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Sam Sellers

@samsellers.bsky.social
152 followers 238 following 27 posts

Climate & health; SRHR; biodiversity conservation

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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The Cavalcanti et al. paper was the first effort to measure this, estimating 4.5 million under-5 deaths would result by 2030. But it didn’t explicitly take into account morbidity or loss of DHS and other services that support global public health practice. www.thelancet.com/article/S014...
thelancet.com
Evaluating the impact of two decades of USAID interventions and projecting the effects of defunding on mortality up to 2030: a retrospective impact evaluation and forecasting analysis
USAID funding has significantly contributed to the reduction in adult and child mortality across low-income and middle-income countries over the past two decades. Our estimates show that, unless the a...
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
And Covid. It‘s a trio of contrasts.
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Conspiracy thinking is often laced with racism & sexism, and conspiracy targets who are female and/or non-white are generally disproportionately harmed, something that folks like @angierasmussen.bsky.social know all too well. /end
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
3. The DtG panel was entirely white men, a descriptor that also applies to Tony Fauci and many (certainly not all) of the scientists working on COVID origins. Without in any way minimizing the harassment the panelists experienced, the discussion omitted the fact that it could have been even worse.
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
While China urgently needs to combat the wildlife trade, discourse rooted in blame inhibits much-needed cooperation to prevent the next pandemic. Instead, policymakers and diplomats should emphasize the transboundary and highly distributed nature of spillover risks.
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
If Western governments emphasized this point more strongly (and in public remarks), it might reduce the sense of threat that China perceives from origins investigations and enhance China’s willingness to collaborate on future pandemic prevention efforts.
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
A savvy and scientifically-minded diplomat might see an opportunity in newer evidence (discussed around 10:45 in the episode) that the bat ancestor may not have come from China.
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Enhancing Chinese cooperation in origins investigations and future pandemic prevention requires harnessing cognitive empathy—seeing things from China’s viewpoint even if we might disagree (as emphasized by @kaiserkuo.bsky.social).
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
But the origins fracas has barely touched on the illegal wildlife trade because there’s not an identifiable villain in the same way that there is for a supposed lab leak.
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
2. Much of China’s behavior in response to questions about origins can be attributed to not wanting to be blamed for the pandemic. China bears significant responsibility—the Chinese Government failed to curb the illegal wildlife trade after the first SARS outbreak.
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Given the significant spillover risks that come from the wildlife trade, it’s vital that the U.S. Government (and other donors) invest in culturally-sensitive programs designed to reduce such risks.
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
My colleagues at USAID worked to combat wildlife trafficking and developed tools for addressing unsustainable practices around wild meat. While many of these programs are gone, the tools and knowledge generated remain, and can serve as the foundation for future initiatives. www.wildmeat.org/toolkit/
wildmeat.org
Wildmeat » Toolkit
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
1. In addition to attacking science, the Trump Administration has also targeted international development. Given the spillover risks created by the wildlife trade, virology research and development programming are complementary tools for preventing pandemics.
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
@guruspod.bsky.social did a follow-up/reunion episode on COVID origins with @kgandersen.bsky.social, @eddieholmes.bsky.social, and Michael Worobey. As someone who has followed this debate with dismay, I had a few reflections on the episode.
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Experimentation and innovation are often undertaken in response to competitive pressures. But utilities are natural monopolies. Does this mean policy is required to spur utility innovation? if so, how should it come about (from PUCs, state governments, FERC, etc.)?
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Yes, but to what end? Manufactured climate controversies and the resulting polarization has led to a growing evidence-policy disconnect. Science is an intrinsic good, but also desirable because it can improve our lives. I worry the latter may not be possible in this information environment though.
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Reposted by Sam Sellers
New Security Beat @newsecuritybeat.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
“Rules alone guarantee mediocrity.” Former USAID staffer Sam Seller argues the development sector's bureaucracy can stifle good judgment at a time when adaptability and relying on experience is more important than ever. New on #NSB: 🔗 www.newsecuritybeat.org/2026/03/why-...
newsecuritybeat.org
Why Good Development Requires Wisdom, Not Just Rules
Development practitioners enter the field hoping to make the world a better place. Yet, too often, they become jaded and cynical over time. The bureaucratic processes that shape the mechanics of [...]
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
I appreciated the discussion, but there was one piece that was missing. What are your respective hypotheses for why this intellectual tendency has manifested? Is it mostly ideological (commentators really believe this), algorithmic (both side-ism is what gets more clicks), or some other phenomenon?
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Whaling doesn’t just benefit the literary arts. America could be a leading scrimshaw exporter if only we put our minds to it…
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
My biggest pet peeve has been getting requests where based on the abstract, it’s clear the author didn’t get the manuscript copy edited. The lack of editing leads to a lack of clarity in the argument. My job is to edit for technical merit, not grammar. I wish more editors would desk reject these.
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Definitely Slovic’s paper on Psychic Numbing and Genocide—ended up reading it in one of the first classes I took as an undergraduate and one of the last. Very thought provoking every time I revisit it. www.cambridge.org/core/service...
cambridge.org
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
DHS in memoriam www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/h...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Ends Global Health Research Program
The Demographic and Health Surveys were the only sources of reliable information in many countries on metrics such as mortality, nutrition and education.
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Those of us from USAID who helped support DHS are devastated as well. This program was core to our mission and produced so much important data that benefited the development and academic communities alike. It feels like the end of an era, and it’s hard to foresee what will come next.
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Sharing this wonderful piece from my former USAID colleague Apoorva, which beautifully discusses the importance of USAID's population data work for advancing global development. www.linkedin.com/pulse/love-l...
linkedin.com
A Love Letter to Demography and Global Development
Like thousands of brilliant, compassionate, and hard-working USAID and development colleagues, I have watched in anger and despair as our life-saving/affirming work and global partnerships have collap...
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
No you’re not, and it’s very much warranted. My (now former) colleagues at USAID are experiencing the consequences of Musk’s highly destructive coup, which is already having profound consequences for global health and development. This will soon spread to NIH, EPA, NOAA, and beyond.
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Reposted by Sam Sellers
Hansi Lo Wang (he/him) @hansilowang.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
NEW: Census.gov has been down for many users since around 5 p.m. ET. I've asked the Census Bureau's public information office what is causing the bureau's website not to load and when they expect it to come back online...
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
Thank you for speaking out and sounding the alarm. Those of us who were in GH up until this week are looking on in horror from the outside.
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Reposted by Sam Sellers
Erin Sikorsky @erinsikorsky.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
The USAID-led Famine Early Warning System (FEWSNet) is "currently unavailable." This is the preeminent global early warning tool for acute food insecurity and has traditionally had bipartisan support in Congress. static.fews.net
static.fews.net
The FEWS NET Website, the FEWS NET Learning Platform, and the FEWS NET Data Warehouse and Data Explorer are currently unavailable.
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 29/12/2024
@courtghoward.bsky.social Do you happen to know anyone who might be helpful here?
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Sam Sellers @samsellers.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
If still needed, I’d be happy to chair one of the sessions (preference for the second).
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