Civil society organisations (CSOs) globally face investigation, restrictions and harassment in dozens of countries after US President Donald Trump claimed that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) was run by “radical left lunatics” and Elon Musk claimed that several grantees supported terror organisations. This is according to a recent survey carried out by the […] Continue reading ->
A coalition of American non-profit, legal and small business groups welcomed a federal judge’s temporary restraining order (TRO) halting the Trump Administration’s executive order freezing virtually all USAID activities – followed by a “stop work” order on the agency by new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.  The ruling Thursday evening in a Washington DC […] Continue reading ->
In a breakthrough for patients with multi-drug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB), researchers shared positive trial results for a shorter, tailored alternative at the World Conference on Lung Health in Bali, Indonesia.  The insights came from the endTB-Q trial aimed at finding a simpler, less toxic, shorter regimen for fluoroquinolone-resistant MDR-TB. Fluoroquinolone is a common class of […] Continue reading ->
Dozens of tuberculosis (TB) activists took to the stage during the opening of the annual World Conference on Lung Health in Bali, Indonesia, to demand that the price of GeneXpert tests to detect TB is slashed to $5 in low- and middle-income countries. ​ Medical test maker Cepheid and its parent corporation Danaher were asked […] Continue reading ->
This week, experts and policymakers are convening at the Union’s World Conference on Lung Health to discuss tuberculosis (TB), the world’s deadliest and most neglected infectious disease. Since the turn of the 20th century, over one billion people have died from TB – a death toll greater than that from malaria, smallpox, HIV/AIDS, cholera, plague […] Continue reading ->
In 2021, I lost a close friend to tuberculosis (TB), the world’s most lethal infection. But I cannot say anything else about this friend, where I met him or when we became close.  The stigma surrounding tuberculosis is too impenetrable and, unfortunately, it would not be fair to my friend’s family. Still, for me, his […] Continue reading ->