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Peter Singer

@petersinger.bsky.social
5.6K followers 1.1K following 409 posts

Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto. Former Special Advisor to WHO Director General; Co-founder of Grand Challenges Canada and University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics. My blog: singerp.substack.com

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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Budi Gunadi Sadikin's WHO Director-General platform: Build, Grow, Scale. The pillars spell his initials. A strong national record and a plan with substance. But he needs to show how WHO would measure and manage its own results, and stay above politics. singerp.substack.com/p/budi-gunad...
singerp.substack.com
Budi Gunadi Sadikin shows national results but needs a more detailed WHO plan
WHO Director-General candidate BGS launches BGS: Build, Grow, Scale
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
You’ve really got to wonder whether all the time and effort devoted to seeking geopolitical agreement is worth it — compared to devoting it to implementation. Excellent article by the way @apoorvanyt.bsky.social
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
76 health innovations each reached more than a million people in low- and middle-income countries. None has its return to government on the books. As countries take over from aid, finance ministries need to see what innovation gives back. singerp.substack.com/p/government...
singerp.substack.com
Governments have a claim on innovation. Nobody has staked it.
Seventy-six health innovations each reached more than a million people. None has its return to government written down.
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Reposted by Peter Singer
Adam R Houston @healthlawadamh.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Interesting analysis by @petersinger.bsky.social. Might quibble here and there, but worth a look: "Canada’s life sciences strategy doesn’t estimate a return. So I did." singerp.substack.com/p/canadas-li...
singerp.substack.com
Canada’s life sciences strategy doesn’t estimate a return. So I did.
What the treasury gets back and what the economy gains. You can estimate this for your country.
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
A seventh of eligible patients, close to a third of the benefit. GLP-1s cut mortality 24% in people with serious mental illness. Those same patients are less likely to be prescribed them. I call it the equity paradox. singerp.substack.com/p/the-equity...
singerp.substack.com
The equity paradox in GLP-1s and serious mental illness
People with serious mental illness are a seventh of eligible patients but account for close to a third of the benefit from GLP-1s
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
A seventh of eligible patients, close to a third of the benefit. GLP-1s cut mortality 24% in people with serious mental illness. Those same patients are less likely to be prescribed them. I call it the equity paradox. singerp.substack.com/p/the-equity...
singerp.substack.com
The equity paradox in GLP-1s and serious mental illness
People with serious mental illness are a seventh of eligible patients but account for close to a third of the benefit from GLP-1s
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Canada named 64 new research chairs last week, $504M over eight years. One selection criterion covers knowledge translation. So I asked whether it worked: 41% had already commercialized their science before they were selected. 13 founded 29 companies. More: singerp.substack.com/p/41-of-cana...
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Hans Kluge publishes first manifesto in the WHO Director-General race. Right direction on results. Now show us how. He invites challenge. I take him up on his offer. singerp.substack.com/p/hans-kluge...
singerp.substack.com
Hans Kluge gets the direction right on results. Now show us how.
First contender to publish a manifesto in the WHO Director-General race
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Four candidates for WHO Director-General (so far). Who do you support? [Source: WHO]
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Four candidates for WHO Director-General (so far). Who do you support? [Source: WHO]
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Jocalyn Clark @jocalynclark.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
And now, as of Aug 22, the 4th candidate I forecast, Budi Gunadi Sadikin 🇮🇩, has entered the race for @who.int Director-General. 1 month til the deadline - will more throw their hats in the ring? www.who.int/about/govern...
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
In this conversation we explore innovation, results, accountability and more. I offer advice to young people: find a problem and solve it; get the right mentors working for you; and hop aboard a rocket-ship. Pls give it a listen 👇🏻 podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/d...
podcasts.apple.com
Grand Challenges Canada's Peter Singer on Innovation, Integrity, and the SDGs
Podcast Episode · Do One Better with Alberto Lidji in Philanthropy, Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship · August 10 · 32m
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André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
mRNA, CAR-T and CRISPR — Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask. And how scientific advances save lives from Ebola to cancer, by @petersinger.bsky.social singerp.substack.com/p/mrna-car-t...
singerp.substack.com
mRNA, CAR-T and CRISPR — Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask
And how they save lives from Ebola to cancer
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
In this conversation we explore innovation, results, accountability and more. I offer advice to young people: find a problem and solve it; get the right mentors working for you; and hop aboard a rocket-ship. Pls give it a listen 👇🏻 podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/d...
podcasts.apple.com
Grand Challenges Canada's Peter Singer on Innovation, Integrity, and the SDGs
Podcast Episode · Do One Better with Alberto Lidji in Philanthropy, Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship · August 10 · 32m
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
In Busia, Kenya, Agnes Okose carries TB samples to the lab in a lunch cooler. Aid paid for her trips until January. Now her snack stall does. The aid is leaving. Seventeen cents on the health spending dollar stays. My 🆕 piece open.substack.com/pub/singerp/...
open.substack.com
Aid is leaving. But what helps replace it is already there.
The low- and middle-income country playbook to navigate the aid collapse.
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Excellent piece by @picardonhealth.bsky.social
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Lisa Fast @lisafast.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
@petersinger.bsky.social Per your model’s prediction. Canada should fund GLP1 medications to improve our health, our economy and reduce our public health expenditures.
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Does BPC-157 work? Nobody knows. Is it safe? Maybe, maybe not. But coming soon to a clinic near you.
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André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Canada will spend $10-trillion on health over the next twenty-five years. We treat all of it as cost, but it's an investment; $1.5-trillion could return to government. But, on our current path, $518 billion is left on the table, by @petersinger.bsky.social singerp.substack.com/p/518-billio...
singerp.substack.com
$518 billion hiding on the public books.
Turning health spending into investment — Canada as a model.
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Canada will spend $10 trillion on health over 25 years and books all of it as cost. $1.5 trillion could return to government — $518 billion of it only with deliberate action. A country that capitalizes its pipelines is expensing its biggest hidden asset. New piece 👇 open.substack.com/pub/singerp/...
open.substack.com
$518 billion hiding on the public books.
Turning health spending into investment — Canada as a model.
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Reposted by Peter Singer
Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
My latest with Emmet Livingstone in Bunia. Just under 2,000 cases as per 11th of July. @angelarasmussen.bsky.social @petersinger.bsky.social www.economist.com/middle-east-...
economist.com
The Ebola epidemic is getting out of control
It has spread to five provinces in Congo and may soon reach South Sudan
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Is The Lancet antisemitic? I counted its Gaza coverage, coded editorials, traced where claims travelled. My answer: no. But it does stoke hostility to Jews by cloaking opinion in scientific authority without subjecting it to the same rigour. open.substack.com/pub/singerp/...
open.substack.com
Is The Lancet antisemitic?
No – but by cloaking antizionism in scientific authority, it stokes hostility to Jews
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Erika Dreifus @erikadreifus.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
For the full piece: singerp.substack.com/p/is-the-lan...
singerp.substack.com
Is The Lancet antisemitic?
No – but by cloaking antizionism in scientific authority, it stokes hostility to Jews
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Erika Dreifus @erikadreifus.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
And I would argue that this framing transcends the journal that @petersinger.bsky.social writes about here. I’m thinking of other academic/professional journals as well as literary publications/trade magazines that run (and/or aggregate and amplify) journalism, book reviews, and other (NON)fiction.
I would argue that the difference between a scholar and a revolutionary — or an editor and a pamphleteer—is a sense of responsibility for the consequences of the words you publish. To me, that responsibility is exactly the issue — and it raises the question of what the journal should do.
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
DRC Ebola has crossed 1,000 confirmed cases. Crossed threshhold ~37 days from notification, vs ~116 for West Africa and ~242 for North Kivu. Already across 34 health zones, two countries. No licensed vaccine for this species, none in trials. Why that matters: open.substack.com/pub/singerp/...
open.substack.com
Why the race for an Ebola vaccine is worth winning
Modelling the Bundibugyo outbreak shows the value of a vaccine — and why the 100 Days Mission’s bet on speed is exactly right
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Global health is rebalancing from supplying innovations to demanding them — and the aid collapse is what’s forcing it. My new piece on what that shift takes, with Grand Challenges Canada as the pathfinder. singerp.substack.com/p/scaling-he...
singerp.substack.com
Scaling health innovation is a demand problem
As development aid collapses, Karlee Silver on why Grand Challenges Canada is rebalancing from supply to demand.
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
@petersinger.bsky.social has modelled various scenarios and writes about why we need a vaccine at singerp.substack.com/p/why-the-ra...
singerp.substack.com
Why the race for an Ebola vaccine is worth winning
Modelling the Bundibugyo outbreak shows the value of a vaccine — and why the 100 Days Mission’s bet on speed is exactly right
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Reposted by Peter Singer
Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
A month in, the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in DRC + Uganda has passed 800 confirmed cases — already the third-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded. 1/3 open.substack.com/pub/singerp/...
open.substack.com
Why the race for an Ebola vaccine is worth winning
Modelling the Bundibugyo outbreak shows the value of a vaccine — and why the 100 Days Mission’s bet on speed is exactly right
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
A month in, the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in DRC + Uganda has passed 800 confirmed cases — already the third-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded. 1/3 open.substack.com/pub/singerp/...
open.substack.com
Why the race for an Ebola vaccine is worth winning
Modelling the Bundibugyo outbreak shows the value of a vaccine — and why the 100 Days Mission’s bet on speed is exactly right
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Reposted by Peter Singer
Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
“Health is an investment, not a cost” is something I heard for years. No one could tell me how much was returned or to whom. So I modelled it across 58 countries over 25 years. Bottom line: $36 trillion opportunity. See below. Happy to share any country’s profile. open.substack.com/pub/singerp/...
open.substack.com
What do people mean when they say, “health is an investment”? Fiscally Positive Health provides an answer.
One-fifth of health spending could be returned to government, but only half of that is captured today. That’s $36 trillion governments are leaving on the table.
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
“Health is an investment, not a cost” is something I heard for years. No one could tell me how much was returned or to whom. So I modelled it across 58 countries over 25 years. Bottom line: $36 trillion opportunity. See below. Happy to share any country’s profile. open.substack.com/pub/singerp/...
open.substack.com
What do people mean when they say, “health is an investment”? Fiscally Positive Health provides an answer.
One-fifth of health spending could be returned to government, but only half of that is captured today. That’s $36 trillion governments are leaving on the table.
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Process-mode has been WHO’s defining identity for a generation. The next Director-General will need to flip it to relentless focus on results. Clip from my podcast with @jocalynclark.bsky.social (BMJ). Full episode open.substack.com/pub/singerp/...
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Great cautionary tale by @picardonhealth.bsky.social I loved the plot twist on AI at the end.
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Jocalyn Clark @jocalynclark.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
What’s at stake in the race for the next @who.int director-general, which has just kicked off? I spoke to a range of experts with deep experience of WHO.
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Jocalyn Clark @jocalynclark.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
This was so fun! Trading intel & thoughts on WHO Director-General campaign and what kind of the leader the organisation needs next. (And it’s not a 🦄🦄🦄.) 🎧 Podcast link below. ✏️ My NEW article: www.bmj.com/content/393/...
bmj.com
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
WHO faces the worst crisis in its 78-year history, according to a new article. My mantra for the DG race: more results, less politics. A conversation with @jocalynclark.bsky.social on her new @bmj.com piece — and what every candidate should be pressed on. open.substack.com/pub/singerp/...
open.substack.com
More results, less politics? “Who will be the next leader of the beleaguered WHO?”
With Jocalyn Clark, International Editor of the BMJ
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WHO @who.int · 17/05/2026
Under the IHR (2005), @drtedros.who.int, the Director General of WHO, having consulted the States Parties where the event is occurring, has determined that the Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in DRC & Uganda constitutes a public health emergency of international concern bit.ly/3P4ZDac
Epidemic of Ebola Disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda determined a public health emergency of international concern
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Air Quotes Media @airquotesmedia.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Subscribe to the pod and join @petersinger.bsky.social the esteemed leader in global health and innovation in the Culture Lab as we explore the culture shift needed to capitalize on the healthcare and economic opportunity that GLP1s represent⬇️ YouTube youtu.be/J4I01nmwhbw?...
youtu.be
Is Ozempic healthcare’s silver bullet? ft. Dr. Peter Singer | Culture Lab
YouTube video by Air Quotes Media
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Air Quotes Media @airquotesmedia.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
@petersinger.bsky.social @kronellenfitsch.bsky.social @gabederoche.bsky.social YouTube youtu.be/J4I01nmwhbw?... Apple podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i... Spotify open.spotify.com/episode/2ahl... TikTok www.tiktok.com/@airquotesme...
youtu.be
Is Ozempic healthcare’s silver bullet? ft. Dr. Peter Singer | Culture Lab
YouTube video by Air Quotes Media
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Air Quotes Media @airquotesmedia.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
🆕 Join @kronellenfitsch.bsky.social and @gabederoche.bsky.social in the lab as they look under the microscope with this week's "loaded question": Is Ozempic healthcare’s silver bullet? Featuring Dr. @petersinger.bsky.social.
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
I visited the Culture Lab with @kronellenfitsch.bsky.social and @gabederoche.bsky.social to talk GLP1s. It was a helluva a lot of fun. Check it out airquotesmedia.com/culturelab We discussed GLP-1 cultural shifts: from lifestyle to longevity drugs and from government cost to investment. 1/3
airquotesmedia.com
Culture Lab | AQM
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Lisa Fast @lisafast.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Thanks for this work for Canada! As I listened, I thought about the fantastic impact these health improvements would have on our citizens and our overwhelmed health system.
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
I visited the Culture Lab with @kronellenfitsch.bsky.social and @gabederoche.bsky.social to talk GLP1s. It was a helluva a lot of fun. Check it out airquotesmedia.com/culturelab We discussed GLP-1 cultural shifts: from lifestyle to longevity drugs and from government cost to investment. 1/3
airquotesmedia.com
Culture Lab | AQM
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André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
The trillion-dollar GLP-1 fiscal opportunity governments will miss. Generic ‘Ozempic’ could pay for itself and make money for taxpayers in 80-95 countries, by @petersinger.bsky.social singerp.substack.com/p/the-trilli...
singerp.substack.com
The trillion-dollar GLP-1 fiscal opportunity governments will miss
Generic ‘Ozempic’ could pay for itself and make money for taxpayers in 80-95 countries
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
~$1.1 trillion in net fiscal returns from GLP-1 drugs across 36 high- and upper-middle income countries by 2050. Most governments won’t capture their share. Check out my new post open.substack.com/pub/singerp/...
open.substack.com
The trillion-dollar GLP-1 fiscal opportunity governments will miss
Generic ‘Ozempic’ could pay for itself and make money for taxpayers in 80-95 countries
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Reposted by Peter Singer
André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
What if GLP-1 drugs could pay for themselves? A well-designed Canadian programme could produce a cumulative CAD $72 billion fiscal surplus by 2050, and serve as a model for other countries, by @petersinger.bsky.social singerp.substack.com/p/72-billion...
singerp.substack.com
$72 billion hiding in plain sight
The case for a Canadian GLP-1 programme — and a model for other countries
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
What if drugs could pay for themselves? A well-designed Canadian GLP-1 programme: CAD $72B fiscal surplus by 2050. 2.7:1 fiscal ratio. Outperforms infrastructure, R&D subsidies, most productivity spending. Detailed worked example, second post in the trilogy. 🧵 1/5
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Krutika Kuppalli, MD FIDSA @krutikakuppalli.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
🚨 Important development. Rapidly determining whether this individual has #hantavirus will be critical to understanding the transmission dynamics of this outbreak and whether this reflects shared exposure or possible human-to-human transmission. www.dutchnews.nl/2026/05/klm-...
dutchnews.nl
KLM flight attendant hospitalised with suspected hantavirus - DutchNews.nl
A KLM air stewardess has been hospitalised with hantavirus symptoms, according to the ministry of health. The woman was briefly in contact with one of the Dutch people that died after contracting the ...
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Check out my new post on Ozempic Economics. Headline: $1.1 trillion in fiscal dividend through 2050 in 80-95 countries. open.substack.com/pub/singerp/...
open.substack.com
Ozempic Economics: What We’re Getting Wrong about GLP-1 Drugs
From cost effectiveness to fiscal return
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Peter Singer @petersinger.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
17-18% of SDGs are on track. Yet almost no one is asking whether the next UN Secretary-General can actually deliver results. I did. New blog assessing Bachelet, Grossi, Grynspan and Sall on results and reform. Check it out open.substack.com/pub/singerp/...
open.substack.com
Results, Not Rhetoric: Which UN Secretary-General candidate will deliver?
Assessing UN Secretary-General candidates Bachelet, Grossi, Grynspan, and Sall on results and reform
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