Joanne Silberner

Joanne Silberner is a freelance reporter and artist-in-residence at the University of Washington in Seattle. For 18 years, she covered health issues for NPR.

Joanne Silberner is a freelance reporter and artist-in-residence at the University of Washington in Seattle. For 18 years, she covered health issues for NPR. Silberner has an undergraduate degree in biology from Johns Hopkins University and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. She spent a year on a fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has also had fellowships from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Carter Center.

Rihana Shekha Dhapali, a bride-burning victim in Nepal, wants people to know what happened to her.

A bride-burning victim in Nepal says her counselors are helping her heal and look to the future

Rihana Shekha Dhapali is a victim of bride burning in Nepal. Minakshi Rana is a counselor who is working with Dhapali and other women like her, to cope with what happened to them.

A bride-burning victim in Nepal says her counselors are helping her heal and look to the future
Anita Neupane

Day care and mud guards: How health officials are building a firewall against deadly burns

Day care and mud guards: How health officials are building a firewall against deadly burns
Saraswoti Shrestha

Unmeasured and unfunded: Lack of data hinders burn prevention and care

Unmeasured and unfunded: Lack of data hinders burn prevention and care
Operating on a patient

Reconstructing hope: A surgeon's mission to help Nepal's burn patients

Reconstructing hope: A surgeon's mission to help Nepal's burn patients

ExxonMobil fights malaria in Cameroon against backdrop of climate change

ExxonMobil fights malaria in Cameroon against backdrop of climate change

Cameroon finds a way to celebrate World Mosquito Day

Malaria kills 2,000 people per year in this country of 23 million people. Virtually all of these deaths could be prevented by mosquito control and early treatment.

Cameroon finds a way to celebrate World Mosquito Day
A fireman climbs down from his truck as a bushfire approaches a town outside of of Melbourne, Australia in February, 2009. Officials blamed the dozens of blazes across the country five years ago on a "once in a century" heatwave. With climate change incre

Australians aim to build psychological resilience in the face of a changing climate

Floods, wildfires, droughts and heat waves have struck Australia in recent years, leaving survivors traumatized. With more extreme weather predicted as the earth warms up, mental health experts are seeking ways to prepare the public emotionally.

Australians aim to build psychological resilience in the face of a changing climate
Southeastern and southwestern Australia have experienced some of the country’s most severe rainy season droughts over the last two decades (L). These are also some of the country’s most productive agricultural regions (R).

Faced with dire climate change, denial may actually help Australian farmers cope

Despite growing evidence that the earth's climate is changing, many people remain skeptical. This denialism is often seen as a political response to the issue, but some mental health experts in Australia say it can also be a beneficial coping mechanism.

Faced with dire climate change, denial may actually help Australian farmers cope
Cambodian children

The Khmer Rouge may be partly to blame for diabetes in Cambodia

Adult-onset diabetes is increasingly common in Cambodia, yet many Cambodian diabetics don't exhibit the usual risk factors. Could the country be experiencing a delayed effect of famine in the 1970s?

The Khmer Rouge may be partly to blame for diabetes in Cambodia

Hypertension in the Developing World: The View from Cambodia

High blood pressure is a major risk factor for early death around the world. Yet in developing nations, the condition often goes undiagnosed and untreated. Reporter Joanne Silberner traveled to Cambodia to find out why.

Hypertension in the Developing World: The View from Cambodia

Promoting Brown Rice to Fight Diabetes in Cambodia

In Asia, rice is king, and white rice is the norm. But with rates of diabetes soaring, public health advocates want locals to switch to healthier brown rice. Reporter Joanne Silberner discovers it's nearly impossible.

Promoting Brown Rice to Fight Diabetes in Cambodia
The World

Prioritizing Cancer

Richard Horton, editor of the medical journal The Lancet, criticizes governments and foundations for overlooking cancer as an important issue in the developing world. In an interview with reporter Joanne Silberner, Horton urges political leaders to take up the cause.

Prioritizing Cancer
Palliative care patient in Pune, India.

Part V: Dispensing Comfort

Modern cancer care involves more than the latest surgical techniques and drugs; it also offers freedom from pain. Yet basic palliative care is almost nonexistent for many patients in developing countries. What is being done to bring them pain relief?

Part V: Dispensing Comfort
A young Burkitt's lymphoma patient.

Part IV: The Infectious Connection

Cancer can be triggered by infectious diseases, especially in impoverished parts of the world. Scientists in the US and Africa are working to unravel how viruses and bacteria cause malignancies.

Part IV: The Infectious Connection
A medical team at Tata Memorial Hospital.

Part III: An Ounce of Prevention

Cervical cancer is far more common in the developing world than in the US. One reason: women in the US receive routine screening that catches it in its earliest stages. A low-cost test being rolled out in India could save tens of thousands of lives.

Part III: An Ounce of Prevention