Author | Lightnews

Alex Kong @alexckong.bsky.social · 3d

Thanks for reading, stay tuned for resumption of more regular musings on the state of global health and access to health technologies/anguished memes and re-posts, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

Alex Kong @alexckong.bsky.social · 3d

I encourage those in the #malaria #accesstomeds #amr space to take a look at some of our visualizations (hosted by RBM) to see what Maisha ACT can do: dashboards.endmalaria.org/en/maisha-meds

For those attending @astmh.bsky.social 2025, we'll have a live demo on November 10: maisha.app/astmh-rsvp

Maisha Meds

Maisha Meds’ Antimalarial Consumption Tracker (ACT) is Africa’s first comprehensive dashboard tracking malaria medicines, with a focus on the dominant private sector

dashboards.endmalaria.org

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Alex Kong @alexckong.bsky.social · 3d

I'm excited to support today's launch of Maisha ACT, which I was legitimately astonished to learn tracks 80% of antimalarial consumption in sub-Saharan Africa. Info on private sector use is critical, but has been opaque, for understanding antimalarial drug resistance.

maishameds.org/news/maisha-...

Maisha ACT: Africa's Largest Antimalarial Tracker Goes Live

Maisha ACT covers 80% of antimalarial use across 40+ countries, delivering unprecedented visibility into the private and public sectors.

maishameds.org

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Alex Kong @alexckong.bsky.social · 3d

Dusting off my Bluesky to happily share that I've joined Maisha Meds: a start-up I was introduced to early in my (too) short time at USAID. MM equips 5k+ pharmacies in Africa with point-of-sale software, develops innovative programs to increase access to meds, and sheds light on critical data gaps.

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Alex Kong @alexckong.bsky.social · Mar 12

At least we have herd immuni—funding for scientific resear—non-partisan public hea—support of evidence-backed interven—

Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics @bermaninstitute.bsky.social · Mar 11

The Pandemic’s Biggest Missed Opportunity: Treating clean indoor air as a public good would have protected Americans against all sorts of airborne diseases | The Atlantic www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...

The Pandemic’s Biggest Missed Opportunity

Treating clean indoor air as a public good would have protected Americans against all sorts of airborne diseases.

www.theatlantic.com

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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · Mar 12

Telling researchers to keep doing the work & adapt while weathering the storm ain't gonna cut it. American higher education simply cannot survive this systematic dismantling and attack. There's no weathering a category 5 hurricane. Many will simply leave if this continues
www.wsj.com/health/healt...

Johns Hopkins Plans Staff Layoffs After $800 Million Grant Cuts

Local and international health research efforts are already winding down as the university braces for even more potential cuts.

www.wsj.com

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Jesse Eisinger @jeisinger.bsky.social · Mar 11

DOCUMENT DESTRUCTION:

My reporter Brett Murphy obtained a remarkable directive to folks at USAID: Empty the safes with the classified and personnel records and then,

"Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break."

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Katherine J. Wu @katherinejwu.com · Mar 7

if you've had an NIH grant terminated, I want to hear about it. Signal: katherinejwu.12

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André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social · Mar 4

Where Being Gay Is Punishable by Death, Aid Cuts Are ‘Heartbreaking.’ Uganda’s #LGBTQ+ population, already struggling with the fallout of a harsh anti-gay law, sees disruption of U.S. aid put people at even greater risk, by @lattif.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/w... via @nytimes.com

Where Being Gay Is Punishable by Death, Aid Cuts Are ‘Heartbreaking’

Uganda’s L.G.B.T.Q. population was already struggling to cope with the fallout of a harsh anti-gay law when the disruption of U.S. aid put people at even greater risk.

www.nytimes.com

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Alex Kong @alexckong.bsky.social · Mar 4

Chris Coons [D-Del.], "...says even some Republicans have been shocked by the scope of cuts. “‘We wanted to squeeze the ‘woke’ out of it. We wanted a little reshaping, but we didn’t mean to starve children’,” was their reaction, he says."

Um.

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · Mar 4

Can international aid survive in a crumbling world order?

https://www.ft.com/content/b3667445-a242-46fb-bcb3-0a21386ce355

Can international aid survive in a crumbling world order?

As western governments dramatically scale back budgets, remaining funding is likely to be a more obvious tool of geopolitical interests

www.ft.com

Reposted by Alex Kong

Atul Gawande @agawande.bsky.social · Feb 27

Rubio terminated 5800 USAID contracts – more than 90% of its foreign aid programs – in defiance of the courts.

Here’s a list of just some of the lifesaving awards that were terminated. Nearly all were Congressionally mandated. They’ve saved millions of lives. 🧵

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Alex Kong @alexckong.bsky.social · Mar 2

Every day we are finding a new way to trumpet that we are not reliable partners: for development assistance, medical guidance, geopolitical support, clinical trials, higher education funding, and (even before these PubMed scares) preserving decades of research and data. Our word means nothing now.

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Angry Former Public Servant @drneuro.bsky.social · Feb 21

So.

It has officially happened. I have been officially let go from my position at CDC. I wasn’t a probationary employee. I had stellar performance reviews every year.

I’ll be ok. But please understand that many worked HARD to get into these positions and were doing great public health work.

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Alex Kong @alexckong.bsky.social · Feb 18

Especially when COVID rapid tests have only gone up in price and when there are multiple circulating respiratory illnesses. Lowering the barrier for individuals to test can help people to make more informed decisions on the risk they might pose to others at a very delicate time.

Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · Feb 18

This paragraph from @washingtonpost.com's reporting on Trump potentially ending free COVID tests is factually incorrect.

According to CDC wastewater data, COVID levels are currently HIGH.

COVID still causes serious illness and death for too many. People still need free tests!

Public health experts agree that there is no urgent need for free tests to be sent to American households now, given low levels of covid-19. But they said keeping the tests on hand is an insurance policy in case the virus evolves to cause a large outbreak again.

Nationally, the wastewater viral activity level for COVID-19 is currently high.

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Alex Kong @alexckong.bsky.social · Feb 15

This feels like the perfect storm for an “n-demic” to rival the “tripledemic” of COVID/flu/RSV of the past.

We’re going to have to brush up on our Greek number prefixes real fast.

Alex Kong @alexckong.bsky.social · Feb 15

Every day we weaken our health system more, and we’re gearing up to lift voices who have built followings from their “let ‘er rip” mentalities to handling COVID-19. We’re cutting ourselves off from collaborative health efforts by leaving WHO, and encouraging the efflux of scientific/health experts.

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Alex Kong @alexckong.bsky.social · Feb 15

I genuinely wonder how quickly this gov will reverse course on health when the diseases USAID/CDC scientists prevented/contained arrive, vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks spread, and people become more susceptible to severe infection bc they can’t afford their routine meds. Maybe all at once.

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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · Feb 14

It is really short-sighted and stupid to be gutting public health and outbreak surveillance capacity right now:
- H5N1 nationwide - uncontrolled
- TB in Kansas - largest U.S outbreak
- Measles in Texas - Expanding
- Seasonal flu - Worst in 15 years
- Pertussis - outbreaks in multiple states.

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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · Feb 14

With an anti-science conspiracy theorist leading the US Department of Health and Human Services, preventative action is critical to protecting your health and the health of your community.

A good place to start would be getting back into the practice of regularly wearing a mask.

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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · Feb 13

I am worried about:
- the future of vaccines
- the unchecked spread of bird flu
- the suppression of public health voices
- the rolling back HIV care access
- the assault on science and researchers
Today more than ever, I am worried about these things and the threat to our collective health.

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Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) @msf.ca · Feb 13

#USA: We are calling on the US government to immediately resume funding for the full range of PEPFAR operations as well as other critical health and humanitarian aid.

Uncertainty around PEPFAR program puts millions of people at risk

www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/uncer...

Uncertainty around PEPFAR program puts millions of people at risk

MSF is calling on the US government to immediately resume funding for the full range of PEPFAR operations as well as other critical health and humanitarian aid.

www.doctorswithoutborders.org

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Charles GetCovered-ba ✡️ @charlesgaba.com · Feb 11

BOOM: Federal judge orders CDC, NIH & FDA to restore websites & datasets in response to @drsforamerica.bsky.social lawsuit:

acasignups.net/25/02/11/boo...

Boom: Federal judge orders CDC, NIH & FDA to restore websites & datasets in response to DFA lawsuit

Chris Geidner ‪@chrisgeidner.bsky.social‬ BREAKING: In response to doctors' lawsuit, Judge John Bates, a George W. Bush appointee, orders CDC, NIH, and FDA to put back up websites and datasets cited b...

acasignups.net

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Alex Kong @alexckong.bsky.social · Feb 11

The devastation of USAID has been called a pilot: to see how completely and rapidly agencies and departments can be dismantled. I hope that the courts can prevent a total loss. There are still exceptional, good people working there. But they, and the people who depend on them, need our support.

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Alex Kong @alexckong.bsky.social · Feb 11

Cutting funding and our workforce could mean that resistance will spiral out of control, and millions of lives will be lost. No one believes foreign aid is perfect. But swiftly razing rather than reforming USAID upends the "journey to self-reliance" the agency promoted in Trump's first term.

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Alex Kong @alexckong.bsky.social · Feb 11

Before I was furloughed, I was working to support efforts to combat antimalarial drug resistance (AMDR). The disruptive impact of COVID-19, AMDR, and stagnant funding have contributed to a worrisome flat-lining of progress in lowering the global malaria death rate. Malaria programs need more money.

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