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Benjamin Mason Meier

@benjaminmasonmeier.bsky.social
3K followers 194 following 168 posts

Professor of Global Health Policy at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill | Working at the intersection of #GlobalHealth & #HumanRights benjaminmasonmeier.com

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Benjamin Mason Meier @benjaminmasonmeier.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Please join my first public presentation as the Fulbright Canada 🇨🇦 Research Chair in Health Law, Policy and Ethics — TOMORROW at the University of Toronto (and online at the QR code below). Evolving Political Contestation of the Right to Health in the United States 12:30 - 2:00 EST
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Lucia Ruggiero @lruggiero.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The world comes to New York: What’s at stake at UN General Assembly high-level week news.un.org/en/story/202...
news.un.org
The world comes to New York: What’s at stake at UN General Assembly high-level week
Each September, New York becomes the centre of global diplomacy as presidents, prime ministers, ministers and diplomats from around the world gather at United Nations Headquarters.
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Benjamin Mason Meier @benjaminmasonmeier.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Facing the challenge of COVID-19, Xavier Becerra appeared before @who.int in 2021 to reassert U.S. leadership as a foundation to realize the #RightToHealth. Much has changed in the past five years, but I am inspired to see Becerra continuing this fight for health and human rights in California.
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Trump Action Tracker @trumpactiontracker.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
With support from Markwayne Mullin and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the kratom industry is pursuing a potentially lucrative policy. Mr. Mullin owns equity in a company that could benefit. Kratom has been linked to liver toxicity, seizures and thousands of deaths TAT: [Corruption | Attacking science]
nytimes.com
How Kratom, an Addictive Gas Station Drug, Found Allies in Trump’s Cabinet
With support from Markwayne Mullin and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the kratom industry is pursuing a potentially lucrative policy. Mr. Mullin owns equity in a company that could benefit.
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Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Morning It's GREAT to see organized resistance to MAHA & MAGA! Thx to @standupforscience.net & @defendpublichealth.bsky.social for leading the way The AMA was, until now, collaborationist, but the AMA president-elect, Dr Fryhofer, is an anti-RFK Jr activist 1/2 www.politico.com/news/2026/06...
politico.com
America’s doctors just voted for war with RFK Jr.
The American Medical Association has sought a working relationship with the health secretary. Members saw moral compromise.
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 11/06/2026
GOOD MORNING NEW YORK CITY.
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Benjamin Mason Meier @benjaminmasonmeier.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
NEW IN @hhrjournal.bsky.social: We trace the long evolution of US conservative opposition to the #RightToHealth — challenging who is entitled to rights and what rights should be upheld by government — with this past opposition culminating in the current administration.
hhrjournal.org
Political Contestation of the Right to Health in the United States: Eighty Years of Conservative Opposition to Health and Human Rights – HHR Journal
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Melody Schreiber @melodyschreiber.com · 17/05/2026
Former top US officials - Anthony Fauci, @spsaki.bsky.social, @nschwalbe.bsky.social - recently highlighted what we need to do to prepare for the next pandemic. I've seen their words echo through outbreak response already. My latest: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
‘We’re not ready’: US lags on pandemic preparedness after Covid, experts say
Experts say slashed funding and growing misinformation are some of the greatest challenges facing public health
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Benjamin Mason Meier @benjaminmasonmeier.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Culminating the WashU School of Public Health convening on "Building for a New Era of Global Health" www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mLo..., it was an honor to join the "Complicating the Narrative" podcast, discussing rapid, ongoing shifts in global health governance. youtu.be/Ci8BGLOalIc?....
youtu.be
The past, present and future of global health with Gbenga Ogedegbe and Benjamin Mason Meier
YouTube video by Complicating The Narrative
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WHO @who.int · 15/05/2026
Nicotine pouches, flavoured and appealing, are designed to hook young people. And these products evolve rapidly. WHO is calling on governments to regulate them now. Read WHO’s Global Nicotine Pouch Report 👉 bit.ly/4nymmbk #TobaccoExposed
WHO graphic with the text “No smoke does not mean no harm”. Image shows colourful AI-generated tins and sachets representing flavoured nicotine pouches, surrounded by fruit (orange, watermelon, blueberries, mint) and ice cubes, highlighting flavour appeal. Small text reads: “AI-generated representations of nicotine pouches.”
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Thiru Balasubramaniam @thirugeneva.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Save the Date- The future of the WHO EML and access to novel medical technologies Date: Thursday, 21 May 2026 Time: 13:00 - 14:30 CEST Venue: Red Cross Museum, Salle Henry Dunant (in-person only) Please register here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... #WHA79 @keiwashdc.bsky.social
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Remco van de Pas @rvandepas.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
When UN Partners With the Harm It Is Meant to Prevent healthpolicy-watch.news/when-the-un-... @unnicycles.bsky.social Credibility of UN system depends on clear separation of its public mandate from commercial interests its work often contests. Once blurred, it becomes very difficult to draw again.
healthpolicy-watch.news
When The UN Partners With The Harm It Is Meant To Prevent - Health Policy Watch
The United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) announced a "strategic partnership" with Nestlé to establish the World
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WHO @who.int · 01/05/2026
Member States of WHO progressed work on the Pathogen Access & Benefit Sharing (PABS) annex, a key part of the WHO #PandemicAgreement, & today agreed additional time was needed to finalize the framework for ensuring a better, more equitable, response to future pandemics. www.who.int/news/item/01...
who.int
WHO Member States agree to extend negotiations on Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing annex
Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) have progressed work on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) annex, a key part of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, and today agreed additional...
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Oni Blackstock, MD MHS @oniblackstock.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
"Kennedy says the children are getting obsolete shots with dangerous ingredients that the U.S. has long since phased out. He is holding up $600 million Congress appropriated for the vaccines to pressure the international humanitarian group, Gavi, that distributes them."
politico.com
RFK Jr. is holding up $600M in vaccines for poor countries
The distributor of the shots said it would cost tens of thousands of lives.
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Gabriel Armas-Cardona @garmascardona.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Pushing back against a common criticism of socioeconomic rights: "How can they be rights if they depend on money!?"
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Madhu Pai, MD, PhD @madhupai.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
AIDS Creeps Back in Parts of Zambia, a Year After U.S. Cuts to H.I.V. Assistance Sobering piece by @stephanienolen.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/04/25/h...
nytimes.com
AIDS Creeps Back in Parts of Zambia, a Year After U.S. Cuts to H.I.V. Assistance
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Benjamin Mason Meier @benjaminmasonmeier.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
Saturday @ @cughnews.bsky.social Conference: How to Respond to a Shifting Global Health Landscape Int'l Ballroom East 5:00-6:30 PM Global health is undergoing rapid, disruptive change. This panel explores how universities, governments & organizations are adapting to this new global health landscape.
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Melody Schreiber @melodyschreiber.com · 06/04/2026
“Public health needs to be a higher priority," said @drpanmd.bsky.social. “I know people get really nervous that this will politicize public health. But it’s not been a priority. And it’s already been politicized.” my latest: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Public health takes center stage in US midterm campaigns: ‘It’s already been politicized’
Some candidates are making public health a central part of their midterm campaigns amid Trump’s war on science
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Dan "Scary" Greene @dmgreene.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
A thousand NYU contingent faculty went on strike Monday and today they have a real contract with real security in one of the most expensive places on earth
nytimes.com
N.Y.U. Professors Reach a Deal on a Contract to End Strike After 2 Days
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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Gosh, perhaps there are fewer campus protests because schools, as The Atlantic urged them to do, aggressively went after protestors. Columbia suspended, expelled, and retroactively revoked degrees in proceedings that were so arbitrary and capricious they were overturned by a NY state judge.
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Health Policy Watch - Global health news reporting @healthpolicywatch.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
🌍 Tensions are rising at final pandemic accord talks. African nations have rejected the draft, warning it fails on equity and access. ✍️ @kerrycullinan.bsky.social @who.int @euatun.bsky.social #GlobalHealth #PandemicPreparedness #HealthEquity #GlobalHealthPolicy 📖⬇️ and 🔁🙏
healthpolicy-watch.news
Tense Start To Final Pandemic Agreement Talks As Africa Rejects New Draft Text - Health Policy Watch
Tension was palpable at the start of the sixth – and supposedly final – round of talks on an annex to the Pandemic Agreement, with the African region
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Wendy E. Parmet @weparmet.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
We're looking for a program director for Salus Populi, which trains judges and lawyers about the social determinants of health and their relationship to the judicial system. JD required. Spread the word! Salus Populi Program Director Position - northeastern.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/career...
northeastern.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
Salus Populi Program Director
About the Opportunity About the Center for Health Policy and Law: The Center for Health Policy and Law (CHPL), “The Center” promotes innovative solutions to public health challenges at home and around...
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Princess Vimentin PhD | Cancer Biologist @princess-vimentin.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
🧪Everyone needs to know that the Bethesda Declaration is and why it is important. www.the-scientist.com/nih-scientis... www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...
the-scientist.com
NIH Scientists Issue ‘Bethesda Declaration’ to Protest Research Politicization
In an open letter, researchers and staff at the National Institutes of Health raise concerns over recent policy changes.
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Benjamin Mason Meier @benjaminmasonmeier.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Inspired to work with @judithmesquita.bsky.social & Sharifah Sekalala in developing our AJIL Unbound essay — examining human rights limitations in @who.int law reforms & analyzing the imperative to strengthen human rights obligations to ensure global health equity. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Human Rights Limitations in World Health Organization Reforms: Strengthening Human Rights Obligations in Global Health Law to Ensure Global Health Equity | American Journal of International Law | Camb...
Human Rights Limitations in World Health Organization Reforms: Strengthening Human Rights Obligations in Global Health Law to Ensure Global Health Equity - Volume 120
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AJIL and AJIL Unbound @ajil.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
🌍 New AJIL Unbound Symposium Global Health at a Crossroads – Part II is now live from the American Journal of International Law. Read Part II 👇 www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
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Shashika Bandara @shashikalb.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
WHO Pandemic Agreement is only the beginning: strengthening implementation to protect global health. Here is a mind-map of the pathways forward for the Pandemic Agreement outlined (Box 2). Full article: www.bmj.com/content/392/... @benjaminmasonmeier.bsky.social @jocalynclark.bsky.social @bmj.com
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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
“Early in his career, Dr. William Schaffner, a professor at Vanderbilt University…worked with the CDC to implement the measles vaccine. When he tells medical students today that in the 1960s, before the measles vaccine, 400 to 500 kids died of measles & its complications each year, “They’re stunned”
propublica.org
South Carolina Hospitals Aren’t Required to Disclose Measles-Related Admissions. That Leaves Doctors in the Dark.
Physicians across South Carolina, home to the largest measles outbreak in decades, are advising patients without the benefit of real-time data on hospitalizations due to measles-related pneumonia, bra...
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Ben Phillips @benphillips76.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
A privilege to work with Joe Stiglitz, Monica Geingos and Michael Marmot on the Global Council on Inequality, AIDS & Pandemics. Please read & amplify their call to action in Project Syndicate, to get world leaders to tackle inequality to keep us all safe. www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/i...
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Health Policy Watch - Global health news reporting @healthpolicywatch.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
🚨The US EPA says climate pollution is no longer a public health issue — and moves to stop regulating greenhouse gases. ☠️A major legal and policy shift with global health consequences. @cleanairfund.bsky.social @thelancet.com @wmo-global.bsky.social @docsforclimate.bsky.social 📖⬇️ & 🔁🙏
healthpolicy-watch.news
US EPA Stops Regulating Climate Pollution - Says It's Not A Health Concern - Health Policy Watch
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has eliminated the scientific finding that determined planet warming gases also harm human health.
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Karl Jacoby @karl-jacoby.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Once more: Columbia could have fought; it chose not.
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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
#CDC has had a full-time director for less than a month in Trump 2.0. People watching the situation think it's unlikely there will be another Senate-confirmed CDC director in this term. With Jim O'Neill's firing, it doesn't have an acting director either. www.statnews.com/2026/02/15/c...
statnews.com
Exit of CDC’s acting director highlights agency’s lack of leader
The lack of a Senate-confirmed leader is deepening the turmoil at the CDC.
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Lou Charbonneau @loucharb.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
🚨 New from @hrw.org: #UN member states should select a champion of #HumanRights as the next UN Secretary-General as the UN faces a crisis amid a global retreat on rights & democracy. - by Widad Franco
hrw.org
Next UN Secretary-General Should Champion Rights
United Nations member countries will select a new UN secretary-general this year to succeed António Guterres in January 2027.
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Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal @jayapal.house.gov · 11/02/2026
Too often when discussing trans rights, we’re forced to be on the defensive, as Republicans wage attacks. Today, we take the opportunity to look forward by introducing my Trans Bill of Rights, a comprehensive vision to provide protections for all trans and nonbinary people.
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Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
BREAKING: Four states led by Democrats sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, aiming to halt deep cuts in federal public health funds that had already been allocated. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/h...
nytimes.com
Four States Sue Administration Over Loss of Public Health Funds
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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Oh man, the amount of buzzwords in this… It is hilarious to see this introduced as a “data-driven quest” before the actual text of the article acknowledges: “The safety gains are difficult to quantify.” (Are there even any safety gains at all? It’s not clear to me.) @profgoldberg.bsky.social
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Robert Marten @robertmarten.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Fossil fuel firms may have to pay for climate damage under proposed UN tax
Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation could also force ultra-rich to pay global wealth tax
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USA TODAY Opinion @usatodayopinion.usatoday.com · 09/02/2026
Opinion: Emblazoned on the jumbotron behind Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl 60 halftime show were the words 'THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE.'
bit.ly
Bad Bunny's Super Bowl show cements Latinidad in the mainstream | Opinion
Emblazoned on the jumbotron behind Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl 60 halftime show were the words 'THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE.'
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 08/02/2026
BASH: Is this measles outbreak a consequence of the administration undermining support for vaccines? DR OZ: I don't believe so. Secretary Kennedy has been advocating for measles vaccines BASH: Oh, come on
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
More than half the drugs on the TrumpRx site have a cheaper generic version on the market. Pristiq, an antidepressant, is available with a TrumpRx coupon for ~$200 for a 30-day supply. A generic version is on GoodRx for less than $30 and Mark Cuban's CostPlusDrugs for $16.65.
axios.com
How TrumpRx drug prices compare to generic alternatives
Patients could save more buying non-branded copycat drugs, even if they don't have insurance.
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Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Brilliant legal analysis by my friend Larry Helfer (UN Human Rights Committee member & a law prof who co-directs Duke’s Center for International and Comparative) & Jean Galbraith, Law Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School www.justsecurity.org/129914/us-wi...
justsecurity.org
Has the U.S. Actually Withdrawn from the World Health Organization?
International law experts analyze the purported US withdrawal from the WHO and conclude it is likely not binding under international law.
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Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Documented measles cases in the US 2024: 285 2025: 2,276 2026: 730+ (through Feb 6) while new documents obtained by @rcfp.org contradict RFK Jr's testimony to Congress about the purpose of his trip to Samoa amidst a deadly measles outbreak. bsky.app/profile/rcfp...
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Steph @stephy.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Remember when Emily Oster said listeria isn’t a big deal? “A newborn baby has died in New Mexico from a Listeria infection that state health officials say was likely contracted from raw (unpasteurized) milk that the baby’s mother drank during pregnancy.” arstechnica.com/health/2026/...
arstechnica.com
Newborn dies after mother drinks raw milk during pregnancy
Raw milk is promoted by anti-vaccine Health Secretary Kennedy.
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Arush Lal, PhD @arushlal.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
What began as a crisis of resources now risks becoming a crisis of direction for global health governance. My latest op-ed argues for the World Health Assembly to initiate a time-bound, member state-led process to unify fragmented global health architecture reforms. blogs.lse.ac.uk/globalhealth...
blogs.lse.ac.uk
It is time for a World Health Assembly resolution on global health architecture reform - LSE Global Health
Ahead of this week’s World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board meeting, Dr Arush Lal (Visiting Fellow, LSE Health) argues for the adoption of a resolution to support coordination of fragmented g...
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Quacks who promote raw milk conveniently omit the many infectious pathogens it can contain. Some of these cause infections so severe they can lead to death. Raw milk has no unique health benefits > pasteurized milk but it sure can make you sick. Don't drink it! www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
nbcnews.com
New Mexico warns against consuming raw milk after newborn dies from listeria
While the New Mexico Department of Health said it cannot pinpoint the baby's exact cause of death, officials believe it could have been linked to the mother drinking raw milk during pregnancy.
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Mallory SoRelle @profsorelle.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Come be my colleague @dukesanford.bsky.social! I'm chairing this search for the inaugural Rosen Family Professor of the Practice--an experienced scholar-practitioner--and am happy to field questions via the email in the job post. More details in the posting below 👇👇👇
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Paul Belcher FRCP HonMFPH 🇪🇺🇬🇧 @pauljbelcher.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
🇺🇳 Opinion: ‘Europe has greater responsibility in the World Health Organization without the United States’ - Writes Professor Ilona Kickbusch in @bmj.com ‘Europe must become a proactive system stabiliser as the principal guarantor of @who.int ’s operational continuity’ www.bmj.com/content/392/...
bmj.com
Europe has greater responsibility in the WHO without the United States
The US’s withdrawal from WHO makes Europe the system stabiliser in global health multilateralism, writes Ilona Kickbusch At the upcoming executive board meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO...
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Benjamin Mason Meier @benjaminmasonmeier.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
The past year has shaken the foundations of U.S. leadership in global health governance amid: * attacks on public health science, * abandonment of U.S. foreign assistance & * threats to global health governance. The global health landscape is rapidly shifting — to the exclusion of the United States.
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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
The US government has lost more than 10,000 people with PhDs in the STEM or health fields since Trump 2.0 took office — 14% of the federal civil servants with PhDs in those areas, a @ScienceMagazine analysis shows. What could possibly go wrong? www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office
A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies
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Science Magazine @science.org · 27/01/2026
Threats to funding and cuts to diversity efforts are putting pressure on the pipeline of new scientists. scim.ag/3LIs63S
science.org
How Trump's moves could dramatically reshape the scientific workforce
Threats to funding and cuts to diversity efforts are putting pressure on the pipeline of new scientists
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Auschwitz Memorial @auschwitzmemorial.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Auschwitz was at the end of a process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers. This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder. Auschwitz took time.
A bird's-eye view of a former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp showing a wide dirt pathway flanked by parallel rows of barbed-wire fences. Groups of visitors walk along the path, surrounded by the remnants of brick structures and barracks, now reduced to foundations. Green grass contrasts with the somber history of the site, as the path leads toward a guard tower in the distance.
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