José M. Zuniga Author Page

05/29/2026

I am staring down two book deadlines at the same time this year.

For reasons that can only be explained by either optimism, delusion, or a mild tendency toward self-inflicted stress, I thought this would be perfectly manageable while also leading three organizations, traveling more than I should, attending conferences on multiple continents, answering an impossible number of emails, and continuing my lifelong struggle with work-life balance.

At this point, I am beginning to suspect that writing books may be my version of an endurance sport. Still, there is something deeply rewarding about trying to make sense of the world through words – whether exploring the future of public health in Aftershocks or venturing into the entirely different universe of fiction (stay tuned!).

05/21/2026

Over the past 11 years, I have been guiding a network of 600+ cities around the world as they exercise urban public health leadership to achieve the health-related UN Sustainable Development Goals. I was proud to speak to this work and prouder still to cite successes across the network at this year’s World Urban Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan. Where cities lead, impact follows…

05/20/2026

How do you introduce a book you never set out to write? By saying just that… “I did not set out to write this book.” As I gird my loins for and await publication of my new book “Aftershocks,” I hope the effort contributes in some small way to influencing the future direction of U.S. and global public health during the remainder of and post-Trump 2.0.

05/18/2026

Insightful read. The insights shared in this Devex piece on the “hard truths” facing global health in 2026 resonate deeply with themes I explore in my forthcoming book, “Aftershocks: Trump 2.0, Public Health, and Our Better Angels.”

What emerges from these reflections from 11 public health leaders is a portrait of a world confronting the consequences of weakened trust, rising nationalism, political polarization, exhausted health systems, and widening inequities – all colliding at once.

At the same time, there is another truth embedded in these conversations: communities, cities, frontline health workers, and affected populations continue to demonstrate extraordinary resilience.

Worth a read for policy wonks in the weeds, public health communities on the frontlines, AND the American public woefully unaware of the damage Trump 2.0 has inflicted on global public health.

We asked 11 of the most influential people in the sector, what they're watching, what's keeping them up at night, and where they see a way through this turning point.

05/17/2026

Today’s World Health Organization (WHO) declaration that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda “constitutes a public health emergency of international concern” is a sobering reminder that infectious disease threats remain a global reality requiring coordinated international action.

WHO is not perfect. No institution charged with responding to complex and evolving global health threats ever will be. But the answer to institutional limitations is not to weaken, defund, or undermine them and then express surprise when they struggle to respond with constrained authority and limited resources.

Epidemics do not respect borders, ideologies, or political narratives. They demand surveillance, rapid information sharing, technical guidance, coordination, and trust – all functions the WHO is uniquely positioned to provide and strengthen.

If we want a safer and healthier world, our responsibility is to improve and leverage global health institutions, not dismantle them piece by piece and leave nations to confront increasingly interconnected threats alone.



https://www.who.int/news/item/17-05-2026-epidemic-of-ebola-disease-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-and-uganda-determined-a-public-health-emergency-of-international-concern

05/16/2026

“A Decade of HAART” was published in 2008 to chronicle the remarkable story of how an automatic death sentence following an HIV diagnosis in the early 1980s and into the míd-1990s was commuted with the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy in 1996 (at least for those with access to this scientific innovation). This book was my second edited volume with Oxford University Press.

05/15/2026

Boarding the first of three flights that will take me from Tampa to NYC, NYC to Warsaw, and Warsaw to Baku, Azerbaijan, for the 13th World Urban Forum. My focus in Baku will be on the opportunities to leverage city public health leadership to create healthier, more equitable, and more resilient urban communities.

05/15/2026

“AIDS at a Crossroads” is a baseline against which the disruptions in the US and global HIV responses under Trump 2.0 can be measured. The new Oxford University Press book chronicles the 15 years since “A Decade of HAART,” which focused on the first decade after the advent of modern HIV treatment, antiretroviral therapy. Available for pre-order at Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/aids-at-a-crossroads-jose-m-zuniga/1149430438