Anthony McDonnell

“Even countries that have been successful in keeping AMR rates under control cannot afford to be complacent. Unless AMR programs are protected from aid cuts, resistance rates will likely increase.

@mcdonnell.bsky.social discusses the tool in @theguardian.com:
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

ICARS joins the global dialogue on establishing an independent panel for evidence for action on AMR – ICARS On May 21st, the International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS) participated  in a high-level event, From Evidence to Action: Designing an Effective Independent Panel on Antimicro...

ICARS' Executive Director, Sujith J. Chandy, recently joined @Kevin Outterson, @carb-x.bsky.social, Misbah Khan, @tbij.bsky.social, and Anthony McDonnell, @cgdev.org, for an interesting discussion on designing an effective Independent Panel on #AMR.

🔗Read more about the side-event at #WHA76 ⬇️

The New York Times is the first to put out comprehensive estimates on the cost of a year without U.S.A.I.D. and they’re higher than I thought:
- 1.65 million deaths from AIDS
- 500,000 from lack of vaccines
- 550,000 from lack of food aid
- 290,000 from malaria
- 310,000 from TB

Obviously this isn't true, but if it was it's an easy choice. Any half decent politician would choose deference in this situation over seeing their country be destroyed.

“Pepfar has saved more than 26 million lives and prevented roughly 1,000 babies a day from being born with the HIV virus”

Superb piece on how cuts to USAID will affect the world’s poorest, focusing on HIV

on.ft.com/3QX1HhP

Tuberculosis Doesn’t Respect Borders—US Aid Cuts Could Fuel a Global Health Crisis Reducing access to vital treatments against drug-resistant TB will likely pose huge risks for everyone, including Americans. The 90-day freeze on most aid while this assessment is carried out causes r...

I've written a blog post looking at how US AID cuts could impact drug resistance to TB drugs, and intern then negative long term consequences this could have for Americans.

www.cgdev.org/blog/tubercu...

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer just cut the UK aid budget from 0.5% of GNI to 0.3% in 2027 to fund increases in defence spending.

He says he’s making tough choices, but cutting funding for the world’s poorest people is the easiest—and cruellest—choice he could make (1/4)

I once saw one for a half marathon, where a woman complained that her day was ruined by the weather...

It's surely possible to build in much better safety checks than appear to be in the US system.

Fair, I was more responding to the tweet you're quoting.

I think many on the left and right are guilty of the same thing, that competence correlates. He's good at business so must be smart and good at govt, vs he's bad at gov so must be bad at everything.

I share your/ most people's grave concerns about Musk in his government roles, and suspect he's struggling a bit elsewhere too. But he built some spectacular businesses, is clearly very smart and is/was brilliant. Too often we paint people as only being competent or incompetent.

As for life experience vs 18 year olds. you have to draw the line somewhere. There is a big difference at that age, they'll likely have a much better memory of the previous election, have spent far more time at an age where people might talk to them about politics etc.

I think there are 3 main arguments against it. 1) That their brains aren't sufficiently developed to think things through 2) that they lack the life experience and 3) that they're not invested enough in society.

You can reduce the significance of 1 and 2 through education. 3 isn't a real concern.

I’m for votes at 16, but you could say that with less life experience 16 year olds need more education to get them to a point where they can vote well. And this is currently lacking.

Until now the general strategy from those who oppose Trump has been to provide a long list of grievances. It's allowed him to conjure up a sense that there's a witch hunt, there's also not enough time to focus on any one thing in detail. Personally I think fewer topics in more depth would help.

So maybe It was the FAA's fault, but we don't know if any FAA changes impacted this flight yet. So maybe we should focus on the things we do know, like the known risks in changes to the FAA, or that the president has essentially said he's above the law, or the millions who now can't access HIV meds.

I know, Trump is playing with fire, but it's not clear he started this fire. The crash happened outside of the FAA's jurisdiction.

They did this cause they had few actual things they could pin on Biden. There are so many things that are definitely Trump's fault, why waste air bigging up the things that might be.

If you're going to blame the Trump for an accident that happens in another country then I think you need to be clearer about the mechanism. Otherwise I think you risk playing into his narrative that some people blame him for everything, this makes it harder to draw attention to the real harms.

Call it an own gaol and Badenoch will be there in a flash!

Do you think the UK should be trying to help people in Ukraine? Is there a better way to help them than helping to deter future attacks and ensure peace should a ceasefire be agreed?

For as long as Democratic Europe has been united, we've been able to rely on America's for support. That is no longer true, and as @gideonrachman.bsky.social argues policies must change. "Europe must now start the painful process of “de-risking” its relationship with the US."

I know this is probably not your decision, but please make this the Economist's front cover tomorrow, I'll take out a second subscription!

We already see the shutdown's cost. Kids with drug-resistant TB, turned away from clinics, are not just dying - they're spreading the disease. People around the world w HIV, denied their medicine, will soon start transmitting virus. The damage is global.

Oh no, good luck!

1 Dollar, 1 World I have been at WHO for over 10 years. Like my colleagues, I have worked my butt off day and night to fight Covid and work towards universal access to health care. This place frustrates me every day.

The WHO plays a vital role in so many areas of global health, it reduces the risk of pandemics, enables sharing of scientific expertise & provides some essential services. After US cuts, please consider giving them a dollar (or more) to keep going #WHO ❤️ whofoundation.donorsupport.co/page/FUNEKRB...

“On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST) all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs. Essential personnel expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership by Thursday, February 6, at 3:00pm (EST). For USAID personnel currently posted outside the United States, the Agency, in coordination with missions and the Department of State, is currently preparing a plan, in accordance with all applicable requirements and laws, under which the Agency would arrange and pay for return travel to the United States within 30 days and provide for the termination of PSC and ISC contracts that are not determined to be essential. The Agency will consider case-by-case exceptions and return travel extensions based on personal or family hardship, mobility or safety concerns, or other reasons. For example, the Agency will consider exceptions based on the timing of dependents’ school term, personal or familial medical needs, pregnancy, and other reasons. Further guidance on how to request an exception will be forthcoming. Thank you for your service”

USAID’s website has been deleted, all that is left is a note saying all personnel are now on administrative leave and personnel outside the US are to be brought home. Completely illegal, no act of congress or even executive order was signed to dismantle the agency

So awful, I'm really curious to what they think this will achieve.

CDC ordered to stop working with WHO immediately, upending expectations of an extended withdrawal U.S. public health officials have been told to stop working with the World Health Organization, effective immediately.

CDC brings so much expertise to projects that include the WHO. Engaging with the WHO enables the CDC to better understand and prepare America for others are dealing with aka Mpox. Everybody loses here, except maybe America's advisories who'll seek to fill any vacuum www.statnews.com/2025/01/27/c...

Exactly this.

Reviewing foreign aid for consistency w/admin policy goals is reasonable. Many programs can absorb a 90 day pause w/o catastrophic impact.

But a real stop work on bi-partisan malaria & HIV programs--delivering lifesaving medicines & bednets--quite literally means people will die.