‘We will not know what we lost’: Conservation fallout a year after USAID shutdown news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026...

The World is watching... U.S. Considers Withholding H.I.V. Aid Unless Zambia Expands Minerals Access www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/h...

With only a few hours to spare... here's my monthly "dispatch" of reflections on health, environment, & technology updates from March! I've also shared over 50 fellowships, grants, & career opportunities across the 3 sectors. TOPICS: vaccines, biodiversity, AI ++ apothek.substack.com/p/march-2026...

A U.S. District Court judge found that President Trump's executive ordering the defunding of NPR and PBS violated the First Amendment. n.pr/3PUBm6t

Very sad to learn that Stephen Lewis died today. Stephen was a remarkable person, and someone that very likely changed the trajectory of the global response to HIV/AIDS, not only saving lives but empowering people who are too often marginalized by the structures and systems he pushed back on.

🚨 Each additional daily serving of an ultra high processed food was associated with a 5.1% increased risk of a cardiovascular disease event. The bottom line: every junk/processed food item you cut or swap out from your diet counts! 🫀 via: @jaccjournals.bsky.social www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/...

Truly humiliating and another nail in coffin of #academicmedicine. “The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) removed language from its standards that urged medical schools to teach health inequities…how factors such as housing, food access and transportation, can shape a patient’s health”

"Several describe a crowding effect: more consultants chasing fewer opportunities." "Devex has reported around a 25% drop in advertised development consulting roles, with long-term contracts falling faster than short-term ones."

Cuts to US foreign aid are hitting global conservation efforts. Over recent years, Congress approved more than $300m a year for USAID biodiversity programs. Now ranger patrols, anti-poaching programs, and habitat protection around the world have been disrupted. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Soundtrack for today: www.youtube.com/watch?v=owMZ... via: @lisabastoni.bsky.social "How can anybody win when everybody loses? I just want to vote and the right to choose What I do and what I say I want the NIH I want the FDA" ... also USAID ;)

Great primer on the Miyawaki method... an ecological restoration method that that plants mini-forests on degraded land. Think about the value this can bring to patches of unused land owned by schools, community centers, churches, and HOA's!

🤔 Great example to use with my students about the need to check the accuracy of AI results.

TB programs in low- and middle-income countries will have to learn to do more with less money due to aid cuts Frugal innovations will become central to the next phase of TB elimination My piece @thinkglobalhealth.org www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/sust...

UK Just Quietly Did to Aid What Trump Did Loudly. Yet Nobody is Screaming When this USA administration dismantled USAID, people noticed. Courts intervened. Senators held hearings. Aid workers went on television. The chaos was loud, and the resistance was proportional. When the UK's Foreign,…

Listen to @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social this World TB day. We were glad to have him at Georgetown (in the snow) last month...

The insurance death spiral has begun: rising premiums->health(ier) people opt-out of coverage ->premiums rise further-> ... and so on. "Nearly one in 10 people enrolled in the ACA Marketplace last year dropped their coverage in 2026, according to a new KFF survey published Thursday."

"The breakdown was not the result of bureaucratic failure or miscommunication. It was a deliberate act of sovereignty, and it signals something much larger than one failed deal." www.globalhealthunfiltered.com/blog/jn2u6d5...

Today is International Day of Forests... sharing this post via @scifri.bsky.social on Miyawaki mini-forest projects "taking root" across the US and around the world: www.sciencefriday.com/articles/miy...

The World is watching... U.S. Considers Withholding H.I.V. Aid Unless Zambia Expands Minerals Access www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/h...

The insurance death spiral has begun: rising premiums->health(ier) people opt-out of coverage ->premiums rise further-> ... and so on. "Nearly one in 10 people enrolled in the ACA Marketplace last year dropped their coverage in 2026, according to a new KFF survey published Thursday."

Latest post on SubStack! Sharing reflections on climate science communication and a recent commentary on the topic co-authored with Luke Shors in the journal BioNatura. apothek.substack.com/p/climate-co...

Thank you John Oliver… 🙏🏽❤️ “USAID was not perfect, but it was working miracles.” www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU8S...

Ultra high processed foods are flooding communities across the world, with food manufacturers are using tactics honed by big tobacco: addictive products, marketing to children, and massive lobbying campaigns to block government action.

"The brutality of U.S.A.I.D.’s closure & the disregard for the human toll betrayed a vision of a crueler, meaner, more insular world — one in which America aspires not to any pretense of moral leadership but simply to naked power, dominance & extractive self-interest." [email protected]

Via The Guardian: “The US government has amplified anti-vaccine rhetoric and signaled that it does not consider measles to be a priority, which could have global ramifications as countries around the world have lost or are on the brink of losing measles elimination status.”

Latest post on SubStack! Sharing reflections on climate science communication and a recent commentary on the topic co-authored with Luke Shors in the journal BioNatura. apothek.substack.com/p/climate-co...

Great primer on the Miyawaki method... an ecological restoration method that that plants mini-forests on degraded land. Think about the value this can bring to patches of unused land owned by schools, community centers, churches, and HOA's!

“The US government has amplified anti-vaccine rhetoric and signaled that it does not consider measles to be a priority, which could have global ramifications” @whatsitlike.me www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Since 1994, immigrants have paid more in taxes than they receive in benefits every year. Do not believe the lies you hear about immigrants. They are good for society and the economy.

Highly concerning finding and raises questions of accountability when these errors lead to mortality and morbidity. Source article here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The fallout over Anthropic and the Trump administration isn’t just a national security story It highlights a massive and looming public health risk I recently wrote for @theatlantic.com about what happens when health data is pushed through an ideologic filter www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...

Thank you John Oliver… 🙏🏽❤️ “USAID was not perfect, but it was working miracles.” www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU8S...

"The brutality of U.S.A.I.D.’s closure & the disregard for the human toll betrayed a vision of a crueler, meaner, more insular world — one in which America aspires not to any pretense of moral leadership but simply to naked power, dominance & extractive self-interest." [email protected]

Via The Guardian: “The US government has amplified anti-vaccine rhetoric and signaled that it does not consider measles to be a priority, which could have global ramifications as countries around the world have lost or are on the brink of losing measles elimination status.”

Highly concerning finding and raises questions of accountability when these errors lead to mortality and morbidity. Source article here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I read all the public opinion polling I could find related to the war in Iran. It's extremely unpopular. Elites aren't acting like it, because apparently constraints only exist for things like giving people health care or fighting hunger🧵 timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/public-opi...

New Post! Today at the Archive we talk about the life of Mary Mallon, known to history as Typhoid Mary, and how the idea of Living Carriers confronted New York's public health system with a set of policy conundrums that are with us still. tinyurl.com/5w6hrt6e #WomenInSTEM #PublicHealth #MedSky ⚕️

Just under the wire ;) The February edition of the Apothek Dispatch is live now! This is my monthly newsletter on health, environment, and technology… and as always I’ve shared dozens of grant, consulting, and job opportunities across these fields. apothek.substack.com/p/february-2...

"The breakdown was not the result of bureaucratic failure or miscommunication. It was a deliberate act of sovereignty, and it signals something much larger than one failed deal." www.globalhealthunfiltered.com/blog/jn2u6d5...

Timeline cleanse; on the lighter side: Africa by Toto... except it lists all countries across the continent! www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhmd...

A new Nature Medicine study on ChatGPT Health isn't encouraging. The system under-triaged 52% of emergencies, telling folks with DKA to wait 24-48 hours. It does fine on routine stuff, but fails at clinical extremes. I'll take a deeper look 🧵 #MedSky #ChatGPTHealth

As I have mentioned previously, RFK Jr. is taking steps to eliminate the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). This is a group that was started by Reagan, who I guess was too woke lol. USPSTF’s evidence-based screening recommendations must be covered by insurance.

Latest post live on Substack! Sharing notes on health financing & universal health coverage from 2 recent lectures I delivered at the University of Texas Medical Branch & UT at San Antonio. #GlobalHealth #PublicHealth #HealthFinancing #UniversalHealthCoverage apothek.substack.com/p/financing-...

"Climate change is also exposing and accelerating long-standing weaknesses in healthcare infrastructure. The regions that are most vulnerable to climate extremes, such as heatwaves, floods and prolonged drought, often coincide with areas that already face fragile medical provision." #planetaryhealth

Pete Epanchin's key points, 1 year since the freeze on US foreign assistance: 1) the benefits of foreign assistance did not stop with partner countries; 2) Americans gained as well; 3) trust is far easier to break than it is to rebuild; and 4) unmanaged risks abroad do not stay abroad.

Landmark glyphosate safety study retracted in December, leading to a "...crisis of confidence in the science behind a weedkiller that has become the backbone of American food production. It is used on soybeans, corn and wheat, on specialty crops like almonds, and on cotton and in home gardens."

Latest post live on Substack! Sharing notes on health financing & universal health coverage from 2 recent lectures I delivered at the University of Texas Medical Branch & UT at San Antonio. #GlobalHealth #PublicHealth #HealthFinancing #UniversalHealthCoverage apothek.substack.com/p/financing-...

Via @thinkglobalhealth.org: Over 2 decades, USAID "...invested more than $140 million in India's TB response, supporting nongovernmental organizations, private-sector partners, & survivor-led networks that bridge gaps between hospitals & households." Now this progress in India is under threat...

The last mile challenge is a common phenomenon in global health… treating the hardest to reach cases, & achieving disease eradication, requires the highest amount of resources per individual. The overnight disruption of USAID programs last year is expected to lead to NTD resurgence across the globe.

Karnataka state legislature building (Vidhana Soudha) in Bengaluru, India. Constructed in 1956. The inscription above the columns reads: "Government work is God's Work"