Raffaella Ravinetto

Ongoing conflicts continue to devastate civilians, health systems, and healthcare workers. The World Medical Association reaffirms medical neutrality and calls for the protection of healthcare personnel and facilities, as required under international humanitarian law.

UNICEF is devastated and outraged that our colleague Karine Buisset was killed in a reported drone strike on a building housing aid workers in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo.

https://unicef.link/4sI7hp6

📢 Save the date: Antwerp Informal Medicine Quality Day - 8 October 2026
This annual #MedicineQuality meeting will be hosted for the first time by @ITMantwerp in #Antwerp, in collaboration with our Medicine Quality Research Group
@Caillette0202 @PaulNNewton @RRavinetto @SalehAljadeeah @BelenTarrafeta

Experts fear ‘unethical’ vaccine trial in Africa is ‘prototype’ for US studies under RFK Jr Danish researchers whose work on effects of vaccines has been called into question are at center of US vaccine policy

Very scary: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Constant threats and backlash undermine women's rights around the globe, but women still continue to fight against repression.

This International Women's Day, we honor the courage of those working to improve the lives of women and girls everywhere. #IWD26 #InternationalWomensDay

The US Department of Defense is reportedly using artificial intelligence from tech company Anthropic in its strikes in Iran.

Why is this important? HRW's @abacci.bsky.social and @verityc.bsky.social explain ⤵️

Quit ChatGPT: right now! Your subscription is bankrolling authoritarianism | Rutger Bregman As a historian, I’ve studied the major consumer boycotts of history. We can take down ChatGPT and send a powerful signal to Silicon Valley, says author and historian Rutger Bregman

"The most effective consumer boycotts in history share two qualities: they are narrow and they are easy," writes @rutgerbregman.com

Research on the genome of microorganisms: ethical considerations and recommendations regarding the incidental bystander sequencing of human genetic material In genomic research primarily targeting microorganisms (or pathogens), a substantial risk exists that the presence of human genetic bycatch is not suf…

Pathogen #genomic research implies risks due to human genetic bycatch. As researchers & #ethics reviewers at @itmantwerp.bsky.social, we propose a four-step #mitigation plan to #protect individuals & #communities, & #trust in research
@orentzfadia.bwww.science
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The world backwards: again, the great misconception that commercial interests would prevail on right to health, and that individuals should bear the costs of innovation

Deportation from the US: the risks for stateless people.
On our blog, Visiting Fellow Alice Neikirk analyses the data and highlights human rights concerns about the deportation of stateless people – such as Bhutanese refugees – who may be at risk of persecution.
https://f.mtr.cool/pjbyvveitj

UNHCR is deeply concerned by the escalation of violence in the Middle East and its impact on civilians and further displacement in the region.

Our full statement on the ongoing situation.

I just found out there’s an AI software you can use that “helps” you make “perfect” video recordings of your lectures—it literally removes any of your “ums” & “ahs” or pauses & it smooths out the things you say

I shall NOT be using this software, because my “ums” & “ahs” are signs of being a human

Look to Italy to see how the dangerous idea of ‘remigration’ is taking root in Europe | David Broder To even be talking about this drastic deportation policy is a sign the far right is winning, says author David Broder

Look to #Italy to see how the dangerous idea of ‘remigration’ is taking root in #Europe @theguardian.com
#migrants #HumanRights
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

@belentarrafeta.bsky.social

#NTDs are uncommon but may be present in #Europe, as mobility & #climate change expand vectors habitat: poor #access to #medicines may leave vulnerable patients untreated & increase risk of local transmission
@lancetrh-europe.bsky.social @itmantwerp.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Three years ago, at least 94 people, including 35 children, died near Italy in what is known as the Cutro shipwreck.

Humane and rational migration policies are possible, and there is now a rare chance for accountability.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3OwsMud

#Controlled #medicines are #essential for pain, palliative care, surgery,anaesthesia,neurological & mental conditions in #Children. Lack of #access is a morally unacceptable reality: read our call in @lancetchildadol.bsky.social:
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
&
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Newsletter

Check out this week's IHP news 867: Let's get on our horses www.internationalhealthpolicies.org/newsletter/ pdf: www.internationalhealthpolicies.org/wp-content/u... (also with some translations, & short AI summary + key reads). See the website.

Murder, torture, gang rape, abductions, forced displacement & recruitment of children by M23.

Killings, rape & abduction by Wazalendo (armed groups partly supported by the DRC army).

All documented by the UN & rights organizations, well known to EU officials.

How many more?

🆕 NEW from Hastings Center Bioethics Forum: A moving essay honoring Alex Pretti’s moral courage — and the true cost of caring. 🕊️💙
authors: @maqc.bsky.social, Connie M. Ulrich, PhD, RN, Mary D. Naylor, PhD, RN

📖: https://bit.ly/4qFmKot

#Bioethics #Minneapolis #ImmigrationEnforcement #AlexPretti

SIMET statement ENG | Daniela Fusco During last weekend, a fact of concern for #PublicHealth, #NationalPolitics and #HumanRights happened in #Italy, my home country. Six doctors in Ravenna are under investigation with the allegation of ...

Read and sign the appeal of the Italian Society of Tropical Medicine and Global Health (#SIMET-ETS): autonomy of doctors is an essential tool for ensuring the #right to #health, in a health system based on #universality, #equity, and #respect for human #dignity

www.linkedin.com/posts/daniel...

Law, Politics, and Expert Panels at the US Food and Drug Administration This Viewpoint discusses the lawfulness and credibility of the US Food and Drug Administration’s recent move to using expert panels rather than advisory committees for decision-making.

No longer is the FDA a model agency: "The result is that the FDA is soliciting advice after it has decided what to do, rather than deciding what to do after hearing and appropriately considering independent experts’ advice." jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Perché il blocco navale viola anche il Patto Ue sui migranti che piace alla destra italiana La riforma del regolamento è una scelta grave fatta dal Parlamento Europeo contro il diritto d’asilo e presenta profili di illegittimità

Perché il blocco navale viola anche il Patto Ue sui #migranti che piace alla destra italiana
www.unita.it/2026/02/13/p...

Firma la petizione APPELLO URGENTE: LA CURA NON È UN REATO

Quando la cura diventa un reato, è la democrazia stessa a essere in pericolo. Firmiamo la petizione in difesa dell'autonomia medica e del #diritto alla #salute:
www.change.org/p/appello-ur...

Exclusive: Key US infectious-diseases centre to drop pandemic preparation Staff members have been instructed to scrub this topic and ‘biodefense’ from the agency’s website.

Right wing chaos agent Jay Bhattacharya strikes again—making the US less prepared for the next pandemic

One of the most important national centers for studying infectious diseases, based at the NIH, is no longer allowed to study pandemic preparedness or bio defense😨

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

FDA’s rejection of Moderna threatens to stifle broader vaccine industry Experts say the FDA "moved the goalposts" on Moderna, creating "a destructive precedent that will undermine the future of vaccine development" in the U.S.

FDA’s rejection of Moderna threatens to stifle broader vaccine industry www.statnews.com/2026/02/12/f... via @statnews.com @rravinetto.bsky.social @gorikooms.bsky.social

From multilateralism to bilateralism: Is the “America first” strategy turning Global Health into the Law of the Jungle? Guinea is less dependent on US funding than many other African countries. As a result, the impact of changes in global health funding on Guinea (and countries like it) is often neglected.

From multilateralism to bilateralism: Is the “America first” strategy turning Global Health into the Law of the Jungle? www.internationalhealthpolicies.org/featured-art... Check out this new IHP Feat article by Delphin Kolié, Antea Paviotti & Nicola Deghaye #IHPResNet #Guinea

Le Réseau Afrique Francophone & Fragilité (#AFRAFRA l) lance l'appel à communications pour ses 2èmes Journées Scientifiques à #Bamako, #Mali: « La résilience des systèmes de santé face aux crises sanitaires dans les pays du Sahel ».
⏳Date limite: 25.2.2026
share.google/p0t4vwwfF78W...

WHO director-general calls plans for U.S.-funded vaccine trial ‘unethical’ The director-general of the WHO said a U.S.-funded study of the hepatitis B vaccine in Guinea-Bissau would be “unethical” if it proceeds as planned.

WHO director-general calls plans for U.S.-funded vaccine trial ‘unethical’ www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/h... via @statnews.com

"Only when we have recognized the essential unity of life, interconnected in all its forms and epistemologies, shall we see religion, faith, and development as a seamless whole."