The disengagement of both USAID and the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) from the WHO-led global polio eradication initiative, threatens efforts in the world’s poorest countries with about $233 million more in a year in budget shortfalls, WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Hanan Balkhy, said on Friday. This, in a year […] Continue reading ->
The US Centers for Disease Control has not updated its bi-weekly bird flu (H5N1) situation summary since 17 January – even if it finally published a limited edition of its Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report (MMWR) on Thursday, 6 February. In the wake of the CDC information flow shutdown and the US withdrawal from WHO, Dr […] Continue reading ->
Despite Waiver, Many US-Funded HIV Programmes Remain Paralysed; Trump Orders Face Protests, Lawsuits
Many HIV programmes worldwide remain paralysed despite being exempted from the United States’ 90-day freeze on foreign aid and “stop work order”. This is largely because the axe Elon Musk has taken to US agencies has resulted in there being too few staff members left to support their work, including processing payments and ensuring that […] Continue reading ->
Argentina’s maverick President, Javier Milei, declared Wednesday that he would follow the United States in withdrawing from the World Health Organization,citing “profound differences in health management, especially due to the pandemic, which led us to the longest confinement in the history of humanity.” The announcement came as another blow to the morale of the Geneva-based […] Continue reading ->
WASHINGTON – The 27-member Senate Finance Committee voted to send Robert F Kennedy Jr’s Health and Human Services (HHS) nomination to the full Senate floor. The 14-13 approval came along party lines, despite RFK Jr’s often heated exchanges with Republican and Democratic Senators during two confirmation hearings last week. Kennedy weathered accusations of profiting from […] Continue reading ->
The richest man in the world and the President of the United States sent a message over the weekend to USAID, the world’s largest provider of humanitarian assistance depended on for survival by millions of the world’s poorest people: “Time to die.” Two weeks into Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office, the Washington headquarters […] Continue reading ->
DAVOS – With populations ageing and mental health disorders at a record high, halting the global “pandemic” of brain disorders needs to be a paramount concern of industry – as well as the global health community. What is needed is a global effort spawning a “healthy brain economy” for the future, reflecting the same sense […] Continue reading ->
WASHINGTON, DC – Robert F Kennedy (RFK) Jr’s Senate confirmation as Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary faced fresh obstacles on Thursday after Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) said he “wasn’t sure “ he could vote for someone “who spent decades criticizing vaccines, and who’s financially vested in […] Continue reading ->
Robert F Kennedy (RFK) Jr, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), faced two days of tense questioning from senators on the finance and health committees. He walked back many of his past statements on vaccines and abortion, and emphasized his commitment to address America’s […] Continue reading ->
The Trump Administration exempted “life-saving humanitarian assistance” from the “stop-work order” issued to all foreign aid recipients late Tuesday – but widespread confusion remained about which programmes could continue to operate unimpeded. Meanwhile, US Senate confirmation hearings for Robert F Kennedy Jr, Trump’s pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), began Wednesday with […] Continue reading ->