Uganda declares end to latest ebola outbreak
Ugandan doctors attend the contacts of a patient who had tested positive, during the launch of the vaccination for the Sudan strain of Ebola virus, with a trial vaccine at the Mulago Guest House (Isolation centre) in Kampala, Uganda, February 3, 2025. REUTERS/Abubaker Lubowa
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The Star
2 days ago
- The Star
NIH scientists speak out over estimated $12 billion in Trump funding cuts
(Reuters) -Dozens of scientists, researchers and other employees at the U.S. National Institutes of Health issued a rare public rebuke Monday criticizing the Trump administration for major spending cuts that 'harm the health of Americans and people across the globe,' politicize research and 'waste public resources.' More than 60 current employees sent their letter to NIH director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and members of Congress who oversee NIH. Bhattacharya is scheduled to testify Tuesday at the U.S. Senate appropriations committee about his agency's budget. Overall, more than 340 current and recently terminated NIH employees signed the letter, about 250 of them anonymously. In their letter, NIH staff members said the agency had terminated 2,100 research grants totaling about $9.5 billion and an additional $2.6 billion in contracts since President Donald Trump took office Jan. 20. The contracts often support research, from covering equipment to nursing staff working on clinical trials. These terminations "throw away years of hard work and millions of dollars" and put patient health at risk, the letter said. NIH clinical trials "are being halted without regard to participant safety, abruptly stopping medications or leaving participants with unmonitored device implants." In a statement shared with Reuters, Bhattacharya said the employees' letter "has some fundamental misconceptions about the policy directions the NIH has taken in recent months ... Nevertheless, respectful dissent in science is productive. We all want the NIH to succeed." In prior remarks, Bhattacharya has pledged support for Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again agenda, and he has said that means focusing the federal government's "limited resources" directly on combating chronic diseases. At his Senate confirmation hearings in March, Bhattacharya said he would ensure scientists working at NIH and funded by the agency have the necessary resources to meet its mission. NIH is the world's largest public funder of biomedical research and has long enjoyed bipartisan support from U.S. lawmakers. The Trump administration has proposed cutting $18 billion, or 40%, from NIH's budget next year, which would leave the agency with $27 billion. Nearly 5,000 NIH employees and contractors have been laid off under Kennedy's restructuring of U.S. health agencies, according to NIH staff. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees NIH, said the agency's staffing must evolve to meet changing priorities and to ensure good use of taxpayer dollars. The official also defended NIH's funding decisions, saying the agency was "working to remove ideological influence from the scientific process." Dr. Jenna Norton, a program director within NIH's division of kidney, urologic and hematologic diseases, was one of 69 current employees who signed the letter as of early Monday. She said speaking out publicly was worth the risk to her career and family. "I am much more worried about the risks of not speaking up," Norton said. "There are very real concerns that we're being asked to do likely illegal activities, and certainly unethical activities that breach our rules." The organizers of the letter allowed people employed at the NIH as of Jan. 20 to sign. They said 258 of the 342 people who signed the letter currently work at NIH, while others were recently terminated as probationary workers or 'subject to reductions in force.' In the letter, Norton and other NIH employees asked Bhattacharya to restore grants that were delayed or terminated for political reasons, where officials ignored peer review to "cater to political whims." They wrote that Bhattacharya had failed to uphold his legal duty to spend congressionally appropriated funds. One program director at the NIH's National Cancer Institute, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, said she has repeatedly been asked to cancel research grants for no valid reason and in violation of agency rules. She said she fears she could become the target of lawsuits from grantees challenging those decisions. Dr. Benjamin Feldman, a staff scientist and core director at NIH's Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said he and other researchers want to work with Bhattacharya on reversing the cuts and restoring the NIH as a "beacon for science around the world." "This is really a hit to the whole enterprise of biomedical research in the United States," Feldman said. Dr. Ian Morgan, a postdoctoral fellow at the NIH, signed the letter and said he has heard from university researchers about patients losing access to novel cancer treatments in clinical trials due to the uncertainty over NIH funding. He also worries about the long-term effect from gutting NIH's investment in basic science research that can lead to lifesaving treatments years later. The NIH employees, based in Bethesda, Maryland, named their dissent the "Bethesda Declaration," modeled after Bhattacharya's Great Barrington Declaration in 2020 that called on public health officials to roll back lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Our hope is that by modeling ourselves after the Great Barrington Declaration that maybe he'll see himself in our dissent," Norton said. (Reporting by Chad Terhune in Los Angeles; Editing by Michele Gershberg, Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)
The Star
3 days ago
- The Star
Over 5,000 healthcare volunteers support healthcare system during Haj season
Muslim pilgrims walk as water sprinklers spray water during the annual hajj pilgrimage in Mina, Saudi Arabia, June 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah MINA (Bernama-SPA): Saudi Arabia's Health Ministry said more than 5,000 healthcare volunteers participated in this Haj season, as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance the quality of healthcare services provided to pilgrims. According to Saudi Press Agency (SPA) this initiative aligns with the objectives of the Health Sector Transformation Programme and the Pilgrim Experience Programme, both key components of Saudi Vision 2030 aimed at increasing volunteer participation and strengthening their role in serving pilgrims. The ministry explained that the volunteers supported the healthcare services provided to pilgrims across three main areas: preventive, curative, and support services. Their efforts extended to various locations within the holy sites, including Makkah, Mina, Arafat, and Muzdalifah, as well as through active participation in hospitals and healthcare centres. -- Bernama-SPA
The Sun
5 days ago
- The Sun
Contraceptives for poorest countries stuck in warehouses after US aid cuts
LONDON: Contraceptives that could help prevent millions of unwanted pregnancies in some of the world's poorest countries are stuck in warehouses because of U.S. aid cuts and could be destroyed, two aid industry sources and one former government official said. The stock, held in Belgium and Dubai, includes condoms, contraceptive implants, pills and intrauterine devices, together worth around $11 million, the sources told Reuters. It has been stalled since the Trump administration started cutting foreign aid as part of its 'America First' policy in February, as the U.S. government no longer wants to donate the contraceptives or pay the costs for delivery, they said. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has instead asked the contractor managing its health supply chain, Chemonics, to try to sell it, two of the sources said. An internal USAID memo, sent in April, said a quantity of contraceptives was being kept in warehouses and they should be 'immediately transferred to another entity to prevent waste or additional costs'. A senior U.S. State Department official told Reuters no decision had been made about the future of the contraceptives. They did not respond to questions about the reasons why the contraceptives were in storage or the impact of the U.S. aid cuts and delays. A spokesperson for Chemonics said they were unable to comment on USAID's plans, but added that the company is working with clients to deliver life-saving aid globally and would continue to support the U.S. government's global health supply chain priorities. The stock represents just under 20% of the supply of contraceptives bought annually by the U.S. for donation overseas, a former USAID official told Reuters. Selling or donating the contraceptives has been challenging, according to the former USAID official, although talks are ongoing. Another option on the table is destroying it, at a cost of several hundred thousand dollars. As time goes on, shelf-lives will also become an issue, one of the sources said. The sources told Reuters that one of the key delays is a lack of response from the U.S. government about what should be done with the stock. It had been destined largely for vulnerable women in sub-Saharan Africa, including young girls who face higher health risks from early pregnancy as well as those fleeing conflict or who otherwise could not afford or access the contraceptives, the sources added. The condoms also help stop the spread of HIV, the former USAID official said. 'We cannot dwell on an issue for too long; when urgency and clarity don't align, we have to move on,' said Karen Hong, chief of UNFPA's supply chain. She said the agency is now working on Plan B to help fill critical supply gaps.
