Five Big Wins in Global Healthcare in 2018

//1// Australia eliminated rubella. Australia joined a group of more than 30 countries who have successfully eliminated the vaccine-preventable disease rubella. 

//2// Public breastfeeding became legal in all 50 US states. The United States has helped to de-stigmatize breastfeeding passing a law making it legal to breastfeed publicly around the country.

//3// Paraguay officially eliminated malaria. As of June 2018, the country of Paraguay had no reported cases of malaria in five years. The World Health Organization was able to classify the country as malaria-free.

//4// The development of a new rotavirus vaccine was approved. In January 2018, vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech announced that the World Health Organization had approved the development of a new rotavirus vaccine (called ROTAVAC) which only costs $1 per dose. Rotavirus and other diarrheal viruses are the second leading causes of death in children under 5 years old around the world.

//5// Canadian researchers found  way to make all blood types compatible. The Center for Disease Control reports that research at the University of British Columbia found a way to convert all types of blood to the universal O-negative in 2018. O-negative blood can be given to people with Type A, B, AB, and O thus why it's call the "universal donor."