Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 2026. This policy governs internationalhealthjournal.com ("International Health," "the publication," "we," "us"). It describes the limited reader and subscriber data we collect, how the editorial-briefing subscription list is handled, our use of cookies and analytics, and the rights you hold over your information. We are an editorial review platform — not a vendor, marketplace, or e-commerce operation — and this policy reflects that narrower scope.

1. Who we are and what this covers

International Health publishes evidence-based reviews and field guides evaluating medical supplies for low-resource, outbreak, and high-consequence settings — cold chain, field diagnostics, outbreak-response gear, and WASH infrastructure. This policy applies to the website, the editorial-briefing subscription, and any correspondence you send to our editorial desk. It does not cover third-party sites we cite or link to; their own privacy notices govern those.

2. What data we collect

We practice data minimisation — the same restraint a logistician applies to a payload bound for a field site. We collect only what an editorial publication needs to operate:

Subscription data. If you join the editorial-briefing list, we collect the email address you supply and, optionally, a name and professional role (e.g., NGO logistician, procurement officer, field epidemiologist) where you choose to provide it.
Correspondence. When you email the editorial desk or submit a query, we retain your message, your contact details, and any context you include — solely to respond and to maintain a record of editorial correspondence.
Technical and usage data. When you read the site, our servers and analytics record standard request metadata: IP address (truncated/anonymised where supported), browser and device type, pages requested, referring page, and timestamps. This is aggregate readership data, not individual profiling.
Cookie data. See Section 6.

We do not collect payment information — the publication does not sell products or process transactions. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 16. We do not collect special-category data (health, ethnicity, etc.) about readers; any clinical or epidemiological content we publish concerns equipment and field practice, not identifiable individuals.

3. How the editorial-briefing subscription list is handled

The editorial briefing is an opt-in summary of new reviews, field guides, and outbreak-response coverage. We treat the list as a working tool, held to the same discipline as a cold-chain manifest:

Opt-in only. You are added only when you submit the subscription form yourself. We do not import, purchase, scrape, or append addresses from third parties.
Single purpose. The address is used to send the editorial briefing and occasional notices about the publication. It is not used for unrelated marketing.
No sale or rental. We never sell, rent, or trade the subscription list. We do not share it with advertisers, sponsors, or commercial partners.
Unsubscribe on demand. Every briefing carries a one-click unsubscribe link. Removal is immediate and permanent; we retain only a suppression record (your address, flagged "do not contact") so we do not re-add you in error.
Processor disclosure. The list may be stored and dispatched through a reputable email service provider acting strictly as a data processor under contract. That provider may not use list data for its own purposes.

4. Why we process your data (legal bases)

Where the UK GDPR / EU GDPR applies, we rely on: your consent for the editorial-briefing subscription (withdrawable at any time); our legitimate interests in operating, securing, and improving an editorial publication and in responding to correspondence; and legal obligation where retention or disclosure is required by law.

5. How long we keep it

Subscription data is kept for as long as you remain subscribed, plus a suppression record after you unsubscribe. Editorial correspondence is retained for as long as needed to handle the matter and a reasonable period thereafter for record-keeping. Server logs and raw analytics are retained for a limited window (typically up to 12 months) before being aggregated or deleted. We review retention periodically and discard what we no longer need.

6. Cookies and analytics

We use a small set of cookies and similar technologies:

Strictly necessary cookies keep the site functioning (security, load balancing, remembering cookie-consent choices). These cannot be switched off without breaking the site.
Analytics cookies help us understand readership in aggregate — which guides are read, how visitors arrive, where pages underperform. We configure analytics to anonymise or truncate IP addresses where the tool allows and we do not use analytics to build advertising profiles.
No third-party advertising or tracking cookies. As an authority-first editorial platform with no e-commerce funnel, we do not run ad-network trackers, retargeting pixels, or cross-site behavioural advertising.

You can refuse non-essential cookies via our consent banner and manage or delete cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers also honour a Global Privacy Control or "Do Not Track" signal; we respect such signals where technically feasible.

7. Who we share data with

We share personal data only with service providers that help us run the publication — for example, our website host, email-delivery processor, and analytics provider — each acting under contract and only as needed. We may disclose data where required by law, court order, or to protect the security and integrity of the site. We do not sell your personal data, and we do not share it with commercial sourcing or product vendors.

8. International transfers

Our readers and contributors work across many regions. Where data is processed outside your home jurisdiction, we rely on appropriate safeguards — such as adequacy decisions or standard contractual clauses — so that your data carries comparable protection wherever it travels.

9. How we protect your data

We apply reasonable technical and organisational measures: encryption in transit (HTTPS), access controls limiting who on the editorial team can reach subscriber and correspondence data, and processor agreements that bind our providers to confidentiality. No system is perfectly secure, but we hold data security to the same field-tested standard we apply to the equipment we review.

10. Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you may exercise the following rights over your data:

Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Erasure — ask us to delete your data where there is no overriding reason to retain it.
Restriction and objection — ask us to pause processing, or object to processing based on legitimate interests.
Withdraw consent — unsubscribe from the editorial briefing at any time, with no effect on processing already carried out.
Portability — receive certain data in a portable, machine-readable form.
Complain — lodge a complaint with your data-protection authority (in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office).

To exercise any right, contact our editorial desk (Section 12). We will respond within the timeframe required by law and may ask you to verify your identity first.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the publication evolves or as the law changes. Material changes will be noted on this page with a revised "last updated" date; where required, we will notify subscribers directly. Continued use of the site after an update constitutes acknowledgement of the revised policy.

12. Contact

Questions about this policy, or about the data we hold, should be directed to the International Health editorial desk via our contact page. We treat privacy queries as editorial correspondence and aim to respond promptly and plainly.