Treatment Action Group is a US-based NGO that 'envisions the end of the HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and hepatitis C (HCV) pandemics with the discovery, development, and worldwide dissemination of safe and effective diagnostics, preventives, and cures through public health structures that end systemic harms and promote human rights, and that are developed by the diverse communities most affected by these conditions. This vision will be realized based on data and science, and achieved through community engagement, distributive justice, and equitable access to the benefits of science'. https://www.treatmentactiongroup.org/about-us/mission/
Yesterday they published a statement: TAG Fiercely Condemns the New Administration’s War on Science
https://www.treatmentactiongroup.org/statement/tag-fiercely-condemns-the...
The statement describes some of the administration's destructive actions, which include:
• The confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) places a fringe crank at the helm of the country’s entire health portfolio. Kennedy is an AIDS denialist and conspiracy theorist shunned by the entirety of mainstream medicine and science, and has signaled intent to use his perch to flout scientific consensus on things like vaccine policy.
• The mass firings of approximately 5,200 employees at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other agencies under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)...
• The chaotic and illegal obliteration of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)...
• The indiscriminate removal (and reinstatement, in some cases, following court orders,) of public data on health and disease...
• The dehumanizing, scientifically illiterate attempt to deny the existence of transgender, non-binary, and intersex people, which has extended to adding brazenly false claims to government websites restored as a result of court orders.
• The vile assault against anything seen as related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA)...
and concludes with a quote:
“The White House’s attack on every step of the research, development, implementation, and policymaking processes violates the universal right to science, codified in international human rights law,” said Mike Frick, TB Project Co-Director at TAG. “This administration’s war on science harms everyone, everywhere who stands to benefit from science and its applications.”
COMMENT (NPW): Over the past 20 years there has been steady (if slow) progress in strengthening the global evidence ecosystem. https://www.hifa.org/about-hifa/hifa-vision-mission-strategy These gains are now being reversed. As the TAG article says, 'recent actions... take a wrecking ball to the vital scientific processes that deliver lifesaving tools to prevent, diagnose, treat, and cure disease, domestically and globally'.
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org