulant rodenticides are chemical poisons that inhibit blood from clotting. They work by blocking vitamin K cycle in the liver, causing fatal internal bleeding in target rodents as well as non-target mammals and birds that are exposed to lethal doses. First-generation ARs generally require repeated feeding and break down faster in animal tissues, while more commonly used second-generation products, or SGARs, were developed in the 1970s partly to overcome resistance to older poisons. SGARs are more potent, can be toxic after a single feeding, and remain in the animal’s tissues for longer. However, even a toxic dose can take a while (up to two weeks) to kill a poisoned animal. Because death is delayed, rodents may continue feeding and carry high concentrations that subsequently poison non-target predators and scavengers.

“Caracals are red warning lights at the top of the food web,” comments Dr Gabriella Leighton, the lead author and currently a lecturer at Stellenbosch University’s Department of Botany and Zoology. “Caracals move easily through natural areas, farms and suburbs and eat many kinds of prey. What accumulates in their bodies provides a broader picture of contamination across the landscape.” While felid species such as caracals are very tolerant to exposure to ARs, such that they rarely die from exposure, the authors stress that “the sublethal effects of ARs are currently unknown for caracals”. However, subadult caracals in poorer condition carried higher loads.

As apex predators in the urban food web, caracals are valuable indicator species: animals that reveal wider environmental contamination. Previous research by the Urban Caracal Project also documented AR exposure in other carnivore species in and around Cape Town including otters, large-spotted genets, mongooses, honey badgers and owls. Importantly, the current study reveals several hotspots of poison risk with higher numbers and concentrations of rodenticides in caracals using vineyards, wetlands, greener urban areas, and areas with more restaurants, cafés and other food outlets.

Research on wild carnivores globally gives cause for concern. In another wild cat, the North American bobcat, exposure has been associated with inflammation, suppressed immune responses and changes in gene activity affecting immune defence, skin integrity and toxin processing – symptoms that are correlated with greater disease susceptibility, particularly fatal mange. Reported effects in other wildlife species include impaired clotting, internal bleeding, poorer condition, lethargy, reduced movement and weakened reflexes.

These may leave animals less able to fight infection, hunt or avoid vehicles, but this has yet to be demonstrated in caracals.

“This is not only about animals dying after a large dose,” says Dr Laurel Serieys, the senior author on the paper. “Repeated lower exposure may quietly weaken animals and make it harder for them to cope with disease and other urban dangers.”

While the study could not trace caracal contamination events to individual brands, consumers should note the active ingredient and registration number on packaging, as formulations can change and some compounds are in the process of being phased out but nonetheless remain on shelves. Products to look out for that contain anticoagulant poisons detected in caracals include: Rattex (Tiger Brands), Kombat, and Jaguar (MC Pharma), which all contain brodifacoum, a highly potent SGAR. Other examples include Tomcat (MC Pharma) and Scientific Supa-Kill containing bromadiolone; and Racumin (Bayer Group) containing first-generation compounds like warfarin and coumatetralyl. Consumers should avoid anticoagulant products, especially SGARs, and use non-poison methods whenever possible. Importantly, there are no “wildlife-safe” anticoagulant poisons, so always check the packaging if trying to find a poison to control rodents.

Prevention should come first: secure food and waste, seal entry points, improve home and restaurant waste management, and use snap traps. Where poison is necessary, it should only be used briefly by trained operators in tamper-resistant stations and monitored for efficacy. Loose bait should never be scattered outdoors, and rodent carcasses and unused bait should be safely removed.

South African regulations require high-risk pest-control poisons to be restricted by how they are displayed, distributed and used, and who may use them. They also require reporting of annual national sales totals, but national totals alone cannot reveal who bought a poison, where and how it was placed, or even whether it reduced a particular infestation.

A large body of research highlights the vulnerability of both wildlife and humans to commercial over-the-counter ARs. This study supports removal or controlled access of SGARs in routine supermarket, hardware-stores and online sale outlets, reserving them for registered pest-control operators. Purchases should be capped and recorded by buyer, ingredient, quantity, batch and treatment site, with traceability through distributors. Treatments should measure rodent activity before and afterwards, inspect bait uptake, record non-target deaths and remove remaining poison. If treatment fails, the method should change, not simply the amount of poison.

“The South African public and regulators need to know who bought the poison, how much, where it was used and whether it worked,” Leighton said. “Without that accountability, we cannot protect public health while preventing avoidable contamination of native wildlife, pets, and even children.”

The study describes anticoagulant rodenticides as a “cryptic threat” to wildlife, where these poisons bioaccumulate via complex, multi-tiered processes, with impacts far beyond the intended target species or region. Caracals make this hidden pollution visible, but the red-light warning extends other predators, pets and people across the wider food web.

The paper, Toxic towns: Drivers of anticoagulant rodenticide exposure in an urban edge carnivore, was published in Environmental Pollution and co-authored by Gabriella Leighton, Jacqueline Bishop, Pablo Camarero, Rafael Mateo and Laurel Serieys

---

Journal

Environmental Pollution

DOI

10.1016/j.envpol.2026.128859 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Toxic towns: Drivers of anticoagulant rodenticide exposure in an urban edge carnivore

FLOCK OFF

The Flock Camera Backlash Is A Very Good Sign – OpEd



August 20, 2026
 MISES
By Connor O’Keeffe

Key Takeaways:

Flock Safety’s network of ~120,000 automated license plate readers creates a near-continuous, searchable national database of vehicle movements that many view as functionally equivalent to mass GPS tracking.

Grassroots opposition across the political spectrum has already led more than 50 jurisdictions to cancel contracts, while Flock has responded with shorter data retention, stricter search rules, and removal of federal agencies from its nationwide database.

The intense backlash reflects deeper public distrust of government institutions and a widespread refusal to accept expanded surveillance power that could later be used for political or emergency purposes.

In a year as chaotic, violent, and economically destructive as this one has been, it is interesting that, to many Americans, the great villain of 2026 is turning out to be a traffic camera.

But, indeed, we are seeing visceral, cross-partisan opposition to so-called Flock cameras—named after the leading manufacturer of these automated license plate readers—take hold in communities across the country. And that opposition is, to be sure, entirely legitimate.


Flock’s camera networks are based on the idea that, while it would obviously be illegal and unconstitutional for law enforcement at any and all levels to put GPS trackers in everyone’s cars, it would be legal for a cop standing on some street corner to report that they had seen a specific vehicle drive by if it later turned out that that car had either been stolen or used to commit a crime.

But, taking that idea that public observations are not violations of privacy, Flock and similar companies help set up networks of cameras that record and register the license plate, make and model, and identifiable details of every single passing vehicle into a timestamped and searchable national database. And, as more and more of these cameras are added to streets and parking lots all over the country, and they, therefore, get harder and harder to avoid, the data the government has access to becomes essentially indistinguishable from what they would have if there were government GPS trackers in all of our cars.

There are currently around 120,000 of these cameras across 49 states, with more being added every day. And the American people are not happy about it.


In a genuine grassroots movement spreading primarily through local Facebook groups and the like, with little coverage outside local media, concerned citizens are doing everything from pressuring local lawmakers to rescind their contracts with Flock Safety to donning masks and cutting the cameras down with electric saws.

And this opposition is starting to have some success. More than 50 jurisdictions have ended their relationships with Flock after local backlash. And, after Flock tried and failed for months to get the wider public to view organizations that track the location of these cameras as terrorists because some have used those locations to avoid, disable, or destroy some, the company announced last week that it was implementing several changes to try and defuse the public anger.

Starting next year, Flock says it plans to cut the default retention period for data stored on their system from 30 days down to 7 days, require its government clients to use the internal system for detecting unusual or potentially abusive searches, require all searches to be tied with a specific case code (with emergency exceptions getting automatically flagged for review), and a few other changes meant to at least appear like they’re addressing the public’s concerns. And Flock has also already removed all federal agencies from its nationwide search database in an earlier public concession.

It’s notable that a government contractor that does no direct business with the public feels this pressured by that public to change its behavior. But even more notable is how ineffective the normal propaganda that gets rolled out to justify these kinds of advancements in government surveillance has been this time around.

The familiar tropes that government officials are only gathering this kind of data on all of us because it’s crucial for our safety or that it only ought to bother us if we’re criminals with something to hide are not just falling on deaf ears, they’re being widely ridiculed.

That’s certainly, in part, because there have already been plenty of documented cases of police officers and government officials using the Flock database to track the activities of romantic partners, ex-partners, people now dating their ex-partners, and more. All of that, of course, constitutes warrantless government surveillance for the personal interest of the officials with access to the technology, without even the semblance of a legitimate investigation. There have also been several dangerous, nearly-life-threatening cases of drivers being pursued and held at gunpoint because Flock cameras mistakenly identified them as criminal suspects.


But what’s really driving the widespread rage is not how the cameras are currently being used, or misused. It’s how they could be used in the future. People across the political spectrum are concerned about this technology being used for everything from detecting stay-at-home order violations in a future pandemic to rounding up and deporting people because the government doesn’t like their political opinions.

This is a remarkably healthy mindset for the public to hold. Basically, don’t let the government grab power you wouldn’t trust your political enemies to wield.

But also, this is why the controversy surrounding Flock cameras has grown so large and why it’s quickly emerging as one of the major political issues ahead of the midterms. It’s not really about the specific workings of this one brand of automated license plate readers. It’s because the public’s presumption that our elites and institutions are acting in good faith has completely evaporated.

The American people do not trust the people in charge enough to be reassured by promises about how this new surveillance infrastructure will be used. And that is good. Because we should not trust the people in charge. They have, fortunately, made that very clear in recent years—which is why we’re seeing such a political revolt against incumbents.

But, going back, all the government power grabs that have brought us to this point—the PATRIOT Act, the invasion of Iraq, the banker bailouts, the insurance industry bailout known as Obamacare, the covid lockdowns, and more—all of it was only possible because enough of the public fell for the lie that the government was acting in their interest.

The fanatical opposition to Flock cameras is evidence that that lie isn’t working right now. Let’s hope that lesson is not easily unlearned.

About the author: Connor O’Keeffe (@connorokeeffe) writes a weekly column for the Mises Wire, hosts Guns & Butter a weekly podcast on current trends, and co-hosts the Power & Market podcast. He has a master’s in economics and a bachelor’s in geology.

Source: This article was published by the Mises Institute

About MISES
The Mises Institute, founded in 1982, teaches the scholarship of Austrian economics, freedom, and peace. The liberal intellectual tradition of Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) and Murray N. Rothbard (1926-1995) guides us. Accordingly, the Mises Institute seeks a profound and radical shift in the intellectual climate: away from statism and toward a private property order. The Mises Institute encourages critical historical research, and stands against political correctness.

Kazakhstan Is In Pickle Created By US-China AI Race – Analysis


Jacob Helberg (left), U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, shakes hands with Zhaslan Madiyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of Kazakhstan, at the signing ceremony for Kazakhstan’s official accession to the U.S.-led Pax Silica initiative in Washington, D.C. on June 25, 2026. Photo Credit: @EconAtState, X

August 20, 2026

 Eurasianet

By Justin Burke

Key Takeaways:

Kazakhstan and other Central Asian states are caught between competing US and Chinese AI initiatives after joining both Washington’s Pax Silica / AI Opportunity Statement and Beijing’s World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO).

The US is reportedly preparing an ultimatum requiring Pax Silica signatories to refrain from participating in the Chinese-led group or lose American AI cooperation, forcing a difficult choice for multi-vector foreign policies.

The dilemma risks disrupting US efforts to expand access to Central Asian critical minerals and other resources while also exposing regional states to potential Chinese economic retaliation.

(Eurasianet) — Kazakhstan and, to a lesser extent, Uzbekistan and other Central Asian states are finding themselves caught in the middle of a deepening struggle between the United States and China for dominance of AI architecture and design. The brewing dilemma created by the AI rivalry has the potential to upend US relations with Central Asian states.

The US State Department has drafted what amounts to an ultimatum and is reportedly preparing to deliver it to 35 states that have signed an AI cooperation pact with Washington, the Reuters news agency first reported. US officials are reportedly going to demand that the signatories refrain from participating in a China-led initiative on AI development. If any state declines to make such a pledge, the US will halt its AI cooperation.

Kazakhstan is among the 35 states that in June signed the American-sponsored “AI Opportunity Statement,” which the US envisions as a “foundational building block for collaboration between the United States and strategic partner economies that commit to fostering a pro-growth, pro-innovation regulatory environment” in the AI sector. The opportunity pact, in turn, is part of a US broader initiative, dubbed Pax Silica, which is framed as the “flagship effort on AI and supply chain security, advancing new economic security consensus among allies and trusted partners.”

Astana, which pursues a multi-vector foreign policy that seeks to balance the interests of major global powers, is now facing a potentially crushing dilemma, given that in July, it became a founding member in a Chinese-led group, the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO). Beijing’s initiative is widely seen as a rival to the US’ Pax Silica.

At WAICO’s founding meeting, Kazakh President Kassym Jomart Tokayev heaped praise on China’s “dynamic innovation ecosystem” and offered to host the organization’s next annual meeting.

Tokayev’s words and actions may well have helped spur US diplomats to draft the AI ultimatum since Kazakhstan is party to both the AI opportunity statement/Pax Silica and WAICO.

The wording of the draft State Department note, as reported by Reuters, sends a blunt message to Astana and other Pax Silica signatories that they cannot have it both ways.

“To be part of everything is to be part of nothing. Signature of the Pax Silica Declaration is not merely a membership subscription, but a commitment,” the ​draft note says. It casts WAICO as a “duplicate” initiative “whose expectations conflict with our own,” and goes on to state that a country must “choose deliberately” in determining which approach to take on AI.

The note, as far as can be determined, has not been delivered yet, and there is no indication of when it will be sent. The revelation of its contents may well be a deliberate effort to elicit a desired response from the intended recipients without forcing them to publicly choose.

While Kazakhstan now may be on the hottest seat in the AI rivalry, the draft US note has wide-ranging implications for other regional states, in particular Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Both states are not formally part of Pax Silica, but they have sought to deepen engagement on trade and AI development with the United States. At the same time, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, like Kazakhstan, are members of WAICO.

The US and Chinese approaches on AI development differ markedly. US efforts are led by the private sector and generally seek to create all-knowing AI models with the aim of achieving Artificial General Intelligence, or machines featuring human-like reasoning capable of innovating, anticipating problems and solving them. Chinese models tend to focus on helping humans accomplish specific tasks in an efficient manner, especially in such economic areas as manufacturing and service provision. China’s AI development also features heavy state control over the way information and data are managed. Over the past year, China has narrowed the US lead in AI development.


All Central Asian states stand to face very difficult decisions relating to the draft US note: they are eager to please Washington and deepen economic engagement in the hopes of attracting large-scale Western investment. They also see stronger ties with the United States as a buffer against China’s growing economic and political influence in Central Asia. Anti-Chinese sentiment is prevalent among citizens in several Central Asian states, especially Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

At the same time, Central Asian states are wary of risking China’s wrath, given Beijing’s trade and financing muscle across the region. Any clear commitment to adhering to the US note on AI would very likely invite a punitive Chinese counter-move.

The note carries potential risk for the United States too. Since early 2025, the Trump administration has made widening access to Central Asia’s wealth in critical minerals an economic and diplomatic priority. Placing Central Asian states in an ‘us or them’ position threatens to significantly disrupt relations with the United States, setting back American efforts to make trade gains in such key sectors as mining & critical minerals, oil & gas, nuclear power and transportation logistics.

The ‘us or them’ stance, if pushed too far, could thus end up being a ‘lose-lose’ proposition for the United States and Central Asia.

Justin Burke is Eurasianet’s publisher.


About Eurasianet
Originally published at Eurasianet. Eurasianet is an independent news organization that covers news from and about the South Caucasus and Central Asia, providing on-the-ground reporting and critical perspectives on the most important developments in the region. A tax-exempt [501(c)3] organization, Eurasianet is based at Columbia University’s Harriman Institute, one of the leading centers in North America of scholarship on Eurasia. Read more at eurasianet.org.
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