@drsumona
London Infectious Diseases Dr MRCP(UK) @Harvard.edu MPH MSc PhD - infectious diseases, epidemiology, global health @WHO.int initiative on trust & pandemic preparedness - what it means to be on the right side of history - in an unequal world
“For people who work within #HIV programs & for patients accessing care... it puts the country in an untenable situation.”
On BBC World Service Rashida Ferrand discusses impact of US plans to wind down health assistance to Zimbabwe after funding negotiations failed. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Doctors Bear the Burden as ‘Medical Freedom’ Fuels Worst US Measles Outbreak in 30 Years www.medscape.com/s/viewarticl... via @medscape.com
US to spend billions to re-create labs, data-sharing networks and rapid-response systems that America abandoned when it withdrew from WHO and dismantled USAID.
#Medsky #healthpolicy #IDsky #Episky #surveillance #pandemic
New research article
Spatiotemporal patterns of #RiftValleyFever virus in Africa: a retrospective genomic epidemiology and phylodynamic modelling study
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
#IDSky #ClinMicro #ViroSky #RVFV #OpenAccess #OA
BREAKING: The Department of Education has ended its directive that attempted to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in schools nationwide.
This is a victory for academic freedom and education equity.
The President is lying to the public:
1) For the past century, the federal government has been responsible for the Potomac Interceptor – not Maryland. The sewage pipe is on federal land.
youtu.be/OKyIKHW8ONI
really interesting, politically astute & convincing argument here for advancing public health by shifting the goal from “life expectancy,” which lacks policymaker traction, to a barometer of “basic needs met” — by my brother the doctor:
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Six years ago, the Director-General of the @who.int sounded the highest global alarm available under international law at the time, declaring the outbreak of a new coronavirus disease (later known as COVID-19) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
Statement: bit.ly/4af2tzL
Honored to be appointed the 45th Commissioner of Health for New York City under Mayor @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social.
As a kid from Jackson Heights, nothing means more to me than coming home to serve the city I was born in.
Congratulations Alister! Well deserved!
As a founding member of @who.int, the United States of America has contributed significantly to many of WHO’s greatest achievements, including the eradication of smallpox. WHO has always engaged with the US, and all Member States, with full respect for their sovereignty. 1/4
William Foege has died. He was a central architect of smallpox eradication, pioneering surveillance-driven ring vaccination when vaccine supply was limited. That strategy helped eliminate the deadliest human pathogen we’ve ever known.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...
This isn't the Middle East. It isn't Ukraine. It's the United States of America
#Trump #GOP #Fascism
We’ve been in WHO since 1948.
This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
The United States’ withdrawal from the World Health Organization became official Thursday, formalizing a fissure between the Trump administration and the Geneva-based global health agency that dates back to the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. www.statnews.com/2026/01/22/u...
The absence of things is often not appreciated. You forget. Like adverts on BlueSky. Wonderful. And diseases like measles, Rubella, polio, smallpox…
#Iran Massacre of Protesters in Iran: A Crime Against Humanity with Organized Impunity @chadbourn.bsky.social
@fulelo.bsky.social
@nhabouzite.bsky.social
In an era of great power rivalry, Canada is choosing to be principled and pragmatic. To name reality, to act together, and to build what we claim to believe in.
Gov. Newsom at Davos rips into world leaders who think they can appease Trump: “I should have brought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders.…this is pathetic”
#Iran: With internet access still cut, the reports that do emerge are deeply disturbing including thousands of suspected deaths and accounts of sexual assault and torture of detained protesters. The people of Iran deserve our solidarity. We must keep raising our voices.
"Current evidence doesn't indicate a clinically important ⬆️ in the likelihood of autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, or intellectual disability in children of pregnant individuals who use paracetamol as directed, supporting existing recommendations on its safety."
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Screenshot of a data visualization titled “The Cost of American Exceptionalism,” subtitled “What would change if the U.S. matched the OECD average?” The page explains that each card shows how outcomes would change if the U.S. matched the average of 31 peer democracies. Below, a section labeled “Economy & Inequality” displays eight cards comparing U.S. figures to OECD averages. Highlights include: +$19K per household per year in redistributed income and +$96K in redistributed wealth if the top 1% matched OECD shares; a 71% lower CEO-to-worker pay ratio (from 354× to 101×); 50 million more workers with union coverage; 26 million more people with health insurance; $2.1 trillion saved annually in healthcare spending; $691 less per person per year in prescription drug costs; and intergenerational economic mobility being twice as high. Each card shows the U.S. value alongside the OECD average.
If there's one empirical insight I'd want everyone to understand about American politics, it's this:
America's problems are solved problems. Just not here.
What would change if the US simply matched the average of 31 peer democracies? Not Denmark or Norway. Just the middle of the pack. 🧵
This is not the law.
What a catastrophe.
Rubio is claiming that they did not need Congress permission because it was a law enforcement mission. The US is behaving as a global police state, extending its own arbitrary legal decisions to the whole world.
This is not a problem just for Venezuela.
The Trump admin has introduced changes to the global flows of people, finance, & more—w/ major repercussions for women in LMICs.
Both directly & indirectly, the policies across aid, migration, & trade have harmed women. @charlesjkenny.bsky.social explains:
https://go.cgdev.org/4rmWZKS
What We Know—and Don’t Know—About the Trump Administration’s Global Health Agreements
www.cgdev.org/blog/what-we...
