Healthcare infrastructure in eastern Ukraine has suffered a devastating blow over the course of the year-long conflict near the Russian border that was sparked by pro-democracy protests in Ukraine, according to a recent Human Rights Watch report. The U.N. estimates that up to 80% of local health workers have been evacuated from the area, and those who remain endure dire shortages of supplies that exacerbate the humanitarian crisis throughout the region.

While volunteering for the Peace Corps in Ukraine in 2010, I contracted a severe version of drug-resistant tuberculosis. Two years of painful, isolating treatment taught me the vital role social media may play in finally eradicating this disease.

Thanks to an infected hospital worker, hundreds of babies in Texas are being tested for TB. Why has it been so hard to develop an effective vaccine for the disease?