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Nelesh Govender

@neleshg.bsky.social
1.2K followers 80 following 50 posts

I study fungal and bacterial diseases. Prof at Wits. @nihr Global Health Research Prof. Hon Prof at MRC-CMM @uniofexeter, City-St George's and UCT. On sabbatical from NICD. MD, micro, epi 🌈

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Reposted by Nelesh Govender
EFFECT Clinical Trial for Crypto Treatment @effecttrial.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
We invite you to read the latest edition of our EFFECT newsletter at the link below: sway.cloud.microsoft/rLBzCsGpXSO1...
sway.cloud.microsoft
EFFECT News: Edition 8 KM
We are delighted to announce that we have successfully reached our recruitment target.
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Reposted by Nelesh Govender
EFFECT Clinical Trial for Crypto Treatment @effecttrial.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Several members of our trial team participated in this mycology training workshop, hosted by @exeter.ac.uk MMC in collaboration with UCT, both as faculty and delegates. It was an excellent opportunity for learning, teaching and networking! news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-h...
news.exeter.ac.uk
Tackling deadly fungal threats: Global training empowers clinicians and lab technicians
Twenty-four clinicians and laboratory technicians have enrolled in a bespoke training programme designed to strengthen the diagnosis and treatment of deadly fungal diseases. With infections soaring gl...
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Reposted by Nelesh Govender
Kat Holt @katholt.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
#AMR #Klebsiella cause >100,000 neonatal deaths globally each year. Our new preprint shows more than half of #Klebsiella pneumoniae neonatal sepsis cases in African and South Asian are nosocomial, acquired through transmission in neonatal units. #WAAW doi.org/10.1101/2025...
figure showing estimated proportion of cases in clusters, for each site. range from 0.04 to 0.93, mean estimate in random effects model is 0.57 [0.46,0.68]
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Reposted by Nelesh Govender
Kat Holt @katholt.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
The meta-analysis was led by @erkison.bsky.social, with 60 wonderful co-authors contributing data, ideas and interpretations, including @neleshg.bsky.social @pjplanet@bsky.social @ahmedmicrobes.bsky.social @evaheinz7.bsky.social @kelwyres.bsky.social and many others not on BlueSky
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Kat Holt @katholt.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
@neleshg.bsky.social and the Baby GERMS-South Africa team explored transmission clusters of ESKAPE pathogens across 6 South African hospitals, and identified large outbreaks of carbapenem-resistant #Klebsiella ST152 and Acinetobacter baumannii ST1 & ST2 www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
medrxiv.org
Enhanced detection of neonatal invasive infection clusters in South Africa using epidemiological and genomic surveillance data
Introduction Invasive bacterial infections, particularly those caused by the ESKAPE group, account for a substantial proportion of neonatal deaths in low- and middle-income countries, yet the contribu...
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 27/09/2025
🎉to Charlotte Rabault - she published this after a 6-month fellowship in Joburg In patients aged >90 days, prior antifungal use was associated with non-susceptible Candida bloodstream infection (OR 2.02). In young infants, hospital transmission was more influential. wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/...
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Abstracts, Clinical Conundrums and FungArt for the Fungal Update conference in London (March 2026) are all now open for submission: mycologyconference.co.uk/abstracts/
mycologyconference.co.uk
Abstracts – Fungal Update: Mycology Conference
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Reposted by Nelesh Govender
Ilan Schwartz @germhuntermd.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Genomic epidemiology of Histoplasma in Africa Rutendo Mapingo ... @neleshg.bsky.social Daniel Matute Three genetically distinct lineages identified among African Histoplasma isolates journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Phylogenetic tree and Principle Component Analysis of African histoplasma isolatesMorphological characteristics of the Histoplasma Africa samples. We show the morphology of isolate SA1704, but all other isolates show similar characteristics. (A) Morphology of a 3-week-old Africa isolate growing on a plate of Sabouraud dextrose agar at 25°C. (B) Light microscope slide stained with lactophenol blue showing the mycelial stage of Histoplasma Africa. (C) A similarly prepared slide for T-3-1 which belongs to H. ohiense. (D) Culture of a 2-week-old Africa growing on brain heart infusion agar at 35°C. (E) Slide of electron microscopy image of a 2-week-old Africa (SA0297) growing on Sabouraud dextrose agar at 25°C showing the microconidia of mold form (magnification = ×2,000, extra high tension = 5.00 kV, working distance = 9.2 mm, Signal A = SE2, bar 10 µm). (F) Electron microscopy image of a 2-week-old Hcf (SA20VMK) growing on Sabouraud dextrose agar at 25°C showing a tuberculate macroconidium (magnification = x2,000, EHT = 5.00 kV, WD = 9.2 mm, Signal A = SE2, bar 10 µm).
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
Results from our CAST-NET cohort study published. Excellent national coverage of cryptococcal antigen screening in SA but real challenges to act on CrAg+ results to exclude meningitis and dispense pre-emptive antifungals journals.lww.com/jaids/abstra...
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Jayne Ellis presenting data from our cohort with CD4 <100 undergoing CrAg screening in SA at #IAS2025 (poster 2803) 59% (86/146) had CMV viraemia - strongly & independently associated with ⬆️mortality, more than quadrupling odds of death at 6-months (adjusted OR 4.02, 95%CI 1.27-12.7)
Cumulative 6-month mortality amongst 146 adults with advanced HIV disease, stratified by baseline CMV viraemia status
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
During 2016–2023, among 21,195 US patients who tested positive for Candida auris skin colonisation, 6.9% were subsequently found to have a positive clinical specimen, 2.8% from blood Probably an underestimate but useful to know wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/...
wwwnc.cdc.gov
Progression from <em>Candida auris</em> Colonization Screening to Clinical Case Status, United States, 2016–2023
<em>C. auris</em> Colonization Screening to Clinical Case
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Reposted by Nelesh Govender
Kat Holt @katholt.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
We brought together teams from 13 neonatal sepsis surveillance studies, conducted across 35 sites in South Asia and Africa, to pool data and estimate prevalence of capsule and O types amongst #Klebsiella pneumoniae causing sepsis in newborns, using Bayesian modelling.
map showing the location of countries included in the study: Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan
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Kat Holt @katholt.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
I'm super happy to share this preprint on ‘Distribution of capsule and O types in #Klebsiella pneumoniae causing neonatal sepsis in Africa and South Asia: meta-analysis of genome-predicted serotype prevalence and potential vaccine coverage’ doi.org/10.1101/2025...
doi.org
Distribution of capsule and O types in Klebsiella pneumoniae causing neonatal sepsis in Africa and South Asia: meta-analysis of genome-predicted serotype prevalence and potential vaccine coverage
Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae causes ~20% of sepsis in neonates, with ~40% crude mortality. A vaccine administered to pregnant women, protecting against 70% of K. pneumoniae infections, could aver...
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Congrats to Serisha Naicker & our 🌍CryptoADAPT team at Wits, UP, SUN, Imperial, CISM, UZ, Duke for the new @wellcometrust.bsky.social grant Excited to dig into the environmental diversity of Cryptococcus in Africa www.wits.ac.za/news/latest-...
wits.ac.za
2025-06 - Investigating fungi and what makes them dangerous - Wits University
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Reposted by Nelesh Govender
AVAC @avac.org · 17/06/2025
Must read from @stephanienolen.bsky.social @nytimes.com: From #SouthAfrica Built a Medical Research Powerhouse. Trump Cuts Have Demolished It. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/h...
nytimes.com
South Africa Built a Medical Research Powerhouse. Trump Cuts Have Demolished It.
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Hosted by a full panel of trial investigators from the @effecttrial.bsky.social
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 25/05/2025
Great updates and learning at the histoplasmosis working group meeting at the tail end of ISHAM triennial conference And new targets will be set...
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Great to contribute to this week's Naked Scientist podcast on the rising tide of fungal diseases www.thenakedscientists.com/podcasts/nak...
thenakedscientists.com
The rising tide of fungal diseases
Are we ready to fight off a new world of infections?
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Congratulations Lottie
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
"Considering this conflicting evidence, there is equipoise to support a clinical trial in which persons with AHD without overt symptoms suggestive of histoplasmosis and with Histoplasma antigenuria are randomized to pre-emptive antifungal therapy or to observation."
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Reposted by Nelesh Govender
Onisillos @onisillos.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
"How can WHO be expected to serve the whole world on the same budget as one hospital in a mid-sized European city?" www.statnews.com/2025/05/14/w...
statnews.com
WHO trims top management ranks amid financial crunch
The WHO, which faces an extraordinary financial crunch in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from the agency, has dramatically trimmed its top management.
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Reposted by Nelesh Govender
Ilan Schwartz @germhuntermd.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Thanks for sharing. There was also a recent State of the Art review in CID on the topic academic.oup.com/cid/article/...
academic.oup.com
State-of-the-Art Review: Use of Antimicrobials at the End of Life
Abstract. Navigating antibiotics at the end of life is a challenge for infectious disease (ID) physicians who remain deeply committed to providing patient-
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
In 2008, my wonderful 84-year-old grandmother died in hospital with perforated diverticulitis. I was a newly-qualified clinical microbiologist then. When it became clear that she wouldn't recover, I asked for her to be transferred out of ICU, to receive palliative care and to stop antibiotics...
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Bad news... "A draft budget for the department [HHS], obtained by The New York Times, proposes axing two journals published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Emerging Infectious Diseases and Preventing Chronic Disease."
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Reposted by Nelesh Govender
Clinical Infectious Diseases @cidjournal.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
Plasma Microbial Cell-free DNA Metagenomic Sequencing for Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Diseases Among High-risk Outpatient and Inpatient Immunocompromised Hosts #IDSky
bit.ly
Plasma Microbial Cell-free DNA Metagenomic Sequencing for Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Diseases Among High-risk Outpatient and Inpatient Immuno
New and minimally invasive tools to aid the diagnosis of invasive fungal diseases (IFD) are urgently needed as the immunocompromised population at highest risk increases. Advancements in molecular technology have rendered new diagnostics more readily available for clinical use.
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
It's staggering what has unravelled in a matter of months
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Reposted by Nelesh Govender
Wellcome Trust @wellcometrust.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Fungi can protect the environment, grow food and even develop new medicines. 🍄 But they can also cause disease. As climate change spreads pathogenic fungi to new places, more people worldwide will be at risk. Learn more in our explainer ⤵️ wellcome.org/news/will-cl...
wellcome.org
Will climate change lead to more fungal infections? | News | Wellcome
Fungi can keep us healthy or cause disease. As climate change drives fungi to adapt, learn how we can harness the benefits and tackle the threats.
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Nice cover of Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, highlighting the still-mysterious fungal kingdom, a small % of which causes deadly human infections "Nature alone is antique, and the oldest art a mushroom" -https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/5/ac-3105_article
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Recruiting inpatients living w/ HIV into ADVANCE GERMS-SA cohort study in Johannesburg @raewake.bsky.social Screened 2000, enrolled >500 so far. Primary outcome: incidence severe infections AHD-associated sepsis & AMR summarised in a new @mbio.bsky.social mGem: journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org
mGem: Sepsis and antimicrobial resistance in the context of advanced HIV disease | mBio
People with advanced HIV disease (AHD; defined among adults as a CD4 cell count &lt;200 cells/µL or a World Health Organization [WHO] stage 3 or 4 clinical event) are at increased risk of hospitalizat...
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
www.ewn.co.za/2025/04/23/g...
ewn.co.za
Govt is nowhere to be seen as SA's HIV programme collapses
The US has abruptly suspended almost all foreign development assistance globally, including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) research gra...
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Reposted by Nelesh Govender
Madhu Pai, MD, PhD @madhupai.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Global pandemic treaty finalized, without U.S., in ‘a victory for multilateralism’ www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Global pandemic treaty finalized, without U.S., in ‘a victory for multilateralism’
Three years in the making, the accord aims to increase equity and avoid errors of the COVID-19 pandemic
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Reposted by Nelesh Govender
IAS - the International AIDS Society @iasociety.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
"How US funding cuts are threatening #SouthAfrican families living with #HIV" via @aljazeera.com
aljazeera.com
How US funding cuts are threatening South African families living with HIV
Critical community initiatives that provide testing, food and support and HIV vaccine research have been dismantled.
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Clinical Infectious Diseases @cidjournal.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
Differences in mortality in hospitalized advanced HIV disease between treatment-naive and treatment-discontinuing individuals: a comparative retrospective study from Mexico City ✅ Just Accepted #IDSky
doi.org
Differences in mortality in hospitalized advanced HIV disease between treatment-naive and treatment-discontinuing individuals: a comparative retrospective study from Mexico City
Advanced HIV disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in people with HIV (PWH) in Latin America. It remains unclear whether mortality differ between people with advanced HIV who are treatment-naïve (TN) and those who have discontinued antiretroviral treatment (TD).
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Reposted by Nelesh Govender
Contagion® @contagionlive.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
A new analysis raises concerns over the stoppage of funding for this long-standing program, which could have major impacts on global public health for years to come. #HIV #IDsky #medsky
contagionlive.com
Without PEPFAR, Nearly 500,000 Children Could Die From AIDS-Related Causes in 5 Years
A new analysis raises concerns over the stoppage of funding for this long-standing program, which could have major impacts on global public health for years to come.
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
Outbreak detective stories are the best
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Open Forum Infectious Diseases @ofidjournal.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Interventions to support people with HIV following hospital discharge: a systematic review ✅ Just Accepted #IDSky
doi.org
Interventions to support people with HIV following hospital discharge: a systematic review
Individuals hospitalized with HIV-related complications face high post-discharge mortality and morbidity, particularly in resource-limited settings.
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Reposted by Nelesh Govender
Jon Cohen @cohenjon.bsky.social · 22/03/2025
www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
“Orchestrated assault”: New tsunami of NIH grant cuts hits South Africa hard
Agency moves to terminate nearly 1000 awards, including programs involving “DEI”
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The MRC Centre for Medical Mycology @mrccmm.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
We're pleased to announce the appointment of Prof Joe Jarvis as Honorary Professor at @exeter.ac.uk. Joe's expertise will complement our ongoing and future activities @mrccmm.bsky.social Read more: sites.exeter.ac.uk/medicalmycology/2025/03/13/prof-joe-jarvis-appointed-as-mrc-cmm-honorary-member/
sites.exeter.ac.uk
Prof Joe Jarvis appointed as MRC CMM Honorary member
Professor Joe Jarvis, a recognized leader in global health has been appointed as Honorary member with the University of Exeter and the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology. His expertise and established ne...
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Reposted by Nelesh Govender
Colin S Brown @colinbrown-id.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
What a wonderful venue to have a conference dinner at - and to see some old pals @drneilstone.bsky.social @neleshg.bsky.social - looking forward to some exciting fungal resistance talks tomorrow at #FungalUpdate2025
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Onisillos @onisillos.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
"It’s a pity that he’s never taken the time to truly understand the burden of disease in South Africa." www.statnews.com/2025/02/26/t...
statnews.com
Q&A: How Trump’s USAID freeze halted the effort to develop an effective HIV vaccine in Africa
Glenda Gray, program director of a research consortium, talked with STAT about the impact of the funding freeze on an HIV vaccine trial and other HIV-related research in Africa.
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Dr. D Boulware, MD MPH @drboulware.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Super exciting times whenever a phase III trial unblinds. Really great multinational group of HARVEST TB meningitis trial investigators. Incredibly fun to write up as a team together in rapid fashion. Protocol: doi.org/10.12688/wel...
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The Lancet Microbe @lancetmicrobe.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
New research article Pathogen aetiology and risk factors for death among neonates with bloodstream infections at lower-tier South African hospitals: a cross-sectional study www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... #IDSky #ClinMicro #OpenAccess #OA
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Nelesh Govender @neleshg.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
We've described 907 episodes of neonatal infection in our latest Baby GERMS-SA paper Full text link here: kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...
kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me
ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books.
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JAC-AMR @jac-amr.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Defining & responding to contextual drivers for #AntimicrobialStewardship implementation in SA neonatal units enabled a multidisciplinary team approach to develop & optimise #AMS, with potential for other low resource settings: doi.org/10.1093/jacamr/dlae222 @neleshg.bsky.social #JACAMRNews
doi.org
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Madhu Pai, MD, PhD @madhupai.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Grateful to @gregggonsalves.bsky.social for his inspiring work and words When ‘Just Asking Questions’ About Science Turns Into 300,000 Dead www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | I Shudder to Imagine Kennedy Running Our Health Agencies. (Gift Article)
We have to go toe-to-toe with this administration and resist its attacks on public health.
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Ilan Schwartz @germhuntermd.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
New guidelines for diagnosis and management of candidiasis from ECMM in cooperation with @ishamycology.bsky.social and @asm.org Led by @olivercornely.bsky.social @rosannesprute.bsky.social with contributions from >100 experts Author link: authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S... #IDSky
Large byline with >100 authorsDiagnostic algorithmTreatment algorithm for candidemia without end organ involvement
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Madhu Pai, MD, PhD @madhupai.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Some refugees are always welcomed in the Global North www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-o...
cbsnews.com
Trump orders U.S. to prioritize refugee resettlement of South Africans of European descent
President Trump directed officials to prioritize the resettlement of Afrikaners in South Africa through the U.S. refugee program, which he suspended on his first day in office.
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Madhu Pai, MD, PhD @madhupai.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
‘It’s tectonic:’ U.S. foreign aid freeze deals a blow to research around the globe
Dismantling of USAID could disrupt clinical trials and wipe away U.S. “soft power” in developing countries, scientists warn
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The BMJ @bmj.com · 04/02/2025
The US was considered a world leader in public health and research. With one repressive stroke that reputation risks being broken, argue @jocalynclark.bsky.social and @kamranabbasi.bsky.social www.bmj.com/content/388/...
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