Excited to host SS03 – Transforming TB detection through tongue swab-based molecular testing at #UnionConf2025 in Copenhagen (19 Nov, 08:00–09:00). Exploring new near‑POC diagnostics that could expand TB case detection and decentralise care.
$2.1 billion is the equivalent of 🌍 military expenditure every 8h
$2.1 billion is the price of 1 stealth bomber
$2.1 billion is 1/4 of what the tobacco industry spends on advertising & promotion every year.
It seems somebody switched the price tags on what is truly valuable in our world.
#WHA78
The R2D2 TB Network Consortium has released a preprint on the first study evaluating novel swab-based near-POC MTB assays for TB detection in adults and adolescents.
🔗 Read the preprint here: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
#R2D2TBNetwork #Tuberculosis #DiagnosticAccuracy #GlobalHealth
In 15 yrs of reporting, I've never had so many health & biomed researchers & outreach orgs tell me they're afraid to talk w/press or barred from speaking bc of new comms policies.
I understand the fear of losing funds. I don't know if silence does more harm than good. If you can speak up, pls do.
9/ The tide won’t turn on its own. It’s up to us to make it happen.
#GlobalHealth #Equity #Solidarity #HealthForAll
8/ Change is a constant struggle. It requires better organization, solidarity, and a shared commitment to:
* Health for all 🌍
* A fairer system ⚖️
* Science that serves humanity 🧬
7/ But let’s be honest: the lack of organized, collective action so far doesn’t inspire much hope.
If we want to avoid repeating the same mistakes post-Covid (or post the next crisis), we need to change how we respond.
6/ Crises like the one we’re living through today could be an opportunity to build something better - a fairer, more just, and equitable system that serves everyone, especially the underserved in both the Global South and North.
5/ And let’s not forget: diseases know no borders. Health is global.
4/ Multiple reports show Africa experiences a net outflow of resources due to illicit financial flows, unfair trade practices, and debt servicing.
Yes, aid and foreign investment help, but they’re dwarfed by the value extracted from the continent.
Aid isn’t charity.
3/ It’s also crucial to recognize that the wealth of the Global North wasn’t built in a vacuum. It’s the result of centuries of colonization and exploitation of the Global South - a reality that continues today.
2/ Will it be through a thoughtful, equitable transition? Or a chaotic collapse that costs lives worldwide?
I think we can all agree it should be the former.
1/ Let’s start by acknowledging the obvious: we’re operating in a broken system. The global health system is built on patching up an unfair world with band-aids—aid programs, NGOs, public-private partnerships, and the like.
But this system is unsustainable. It will come down. The question is how.
“Instead of a careful handover, we’re being pushed off a cliff,” said Kate Rees, an epidemiologist with South Africa’s Anova Health Institute, which has also seen its funding terminated.
Story on the devastating cuts to the HIV/AIDS field by my colleague @cohenjon.bsky.social 🧪 #IDsky
"No one wants bears in their backyard, but no one wants to invest in institutions doing the unglamorous work to keep them out either."
Published October 13, 2020:
NEW: Taxpayers and charities helped develop Zolgensma. Then it debuted at a record price, ushering in a new class of wildly expensive drugs.
Its story upends the widely held conception that high prices reflect huge industry investments in innovation.
Revealed: Microsoft deepened ties with Israeli military to provide tech support during Gaza war
"WHO TARGETS JOINED UP TREATMENT GUIDELINES AND APPROVAL: The World Health Organization will next year aim to join up its processes for approving new products and advising how to use them, in a move its chief scientist says will transform equitable access to new health interventions. Two of the WHO’s most important jobs are to issue guidelines on treating diseases and to approve new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics. The latter process, known as prequalification in WHO parlance, is especially important for lower-income countries that don’t have stringent drug regulators. WHO prequalification means a new product has passed standards of safety, quality and efficacy. Bridging the gap: These two separate processes, guidelines and prequalification, are often handled across multiple different departments and can happen too far apart, WHO Chief Scientist Jeremy Farrar explained to Rory. Starting in January, the WHO will begin five pilot studies in which it will try to prequalify new products and issue relevant guidelines no more than 12 months apart."
WHO Chief Scientist Jeremy Farrar shares what’s on his desk the first week in January and why it’s a big deal for global health. pro.politico.eu/news/the-yea... @who.int
With new funding and rapidly expanding R2D2 TB Network, we are looking for new team members to join our Technology Team!
Scientific Project Lead: karriere.klinikum.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php?ac...
Technology Officer: karriere.klinikum.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php?ac...
#hiring #jobopening #IDsky
5/7 Post-COVID, financial crises loom large for these orgs, with some nearing bankruptcy. Without unions or staff representation, employees are left vulnerable to management decisions—including cases where leadership faces corruption allegations.
4/7 The Swiss system, where many such orgs are based, exacerbates the issue. Non-Europeans working here lack residency rights—a structural disadvantage.
3/7 Nonprofits are also often seen as altruistic, not competitive entities in a limited funding pool. This mindset, paired with staff’s dedication to “the common good,” can lead to exploitation.
2/7 These orgs often face internal struggles like mismanagement, burnout, & overwork. Why? Funders limit overhead costs, restricting staff for projects worth millions. A systemic issue.
Tuberculosis is a preventable and curable disease that continues to devastate the most vulnerable communities.
Unified response is needed to tackle #TB among refugee and migrant populations, write Tereza Kasaeva and colleagues
www.bmj.com/content/387/...
