An Unwavering Belief in Science, Creativity, and Equity: The Legacy of Dr. William H. Foege www.milbank.org/quarterly/op...
23.02.2026 19:07
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An Unwavering Belief in Science, Creativity, and Equity: The Legacy of Dr. William H. Foege www.milbank.org/quarterly/op...
Today @who.int renewed my appointment to the IHR Review Committee until 2030. What's interesting is that WHO copied the US State Department Geneva Mission. Even with US withdrawal, it is good to see an orderly process emanating from WHO HQ.
RFK Jr supports the president in invoking the DPA to spur production of glyphosate, a known carcinogen. It's striking how Kennedy is willing to jettison his core values to please Trump. In the process, he is betraying the MAHA movement that he was instrumental in creating. Shameful.
Invoking the Defense Production Act to spur the domestic production of glyphosate is a gross abuse of presidential authority. US agriculture is at not at risk. What is at risk is the nation's health. Glyphosate is a known carcinogen.
University of Lucerne BRAUN DISTINGUISHED LECTURE 2026
"A world built on justice & mutual obligations, based on shared democratic values is worth fighting for"
"Another way to say all this is we must reject selfishness, indecency & dishonesty, and embrace compassion & love for one another"
Dr Bhattacharya is wholly unqualified to lead CDC. He has scant ph experience. At NIH, he's cut vital public health research. During COVID he castigated CDC scientists & has never stopped. I haven't seen one idea that actually seeks to build CDC capacities, only to tear them down.
For those still wondering if Trump & RFK's assault on global health & human rights is reversible, think again. In @thinkglobalhealth.org, I show how historic the break is with US traditions, values and the rule of law. Eleanor Roosevelt would be weeping
www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/pres...
In @genevahealthfiles.bsky.social, we offer an explainer on US budget process & global health. Especially for advocates outside the US, it is an informative read:
genevahealthfiles.substack.com/p/united-sta...
In Health Affairs Forefront, we explain why US withdrawal from @WHO is legally dubious. We simply stress that a world in which the US & WHO are adrift is harmful for US national interests & global security
www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...
In @thelancet.com, Peter Lurie & Alla Hill @cspinet.org and I examine the evidence for a nutritious diet. Sadly, the new Dietary Guidelines for America fail both on process (no transparency + COIs) and on substance (little science & evidence).
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Today in @TheLancet
New dietary guidelines for Americans: a recipe for poorer health
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Out today in @Health_Affairs Forefront
Without The US, The World Health Organization Cannot Fulfill Its Mission
www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...
President Trump's Mark on Global Health and Human Rights www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/pres...
I wrote this because, even with all the cruelty & the harms to global health & human rights, I don't believe we fully appreciate how much Trump has destroyed US leadership & values since 1948
With new vaccine schedule secured, RFK Jr. allies head to statehouses www.statnews.com/2026/01/29/v... via @statnews.com
States are absolutely the next major target of MAHA
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
The Supreme Court’s 2026 Term—Public Health in Jeopardy jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Many of the problems with our health system & democracy itself is because of SCOTUS rulings that are tone deaf to values of public health, science, & equity. I explain this in @JAMAHealthForum today
What a hero Bill Foege was for the world For all the destruction of basic health functions this past year, Bill Foege's legacy, smallpox eradication, cannot be undone. I hope when the current darkness lifts, the CDC director has Bill’s vision and passion for health justice
Bill Foege was a dear friend & my public health hero. He called often outraged at Trump & RFK, Jr's attacks on science- leaving WHO, decimating USAID, undermining vaccines
To Bill, it was deeply personal
He fought for health & justice even as his eyes failed him & he became frail-- until the end
It's painful to see the US flag removed from @WHO Geneva HQ. On June 14, 1948 Truman signed a law requiring payment of dues before exiting. Since then,
every president understood WHO's value. Until Now.
Trump has unilaterally violated US & int'l law.
healthpolicy-watch.news/stars-and-st...
SCOTUS & Culture Wars
We know exactly how Justices will rule
It isn't based on law, justice, or the Constitution
☑️ Can't Ban Conversion Therapy
☑️ Can Ban Gender Affirming Care
☑️ Can Ban Trans Athletes
No legal consistency
Only consistency is SCOTUS joining Culture Wars
Today in @statnews.com, Richard Hughes & I discuss RFK's destructive vaccine policies. There's a cavernous divide between pro- & anti-vaccine states
Vaccine federalism means children’s health depends on geography. No one is safe as herd immunity wanes
Red states are most at risk
shorturl.at/8OI3x
Kudos to the House for passing a clean extension of ACA subsidies. If the Senate follows, it will dramatically lower insurance premiums & prevent 4 million Americans from losing health coverage.
It will save lives, keep families from financial ruin, and keep rural hospitals open.
Bowing to the alcohol beverage industry, RFK, Jr weakens the message on the harms of drinking. The new food pyramid removes advice on safer limits on alcohol. Even the current guidelines (2 units daily for men & 1 for women) is inadequate. There is no safe limit on alcohol consumption.
RFK Jr releases a new food pyramid putting red meat, beef tallow, & full-fat dairy at the top. His handpicked "experts" worked in secret
As with vaccines, Kennedy sets policy without transparency, science, and evidence
We can expect more heart disease, diabetes, & cancer
In Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Sam Halabi and @gostin.bsky.social write on one of the unresolved core aspects of the WHO #PandemicAgreement: the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) System.
Read the article: https://ow.ly/AT6v50XMvWM
Amid the turmoil of anti-vax policy from RFK Jr some sanity prevails. The 2nd Circuit today upheld a ban on cuts to NIH research funding, ruling that unilaterally slashing NIH research overheads was unlawful. NIH funding saves lives & is the engine of our economy
As 2025 draws to an end, let's reflect back on a year global health was decimated, from the US withdrawal from @who.int & defunding of GAVI, to the elimination of USAID.
PLoS Global Public Health
"The Trump presidency: Cascading global shocks on global health"
journals.plos.org/globalpublic...
As wonderful as PubMed is, it needs competition. Now it is getting it from Germany
That’s a very good thing
The whole world can’t lean on one country’s scientific library
Science is a global enterprise
See @statnews.com
www.statnews.com/2025/12/26/p...
RFK, Jr's war on vaccines is spilling over to states
States have legal power to set vaccine schedules
Sates are ending school vaccine mandates & requiring broad religious exemptions
SCOTUS is abetting this move
In JAMA
State Vaccine Law and Policy—A New Threat to Public Health
shorturl.at/mUbZR
RFK's decision to cut funding for the Am Acad of Pediatrics is short sighted and harmful. It's pure vindictiveness for the principled stand of AAP on vaccines. Grants to AAP support studies on infant deaths, and childhood diseases like autism. This vindictive action is unconscionable.
Today in the Georgetown J. of Int'l Affairs, Sam Halabi @oneillinstitute & I explain the importance of CDR in the @WHO Pandemic Agreement PABS Annex
The New WHO Pandemic Treaty and Global Health Governance: Common but Differentiated Responsibilities into PABS
gjia.georgetown.edu/2025/12/11/t...