Category: COVID-19 Vaccine

MIL-OSI USA: Senator Alsobrooks Leads Maryland Democratic Delegation in Pushing Sec. Kennedy for Answers on Disastrous Mass Layoffs
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Glenn Ivey – Maryland (4th District)

CONTACT

Connor Lounsbury

connor_lounsbury@alsobrooks.senate.gov

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Angela Alsobrooks led the Maryland Democratic Delegation – U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen and Representatives Steny Hoyer, Kweisi Mfume, Jamie Raskin, Glenn Ivey, Sarah Elfreth, April McClain Delaney, and Johnny Olszewski (all D-Md.) in expressing outrage and demanding answers regarding the mass terminations of civil servants at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In a letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Senator Alsobrooks and her colleagues questioned the extent of the devastation and consequential impacts these mass layoffs will have on the state and country.

“This reckless reduction in force and Department reorganization comes at a time when measles is spreading in communities across the country, avian flu is proliferating throughout our livestock populations, families are experiencing a childcare availability and affordability crisis, and cities across the country are still reeling from opioid and fentanyl overdoses. Instead of showing leadership on these concurrent emergencies and fulfilling the Department’s mission, this Administration has crippled the very teams and entire divisions that combat public health challenges, prevent disparities, and ensure that our families and children are safe,” the lawmakers wrote.

“Maryland has already been hard hit by attacks to NIH research…This medical research funds new life-saving cures for Maryland patients – from our newborns to our seniors, from children battling rare cancers to our servicemembers injured in battle. It funds thousands of Maryland jobs, and to arbitrarily cut it threatens Maryland’s health, safety, and economy. Slashing research funding will ultimately harm patients and even cost lives,” continued the lawmakers.

The lawmakers are requesting Secretary Kennedy meet with them to answer these questions by May 1, 2025.

You can read the full letter to Secretary Kennedy here or below:

Dear Secretary Kennedy:

We write with shared concerns regarding the plan you announced on March 27, 2025, to begin yet another extensive round of mass terminations of civil servants at the Department of Health and Human Services (Department or HHS), along with an irrational and dangerous reorganization of the staff and operating divisions of the Department. In the weeks since that announcement, thousands of HHS employees have been summarily fired, wreaking havoc and chaos on our public health system. These actions are having a devastating and disproportionate impact on our state of Maryland. We demand a full and comprehensive analysis on what these cuts will mean for access to care, critical services, and lifesaving research in the state. We also demand an in-person meeting with you to discuss these concerns and the impact of the Department’s actions on our constituents. According to the announcement, cuts would include at least 3,500 full-time employees at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 2,400 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1,200 employees at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and 300 employees at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

According to the Maryland Department of Labor, preliminary data shows at least 2,755 jobs were cut in 11 federal offices located across the state, with an impact rippling across multiple counties.

This reckless reduction in force and Department reorganization comes at a time when measles is spreading in communities across the country, avian flu is proliferating throughout our livestock populations, families are experiencing a childcare availability and affordability crisis, and cities across the country are still reeling from opioid and fentanyl overdoses. Instead of showing leadership on these concurrent emergencies and fulfilling the Department’s mission, this Administration has crippled the very teams and entire divisions that combat public health challenges, prevent disparities, and ensure that our families and children are safe.

The latest reductions are part of a multipronged attack on our state, as the Department has abruptly terminated billions in critical public health grants, including $200 million to Maryland that would go towards vaccination programs, disease surveillance, and alleviating health disparities. The critical services the Department is responsible for were already threatened from the Administration’s initial haphazard firings of probationary employees by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk’s Fork in the Road policy, which forced thousands of Department staff to resign or retire early. Now, the Administration is further decimating the teams of civil servants that work to make Americans healthy and safe every day.

As you well know, the FDA, NIH, CMS, and multiple other HHS agencies are headquartered in Maryland, and these cuts pose a direct threat to our constituents, Maryland’s economy, and all Americans.

At the FDA, headquartered in White Oak, the Administration has annihilated the Center for Devices and Radiological Health and the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research – which the Maryland medical device and pharmaceutical industries rely on for the safe and timely approval of their products or therapeutics for patients. The Administration has also attacked the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products – which plays a critical role in prevention and harm reduction for Maryland youth. The FDA communications team that writes alerts about contaminated drugs and warnings to emergency room doctors about emerging threats was also terminated — which will have dire consequences for patient care. Across the FDA, thousands of Maryland based staffers that help to keep our food and health systems safe have been summarily dismissed, by an Administration only purporting to want to “Make America Healthy Again.”

At the NIH, based in Bethesda, this Administration has compounded its efforts to undermine the excellence of our crown jewel of scientific and medical research, with yet another round of terminations. This Administration has decimated NIH Institutes by firing leadership and critical staff to the point of non-functionality, including the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute on Aging, and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Maryland has already been hard hit by attacks to NIH research. In February, the NIH unveiled a new indirect cost rate guidance that would cap indirect cost rates that Maryland researchers rely on to sustain their groundbreaking, life-saving research, studies, and patient clinical trials. It also arbitrarily froze or terminated research grants in the state and has delayed the review of NIH grant applications. This medical research funds new life-saving cures for Maryland patients – from our newborns to our seniors, from children battling rare cancers to our servicemembers injured in battle. It funds thousands of Maryland jobs, and to arbitrarily cut it threatens Maryland’s health, safety, and economy. Slashing research funding will ultimately harm patients and even cost lives.

Attacks to the NIH are only the beginning of cuts to our health research infrastructure. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), based in Rockville, is critical for tracking data on healthcare outcomes and conducting research to improve the safety of patient care has been taken apart by DOGE. The Administration plans to merge AHRQ with another operating division at the Department and gut its budget, all while firing half of its employees.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), based in Rockville, has already faced hundreds of layoffs. The Department dismissed 10 percent of SAMHSA’s workforce during the first rounds of firings, and the Administration plans to further reduce the agency by up to 50 percent. While Maryland has made significant progress in preventing and reducing opioid overdose-related deaths, Baltimore City still has a death rate nearly double that of any other large city in the country. Now, the Administration is pulling the rug from underneath our state and the dozens of community-based organizations on the ground that rely on SAMHSA for training, resources, and technical assistance that helps with opioid use disorder prevention and treatment services.

CMS, based in Woodlawn, faced hundreds of cuts to staff, including the elimination of the Office for Minority Health and the Office of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights, which respectively helps address health disparities across the country and resolves discrimination complaints. Employees at CMS’ Innovation Center (CMMI) were fired and a third of the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination office, which helps serve the over 160,000 Marylanders that are dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid were let go. CMS is responsible for overseeing coverage for over 160 million Americans through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace. This includes 1.6 million Marylanders who rely on Medicaid and CHIP for lifesaving health coverage. Any attack on CMS represents a threat to Marylanders’ and the nation’s access to care.

At the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), headquartered in Rockville, 500- 600 civil servants were fired, compromising HRSA’s mission to improve care for vulnerable and low-income communities. The Maternal and Child Health Bureau was wiped out by staffing cuts, crippling efforts to combat the maternal mortality crisis. Maryland women’s health disparities, including maternal morbidity, remain higher than national averages, and will only be exacerbated by this action. DOGE has also reportedly fired 40 percent of the Bureau of Primary Health Care, which oversees the Health Center Program that provides high quality, accessible primary and preventive medical, behavioral and dental services to all people, regardless of income or insurance status. Maryland’s sixteen Federally Qualified Health Centers deliver comprehensive primary healthcare to more than 360,000 patients across Maryland. That access to care in our state are at risk without civil servants to effectively run the program.

The Indian Health Service (IHS), which is also headquartered in Rockville, was not mentioned in initial reporting regarding the HHS reorganization or reduction in force. In fact, longtime civil servants in the Senior Executive Service (SES) have reported that their duty stations have been reassigned to remote IHS locations ranging from Alaska to South Dakota. While these locations suffer from high vacancy rates, the Department is pushing staff that do not have the qualifications or background for available IHS roles into an ultimatum: relocate your family across the country for a job that does not actually exist, or leave the Department.

Additionally, the Department fired approximately 500 staffers at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the April 1 wave of terminations, paralyzing the Department’s ability to effectively operate its human services programs. As you know, most program and support staff were eliminated in five regional offices around the country. While ACF’s Region 3 Office – which serves Maryland – remains open for now, staff in Region 3 will likely have to absorb the work and caseload of now shuttered Regions 1, 2,5, 9 and 10. This will put an untenable strain on their ability to support states like Maryland in operating child support, family assistance and child welfare programs, and providers operating Head Start and child care programs.

This is in addition to the nearly two hundred probationary ACF employees who have been on administrative leave since mid-February, and because of this Administration, are still unable to 3 provide states like Maryland with the technical assistance needed to operate critical programs, increasing the financial burden on already-struggling households. Head Start serves seven thousand children in Maryland. Thousands more families rely on the availability of affordable, quality childcare in the state – availability which is endangered when the civil servants that help providers adapt to workforce challenges or monitor for abuse and neglect in our state’s facilities are shamefully fired or prevented from doing their jobs.

Also at ACF, the Department terminated the entire Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) staff, threatening the timely disbursement of millions of dollars to states like Maryland, to help thousands of our constituents stay safe in the coming summer months. More than 18% of Maryland households are energy burdened; the Maryland Office of Home Energy Programs received a record number of energy assistance applications last year. Likewise, the Department eliminated the Office of Family Assistance – undermining the ability for the nearly 28,000 Maryland families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to receive critical support without interruption.

Both the dismantling of the Administration for Community Living and the slashing of reportedly half of the staff that work on federal aging and disability programs at the Department will cause real harm to programs in Maryland that support some of our state’s most vulnerable communities – seniors and individuals with disabilities. This includes programs that prevent elder abuse, connect seniors with nutritious meals, and provide supports to caregivers – like the Maryland Caregiver Navigation Grant.

Perhaps most galling, is that you have admitted that many of these firings at the Department are in error, telling reporters “We’re going to do 80% cuts, but 20% of those are going to have to be reinstated, because we’ll make mistakes.” Further reporting found that HHS has no intention of actually reinstating a significant number of the staffers that have been fired or rectifying the mistakes it has made – calling into question your control of the situation and understanding of the Department’s reorganization. As the Secretary, you are ultimately responsible for answering for both these “mistakes” and any harm that comes from your destruction of our public health workforce and infrastructure.

As such, we request an in-person meeting with you no later than May 1, 2025, to discuss these concerns. We also request comprehensive answers to the following questions, including details on the reductions at the Department to date, and your plans for additional workforce reductions and reorganization.

1. For each of the below agencies, please specify since January 20, how many Maryland residents: received a RIF notice or were terminated on the basis of their probationary status? Please also specify how many more Maryland residents the agency intends to respectively terminate:
- SAMHSA
- FDA
- NIH
- CDC
- CMS
- IHS
- HRSA ‘
- ACF
- ACL
- AHRQ
2. For each of the below agencies, please specify since January 20, how many Maryland residents are currently on administrative leave pending termination:
- SAMHSA
- FDA
- NIH
- CDC
- CMS
- IHS
- HRSA
- ACF
- ACL
- AHRQ
3. For each of the below agencies, please specify the number of Maryland residents who participated in the Deferred Resignation Program:
- SAMHSA
- FDA
- NIH
- CDC
- CMS
- IHS
- HRSA
- ACF
- ACL
- AHRQ
4. Please describe the reduction in force plans at the IHS headquarters and at IHS locations across the country.

5. Please provide a detailed description of impact analysis performed to determine the impact on cancer research as a result of NIH Reductions in Force.

6. Please provide a detailed description of impact analysis performed to determine the impact on vaccine development and research as a result of FDA Reductions in Force.

7. Please provide a detailed description of the impact analysis performed regarding reductions in staffing to ACF services and programs, including technical assistance to states and childcare providers, childcare costs and child safety, supports for survivors of violence, and the effectiveness of the TANF and LIHEAP programs.

a. Please provide a detailed description of the analysis performed by the Department describing how LIHEAP staffing reductions will not lead to higher energy costs for Marylanders.

b. Please provide a detailed plan for how the Department plans to ensure that there is no delay due to case backlogs experienced by the state of Maryland or Maryland human services providers due to staff reductions at ACF?

8. Please provide a detailed description of the analysis performed by the Department describing how the staffing reductions to HRSA will not impact Maryland FQHCs, or access to affordable care in Maryland communities.

9. Please provide a detailed description of the analysis performed by the Department describing how the staffing reductions to CMS will not impede Marylander’s access to Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and the ACA Marketplace.

###

MIL OSI USA News –
April 17, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Mfume Joins Maryland Democratic Delegation in Pushing Sec. Kennedy for Answers on Disastrous Mass Layoffs
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Kweisi Mfume (MD-07)

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Kweisi Mfume joined the Maryland Democratic Delegation – U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, Senator Angela Alsobrooks and Representatives Steny Hoyer, Jamie Raskin, Glenn Ivey, Sarah Elfreth, April McClain Delaney, and Johnny Olszewski (all D-Md.) – in expressing outrage and demanding answers regarding the mass terminations of civil servants at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Senator Alsobrooks led this letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., where the lawmakers questioned the extent of the devastation and consequential impacts these mass layoffs will have on the state and country.

“This reckless reduction in force and Department reorganization comes at a time when measles is spreading in communities across the country, avian flu is proliferating throughout our livestock populations, families are experiencing a childcare availability and affordability crisis, and cities across the country are still reeling from opioid and fentanyl overdoses. Instead of showing leadership on these concurrent emergencies and fulfilling the Department’s mission, this Administration has crippled the very teams and entire divisions that combat public health challenges, prevent disparities, and ensure that our families and children are safe,” the lawmakers wrote.

“Maryland has already been hard hit by attacks to NIH research…This medical research funds new life-saving cures for Maryland patients – from our newborns to our seniors, from children battling rare cancers to our servicemembers injured in battle. It funds thousands of Maryland jobs, and to arbitrarily cut it threatens Maryland’s health, safety, and economy. Slashing research funding will ultimately harm patients and even cost lives,” continued the lawmakers.

The lawmakers are requesting Secretary Kennedy meet with them to answer these questions by May 1, 2025.

You can read the full letter to Secretary Kennedy here or below:

Dear Secretary Kennedy:

We write with shared concerns regarding the plan you announced on March 27, 2025, to begin yet another extensive round of mass terminations of civil servants at the Department of Health and Human Services (Department or HHS), along with an irrational and dangerous reorganization of the staff and operating divisions of the Department. In the weeks since that announcement, thousands of HHS employees have been summarily fired, wreaking havoc and chaos on our public health system. These actions are having a devastating and disproportionate impact on our state of Maryland. We demand a full and comprehensive analysis on what these cuts will mean for access to care, critical services, and lifesaving research in the state. We also demand an in-person meeting with you to discuss these concerns and the impact of the Department’s actions on our constituents. According to the announcement, cuts would include at least 3,500 full-time employees at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 2,400 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1,200 employees at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and 300 employees at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

According to the Maryland Department of Labor, preliminary data shows at least 2,755 jobs were cut in 11 federal offices located across the state, with an impact rippling across multiple counties.

This reckless reduction in force and Department reorganization comes at a time when measles is spreading in communities across the country, avian flu is proliferating throughout our livestock populations, families are experiencing a childcare availability and affordability crisis, and cities across the country are still reeling from opioid and fentanyl overdoses. Instead of showing leadership on these concurrent emergencies and fulfilling the Department’s mission, this Administration has crippled the very teams and entire divisions that combat public health challenges, prevent disparities, and ensure that our families and children are safe.

The latest reductions are part of a multipronged attack on our state, as the Department has abruptly terminated billions in critical public health grants, including $200 million to Maryland that would go towards vaccination programs, disease surveillance, and alleviating health disparities. The critical services the Department is responsible for were already threatened from the Administration’s initial haphazard firings of probationary employees by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk’s Fork in the Road policy, which forced thousands of Department staff to resign or retire early. Now, the Administration is further decimating the teams of civil servants that work to make Americans healthy and safe every day.

As you well know, the FDA, NIH, CMS, and multiple other HHS agencies are headquartered in Maryland, and these cuts pose a direct threat to our constituents, Maryland’s economy, and all Americans.

At the FDA, headquartered in White Oak, the Administration has annihilated the Center for Devices and Radiological Health and the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research – which the Maryland medical device and pharmaceutical industries rely on for the safe and timely approval of their products or therapeutics for patients. The Administration has also attacked the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products – which plays a critical role in prevention and harm reduction for Maryland youth. The FDA communications team that writes alerts about contaminated drugs and warnings to emergency room doctors about emerging threats was also terminated — which will have dire consequences for patient care. Across the FDA, thousands of Maryland based staffers that help to keep our food and health systems safe have been summarily dismissed, by an Administration only purporting to want to “Make America Healthy Again.”

At the NIH, based in Bethesda, this Administration has compounded its efforts to undermine the excellence of our crown jewel of scientific and medical research, with yet another round of terminations. This Administration has decimated NIH Institutes by firing leadership and critical staff to the point of non-functionality, including the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute on Aging, and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Maryland has already been hard hit by attacks to NIH research. In February, the NIH unveiled a new indirect cost rate guidance that would cap indirect cost rates that Maryland researchers rely on to sustain their groundbreaking, life-saving research, studies, and patient clinical trials. It also arbitrarily froze or terminated research grants in the state and has delayed the review of NIH grant applications. This medical research funds new life-saving cures for Maryland patients – from our newborns to our seniors, from children battling rare cancers to our servicemembers injured in battle. It funds thousands of Maryland jobs, and to arbitrarily cut it threatens Maryland’s health, safety, and economy. Slashing research funding will ultimately harm patients and even cost lives.

Attacks to the NIH are only the beginning of cuts to our health research infrastructure. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), based in Rockville, is critical for tracking data on healthcare outcomes and conducting research to improve the safety of patient care has been taken apart by DOGE. The Administration plans to merge AHRQ with another operating division at the Department and gut its budget, all while firing half of its employees.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), based in Rockville, has already faced hundreds of layoffs. The Department dismissed 10 percent of SAMHSA’s workforce during the first rounds of firings, and the Administration plans to further reduce the agency by up to 50 percent. While Maryland has made significant progress in preventing and reducing opioid overdose-related deaths, Baltimore City still has a death rate nearly double that of any other large city in the country. Now, the Administration is pulling the rug from underneath our state and the dozens of community-based organizations on the ground that rely on SAMHSA for training, resources, and technical assistance that helps with opioid use disorder prevention and treatment services.

CMS, based in Woodlawn, faced hundreds of cuts to staff, including the elimination of the Office for Minority Health and the Office of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights, which respectively helps address health disparities across the country and resolves discrimination complaints. Employees at CMS’ Innovation Center (CMMI) were fired and a third of the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination office, which helps serve the over 160,000 Marylanders that are dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid were let go. CMS is responsible for overseeing coverage for over 160 million Americans through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace. This includes 1.6 million Marylanders who rely on Medicaid and CHIP for lifesaving health coverage. Any attack on CMS represents a threat to Marylanders’ and the nation’s access to care.

At the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), headquartered in Rockville, 500- 600 civil servants were fired, compromising HRSA’s mission to improve care for vulnerable and low-income communities. The Maternal and Child Health Bureau was wiped out by staffing cuts, crippling efforts to combat the maternal mortality crisis. Maryland women’s health disparities, including maternal morbidity, remain higher than national averages, and will only be exacerbated by this action. DOGE has also reportedly fired 40 percent of the Bureau of Primary Health Care, which oversees the Health Center Program that provides high quality, accessible primary and preventive medical, behavioral and dental services to all people, regardless of income or insurance status. Maryland’s sixteen Federally Qualified Health Centers deliver comprehensive primary healthcare to more than 360,000 patients across Maryland. That access to care in our state are at risk without civil servants to effectively run the program.

The Indian Health Service (IHS), which is also headquartered in Rockville, was not mentioned in initial reporting regarding the HHS reorganization or reduction in force. In fact, longtime civil servants in the Senior Executive Service (SES) have reported that their duty stations have been reassigned to remote IHS locations ranging from Alaska to South Dakota. While these locations suffer from high vacancy rates, the Department is pushing staff that do not have the qualifications or background for available IHS roles into an ultimatum: relocate your family across the country for a job that does not actually exist, or leave the Department.

Additionally, the Department fired approximately 500 staffers at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the April 1 wave of terminations, paralyzing the Department’s ability to effectively operate its human services programs. As you know, most program and support staff were eliminated in five regional offices around the country. While ACF’s Region 3 Office – which serves Maryland – remains open for now, staff in Region 3 will likely have to absorb the work and caseload of now shuttered Regions 1, 2,5, 9 and 10. This will put an untenable strain on their ability to support states like Maryland in operating child support, family assistance and child welfare programs, and providers operating Head Start and child care programs.

This is in addition to the nearly two hundred probationary ACF employees who have been on administrative leave since mid-February, and because of this Administration, are still unable to 3 provide states like Maryland with the technical assistance needed to operate critical programs, increasing the financial burden on already-struggling households. Head Start serves seven thousand children in Maryland. Thousands more families rely on the availability of affordable, quality childcare in the state – availability which is endangered when the civil servants that help providers adapt to workforce challenges or monitor for abuse and neglect in our state’s facilities are shamefully fired or prevented from doing their jobs.

Also at ACF, the Department terminated the entire Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) staff, threatening the timely disbursement of millions of dollars to states like Maryland, to help thousands of our constituents stay safe in the coming summer months. More than 18% of Maryland households are energy burdened; the Maryland Office of Home Energy Programs received a record number of energy assistance applications last year. Likewise, the Department eliminated the Office of Family Assistance – undermining the ability for the nearly 28,000 Maryland families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to receive critical support without interruption.

Both the dismantling of the Administration for Community Living and the slashing of reportedly half of the staff that work on federal aging and disability programs at the Department will cause real harm to programs in Maryland that support some of our state’s most vulnerable communities – seniors and individuals with disabilities. This includes programs that prevent elder abuse, connect seniors with nutritious meals, and provide supports to caregivers – like the Maryland Caregiver Navigation Grant.

Perhaps most galling, is that you have admitted that many of these firings at the Department are in error, telling reporters “We’re going to do 80% cuts, but 20% of those are going to have to be reinstated, because we’ll make mistakes.” Further reporting found that HHS has no intention of actually reinstating a significant number of the staffers that have been fired or rectifying the mistakes it has made – calling into question your control of the situation and understanding of the Department’s reorganization. As the Secretary, you are ultimately responsible for answering for both these “mistakes” and any harm that comes from your destruction of our public health workforce and infrastructure.

As such, we request an in-person meeting with you no later than May 1, 2025, to discuss these concerns. We also request comprehensive answers to the following questions, including details on the reductions at the Department to date, and your plans for additional workforce reductions and reorganization.

1. For each of the below agencies, please specify since January 20, how many Maryland residents: received a RIF notice or were terminated on the basis of their probationary status? Please also specify how many more Maryland residents the agency intends to respectively terminate:
- SAMHSA
- FDA
- NIH
- CDC
- CMS
- IHS
- HRSA ‘
- ACF
- ACL
- AHRQ
2. For each of the below agencies, please specify since January 20, how many Maryland residents are currently on administrative leave pending termination:
- SAMHSA
- FDA
- NIH
- CDC
- CMS
- IHS
- HRSA
- ACF
- ACL
- AHRQ
3. For each of the below agencies, please specify the number of Maryland residents who participated in the Deferred Resignation Program:
- SAMHSA
- FDA
- NIH
- CDC
- CMS
- IHS
- HRSA
- ACF
- ACL
- AHRQ
4. Please describe the reduction in force plans at the IHS headquarters and at IHS locations across the country.

5. Please provide a detailed description of impact analysis performed to determine the impact on cancer research as a result of NIH Reductions in Force.

6. Please provide a detailed description of impact analysis performed to determine the impact on vaccine development and research as a result of FDA Reductions in Force.

7. Please provide a detailed description of the impact analysis performed regarding reductions in staffing to ACF services and programs, including technical assistance to states and childcare providers, childcare costs and child safety, supports for survivors of violence, and the effectiveness of the TANF and LIHEAP programs.

a. Please provide a detailed description of the analysis performed by the Department describing how LIHEAP staffing reductions will not lead to higher energy costs for Marylanders.

b. Please provide a detailed plan for how the Department plans to ensure that there is no delay due to case backlogs experienced by the state of Maryland or Maryland human services providers due to staff reductions at ACF?

8. Please provide a detailed description of the analysis performed by the Department describing how the staffing reductions to HRSA will not impact Maryland FQHCs, or access to affordable care in Maryland communities.

9. Please provide a detailed description of the analysis performed by the Department describing how the staffing reductions to CMS will not impede Marylander’s access to Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and the ACA Marketplace.

###

MIL OSI USA News –
April 17, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: The world could stop central Africa’s deadly mpox outbreak if it wanted to

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Chloe Orkin, Professor of Infection and Inequities, Centre for Immunobiology, Blizard Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London

MIA Studio/Shutterstock

The global outbreak of mpox in 2022-23 affected more than 100 countries and grabbed the attention of the scientific community. Research on mpox has intensified since.

The virus behind the outbreak, technically mpox clade IIb, is spread through close physical contact. During the 2022 outbreak it was found in both sperm and vaginal fluid for the first time. This suggests it is sexually transmissible.

Overall, deaths in the 2022 outbreak were very low: 0.1%. However, in people with very weak immune systems – such as those with advanced HIV – deaths were much higher, at around 15%.

The outbreak was curtailed through public health agencies and doctors working in partnership with those most at risk of the disease – sexually active men who have sex with men. Key interventions included ensuring that people knew what signs to look for and how to protect themselves, as well as offering vaccinations.

The more a virus spreads, the greater the likelihood it will mutate. Mutations can allow the virus to be more easily transmissible. This happened with the clade II virus, which branched into two and resulted in the clade IIb global outbreak in 2022. Something very similar has now happened with clade I. Clade I virus caused 14,626 mpox cases and 654 deaths in 2023.

Health inequality is a killer

Doctors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been battling to contain exponentially rising cases of the more severe clade I mpox, mainly affecting children under 15 and their caregivers.

Mpox can be lethal, especially for children under five years old. The mortality rate for clade I is between 3% and 10%. The variation in mortality rates is due to differences in access to healthcare, such as access to antibiotics, as well as specialist care in hospital and intensive care.

This strain, which has caused significant harm in central African countries such as the DRC, has not attracted the world’s attention in the same way as it has in the west – even though the number of people with the disease was rising year on year. Sadly, it’s very common in global public health for infectious diseases to be neglected unless they affect people in wealthy countries.

Clade I virus is transmitted through close physical contact, respiratory droplets and contact with infected materials like bedding and infected animals. Historically affected countries, like the DRC, have not had access to the vaccine that helped curtail the outbreak in the US, Europe and the UK.

The vaccine – called Jynneos in the US and Imvanex in Europe – has not been made or sold in Africa so far. And at US$100 per dose (£76), it is beyond the affordability of most low- and middle-income countries.

These countries have relied on donations from philanthropic organisations or from governments. However, during the 2022 mpox outbreak, insufficient vaccines were donated to African countries, and local laboratory capacity – needed to test, monitor and respond to cases – was not significantly strengthened. According to experts, wealthier nations, international health agencies and global health donors should have taken the lead in addressing these gaps, but their support fell far short of what was needed.

In 2024, the mpox virus spread very quickly from the Kivu area of the DRC, which is on the eastern border with Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda – and caused over 16,000 new cases and 511 deaths. The rapid spread among heterosexual people who were moving across porous borders with neighbouring countries – and within camps of internally displaced people – prompted scientists to study the virus to see if it had mutated.

The virus has changed significantly enough to warrant being named as a new sub-variant: clade Ib.

These changes may have enabled the rapid spread to several other African countries and the first ever case of clade I virus in Europe (Sweden) in a returning traveller.

Vaccine accessibility

So what does this mean for people in wealthy countries? The risk to the general population is very low. However, travellers to affected countries who mix with affected communities are at risk of contracting mpox and transmitting it to close contacts on return.

We live in an interconnected world, so cases of the new strain are extremely likely to be identified in the coming weeks and months in many countries. But this does not make a global outbreak of clade Ib inevitable. The tools needed to limit the virus from spreading are in use already: community engagement, contact tracing, laboratory surveillance of new cases to monitor spread of clade Ib virus, and vaccination.

Anyone who develops symptoms after being in contact with a returning traveller should isolate and follow national guidance on where to attend for medical care. It’s essential to do this as soon as possible after noticing symptoms because being vaccinated within four days of exposure can limit the likelihood of getting mpox and the severity – and length – of infection.

Mpox causes skin lesions that look like blisters which become filled with pus after a few days – and it can cause ulcers in the mouth and on the genitals and bottom. People diagnosed with mpox should isolate and limit close physical and sexual contact while they have lesions.

Stopping this outbreak is possible if affected countries are equipped with three things: access to free diagnostic tests, laboratory capacity to determine the mpox clade so the extent of the outbreak can be monitored and, most important, equal access to the vaccine.

Millions of doses will be needed to protect people in affected countries. The declaration of a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization will allow better coordination of the international response, such as emergency licensing of the vaccine in all countries and greater capacity to buy and make the vaccine where it is needed most.

Chloe Orkin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. The world could stop central Africa’s deadly mpox outbreak if it wanted to – https://theconversation.com/the-world-could-stop-central-africas-deadly-mpox-outbreak-if-it-wanted-to-236981

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

April 17, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: The sudden dismissal of public records staff at health agencies threatens government accountability

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Reshma Ramachandran, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Yale University

Mass layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services are continuing as the agency makes good on its intention, announced on March 27, 2025, to shrink its workforce by 20,000 people. Among workers dismissed in early April were several teams responsible for fulfilling requests for access to previously unreleased government data, information and records under a federal law known as the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA.

At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the offices that fulfill such requests have been eliminated, according to press reports. In 2024 alone, CDC received 1,800 requests for access to public records. At the Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health, which together responded to almost 14,000 requests in 2024, multiple teams of FOIA staff were fired. FOIA offices at other HHS agencies were affected, too.

Most people may never file a public records request with a federal agency. But the fact that anyone is allowed by law to do so enables the public to hold government accountable and has catalyzed important government reforms. FOIA requests at federal health agencies have been particularly consequential. They have pushed companies to take unsafe drugs off the market, led to reforms that prevent unnecessary delays in communicating public health risks, and prompted policies that lower prices and improve access to taxpayer-funded health technologies.

I am a health services researcher who studies the effects of public health regulation, and I have observed how the transparency enabled by FOIA can benefit patients, clinicians and researchers. Although HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has stated that federal public health agencies will embrace “radical transparency”, closure of these offices suggests otherwise.

What is an FOIA public records request?

The Freedom of Information Act was passed in 1966 to increase government transparency in response to a rise in government secrecy during the Cold War.

Anyone can request documents from the federal government through FOIA.

The law requires agencies within the federal government’s executive branch to proactively publish certain procedural and other materials and to publicly disclose certain types of information. It also requires the federal government to disclose any documents that don’t fall into those categories in response to a written request, as long as they are not exempt due to issues of national security, foreign policy or business interests.

Any member of the public, citizen or not, can file a FOIA request.

Notably, private companies are the top requesters. They use FOIA to gain competitive advantage, support litigation and become familiar with regulations and policies that affect their business model. The next most frequent requesters are everyday people. After them come law firms, which are often supporting private companies, followed by the news media and nonprofit organizations.

What can FOIA requests to federal health agencies reveal?

FOIA requests to HHS agencies have led to significant shifts in public health regulation and policy.

In one example from the early 2000s, researchers and media outlets filed FOIA requests to the FDA related to a drug called Vioxx, or rofecoxib. The drug, manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Merck, was approved by the FDA as a supposedly safer alternative for osteoarthritis pain. But the documents revealed that Merck had significantly downplayed the drug’s increased risk for heart attacks and strokes.

Information disclosed through these requests prompted congressional investigations that led to new laws requiring companies to report results of all clinical trials in a public online database – including when trials show that treatments have no meaningful benefit or are unsafe.

The new laws also authorized the FDA to require companies to conduct additional safety studies after a drug’s approval. This means the agency can take faster action to prevent patient harm by adding warnings to drug labels, issuing warnings of potential harms directly to doctors or withdrawing unsafe treatments entirely.

Importantly, FOIA enables ongoing oversight. In 2021, my colleagues and I published an investigation that used FOIA to determine whether the FDA and NIH were enforcing those clinical trial transparency laws. We found that companies had failed to update thousands of clinical trials in the database with their results, and that the FDA and NIH were doing little to compel them. Using the FOIA data as evidence, we successfully petitioned the FDA to step up its enforcement and to publicly list the companies that were still not complying.

There are countless other examples of how stakeholders have used FOIA to hold the government accountable. FOIA requests filed by lawyers, news outlets and citizens of Flint, Michigan, in 2016 revealed that state and local public health officials withheld information about the contamination of the city’s drinking water. Their secrecy potentially delayed response measures that could have prevented a recurrent disease outbreak.

Flint residents protest outside the Michigan State Capitol in January 2016.
Shannon Nobles/Amsterdam News via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

During the COVID-19 pandemic, FOIA requests to HHS agencies filed by news outlets and nonprofit organizations revealed that despite billions of taxpayer dollars and other resources invested into COVID-19 vaccine development, the U.S. government had waived away their ability to take future action and not negotiated terms to ensure affordable access if companies later hiked up prices.

What now for FOIA at HHS?

The sudden dismissal of FOIA teams at the CDC, FDA, NIH and other federal public health agencies will limit these agencies’ ability to respond to new and ongoing requests as required by law. This will worsen an already hefty FOIA backlog at HHS agencies.

Cuts to FOIA staff also hinder the public from using this law to examine and potentially challenge recent agency actions under the new administration. On April 5, 2025, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed several FOIA requests on the involvement of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, in disbanding the FOIA team and on the CDC’s reported suppression in March of an expert assessment of the Texas measles outbreak.

Based on the automated response – which read that FOIA staff had been placed on administrative leave and could not respond to requests – the group filed a lawsuit challenging the FOIA office closure, arguing that it violates the Freedom of Information Act and other administrative law.

Limited staff capacity may also curtail agencies’ ability to proactively disclose information, such as data on drug efficacy and safety posted by the FDA. Patients and clinicians access such information to make decisions about using and prescribing medications.

HHS representatives have stated that they will resume FOIA processing, centralizing the various agency offices under HHS in a more streamlined approach. Whether such an office with significantly diminished capacity and a lack of agency-specific expertise will be able to effectively and efficiently respond to the over 50,000 requests for records received annually remains unclear.

A pattern of barriers to public input and accountability

FOIA is far from a perfect tool for achieving transparency in how the government regulates health and biomedical research and policy. In fact, at least at the FDA, FOIA is costly and inefficient – partly, as my colleagues and I have written, because of the agency’s self-imposed, burdensome protocols. But without an enforceable replacement strategy, it is the only tool available to the public.

The Trump administration has taken several other steps to reduce transparency of federal public health agencies, leaving the public with limited formal avenues outside of the courts to weigh in on agency actions.

On March 3, 2025, HHS rescinded a long-standing policy requiring it to solicit public comments on regulations related to public property, loans, grants, benefits or contracts. Advisory committee meetings where agencies convene independent experts to provide recommendations and where public stakeholders can provide input have been canceled or postponed.

Additionally, the newly formed Make America Healthy Again Commission led by Kennedy has met behind closed doors and without prior public notice, attended only by select, aligned members. It remains unclear if future meetings will be public.

Not only is closure of FOIA offices across HHS agencies yet another blow to government transparency, but it also prevents the public from holding agencies accountable and pushing for changes that improve health.

Reshma Ramachandran receives research funding support from Arnold Ventures and previously received research funding support from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Stavros Niarchos Foundation. She serves on the board of directors in unpaid capacity for the non-profit organization, Doctors for America.

– ref. The sudden dismissal of public records staff at health agencies threatens government accountability – https://theconversation.com/the-sudden-dismissal-of-public-records-staff-at-health-agencies-threatens-government-accountability-254024

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

April 17, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ9: Promoting pet inclusivity and enhancing animal protection

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

LCQ9: Promoting pet inclusivity and enhancing animal protection
Question:

     As regards promoting pet inclusivity and enhancing animal protection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the number of households keeping pets, as well as the respective numbers of dogs and cats which have been microchipped and licensed, in Hong Kong;

(2) whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the Government’s promotion of public education on pet inclusivity (such as responsible pet ownership and prevention of cruelty to animals) in the past two years; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) given that the Food Business Regulation (Cap. 132X) currently prohibits dogs (except guide dogs) from entering food premises, and it is learnt that some shopping malls have successively allowed pets to enter their areas in recent years, whether the Government will consider implementing a pilot scheme to allow dogs to enter the food premises of such shopping malls, so as to provide actual experience and data for the purposes of reviewing the existing legislation and considering the relaxation of the restriction on the entry of dogs into food premises; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(4) as it is learnt that operators of some public transport services may decide at their discretion whether to allow passengers to board with pets, whether the Government will consider further relaxing the restriction to allow passengers to bring along their pets to use all public transport services, and formulating standard guidelines;

(5) of the number of cases received by the Government in each of the past three years involving the fatal poisoning of dogs; among such cases, (i) the number of cases in which the suspects were successfully arrested, (ii) the penalties imposed on the convicted persons, and (iii) ‍the number of cases involving public facilities under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department; how the authorities will follow up cases of fatal poisoning of dogs, including whether they will consider installing cameras at the relevant locations to step up monitoring; and

(6) as it has been reported that many cases of fatal poisoning of dogs are suspected of involving the use of pesticides such as rodenticides, whether the Government will consider amending the legislation to require members of the public to register their real names with the Government when purchasing pesticides, so as to prevent pesticides from being abused to poison and kill animals?

Reply:

President,

     Having consulted the Security Bureau, the Transport and Logistics Bureau and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), the reply to the question from the Hon Stanley Li is as follows:

(1) According to the most recent Thematic Household Survey on the household keeping of dogs and cats conducted by the Census and Statistics Department in 2018, some 241 900 households in Hong Kong were keeping cats or dogs, representing 9.4 per cent of all households. A total of some 184 100 cats and 221 100 dogs were being kept.

     Under the Rabies Regulation (Cap. 421A), the keeper of a dog shall arrange his dog over the age of five months to be implanted with microchip and licensed. As at 2024, the number of dogs implanted with microchip and licensed was 158 663.

     Since the transmission of rabies through cats is relatively lower than that through dogs, the legislation does not require that cats shall be implanted with a microchip and licensed. To facilitate identification of owners and assist owners to find their cats that have gone astray, since April 2024, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has stipulated the Licence Conditions that cats put up for sale by animal traders should be obtained from approved sources and microchipped. The AFCD does not maintain the number of cats implanted with microchip.

(2) The AFCD continues to promote the messages on animal welfare and responsible pet ownership through public education and publicity programmes, which include producing television promotional videos, establishing a thematic website on animal welfare and “Be a Responsible Pet Owner”, organising seminars in schools and residential estates, roving exhibitions, dog training courses, and pet adoption days, etc. The Department has also launched a series of “Duty of Care” publicity programmes, which include the production of a series of posts on social media platforms to share information on how to take proper care of animals and enhance the public’s understanding of the content and importance of “Duty of Care”. The AFCD includes questionnaires in some of its activities to evaluate their effectiveness, and the majority of participants have provided positive feedback. The Pet Adoption Day held in 2024 attracted over 10 000 attendees, demonstrating that the event was well received by the public.

     To enlist wider public support and participation in fighting against cruelty to animals, the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) has implemented the Animal Watchers Programme (the Programme) since 2021 with a view to agglomerating the strengths of animal lovers at the community level in four directions of education, publicity, intelligence-gathering and investigation, raising public awareness on prevention of cruelty to animals, encouraging the public to report in a timely manner as well as providing information and clues useful for investigations. The Programme covers large-scale activities across Hong Kong for different communities and age groups, through the “Animal CARE Corners”, encouraging schools to keep animals and enhance students’ pet care skills. The Police adopts a multifaceted approach in evaluating its effectiveness by a variety of indicators, including the numbers of cases reported and persons arrested as well as the level of overall public engagement. At present, most of the cases of cruelty to animals are reported by members of the public who voluntarily offer information for investigation. This shows that the Programme has a significant impact on enhancing police-community co-operation and raising public awareness of combatting cruelty to animals.

(3) Society is divided on whether to allow pet dogs to enter food premises. The Government needs to take into account different factors when examining the relevant legislation, including public health, operating environment of food premises, and social acceptance. In particular, food premises in Hong Kong are generally cramped. It is necessary to consider the reaction of pet dogs in a crowded and cramped environment (possibly with different types of dogs), as well as the potential impact on other diners. The Environment and Ecology Bureau, together with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, is conducting research on practices and experiences in other places, and will carefully consider whether there is room for relaxing the relevant restrictions.

(4) Generally speaking, public transport has high daily patronage and limited compartment spaces. When considering whether to allow passengers to travel with pets for public transport services, the operators shall consider and balance different factors, including the actual operating situation, space and carrying capacity of the compartments, reaction of the pets in the travelling environment, as well as the potential impact on other passengers. The actual circumstances of different public transport modes vary. The Government will maintain close communication with the public transport operators and remind them to listen to different views to ensure that their services can properly cater for and balance the needs of different passengers. Currently, some public transport operators, such as ferries and taxis, may decide at their discretion whether to allow passengers to board with pets. The MTR Corporation Limited will also implement a pilot scheme that allows passengers to bring along their pet cats and dogs to take the light rail in accordance with specific requirements and at specific periods.

(5) Poisoning an animal causing unnecessary suffering is an offence under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169). From 2022 to 2024, the number of reports on suspected cruelty to animals received by the HKPF and the AFCD, the number of persons arrested, and the relevant penalties imposed are tabulated at Annex. The Government does not maintain relevant breakdown of information on animal poisoning cases.

     The Police will continue to review locations across 18 districts with higher crime rate and greater pedestrian flow, and proportionally install CCTV in these areas with a view to combating crime. Moreover, the LCSD will review and adjust the number of CCTV cameras having regard to established guidelines and the actual security and operational needs of individual venue. In the event of suspected criminal activities, the LCSD will contact the Police and take appropriate follow-up actions in light of the actual circumstances.

(6) Currently, the Pesticides Regulations (Cap. 133A) requires that all pesticide products must carry clear labels in both Chinese and English before being supplied or sold by licensed dealers. Any person using registered pesticides should thoroughly read and follow the instructions at the labels, and take all safety measures to protect the safety of the user and the public.

     To enhance public understanding of the safe use of pesticides, the AFCD has distributed and uploaded relevant leaflets and guidelines for the reference of the trades and the public, and has actively disseminated messages of proper use of pesticides through various ongoing education and publicity programmes, including reminding members of the public that they should exercise caution in the purchase and use of pesticides and follow the relevant safety guidelines, so as to minimise the potential risks to human health, animal welfare and the environment. Considering that real-name registration for the purchase of pesticides would cause inconvenience to members of the public in their daily purchases of these products, and that it is difficult for law enforcement officers to identify persons with the intention to poison animals through registration records of the purchasers, the introduction of a real-name registration scheme would not be particularly effective for the prevention of animal poisoning.
Issued at HKT 14:35

NNNN

CategoriesMIL-OSI

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

April 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: DH reminds public who plan to travel during Easter holidays to stay vigilant against infectious diseases
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

With the approach of the Easter holidays, the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health, Dr Edwin Tsui, today (April 16) appealed to members of the public who intend to travel to stay alert to the situation of infectious diseases at their destinations and to prevent various infectious diseases, in particular measles, dengue fever (DF) and norovirus infection.

Measles

Recently, the number of measles cases in some overseas countries has been increasing. The outbreaks in North America (including the United States and Canada), Europe and neighbouring areas (including Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines) are ongoing due to the relatively low vaccination rate. Furthermore, an increasing number of measles cases have also been recorded in Japan and Australia this year. Overseas cases mainly affected people who were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status. This shows the importance of maintaining a high vaccination rate and herd immunity within the community.

Vaccination is the safest and most effective preventive measure against measles. For those who plan to travel to measles-endemic areas, they should check their vaccination records and medical history as early as possible. If they have not been diagnosed with measles through laboratory tests and have never received two doses of the measles vaccine or are not sure if they have received the measles vaccine, they should consult a doctor at least two weeks prior to their trip for vaccination. Healthy people in general can enjoy long-term, even lifelong protection after receiving the measles vaccination as recommended. Two doses of the measles-containing vaccine can confer protection of up to 97 per cent.

The incubation period of measles is seven to 21 days. Symptoms include fever, skin rash, cough, runny nose and red eyes. If such symptoms appear after returning from measles-endemic areas, people should wear surgical masks, stay home from work or school, avoid crowded places and contact with unvaccinated people, especially those with weak immune systems, pregnant women and children under 1 year old, and should consult their doctors as soon as possible.

Dengue fever

During their travels, members of the public are urged to stay vigilant against mosquito-borne diseases, including DF, Japanese encephalitis, zika virus infection, and malaria, with DF being a particular concern, and to carry out stringent anti-mosquito measures. In 2024, the World Health Organization recorded over 14 million cases of DF, which was a record number of cases. Some popular travel destinations for Hong Kong citizens, such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, are also endemic areas for DF.
â€‹
Members of the public should follow these anti-mosquito measures when travelling to areas affected by DF to reduce the chance of acquiring mosquito-borne diseases during travels and spreading the diseases to others through mosquitoes:
- Wear loose, light-coloured, long-sleeved tops and trousers;
- Use DEET-containing insect repellent on exposed parts of the body and clothing. For details about the use of insect repellents and key points to be observed, please refer to Tips for using insect repellents;
- When engaging in outdoor activities, avoid using fragrant cosmetics or skincare products, reapply insect repellents according to instructions, and apply insect repellents after sunscreen if both are used; and
- Apply insect repellent for 14 days upon returning to Hong Kong from areas affected by DF.
Norovirus infection

Norovirus is more active in winter, and the virus can be transmitted through various means, such as eating contaminated food, contacting with the vomit or excreta of infected persons, and touching contaminated objects. It may lead to an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis (AGE). With the current AGE activities in popular travel destinations for Hong Kong citizens, such as Japan, Singapore and Taiwan, being higher than during the same period last year, and with temperatures in some areas remaining low, members of the public are still at risk of infection during travels.

Norovirus is also a common cause of food poisoning and is often related to consumption of undercooked or raw shellfish. Therefore, the following points on food safety should be observed during travels:
- Patronise reliable and licensed restaurants;
- Avoid raw food or undercooked food, especially raw seafood or meat;
- Be careful in choosing cold cuts, including sashimi, sushi and oysters in buffets;
- When having hotpots or barbecuing, make sure the food is thoroughly cooked before eating;
- Drink boiled water; and
- Wash hands thoroughly with liquid soap and water before eating and after using the toilet.
Dr Tsui reminded returned travellers to consult a doctor promptly if they develop symptoms such as fever, respiratory symptoms, rash or gastroenteritis symptoms, and to inform the doctor of their travel history for prompt diagnosis and treatment.

“The CHP will continue to monitor the situation of infectious diseases locally and abroad and provide timely updates to members of the public to keep them informed about the development of infectious diseases and help them prepare for precautionary measures,” Dr Tsui said.

The public may visit the DH’s Travel Health Service webpage for the latest information on infectious disease outbreaks in various parts of the world and the preventive measures.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –
April 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Restriction of USAID funding for health programmes – E-001430/2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-001430/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Liudas Mažylis (PPE)

USAID has set out plans to significantly reduce or eliminate health programmes in various regions of the world.

1.Is the Commission prepared to contribute to the funding of various health projects and programmes in different regions of the world and, if so, to what extent, what amount could be allocated to this, and from what specific sources?

2.How will it contribute to health programmes that provide vaccinations against viruses that have the potential to develop into pandemics?

3.Will the Commission develop programmes to fight HIV/AIDS in different regions of the world?

Submitted: 8.4.2025
Last updated: 16 April 2025
MIL OSI Europe News –
April 16, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: North Wales plays a vital role in the UK Government’s missions
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release

North Wales plays a vital role in the UK Government’s missions

English

Cymraeg

Welsh Secretary visits businesses in the region to discuss their contributions to the UK Government’s clean energy and economic growth missions.
Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens at Wockhardt UK Ltd.

Welsh Secretary champions the value of innovative businesses in north Wales

Projects to reduce carbon emissions have potential to help deliver government’s net zero ambitions

Cutting-edge life science sector drives economic growth and contributes well paid jobs

The Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens has spent two days (10th & 11th April) in north Wales meeting leading businesses in the region and discussing their contributions to the UK Government’s clean energy and economic growth missions. The missions are cornerstones of the UK Government’s Plan for Change, which aims to raise living standards across the UK and put more money in people’s pockets.

At Heidelberg Materials’ cement works in Padeswood near Mold, the Secretary of State heard about a pioneering Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project, which aims to decarbonize cement production and contribute to the UK’s net-zero goals.

Heidelberg Materials is proposing a £600 million plus investment at its Padeswood works which would enable it to capture up to 800,000 tonnes of CO2 per year and create around 50 new jobs.

At Enfinium’s Parc Adfer facility in Deeside, the Secretary of State saw how the plant today converts unrecyclable waste into energy and other useful products and the company showcased their plans to retrofit a Carbon Capture Plant.

The CCS project represents a £200 million investment in North Wales’s green economy and Enfinium estimates that it has the potential to actively remove up to 125,000t of carbon from the atmosphere each year from the organic material the plant already processes.

Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said:

It’s fantastic to see north Wales at the forefront of plans for Carbon Capture and Storage. It’s a technology that has huge potential for helping us achieve our net zero ambitions.

As part of our Plan for Change we want to encourage innovation and investment like that being shown by these North Wales companies, bringing economic growth as well as the well-paid secure jobs of the future.

Simon Willis, CEO at Heidelberg Materials UK, said:

We were delighted to welcome Jo Stevens to Padeswood and to have the opportunity to showcase our plans for the site.

Our CCS project, which was granted planning permission earlier this month, would bring significant investment and opportunity to the region, boosting the north Wales economy and securing the long-term future of hundreds of skilled jobs.

Once operational, it would also provide net zero building materials for major projects across the country, setting the construction industry on a path to decarbonisation and helping the UK government meet its 2050 net zero targets.

Enfinium CEO Mike Maudsley said:

We were delighted to welcome the Secretary of State for Wales to our Parc Adfer facility in Deeside, to discuss our plans to invest in the region and help grow the green economy in North Wales.

To deliver net zero, Wales and the UK needs to find a way to produce carbon removals at scale. Installing carbon capture at Parc Adfer will not only decarbonise Wales’s unrecyclable waste, but it will also transform the site into the largest carbon removal project in Wales.

While in north Wales the Secretary of State also saw cutting-edge businesses in the area’s life science sector.

Wockhardt UK Ltd is a subsidiary of a global pharmaceutical company which has its UK headquarters in Wrexham. The site also has a sterile injectable manufacturing facility which has been instrumental in producing the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine.

During her visit Jo Stevens toured the laboratory and manufacturing areas, met with apprentices, and discussed the company’s impact on the regional economy. She reiterated the UK Government’s commitment to supporting the life sciences sector and driving sustained economic growth through investment and innovation.

In her final engagement the Secretary of State for Wales visited Ipsen Biopharm, a global biopharmaceutical company with a neuroscience centre of excellence in Wrexham. She saw their work to develop and manufacture neurotoxins, which are used to treat people living with neurological conditions.

Ipsen has invested more than £100 million into its Wrexham site over the last three years, in order to expand its research and development (R&D) as well as manufacturing capabilities.The site uses 100% renewable energy across its production and research units.

Managing Director of Wockhardt UK Ltd Ravi Limaye said:

We were honoured to welcome the Secretary of State for Wales, Jo Stevens, to our facility. Wockhardt has been in Wrexham for 21 years and has seen the town become a city and famous on the world stage.

We were involved in the COVID vaccine manufacture and are immensely proud of our dedicated staff who made this happen despite unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic.

Jeannette Brend, Site Head at Ipsen in Wrexham, said:

Ipsen Wrexham manufactures products that are exported to patients in over 90 countries around the world. Wrexham is an important site for Ipsen, and we are proud to be a major employer in the local community and invest in the area.

We welcome the UK Government’s commitment to supporting the life sciences sector and hope that this will continue so innovation can keep flourishing.’’

Throughout her visits, the Secretary of State highlighted the UK Government’s priority of economic growth and clean energy, emphasizing the importance of investments in green technologies and life sciences to support regional development and job creation.

ENDS

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Published 16 April 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
April 16, 2025
MIL-OSI: Proto Hologram Expands in India with Amitabh Bachchan & Sourav Ganguly

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Hyderabad, India, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Proto Hologram has expanded rapidly across India, with the launch of AI Avatars of Amitabh Bachchan and Sourav “Dada” Ganguly. Based on IP deals created by Hyderbad-based company Ikonz, the Proto avatars are hyper-real, volumetric, digital twins of the icons, that are capable of fully interactive conversations.

The AI Proto Hologram of Mr. Bachchan, one of the biggest international film stars of all time, has already been helping visitors at six branches of IDFC FIRST Bank with information and transactions. It is among the first in the world to enable hologram banking transactions.

Mr. Ganguly’s Proto avatar debuted at an event in Kolkata on April 11th. The newly reappointed chairman of the ICC Men’s Cricket Committee became the first ever cricket star to become a Proto hologram, and was there in person to show, side-by-side, how real the hologram looks. Mr. Ganguly joins Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, UFC CEO Dana White, Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali and other top sports execs and athletes to appear as an AI hologram via Proto.

“It’s an incredible honor to have the great Amitabh Bachchan and Sourav Ganguly appear in Proto hologram form,” said Proto Hologram Founder and Inventor David Nussbaum. “Proto’s AI Persona tools let them – and other spokesmen, experts, executives, doctors, or celebrities – have hyper-real, conversational interactions with customers and fans in any language. It’s perfect for India where there are 22 officially recognized languages — and in reality, over 100 more.”

Proto partner Ikonz is a specialist in licensing IP rights. Ikonz has secured exclusive global rights to Mr. Ganguly’s voice, likeness and mannerisms, enabling the creation of an avatar that authentically captures the charisma, energy, and unique presence of one of cricket’s most celebrated figures. Ikonz’ brands the Proto activations in India HXR.

Amitabh Bachchan said, “This initiative by IDFC FIRST Bank highlights the role of technology in creating immersive customer experiences. It is fascinating to see how innovation continues to redefine connections. I am pleased to see my digital avatar playing a part in this journey.”

See Amitabh Bachchan’s Proto AI Hologram in action at IDFC FIRST bank

Shreepad Shende, Head of Business Excellence and Corporate Strategy at IDFC FIRST Bank, said, “This technology makes banking simpler, faster, and more engaging.”

Mr. Ganguly said he is excited to see his digital avatar come to life via Proto Hologram and to explore the technology’s potential across sports, entertainment, education, and beyond. “Ikonz’s commitment to authenticity and respect for my personal brand gives me full confidence in this partnership,” said Sourav Ganguly.

“Dada has always been at the forefront of cricketing excellence and innovation. With this digital avatar, we’re thrilled to bring his spirit to new audiences and industries around the world. The avatar speaks, moves, and emotes exactly as Sourav Ganguly would,” said Abinav Varma Kalidindi, CEO of Ikonz.

See Sourav Ganguly’s Proto Hologram in action.

Proto also counts dozens of Fortune 500 companies as partners and clients, as well as dozens of major universities, major airports, museums, hospitals, retailers and more. Partners and clients include AARP, Accenture, Amazon AWS, CBS, Delta Airways, HPE, Intec, PwC, Siemens, Softbank, Walmart and Verizon.

The sports world includes over 65 active and retired professional athletes who have invested in Los Angeles-based Proto. The technology has been installed in over 50 major stadiums and arenas, been utilized by the NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL, Major League Soccer, NCAA, UFC, WWE, PFL and at events such as the Woman’s World Cup. Most recently Tiger Woods appeared via Proto at his TGL Golf arena in Florida in a partnership with Best Buy. Other athletes who have used Proto include Usain Bolt, Lewis Hamilton, Mary Fowler, Nick Kyrgios, Francis Ngannou and Son Hueng-min.

Among other activations in India, Proto has been seen on the show Bigg Boss Telugu, featuring host Nagarjuna.

About its role managing Mr. Ganguly’s IP, Ikonz states, “By securing exclusive IP rights to Dada’s voice, likeness, and mannerisms, Ikonz ensures that any organisation or brand seeking to leverage the digital avatar will engage directly with Ikonz as the sole representative and licensor. This strategic approach safeguards the integrity of Sourav Ganguly’s personal brand while opening limitless possibilities.”

For more information contact hello@protohologram.com

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The MIL Network –

April 16, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: 16 April 2025 News release WHO Member States conclude negotiations and make significant progress on draft pandemic agreement

Source: World Health Organisation

After more than three years of intensive negotiations, WHO Member States took a major step forward in efforts to make the world safer from pandemics, by forging a draft agreement for consideration at the upcoming World Health Assembly in May. The proposal aims to strengthen global collaboration on prevention, preparedness and response to future pandemic threats.

In December 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO Member States established the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB)to draft and negotiate a convention, agreement or other international instrument, under the WHO Constitution, to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

Following 13 formal rounds of meetings, nine of which were extended, and many informal and intersessional negotiations on various aspects of the draft agreement, the INB today finalized a proposal for the WHO Pandemic Agreement. The outcome of the INB’s work will now be presented to the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly for its consideration.

“The nations of the world made history in Geneva today,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “In reaching consensus on the Pandemic Agreement, not only did they put in place a generational accord to make the world safer, they have also demonstrated that multilateralism is alive and well, and that in our divided world, nations can still work together to find common ground, and a shared response to shared threats. I thank WHO’s Member States, and their negotiating teams, for their foresight, commitment and tireless work. We look forward to the World Health Assembly’s consideration of the agreement and – we hope – its adoption.”

Proposals within the text developed by the INB include establishing a pathogen access and benefit sharing system; taking concrete measures on pandemic prevention, including through a One Health approach; building geographically diverse research and development capacities; facilitating the transfer of technology and related knowledge, skills and expertise for the production of pandemic-related health products; mobilizing a skilled, trained and multidisciplinary national and global health emergency workforce; setting up a coordinating financial mechanism; taking concrete measures to strengthen preparedness, readiness and health system functions and resilience; and establishing a global supply chain and logistics network.

The proposal affirms the sovereignty of countries to address public health matters within their borders, and provides that nothing in the draft agreement shall be interpreted as providing WHO any authority to direct, order, alter or prescribe national laws or policies, or mandate States to take specific actions, such as ban or accept travellers, impose vaccination mandates or therapeutic or diagnostic measures or implement lockdowns.

Dr Tedros paid tribute to the members of the Bureau who guided the INB process: Co-Chairs Ms Precious Matsoso (South Africa) and Ambassador Anne-Claire Amprou (France), and Vice-Chairs Ambassador Tovar da Silva Nunes (Brazil), Ambassador Amr Ramadan (Egypt), Dr Viroj Tangcharoensathien (Thailand); and Ms Fleur Davies (Australia). Past members included former Co-Chair, Mr Roland Driece (the Netherlands), and former Vice-Chairs Ambassador Honsei (Japan) and Mr Ahmed Soliman (Egypt). The Director-General also acknowledged the constant support provided by WHO Secretariat colleagues.

INB Co-Chair Ms Matsoso said: “I am overjoyed by the coming together of countries, from all regions of the world, around a proposal to increase equity and, thereby, protect future generations from the suffering and losses we suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The negotiations, at times, have been difficult and protracted. But this monumental effort has been sustained by the shared understanding that viruses do not respect borders, that no one is safe from pandemics until everyone is safe, and that collective health security is an aspiration we deeply believe in and want to strengthen.”

Fellow INB Co-Chair, Ambassador Amprou, said the draft agreement is a major step in strengthening the global health security architecture so people of the world would be better protected from the next pandemic.

“In drafting this historic agreement, the countries of the world have demonstrated their shared commitment to preventing and protecting everyone, everywhere, from future pandemic threats,” Ambassador Amprou said. “While the commitment to prevention through the One Health approach is a major step forward in protecting populations, the response will be faster, more effective and more equitable. This is a historic agreement for health security, equity and international solidarity.”

The INB was established in December 2021, at a special session of the World Health Assembly , bringing together Member States and relevant stakeholders, including international organizations, private sector, and civil society. At the World Health Assembly in June 2024, governments made concrete commitments to complete negotiations on a global pandemic agreement within a year. The upcoming Assembly starting 19 May 2025 will consider the proposal developed by the INB and take the final decision on whether to adopt the instrument under Article 19 of the WHO Constitution.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

April 16, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Homelessness – the other housing crisis politicians aren’t talking about

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Parsell, Professor, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland

Igor Corovic/Shutterstock

Measures to tackle homelessness in Australia have been conspicuously absent from the election campaign.

The major parties have rightly identified deep voter anxiety over high house prices. They have responded with a raft of policies, with big dollars attached, to try to make housing more affordable.

But in doing so, homelessness has been rendered a silent crisis. We all see the destitute and displaced on our city streets or sleeping in their cars. But we are hearing very little from Labor and the Coalition about how to help the 122,000 Australians who are without permanent shelter.

This is despite evidence that homeless services are witnessing significantly increased demand, with the rate of homelessness soaring above pre–pandemic levels.

Election efforts to promote home ownership should be welcomed. But they will not help Australia’s homeless, who will remain excluded from shelter, a basic human right.

Impossible dream

Although people experiencing homelessness are not a homogeneous group, they have one thing in common – poverty. People who are homeless are overwhelmingly likely to be living in financial hardship.

Even if they aspire to home ownership, their poverty means buying a home is an improbable solution to their homelessness, regardless of the various incentives on offer during an election campaign.

Further, the experience of homelessness creates health problems and barriers to accessing mainstream services. People’s lives become transient, unpredictable and often dangerous.

When homelessness is lost in major policy announcements about addressing only part of the housing crisis, we fail to confront and deal with the related harms homelessness inflicts.

Strategic plan

The first thing needed to confront the problem is a national housing and homelessness strategic plan. Governments should set measurable targets to end and prevent homelessness and avoid vague terms such as “address” or “respond”.

Overseas experience shows it can be done. A strategic plan in the United States contributed to massive reductions in homelessness among military veterans.

If a standalone homelessness plan sounds familiar, it might be because it was a Labor commitment leading up to the 2022 election. Despite an issues paper and consultation with the sector, the plan has never seen the light of day.

Housing supply

It is self-evident that ending and preventing homelessness, as the recent Australian Homelessness Monitor demonstrates, requires an increase in housing supply.

Trying to fix homelessness without providing shelter would be like trying to prevent polio without vaccines, or ending illiteracy without books.

Extra supply needs to include more social housing for people on low incomes. And permanent supportive housing, which combines affordable housing with health and social services for our most marginalised citizens.

A whole-of-society response is required to find shelter for the 122,000 Australians who are homeless.
TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock

Some progress has been made by the Albanese government, which has increased the availability of social housing and boosted subsidies to renters in the private market.

The Liberal Party’s policy platform for the election does not mention homelessness. Rather, it assumes increasing home ownership though measures like the tax deductibility of mortgage repayments for first homebuyers will be a remedy.

More than houses

Housing is critical to ending the scourge of homelessness. But it doesn’t tell the whole story.

A much broader approach is needed that recognises we don’t live siloed lives. Poor connections with a range of health, social and charitable services can drive people into homelessness, and make ending it even harder.

A more integrated approach would reduce the risk of homelessness. For example, ensuring people are not discharged from institutions such as prisons, hospitals, and foster care onto the street. The connections between homelessness and other critical areas of human need must be prioritised.

An exclusive focus on building more dwellings will never fix homelessness. This is because the problem and its solutions cut across society, ending and preventing homelessness will require a society wide approach.

Achieving that will be anything but simple.

What do we value?

Societies have worked out ways to overcome many harms to human life. Homelessness can also be remedied, but only if there is the social and political will to do so.

In Australia we achieved significant success for a short time during the COVID pandemic when many people sleeping rough were accommodated. It can be done again.

But any policies to end and prevent homelessness must confront the importance of values. Facts and data are needed to inform policy, but facts and data must always be framed by what we value in society.

The way we respond to people who are homeless would demonstrate how we value each other, and how we can achieve equity and social cohesion well beyond the election campaign.

Cameron Parsell receives funding from the Australian Research Council, as well as from numerous nonprofit organisations.

Karyn Walsh is the CEO of Micah Projects which receives funding from the Commonwealth, state and local governments, and philanthropic and private entities to provide a range of homelessness, health, and community services. Neither Karyn nor Micah Projects will receive any financial benefit from this article

– ref. Homelessness – the other housing crisis politicians aren’t talking about – https://theconversation.com/homelessness-the-other-housing-crisis-politicians-arent-talking-about-254453

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

April 16, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Safe seat syndrome? Why some hospitals get upgrades and others miss out
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anam Bilgrami, Senior Research Fellow, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University

On his campaign trail, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged A$200 million to upgrade St John of God Midland Public Hospital in Perth. He promised more beds and operating theatres, and a redesigned obstetrics and neonatal unit.

It followed other recent election promises from the Labor government, including $120 million for new birthing facilities at Sydney’s planned Rouse Hill Hospital and $150 million to build a health centre in southern Adelaide.

New and expanded health facilities are welcome in fast-growing communities. But are hospital funding pledges in election campaigns based on health-care or political needs?

Does pork-barrelling drive health funding decisions?

Labor and the Coalition have faced allegations of pork-barrelling this election campaign.

Pork-barrelling means using public funds to target specific electorates to win votes, rather than allocating resources based on need. Four in five Australians consider pork-barrelling to be corrupt.

Former New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian suggested pork-barrelling was “business as usual” in her government.

It also seems to occur at the federal level. The Australian National Audit Office found a $1.25 billion Community Health and Hospitals Program implemented by the former Morrison government “fell short of ethical requirements” and deliberately breached Commonwealth grant guidelines.

Of the 63 major projects funded, only two were rated “highly suitable” – the usual benchmark for shortlisting. In fact, most approved projects were picked by the government outside of the established expression of interest processes.

Who funds and manages public hospitals?

The National Health Reform Agreement makes states and territories responsible for managing public hospitals. States and territories contribute around 58% of hospital funding. They also oversee planning and infrastructure.

Local hospital networks help plan and implement capital projects such as new hospitals and facility upgrades.

Under the National Health Reform Agreement, the Commonwealth government also contributes public hospital funding through:
- activity-based funding. This is tied to the number and type of patients treated
- block funding for smaller regional and rural hospitals
- public health funding for initiatives such as vaccination programs.
The reform agreement outlines the Commonwealth’s responsibility for supporting public hospital services. But it doesn’t restrict the Commonwealth from making hospital infrastructure promises.

The Commonwealth often pledges direct hospital funding through supplementary agreements or ad hoc initiatives. Earlier this year, it announced an additional one-off $1.7 billion payment to ease pressure on public hospitals.

State planning vs federal politics: who decides?

States use formal planning frameworks to plan and prioritise health infrastructure projects. NSW Health, for example, applies a structured Facility Planning Process for projects over $10 million. This considers local population needs, health and community benefits, costs and workforce capacity.

These types of frameworks help ensure health capital investment decisions are transparent and evidence-based.

What is less transparent is how the Commonwealth decides which specific hospitals to pledge money to, particularly during election campaigns.

While some federal funding announcements may align with state priorities, picking one hospital over another comes with an “opportunity cost”. For every community that benefits from a new or upgraded hospital, another potentially higher-need community may miss out.

To prevent Commonwealth funding decisions being swayed by political priorities, more transparent processes for setting priorities and making decisions are needed.

What would a better system look like?

The way funds are allocated to medicines listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) provides the federal government with an exemplary approach to good health-care investment decisions.

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) provides independent advice to the Minister for Health on whether the government should allocate millions to new medicines. The PBAC uses rigorous, transparent processes to make listing recommendations based on patient need and cost-effectiveness.

Federal government hospital infrastructure funding decisions should also follow open, competitive, merit-based processes.

Prioritising evidence and having transparent decision-making guidelines would mean funding is more likely to be allocated based on the greatest population need rather than electoral considerations.

Other ways to improve federal government hospital funding decisions may include:
- incorporating nationally agreed principles for hospital capital funding in future National Health Reform Agreements
- increasing transparency. This could be achieved through a national public register of hospital development proposals, ranked by urgency and need
- strengthening safeguards on election-period pledges. This could improve disclosures and ensure hospital funding decisions align with independent needs assessments.
More hospitals or better prevention?

Former St Vincent’s Health CEO Toby Hall put it bluntly:

If Australia is to make the most of its healthcare future, it will likely need fewer hospitals, not more.

He pointed to Denmark, which cut its number of hospitals by 67% over 1999–2019. This was achieved by shifting as many services as possible from hospitals to other types of health care including primary care, health centres and outpatient clinics.

While more hospitals in Australia may be inevitable as the population ages, health policy should also focus on keeping people out of hospital in the first place. That means investing in prevention, early intervention and technology to support care at home.

Australia lags behind other wealthy nations in this space, ranking 20th out of 33 OECD countries in per capita spending on prevention. It ranks 27th when measured as a share of total health expenditure.

Some local health districts are showing what’s possible. This includes using home monitoring to help people manage chronic conditions. These kinds of innovations can improve health and reduce pressure on hospital infrastructure.

While new hospitals and wards make for compelling election promises, a better health system will come not just from “bricks and mortar”. It will come from smarter investments in prevention, early intervention and innovative care that keeps people healthier and out of hospital.

Henry Cutler was a member of an Expert Advisory Panel where he received remuneration from the Department of Health and Aged Care for this role. Henry has also previously received funding from NT Health.

Anam Bilgrami does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Safe seat syndrome? Why some hospitals get upgrades and others miss out – https://theconversation.com/safe-seat-syndrome-why-some-hospitals-get-upgrades-and-others-miss-out-253750
MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –
April 16, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Governor Hochul Talks Budget & Other Issues on ‘Inside City Hall’

Source: US State of New York

arlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest on “Inside City Hall” with Errol Louis to discuss the State budget and other issues facing New York.

AUDIO: The Governor’s remarks are available in audio form here.

A rush transcript of the Governor’s remarks is available below:

Errol Louis, NY1: Governor Hochul, thank you for joining me tonight. We have an open door policy, so we’re always glad to see you.

Governor Hochul: Thank you.

Errol Louis, NY1: But, when we spoke last time, it was after the Budget was passed. Are you taking a victory lap in advance? Is this positive thinking?

Governor Hochul: No, well, I spoke to you when I first introduced the Budget in January, so I decided I’d give you a progress report.

Errol Louis, NY1: Okay.

Governor Hochul: And, you know, there’s no reason we can’t wrap it up in the near term, but people know what I’m holding out for — just like I had to do this with bail and significant housing reforms so you could build more housing because we have an affordability crisis — so, everyone knows what I’m standing for. And I’m not wavering on my belief that we need to make some significant reforms before we can say this Budget process is over.

I’ll keep up the fight and I don’t think a lot of people are worried about the time clock — maybe some reporters are, but most people aren’t even aware there’s a late Budget because we’re continuing to fund government; it’s not like Washington when the government literally shuts down. So, all services are being provided and I have to use the leverage I have to say there’s policies that are important that I don’t believe will get done by the Legislature because this is who I’m fighting for, the people of this State, and they know it.

Errol Louis, NY1: You know, I want to get into the substance of why this delay and why you’re standing fast on this — but, I wanted to play something for you. George Pataki, the former governor, Republican. The last time there was a Republican governor, it was George Pataki. Um, and he actually praised you for holding up the Budget. I wanted to play a little bit of what he said on ABC yesterday and get your reaction.

[…]

Errol Louis, NY1: Okay, what do you make of that?

Governor Hochul: That’s quite a compliment. I mean, I always am willing to stand up and take the heat to do what’s right, and I have done so many events with victims of crimes whose cases were thrown out of court on technicalities that had nothing to do with anything that would’ve been exculpatory for a defendant, anything that would’ve been important in that case — stuff that doesn’t matter: duplicate body cams or a piece of paper that you already have a record of and the cases are being thrown out; especially, 94 percent of domestic violence cases are being thrown out of court and those victims walk out, and they know their abuser can lie and wait and attack them again, or harm their families; 100 have been killed in the last year.

We have records for it, two years ago — 100 New Yorkers died at the hands of someone who had been an intimate partner. I’m trying to stop that. I don’t want people cycling back out in the streets because of technicalities. But I support the original concept behind the changes in 2019 because I don’t want people languishing in court — I am sorry, in jail waiting to go to trial. There should be a timeframe on that. That’s not fair to the defendants. They’re not even guilty of a crime when they’re sitting in jail. And also, just the way it was skewed that prosecutors had the upper hand because they could wait till the last minute to give information to the defense.

That was all wrong and I’d say that; I’m not changing that. I’m simply saying that it swung the other way, so we’re having judges believe under the law, they must dismiss these cases on technicalities. Serious dismissals? Yes. Someone hides important information? Yes, there has to be consequences, but it should be proportional to what the material is that you left behind.

Errol Louis, NY1: Well, yeah. In fact, let me explain for my viewers. In criminal cases under the current law, and these were changed in 2019, everybody has to see all of the evidence — the defense and the prosecution — all of the evidence has to be presented. If, for some reason, important evidence is not presented in time, within a certain period of time, generally about 60 days or so, the judge is legally supposed to dismiss the case, and certainly, if there was no due diligence — if the prosecution, for example, didn’t even really try and go out and get all of the information that was relevant, then the case gets dismissed.

And so, the thinking now is that that has gone too far, that there are cases where, say there were five cops at a crime scene and you forgot to get the records from the fifth cop — which would’ve duplicated the other four cops — should the case be dismissed? And, so, the judges are, in some cases, making that decision.

What specific change would stop that from happening? Because, again, this is always a judgment call.

Governor Hochul: Right, of course it is. But you said if it’s “important evidence.” We’re not talking about “important evidence.” I’m talking about something, as you gave that example, a recording on someone’s — a body cam of someone who came two hours after the crime and they didn’t think to get that because it’s not relevant.

So the question right now is, is it relevant or is it related? Okay. Is it just related to the — yeah, that’s related to the case. Sure, that guy showed up later, he has a record, but is it really relevant to the guilt or innocence of that individual — and that’s what’s hanging a lot of this up. But also, the judges should be able to look at the severity of what has been neglected to be turned over and deal with it proportionally.

If it’s really bad that they should have known and they should have turned it over, and it seems like there’s something sinister, they’re trying to hide it from the defense, I would definitely want those dismissed, right? You have the power to do that. But if it turns out that they worked all the way up until — you know, there’s a short timeframe to turn this over, they did everything they could; they exercised the due diligence, they tried to find everything and some record was missing that was not important to the disposition of the case. That one, they should say, you don’t dismiss, you let it go forward, and there should be a proportional response to what was the weight of that evidence, the proportional —

Errol Louis, NY1: You know what I think may be happening, Governor? I saw something called — it’s an organization called scrutinize.org, and they went through hundreds and hundreds of unreported decisions; these are not ones you’re going to find online, but they went through a lot of judicial decisions — 300 of them, they said, when there were dismissals of this kind — and what you find over and over again is not malicious behavior by prosecutors, but kind of lazy behavior, you know? What I’ve heard from a number of sources is that sometimes the sticking point is not even with the prosecutor, but with the NYPD because they’re supposed to turn over disciplinary records of any cop that’s involved in the case and the NYPD can be somewhat reluctant and somewhat slow — maybe their systems are not up to speed.

What do you want to do to fix that problem?

Governor Hochul: I want to say this: New York’s discovery laws are by far the most progressive in the nation in terms of being, I would say, skewed toward more positive outcomes for the defense. The prosecutors, since 2019, now have to go through 21 categories of materials that must be turned over. No other state has that. What I’m trying to do is make sure that the judge will actually look at what was missing, how much weight that should have against the importance of the case. Is it important? Is it relevant? Is it just related?

Let them make that decision. Let a judge be involved in that. Look at those factors from the 21 categories — I’m not saying get rid of those — but even if every one of the reforms I want changed is enacted, we will still, by far, have the most progressive discovery laws in the nation.

We’re not rolling things back, and people who are mischaracterizing my motivation here — I’m just looking out for the public safety of everyday New Yorkers who are saying, “I want to be safe in my streets.” And this is not the only dynamic. People know that I fought hard to get the bail laws changed so we don’t have people cycling in and out of the system who committed crimes, who never should have been let out — they should have been held on bail. We know those stories, and now I just want to stop this insanity of a huge spike in dismissals in New York City and in the rest of the State resulting from these changes. Something has gone wrong where people who otherwise would’ve been held and gone to trial to determine guilt or innocence are now walking the streets without us ever knowing, and they’ll be back again if they’ve done it before.

Errrol Louis, NY1: Okay. I mean, one last point. When I spoke with an advocate for domestic violence rights not long ago, one thing she pointed out was that there’s not always, in these cases, a clear line between victim and perpetrator as far as the law is concerned, meaning if there are cross complaints of domestic violence, it’s not clear who you’re protecting when a case is dismissed or kept in the court.

Governor Hochul: Of course there’s always exceptions, and what I said, I never want to do it — I think the Legislature does a lot — we legislate to the exception and forget the vast number of people who are victims, who are turned on by someone they thought would love and take care of them. A lot of women, my mother was in a home where there was domestic violence and she grew up to be a champion and advocate. She changed laws in Albany when I was in high school. I watched my mom fight for them. We opened a home for victims of domestic violence, my family did, because I saw how this devastates people and it’s so hard for them to recover.

My mom used to take women into court and sit with them, and if a case came up when they weren’t able to keep the defendant held and get an order of protection, and the woman had to go home and know that person is out there still stalking her and her children — I mean, this is what I’m fighting for and I just want more people to understand why I am doing this, why this is so important. But it’s not just domestic violence, it’s all crimes. People need to be held accountable for what they did, and you should not have a case where the police have arrested someone, brought forth evidence, making the case with the prosecutor.

And, by the way, the prosecutor is an officer of the court; they’re not supposed to be pro-defendant, pro-victim — they have to be objective, right? And they’re not going to do something or they should not do something because there are consequences if they do something wrong in the first place. They can be disbarred, they can be brought up on disciplinary charges —

Errol Louis, NY1: Sure.

Governor Hochul: They can go through —

Errol Louis, NY1: They can also be voted out of office.

Governor Hochul: There’s a lot of things that can happen. I know there’s a mistrust of the system, I understand that —

Errol Louis, NY1: This sounds personal for you and it doesn’t sound like the kind of thing that’s going to get bargained away the way so many things get sort of traded up in Albany.

Governor Hochul: I held firm on bail as well. Anything that has to do with the safety of New Yorkers who are feeling this sense that we don’t care about them, we’re not looking out for them; they’re afraid to walk the streets, take our subways, have their kids walk home from school. I’m a mom, it is personal to me; the safety of every New Yorker is always going to be personal to me.

Errol Louis, NY1: Let me ask you about some of the other things that are happening. In the wake of last week’s fatal helicopter crash in the Hudson River, Senator Schumer yesterday said he’d like to end helicopter tourism in New York City. The Mayor doesn’t sound like he’s inclined to go in that direction. I was wondering what your view of that is.

Governor Hochul: Yeah. I have not had a chance to process. I mean, that is a horrible tragedy. When you see those children’s faces, and they’re so happy and excited to be in New York, and to know that they’re forever gone — it just makes your heart sink. I will look at the answers. I know there’s some bills introduced in the Legislature, and again, there’ll be many debates about this, but I think we need to, right now, process the sadness of that tragedy and the loss of life.

Errol Louis, NY1: Do you take the State helicopter a lot? How do you feel about it? Is it a safe form of travel?

Governor Hochul: I feel it is, but also I have the most experienced pilots probably in the nation. These people are battle-tested and they’re constantly, constantly inspecting helicopters for their safety and taking this one out of commission because it’s time for repairs. So, I do feel very secure.

Errol Louis, NY1: Upstate, over the weekend, a family of six perished in the crash of a small airplane. Do you have any updates on that? Do we know if there was a safety —

Governor Hochul: No. I have to say this. I want to know what’s going on. In this new administration in Washington where there have been cuts, where there has been this sense that we really don’t need government to be there to protect us or work for us anymore, this whole rethinking of the federal government’s responsibility — one of their responsibilities is to keep our skies safe, and that has not been happening. You look at what happened in Washington, my son could hear it from his house, the crash in the Potomac.

What’s happened in New York? There’s been so many airplane crashes and near misses, so air traffic controllers run by the FAA, we should be looking to Washington asking questions of them. “What is going on here under your watch, Mr. Secretary of Transportation,” who’s more concerned about safety in the subways then he has safety in the skies — and that’s his job to make sure our skies are safe.

I’m continuing to focus on safety with the Mayor in the subways. And guess what? They’re dramatically improved since they had been before the pandemic. Our numbers are still — no crime is acceptable. We’re going to keep working. We’re not done, but dramatically better. So I wish he’d focus on his job as well.

Errol Louis, NY1: I was going to say, those concerns that you’re raising about the administration, when’s the last time you spoke to President Trump?

Governor Hochul: The day he did the tariffs, I got a phone call from him. Was that two weeks ago now, the first wave of crisis? Unforced destruction of our economy? I cannot exaggerate the impact. I have Wall Street —

Errol Louis, NY1: What did he do? He called to tell you to duck? Or “Wall Street might be a little busy today?”

Governor Hochul: No, Wall Street. I have Main Street, I have farms, I have everything. But no, he actually actually talked to me about Amtrak, because we talked about this, I talked about Penn Station when I was in his office, right. We had a long meeting and I was talking about getting federal support for infrastructure projects. And I said, “We can work together. I’m trying to find some areas we can work together.”

And I said, “I’ve got to fight. I’m going to fight you on everything else. You know that I don’t mind standing up and taking on the fights. But an area we can get some collaboration,” because I’ll need federal dollars, something like Penn Station, which I was letting him know that Amtrak was a barrier to why it’s taking so long. And maybe we can work together to do something about that. So he just called to let me talk about that. It was a very quick call. He goes, “I’m working on Amtrak.”

Errol Louis, NY1: There is this reputation that the President has that either you’re with him and you’re kissing his ring or you’re a sworn enemy and he’ll try and destroy you. You seem to be steering a middle course.

Governor Hochul: We’ll see how long it lasts. My job is to protect New York at all costs, and if that means standing up to someone who I think has been very destructive, who has now hurt our economy; and whether it’s the North Country where the commerce with Canada is now destroyed, visitors are way down in Buffalo — those local economies count on them shopping in stores, going to our sporting events and even just that snapshot of what’s happened to our State, and driving costs up.

Errol, you heard me talk about this when I was here talking about my affordability agenda. I have a plan to put $5,000 back in the pockets of families with little kids: the child tax credit, the middle class tax cut, the inflation rebate. You name it, we’re finding a way to put it in your pocket. And at the same time, these tariffs are going to suck that money right out of your other pocket — anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000 more.

It’s unconscionable, what he is doing. The President promised on Inauguration Day that prices would go down, and guess what? They’ve gone way up. And heaven help anybody who’s going to use real eggs on Easter. I have an Easter egg roll at the Governor’s Residence, inviting kids from the neighborhood over, but we can’t use, I have to use —

Errol Louis, NY1: Yeah, don’t use real eggs.

Governor Hochul: I can’t, I can’t afford them.

Errol Louis, NY1: Lumps of tofu or something. What’s your reaction to the administration threatening to pull federal funding from Columbia University? That appears to be expanding, and now it includes the other New York Ivy, which is Cornell, which is partly a State school, as a matter of fact.

Governor Hochul: It’s despicable. It is absolutely despicable. Threatening our educational institutions because they don’t teach the way you want them to — now, people who criticize the antisemitism on our campuses are not wrong. It is rampant in ways that are shocking to me, especially after October 7 and I stand with the Jewish community.

I went to Cornell after the threats and right afterward I came back from my father’s funeral who passed away when I was in Israel after the attacks, and I went right to Cornell and sat with the kids in the Center for Jewish Life. And they were terrified because it was someone who was posting social media content that you should kill all the Jewish students.

Errol Louis, NY1: Sure.

Governor Hochul: And how are these kids supposed to learn and just socialize and have a normal college life when they’re being threatened like that? So we have to continue focusing on that right to speech, right to protest, yes. I was a protester. You were probably a protester on campus. We all did that. But it wasn’t against other students. I protested apartheid in South Africa. My parents protested the Vietnam War. But it was never hurtful to other students.

Errol Louis, NY1: Right.

Governor Hochul: And that’s what we’re seeing too much of. But that being said, to take away and threaten schools’ funding, which is used for research in vaccinations and cures for cancer — these institutions are also laboratories of ideas and especially in the health care space. So it’s a real crisis for New York to have that money gone from our institutions. And the problem is the State can’t make it up.

We have $93 billion that we get from the federal government in our Budget. I can’t make up the loss of money if that goes, or with private institutions —

Errol Louis, NY1: $93 billion with a “B”?

Governor Hochul: Out of a $252 billion Budget, $93 billion covers — it’s Medicaid, it’s education money, it is child care money, it is nutrition money. We rely on the federal government. It’s why we pay federal taxes.

Errol Louis, NY1: Well your proposed Budget increases spending by about $10 billion. Under the circumstances, the kind of turbulence that you’re talking about coming out of Washington, are you going to go to the rainy day fund or maybe make some adjustments?

Governor Hochul: So much of it is mandated. Medicaid is one of the biggest drivers. Medicaid and education, the biggest, by far the largest part of our Budget. And Medicaid costs go up, I can’t stop that increase. I think it was an 11 percent or 14 percent increase this year without adding anything. That’s just how it happened.

So, I’ve got to continue providing services. But I have been very financially smart about these budgets. When I first became Governor, we had 4 percent in reserves. We now have about 15 percent for that rainy day, which —

Errol Louis, NY1: That was your target, yes.

Governor Hochul: Could be a recession, we’re at $21 billion, but I can’t use it to backfill recurring expenses. What does that mean? I can do one time shot of something. I can do something to help put money in peoples’ pockets, which I’m going to do with our inflation rebate, but I can’t say that I’m going to invest more in a program that I need to have that money year after year, after year, after year. That’s called recurring expenses. We cannot do that. It’s going to be one shot only.

Errol Louis, NY1: Before I let you go, there was something that just happened today. We just heard from the attorney for a Palestinian student, believe at Columbia, a 10 year green card holder was taken into custody by DHS today. Does DHS coordinate with the State? Do you hear about any of this in advance?

Governor Hochul: No. No. And I have said this to Tom Homan, I said, “Our laws say we will work with you, State Police will work with you if you have a warrant, someone has committed crimes here, crimes in their own country, they’re on a terrorism watch list. We’ll cooperate with you in those circumstances easily.” We did that under Joe Biden. We did this, we’ve always done this.

But what you’re trying to do is take — when you split up families like they did up in Sackets Harbor, if you’re familiar with this case, Tom Homan’s hometown, they had masks and people walking in with guns. The ICE agents at 6:00 a.m. roused this family of a couple teenage boys, their mom and a third grader, and took them for 11 days to a detention center in Texas and I said, “They’ve got to come back. You’ve got to bring them back. They didn’t do anything wrong.”

I talked to the farmer and everybody else. This community was an uproar. And this is probably a pretty red area of our State, right? And politics didn’t matter. You just separated a family. And when they do that, I called and said they’ve got to come back. I talked to Homan a couple times. They did come back. But my God, if we hadn’t put on so much pressure. And the school, my God, the principal of that school fought so hard to get this family back united again.

This is America for God’s sakes. Why should we have to worry about kids getting scooped off a campus or out of their beds in Sackets Harbor? I’m the Governor, I will fight for my State, but this has gone too far.

Errol Louis, NY1: Okay. We’re going to leave it there for now. I’m going to guess that because it’s Holy Week and it’s Passover and Easter’s coming up that we may not see a Budget this week. Is that a safe bet?

Governor Hochul: I would say April gets tough because we had Eid, we had Passover, we have Easter, so this would be a tough week to get it done. But I have been driving this with a sense of urgency even a month before the Budget process started, meeting with the leaders saying, “We can get this done. There’s a path. There’s a path we can get on down.”

So I’m going to be pushing hard to get this done, but when we head into April, I’ll be able to get a lot more of the things that I think are important for New Yorkers, that they’re grateful I get in and the Legislature has the rest of Session to press their priorities.

They have something that I don’t have, they introduce bills and pass them. So this is the time that I have an opportunity to talk about what I think, and I know what New Yorkers are looking for from us, and that’s public safety and affordability.

Errol Louis, NY1: Okay. We’ll leave it there for now. Thanks so much for coming by. Great talking with you.

Governor Hochul: Good to see you, thank you.

MIL OSI USA News –

April 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Preventive care may no longer be free in 2026 because of HIV stigma − unless the Trump administration successfully defends the ACA

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Kristefer Stojanovski, Assistant Professor of Social, Behavioral and Population Sciences, Tulane University

Americans may lose free coverage for cancer and blood pressure screenings, HIV prevention medication and other essential services. Halfpoint Images/Moment via Getty Images

Many Americans were relieved when the Supreme Court left the Affordable Care Act in place following the law’s third major legal challenge in June 2021. This decision permitted widely supported policies to continue, such as ensuring health coverage regardless of preexisting conditions, allowing coverage for dependents up to age 26 on their parents’ plan, and removing annual and lifetime benefit limits.

But millions are still at risk of losing access to lifesaving medicine and preventive services, following the Supreme Court’s decision to hear another case – Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. v. Braidwood – that has been working its way through lower courts for several years.

Interestingly, the Trump administration has chosen to build upon the same argument the Biden administration used to defend the law.

HIV stigma and preventive care

The case the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear in April 2025 was filed by Braidwood Management, a Christian for-profit corporation owned by Steven Hotze, a Texas physician and Republican activist who has previously filed multiple lawsuits against the Affordable Care Act.

Braidwood and its co-plaintiffs, a group of conservative Christian employers, objected to providing their 70 employees free access to preexposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, a medicine that prevents HIV infection. Hotze claimed that PrEP “facilitates and encourages homosexual behavior, intravenous drug use and sexual activity outside of marriage between one man and one woman,” without citing scientific evidence to support this. He and his plaintiffs argue that religious beliefs prevent them from providing PrEP under their insurance plans.

The AIDS epidemic has been claiming lives for decades.

Since the HIV/AIDS epidemic began in the 1980s, the disease has been politicized and stigmatized. Because it had predominantly affected men who had sex with men, AIDS was initially called gay-related immune deficiency, making people reluctant to be associated with the disease. It was only after a teenage boy from Indiana named Ryan White contracted HIV from a blood transfusion to treat his hemophilia, along with public statements from high-profile celebrities such as Arthur Ashe and Magic Johnson about their HIV status, that social attitudes began to shift with more education about AIDS.

Yet, the same stigma is still at play in the Braidwood case and other recent policy decisions. In 2023, for example, Tennessee officials declined US$9 million in federal funding for HIV prevention. Those federal funds focused on groups most affected by HIV, including men who have sex with men, heterosexual Black women and people who inject drugs.

Tennessee has since transitioned to using state dollars for HIV prevention, with a focus on first responders, pregnant women and sex trafficking survivors, groups that aren’t major at-risk populations. Researchers have found that this pivot will be a less efficient use of funds, costing $1 million per life-year saved versus $68,600 when focusing on the most at-risk populations.

Preventive care and the Affordable Care Act

The ongoing stigma and politicization of HIV/AIDS may not only hamper the national goal of ending the HIV epidemic but also lead to less or no preventive care for many people.

Section 2713 of the Affordable Care Act requires insurers to offer full coverage of preventive services endorsed by one of three federal groups: the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices or the Health Resources and Services Administration. For example, the CARES Act, which allocated emergency funding in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, used this provision to ensure COVID-19 vaccines would be free for many Americans.

For a preventive service to be covered by this provision, it requires an A or B rating from the Preventive Services Task Force, an independent body of experts trained in research methods, statistics and medicine that evaluates the rigor and quality of available scientific evidence, with support from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Vaccinations require a recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while women’s health services require approval from the Health Resources and Services Administration.

PrEP received an A rating in June 2019, given its near 100% effectiveness. This paved the way for it to be covered at no cost for millions of people.

PrEP is a key tool to helping the U.S. reach its goal of substantially reducing new HIV infections by 2030.
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Over 150 million Americans with private health insurance are able to benefit from free preventive care through the Affordable Care Act, with around 60% using at least one free preventive service each year.

The consequences of losing these benefits would likely be an increase in the number of people getting and dying from preventable diseases. Raising the cost barrier for PrEP, for example, would disproportionately harm younger patients, people of color and those with lower incomes. It will also increase the cost of HIV prevention.

As public health researchers who study sexual health and health insurance, we believe that prevention and health equity in the U.S. stand to take a big step backward, depending on the outcome of the Braidwood case.

Future of preventive care lies with Supreme Court

The most recent ruling in Braidwood – made by a lower court in 2023 – focuses on the appointments clause of the U.S. Constitution, which specifies that certain governmental positions require presidential appointment and Senate confirmation, while other positions have a lower bar.

District Judge Reed O’Connor ruled that because the Preventive Services Task Force is an independent volunteer panel and not made up of officers of the U.S. government, it does not have appropriate authority to make decisions about what preventive care should be free, unlike the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices or Health Resources and Services Administration. O’Connor also ruled that being forced to cover PrEP violated the religious freedom of the plaintiffs.

O’Connor invalidated all of the task force’s recommendations since the Affordable Care Act was passed in March 2010, returning the power to insurers and employers to decide which, if any, preventive care would remain free to their patients. A few of the recommendations affected by his ruling besides PrEP include blood pressure, diabetes, lung and skin cancer screenings, along with medications to lower cholesterol and reduce breast cancer risk.

The Trump administration filed a brief continuing the argument from the Biden administration that because the Preventive Services Task Force is overseen by the secretary of Health and Human Services, there is appropriate oversight of the task force and its decision-making by a Senate-confirmed officer. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for April 21, 2025.

The Affordable Care Act has faced many legal challenges over the years.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Insurance contracts are typically defined by calendar year, so if the Supreme Court rules against the government, people would likely see changes starting in 2026. Importantly, these services will likely still need to be covered by health insurance plans as essential health benefits through a separate provision of the ACA − they just won’t be free anymore.

There were concerns that the Supreme Court could take the ruling even further, endangering the free coverage of contraception and other preventive care that wasn’t covered by the lower court ruling. The Trump administration’s support for the case may make this less likely by leaning into the authority of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary to support or override recommendations made by the Preventive Services Task Force and the other bodies.

However, this could also mean the secretary of HHS can more directly control the task force’s recommendations, potentially determining whether PrEP, contraception and other services are available at no cost to patients. Building more political authority into the process − as well as partisan differences in support for LGBTQ+ health − belies the original intent of having nonpartisan medical experts make decisions about preventive care coverage. Legal experts we have spoken to caution that this approach may be more about preserving powers for the executive branch rather than actually protecting preventive care.

All of this is happening in the context of massive layoffs at HHS. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which supports the Preventive Services Task Force, was not spared from the recent cuts. It is unclear how all of this will affect the task force’s ability to continue its work, separate from the outcome of Braidwood.

One way or another, the end to this yearslong case is nearing, with important implications for America’s ability to reach its goals in fighting cancer, diabetes and the HIV epidemic.

Portions of this article originally appeared in previous articles published on Sept. 7, 2021, Dec. 1, 2021, Sept. 13, 2022, and April 7, 2023.

Paul Shafer receives research funding from the National Institutes of Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and Department of Veterans Affairs. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of these agencies or the United States government.

Kristefer Stojanovski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Preventive care may no longer be free in 2026 because of HIV stigma − unless the Trump administration successfully defends the ACA – https://theconversation.com/preventive-care-may-no-longer-be-free-in-2026-because-of-hiv-stigma-unless-the-trump-administration-successfully-defends-the-aca-250011

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

April 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: How bird flu differs from seasonal flu − an infectious disease researcher explains

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Hanna D. Paton, PhD Candidate in Immunology, University of Iowa

There is currently no bird flu vaccine for people. Digicomphoto/ Science Photo Library via Getty Images

The flu sickens millions of people in the U.S. every year, and the past year has been particularly tough. Although infections are trending downward, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called the winter of 2024-2025 a “high severity” season with the highest hospitalization rate in 15 years.

Since early 2024, a different kind of flu called bird flu, formally known as avian influenza, has been spreading in birds as well as in cattle. The current bird flu outbreak has infected 70 Americans and caused two deaths as of April 8, 2025. Public health and infectious disease experts say the risk to people is currently low, but they have expressed concern that this strain of the bird flu virus may mutate to spread between people.

As a doctoral candidate in immunology, I study how pathogens that make us sick interact with our immune system. The viruses that cause seasonal flu and bird flu are distinct but still closely related. Understanding their similarities and differences can help people protect themselves and their loved ones.

What is influenza?

The flu has long been a threat to public health. The first recorded influenza pandemic occurred in 1518, but references to illnesses possibly caused by influenza stretch back as as early as 412 B.C., to a treatise called Of the Epidemics by the Greek physician Hippocrates.

Today, the World Health Organization estimates that the flu infects 1 billion people every year. Of these, 3 million to 5 million infections cause severe illness, and hundreds of thousands are fatal.

Influenza is part of a large family of viruses called orthomyxoviruses. This family contains several subtypes of influenza, referred to as A, B, C and D, which differ in their genetic makeup and in the types of infections they cause. Influenza A and B pose the largest threat to humans and can cause severe disease. Influenza C causes mild disease, and influenza D is not known to infect people. Since the turn of the 20th century, influenza A has caused four pandemics. Influenza B has never caused a pandemic.

A notice from Oct. 18, 1918, during the Spanish flu pandemic, about protecting yourself from infection.
Illustrated Current News/National Library of Medicine, CC BY

An influenza A strain called H1N1 caused the famous 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, which killed about 50 million people worldwide. A related H1N1 virus was responsible for the most recent influenza A pandemic in 2009, commonly referred to as the swine flu pandemic. In that case, scientists believe multiple different types of influenza A virus mixed their genetic information to produce a new and especially virulent strain of the virus that infected more than 60 million people in the U.S. from April 12, 2009, to April 10, 2010, and caused huge losses to the agriculture and travel industries.

Both swine and avian influenza are strains of influenza A. Just as swine flu strains tend to infect pigs, avian flu strains tend to infect birds. But the potential for influenza A viruses that typically infect animals to cause pandemics in humans like the swine flu pandemic is why experts are concerned about the current avian influenza outbreak.

Seasonal flu versus bird flu

Different strains of influenza A and influenza B emerge each year from about October to May as seasonal flu. The CDC collects and analyzes data from public health and clinical labs to determine which strains are circulating through the population and in what proportions. For example, recent data shows that H1N1 and H3N2, both influenza A viruses, were responsible for the vast majority of cases this season. Standard tests for influenza generally determine whether illness is caused by an A or B strain, but not which strain specifically.

Officials at the Food and Drug Administration use this information to make strain recommendations for the following season’s influenza vaccine. Although the meeting at which FDA advisers were to decide the makeup of the 2026 flu vaccine was unexpectedly canceled in late February, the FDA still released its strain recommendations to manufacturers.

The recommendations do not include H5N1, the influenza A strain that causes avian flu. The number of strains that can be added into seasonal influenza vaccines is limited. Because cases of people infected with H5N1 are minimal, population-level vaccination is not currently necessary. As such, seasonal flu vaccines are not designed to protect against avian influenza. No commercially available human vaccines currently exist for avian influenza viruses.

How do people get bird flu?

Although H5N1 mainly infects birds, it occasionally infects people, too. Human cases, first reported in 1997 in Hong Kong, have primarily occurred in poultry farm workers or others who have interacted closely with infected birds.

Initially identified in China in 1996, the first major outbreak of H5 family avian flu occurred in North America in 2014-2015. This 2014 outbreak was caused by the H5N8 strain, a close relative of H5N1. The first H5N1 outbreak in North America began in 2021 when infected birds carried the virus across the ocean. It then ripped through poultry farms across the continent.

The H5N1 strain of influenza A generally infects birds but has infected people, too.
NIAID and CDC/flickr, CC BY

In March 2024, epidemiologists identified H5N1 infections in cows on dairy farms. This is the first time that bird flu was reported to infect cows. Then, on April 1, 2024, health officials in Texas reported the first case of a person catching bird flu from infected cattle. This was the first time transmission of bird flu between mammals was documented.

As of March 21, 2025, there have been 988 human cases of H5N1 worldwide since 1997, about half of which resulted in death. The current outbreak in the U.S. accounts for 70 of those infections and one death. Importantly, there have been no reports of H5N1 spreading directly from one person to another.

Since avian flu is an influenza A strain, it would show up as positive on a standard rapid flu test. However, there is no evidence so far that avian flu is significantly contributing to current influenza cases. Specific testing is required to confirm that a person has avian flu. This testing is not done unless there is reason to believe the person was exposed to sick birds or other sources of infection.

How might avian flu become more dangerous?

As viruses replicate within the cells of their host, their genetic information can get copied incorrectly. Some of these genetic mutations cause no immediate differences, while others alter some key viral characteristics.

Influenza viruses mutate in a special way called reassortment, which occurs when multiple strains infect the same cell and trade pieces of their genome with one another, potentially creating new, unique strains. This process prolongs the time the virus can inhabit a host before an infection is cleared. Even a slight change in a strain of influenza can result in the immune system’s inability to recognize the virus. As a result, this process forces our immune systems to build new defenses instead of using immunity from previous infections.

Reassortment can also change how harmful strains are to their host and can even enable a strain to infect a different species of host. For example, strains that typically infect pigs or birds may acquire the ability to infect people. Influenza A can infect many different types of animals, including cattle, birds, pigs and horses. This means there are many strains that can intermingle to create novel strains that people’s immune systems have not encountered before – and are therefore not primed to fight.

It is possible for this type of transformation to also occur in H5N1. The CDC monitors which strains of flu are circulating in order prepare for that possibility. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a surveillance system for monitoring potential threats for spillover from birds and other animals, although this capacity may be at risk due to staff cuts in the department.

These systems are critical to ensure that public health officials have the most up-to-date information on the threat that H5N1 poses to public health and can take action as early as possible when a threat is evident.

Hanna D. Paton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. How bird flu differs from seasonal flu − an infectious disease researcher explains – https://theconversation.com/how-bird-flu-differs-from-seasonal-flu-an-infectious-disease-researcher-explains-248407

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

April 16, 2025
MIL-OSI: Eos Energy and Frontier Power Announce 5 GWh Memorandum of Understanding to Advance Long-Duration Energy Storage in the United Kingdom

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

EDISON, N.J. and WARWICKSHIRE, United Kingdom, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: EOSE) (“Eos” or the “Company”), America’s leading innovator in designing, manufacturing, and providing zinc-based long duration energy storage systems sourced and manufactured in the United States, today announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Frontier Power Ltd. (“Frontier”), a UK-based energy developer, for a 5 GWh energy storage framework agreement. The agreement marks Eos’ entrance into a new international market and supports Frontier’s plans to submit multiple bids utilizing Eos’ Znyth™ battery technology in the first application window of Ofgem’s new long-duration energy storage (LDES) cap and floor scheme.

“We are proud to partner with Frontier Power, a respected leader in UK energy development, to bring Eos’ safe and recyclable storage technology to a new market,” said Justin Vagnozzi, Senior Vice President of Global Sales at Eos Energy Enterprises. “The novel cap and floor scheme incentivizes investments in long-duration storage technologies that are critical for grid stability and renewable integration. Our participation in this scheme with an established global supply partner like Frontier furthers our commitment to scale our operations, expand our market reach and encourage the adoption of alternative technologies for the energy storage market.”

Under the agreement, Eos and Frontier will also look to expand the collaboration globally to new international markets. This partnership also opens the door to developing local manufacturing in the UK. Should significant LDES project volumes materialize using Eos technology, it could incentivize the establishment of manufacturing operations in the UK, supporting domestic supply chains and job creation.

“Our supply chain strategy was designed to be transportable,” said Joe Mastrangelo, Eos Chief Executive Officer. “We can co-locate manufacturing capacity near customer demand and not only provide innovative energy storage, but sustainable jobs in regions that have demand for our technology. As that demand grows, both domestically and internationally, we’ll expand our manufacturing footprint, and we’re excited to partner with Frontier to execute on that vision in the UK market and beyond.”

“This agreement reflects Frontier Power’s commitment to driving innovation in clean energy while fostering international collaboration,” said Humza Malik, Frontier Power Chief Executive Officer. “By working with Eos, we are advancing our portfolio of long-duration storage projects and strengthening trade relations between the US and UK. The prospect of local manufacturing in the UK could further boost economic growth and job creation.”

The UK’s cap and floor scheme, administered by Ofgem and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, is designed to provide long-term revenue certainty for innovative energy storage technologies and help incentivize investment in alternative technologies to lithium-ion in the UK market. Eos’ eight-hour technology is well suited for the program, which supports the UK’s broader goals of achieving grid stability and enables higher levels of renewable integration.

This agreement will be incremental to Eos’ pipeline numbers as of March 31, 2025 when the Company reports first quarter 2025 results.

About Eos Energy Enterprises

Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc. is accelerating the shift to American energy independence with positively ingenious solutions that transform how the world stores power. Our breakthrough Znyth™ aqueous zinc battery was designed to overcome the limitations of conventional lithium-ion technology. It is safe, scalable, efficient, sustainable, manufactured in the U.S., and the core of our innovative systems that today provides utility, industrial, and commercial customers with a proven, reliable energy storage alternative for 3 to 12-hour applications. Eos was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Edison, New Jersey. For more information about Eos (NASDAQ: EOSE), visit eose.com.

About Frontier Power

Founded in 2009, Frontier Power is a leading developer of innovative energy solutions with expertise spanning electricity interconnectors, offshore wind transmission, offshore wind generation and energy storage. With over £30 billion in combined investment experience in the team, Frontier Power is at the forefront of driving clean energy transitions globally.

Forward Looking Statements

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our expected revenue, for the fiscal years December 31, 2025, our path to profitability and strategic outlook, statements regarding orders backlog and opportunity pipeline, statements regarding our expectation that we can continue to increase product volume on our state-of-the-art manufacturing line, statements regarding our future expansion and its impact on our ability to scale up operations, statements regarding our expectation that we can continue to strengthen our overall supply chain, statements regarding our expectation that our new comprehensive insurance program will provide increased operational and economic certainty, statements that refer to the delayed draw term loan with Cerberus, milestones thereunder and the anticipated use of proceeds, statements that refer to outlook, projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are based on our management’s beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and the information currently available to, them. Because such statements are based on expectations as to future financial and operating results and are not statements of fact, actual results may differ materially from those projected.

Factors which may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: changes adversely affecting the business in which we are engaged; our ability to forecast trends accurately; our ability to generate cash, service indebtedness and incur additional indebtedness; our ability to achieve the operational milestones on the delayed draw term loan; our ability to raise financing in the future; risks associated with the credit agreement with Cerberus, including risks of default, dilution of outstanding Common Stock, consequences for failure to meet milestones and contractual lockup of shares; our customers’ ability to secure project financing; the amount of final tax credits available to our customers or to Eos pursuant to the Inflation Reduction Act; the timing and availability of future funding under the Department of Energy Loan Facility; our ability to continue to develop efficient manufacturing processes to scale and to forecast related costs and efficiencies accurately; fluctuations in our revenue and operating results; competition from existing or new competitors; our ability to convert firm order backlog and pipeline to revenue; risks associated with security breaches in our information technology systems; risks related to legal proceedings or claims; risks associated with evolving energy policies in the United States and other countries and the potential costs of regulatory compliance; risks associated with changes to the U.S. trade environment; our ability to maintain the listing of our shares of common stock on NASDAQ; our ability to grow our business and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain our management and key employees; risks related to the adverse changes in general economic conditions, including inflationary pressures and increased interest rates; risk from supply chain disruptions and other impacts of geopolitical conflict; changes in applicable laws or regulations; the possibility that Eos may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; other factors beyond our control; risks related to adverse changes in general economic conditions; and other risks and uncertainties.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to additional risks, uncertainties, and factors, including those more fully described in the Company’s most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Further information on potential risks that could affect actual results will be included in the subsequent periodic and current reports and other filings that the Company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Moreover, the Company operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment, and new risks and uncertainties may emerge that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and, except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

The MIL Network –

April 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Protect yourself and others this winter with your annual flu vaccination

Source: Australian Capital Territory Policing

Victorians are being reminded to book in their annual flu vaccination ahead of winter peak season, with free flu vaccines now available for children under five years old and other at-risk groups.

Victorian Chief Health Officer Dr Tarun Weeramanthri is encouraging more Victorians to get their annual flu vaccine, with reported cases of flu and other respiratory viruses already on the rise.

Dr Weeramanthri said babies and toddlers need special protection from the flu, as they are more likely to get severe illness and need treatment in hospital.

“The flu can be serious, especially for children which is why the vaccine is free for children under five,” Dr Weeramanthri said.

“For vulnerable groups in the community the flu can be deadly and for others it can result in severe health effects and long recovery periods.”

“It’s critically important to stay up to date with your vaccines – the influenza virus changes throughout the year and that’s why new vaccines are developed for each season. Vaccination is the best thing you can do to protect yourself, your family, friends and people at most risk in the community.”

Flu vaccination is recommended for anyone six months and older and is free for at risk groups including children aged six months to five years, people over 65 years, pregnant women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and people with medical conditions that put them at increased risk of severe flu.

People can get their vaccine at general practices, pharmacies, local council immunisation clinics, Aboriginal Health Services and often at their workplace.

There have been more than 11,000 notified influenza cases in Victoria this year already, which is almost twice as many as for the same time last year. It remains early in this year’s flu season and numbers are expected to rise more steeply in the winter months.

Dr Weeramanthri highlighted the flu is highly contagious and while it most often causes mild to moderate illness with symptoms such as fever and cough, severe illness can develop. Babies, children, older people, and people with underlying medical conditions were amongst the most vulnerable.

“Having an annual flu vaccine will not only reduce your chances of catching the flu but also reduce the severity of your illness if you become infected,” he said.

Flu vaccines can be given at the same time as other National Immunisation Program vaccines, such as the new free maternal RSV vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine.

In addition to vaccination, simple steps can help stop the spread of respiratory illnesses such as washing hands, coughing or sneezing into your elbow, wearing a mask, and staying home when sick.

More information on flu vaccination is available on Better Health Channel.

MIL OSI News –

April 15, 2025
MIL-OSI Submissions: Sudan’s two years of war: Millions living in the world’s largest humanitarian crisis sink deeper into despair with no end in sight – MSF

Source: Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)

Sudan – 15 April 2025 – The war in Sudan between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) enters its third year and people remain unseen, bombed, besieged, displaced and deprived of food, medical care and basic lifesaving services. 60 percent of the country’s 50 million people need humanitarian assistance, according to the UN, and people are facing simultaneous health crises and limited access to public health care.

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reiterates its calls on the warring parties and their allies to ensure that civilians, humanitarian personnel, and medical teams are protected and that all restrictions are removed on the movements of humanitarian supplies and staff, especially as the rainy season fast approaches.

“The warring parties are not only failing to protect civilians — they are actively compounding their suffering,” said Claire San Filippo, MSF Emergency Coordinator. “Wherever you look in Sudan, you will find needs — overwhelming, urgent, and unmet. Millions are receiving almost no humanitarian assistance, medical facilities and staff remain under attack, and the global humanitarian system is failing to deliver even a fraction of what’s required.”

As frontlines have shifted over the course of the war, especially in Khartoum and Darfur, civilians feared retaliatory attacks from both warring parties. For the past two years, both RSF and SAF have repeatedly and indiscriminately bombed densely populated areas. The RSF and allied militias have unleashed a campaign of brutality, including systematic sexual violence, abductions, mass killings, looting of aid, erasure of civilian neighbourhoods, and occupation of medical facilities. Both sides have laid siege to towns, destroyed vital infrastructure, and blocked humanitarian aid.

Widespread starvation is taking hold, according to the UN, — Sudan is currently the only place in the world where famine has been officially declared in multiple locations. Famine was first declared in Zamzam camp, for internally displaced people, in August and has since spread to ten more areas. Seventeen additional regions are now on the brink. Without immediate intervention, hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk.

In March MSF supported multi-antigen catch up vaccination campaigns for children under two in South Darfur. The over 17,000 children, in 11 of the 14 localities, who received vaccinations were also screened for malnutrition showing 7% of those screened were suffering from severe acute malnutrition, with 30% with global acute malnutrition. In December 2024, during a therapeutic food distribution in Tawila locality, North Darfur, MSF teams screened over 9,500 children under five years old. They found a staggering 35.5% global acute malnutrition rate, with 7% of the children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

Simultaneously, Sudan is facing multiple, overlapping health emergencies. MSF teams have treated over 12,000 patients — including women and children — for trauma injuries directly resulting from violent attacks. During the first week of February 2025, MSF teams in three areas of Sudan – Khartoum, North Darfur, and South Darfur states – treated mass influxes of war-wounded patients. Sudan is also experiencing one of the worst maternal and child health crises we are seeing anywhere in the world. In October 2024, in two MSF-supported facilities in Nyala, capital of South Darfur, 26% of the pregnant and breastfeeding women seeking care were acutely malnourished.

“Outbreaks of measles, cholera and diphtheria are spreading, driven by poor living conditions and disrupted vaccination campaigns. Mental health support and care for survivors of sexual violence remain painfully limited. These compounding crises reflect not just the brutality of the conflict, but the dire consequences of the crumbling public healthcare system and a failing humanitarian response”, says Marta Cazorla, MSF Emergency Coordinator.

Since April 2023, more than 1.7 million people have sought medical consultations at hospitals, health facilities and mobile clinics MSF supports or is working in, and more than 32,000 people were admitted in our emergency wards.

More than 13 million people have been displaced by the conflict, according to the UN — many of them multiple times. Of these, 8.9 million remain displaced inside Sudan, while 3.9 million have crossed into neighbouring countries. Many live in overcrowded camps or makeshift shelters, without access to food, water, healthcare, or a sense of future. People depend entirely on humanitarian organizations — but only where these organisations are responding.

Health facilities destroyed

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 70 percent of health facilities in conflict-affected areas are barely operational or completely closed, leaving millions without access to critical care amid one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history. Since the war began, MSF has recorded over 80 violent incidents targeting our staff, infrastructure, vehicles and supplies. Clinics have been looted and destroyed, medicines stolen, and healthcare workers assaulted, threatened or killed.

“Buildings were destroyed, even beds were looted, and medicines were burned to the ground. From afar, it looked like a hospital, but when you entered it, it was a shelter for snakes and grass,” said Muhammad Yusuf Ishaq Abdullah, MSF health promotion officer in Tawila, North Darfur, about the state of Tawila´s hospital after being attacked and looted in June 2023.

These attacks must stop — medical personnel and facilities are not targets.

Upcoming rainy season

The rainy season, fast approaching, threatens to make an already catastrophic situation even worse — severing supply routes, flooding entire regions, and cutting off people just as the hunger gap peaks and malnutrition and malaria spike.

MSF calls for immediate preparedness measures ahead of the rainy season. More border crossings must be opened, and key roads and bridges must be repaired and kept accessible, especially in Darfur, where seasonal flooding isolates communities year after year.

Humanitarian restrictions must be lifted, and unhindered access must be guaranteed. MSF urges all actors — including donors, governments, and UN agencies — to enable and prioritize the aid delivery, ensuring that assistance not only reaches the country but is transported swiftly and safely to the hardest-hit and most remote communities. Without a serious commitment to overcoming the political, financial, logistical and security barriers that hinder last-mile delivery, countless lives will remain beyond the reach of help.

The people of Sudan have endured this horror for two years too long, they cannot and should not wait any longer.

MSF is an international, medical, humanitarian organisation that delivers medical care to people in need, regardless of their origin, religion, or political affiliation. MSF has been working in Haiti for over 30 years, offering general healthcare, trauma care, burn wound care, maternity care, and care for survivors of sexual violence. MSF Australia was established in 1995 and is one of 24 international MSF sections committed to delivering medical humanitarian assistance to people in crisis. In 2022, more than 120 project staff from Australia and New Zealand worked with MSF on assignment overseas. MSF delivers medical care based on need alone and operates independently of government, religion or economic influence and irrespective of race, religion or gender. For more information visit msf.org.au

MIL OSI – Submitted News –

April 15, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Rep. DeGette Pens Op-Ed for Washington Post: “This is a crisis for American public health.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Diana DeGette (First District of Colorado)

Washington Post: The Trump-Kennedy cuts at NIH will crush our leadership in biomedicine.

When Donald Trump accepted the 2024 GOP nomination for president, he included in his speech the importance of American leadership in biomedical innovation. “We’re going to get to the cure for cancer and Alzheimer’s and so many other things,” he said. “We’re so close to doing something great. But we need a leader that will let it be done.”

Trump is failing to be that leader. In late March, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a U.S. DOGE Service directed restructuring of HHS, which included firing 10,000 staff and combining vital agencies. The men and women fired included staff who support research into groundbreaking cures and treatments.

Eliminating such a large portion of the HHS workforce will put the lives of millions of Americans at risk as lifesaving cures and treatments are pushed further into the future and public health takes a back seat to personal grievance and paranoia.

As the authors of the 21st Century Cures Act, adopted by Congress in 2016, we are mortified at these extreme actions and what they will do to the future of American biomedical innovation.

America did not get to be a world leader in biomedical research by accident. When we were crafting that law, we sat down with Francis Collins, then the director of the National Institutes of Health, and asked him what he needed to propel biomedical research forward and speed up the development of new treatments and cures.

Together, a Democrat and a Republican, we authored and enacted the bill, passing through the House by a vote of 392-26 and through the Senate by a vote of 94-5 in 2016. The measure strengthened the NIH, spurred innovation and set the stage for lifesaving medical breakthroughs.

Yet, today, the NIH has been paralyzed. Grant awards slowed dramatically in part because advisory councils had been frozen for months, and many critical grants to research institutions have been canceled.

Even worse, the Trump administration is firing thousands across HHS, causing chaos and confusion as researchers are reportedly waiting for the email that says they no longer have a job. They are forcing out highly respected leaders like Peter Marks, one of the top vaccine officials at HHS. His resignation letter speaks for itself: “I was willing to work to address the Secretary’s concerns regarding vaccine safety and transparency. … However, it has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”

Kennedy is making clear that he does not trust the science, and that is going to ruin our ability to lead in biomedical research.

Critical research on the next frontier of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes is being canceled. PhD programs are rescinding offers of admission because of uncertainty. And the pipeline of young, brilliant scientists — our next generation of biomedical pioneers — is in jeopardy.

This is a crisis for American public health. From 2010 to 2019, NIH funding contributed to 354 out of 356 new drug approvals. NIH-supported research has driven progress in cancer treatments, Type 1 diabetes management and countless other medical breakthroughs that have improved and saved lives.

Without a strong NIH, the biopharmaceutical industry stagnates, medical advancements stall and the United States risks falling behind in the race for the next generation of treatments and cures. That is why we call on Trump, Kennedy and newly confirmed NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya to take direction from the president’s 2024 own nomination speech.

The price of the administration’s action is already adding up. Just recently, NIH scientists published a new paper on a breakthrough toward using a patient’s own cells to combat gastrointestinal cancers. However, that work is in jeopardy because layoffs hit the NIH the same day that paper was published.

Also caught in the layoffs at HHS are those responsible for research into cures and treatments for Alzheimer’s. Reducing federal funding for this research is going to delay lifesaving cures and reduce hope for the Americans living with Alzheimer’s and their families who care for them.

We need leaders who recognize the value of the NIH and the minds who fuel our biomedical research. All of us — research institutions, industry, congressional leaders and patients — should support the lifesaving work done by the NIH and by American scientists and researchers.

Bhattacharya and Kennedy have a choice. They can set aside past grievances and political disputes to ensure that the U.S. remains the world’s premier biomedical research center. Or they can follow misguided beliefs and allow paralysis and division to imperil America’s advantage in science and research.

Diana DeGette, a Democrat, represents Colorado’s 1st Congressional District in the House. Fred Upton is a former Republican congressman from Michigan.

###

MIL OSI USA News –

April 15, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Lack of transparency on allegedly manipulated EMA vaccine documents and implications for public trust and foreign interference – E-001401/2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-001401/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Christine Anderson (ESN)

In December 2020, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) was the target of a cyberattack in which internal emails and confidential documents relating to COVID-19 vaccine evaluations were stolen, allegedly altered, and selectively leaked. The EMA has since confirmed that the perpetrators:

– manipulated emails and other documents, including through altered titles, selective aggregation, and out-of-context presentation;

– did so explicitly in a way ‘which could undermine trust in vaccines’[1];

– released content during a critical phase of public debate and political pressure around vaccine approvals.

Despite this, the EMA and the Commission have not disclosed the specific alterations made or provided any analysis of the potential impact on public perception, citing the risk of spreading misinformation. Meanwhile, credible sources have pointed to foreign state actors as likely culprits, yet the EU has not publicly attributed responsibility.

In this context, can the Commission clarify:

1.Why has no public review been conducted of the manipulated content, given its relevance to vaccine trust and democratic accountability?

2.Has the Commission deliberately withheld attribution of the attack for diplomatic or political reasons?

3.Does the Commission consider it acceptable that no factual account of the alleged document manipulation has been made public to date?

Submitted: 7.4.2025

[1] https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/cyberattack-ema-update-5.
Last updated: 14 April 2025
MIL OSI Europe News –
April 15, 2025
MIL-OSI NGOs: No end in sight: Sudan’s two years of war story Apr 14, 2025

Source: Doctors Without Borders –

As the war in Sudan between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) enters its third year, millions of people remain unseen, bombed, besieged, displaced, and deprived of food, medical care, and basic lifesaving services. Sixty percent of the country’s 50 million people need humanitarian assistance, according to the UN, amid simultaneous health crises and limited access to public health care.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reiterates our call on the warring parties and their allies to ensure that civilians, humanitarian personnel, and medical teams are protected and that all restrictions impeding the movement of humanitarian supplies and staff are lifted, especially as the rainy season fast approaches.

“The warring parties are not only failing to protect civilians—they are actively compounding their suffering,” said Claire San Filippo, MSF emergency coordinator. “Wherever you look in Sudan, you will find needs—overwhelming, urgent, and unmet. Millions are receiving almost no humanitarian assistance, medical facilities and staff remain under attack, and the global humanitarian system is failing to deliver even a fraction of what’s required.”

Wherever you look in Sudan, you will find needs—overwhelming, urgent, and unmet.
Claire San Filippo, MSF emergency coordinator

As front lines have shifted over the course of the war, especially in Khartoum and Darfur, civilians have feared retaliatory attacks from both warring parties. For the past two years, both RSF and SAF have repeatedly and indiscriminately bombed densely populated areas. The RSF and allied militias have unleashed a campaign of brutality, including systematic sexual violence, abductions, mass killings, looting of aid, erasure of civilian neighborhoods, and occupation of medical facilities. Both sides have laid siege to towns, destroyed vital infrastructure, and blocked humanitarian aid.

Newly displaced families arrive in Tawila on April 13 following new attacks in Zamzam camp. | Sudan 2025 © Marion Ramstein/MSF

Sudan’s largest displacement camp is under attack

RSF and allied armed groups launched a large-scale ground offensive on April 11, attacking Zamzam camp and leaving its residents starved, shelled, and deprived of lifesaving assistance. Marion Ramstein, MSF emergency field coordinator in North Darfur, described the situation:

“There are reports of people fleeing and many casualties, although we can’t verify how many at the moment.

“Back in February, we were forced to suspend all MSF activities in the camp because of escalating security issues. Repeated shelling, shooting at our ambulances, and a tightened siege that prevented us from resupplying facilities and sending staff made it impossible for MSF to continue working in Zamzam despite the immense needs.

“The communication network with Zamzam has been shut down. We don’t have news of many of the people who worked with us and decided to remain with their relatives in the camp after the suspension of our field hospital. We’re horrified by what they have to endure, and extremely worried about them and the hundreds of thousands of people already on the brink of survival in the area. We were appalled to learn that nine staff from Relief International were killed. It was the only international humanitarian organization still operating in Zamzam.

We were appalled to learn that nine staff from Relief International were killed. It was the only international humanitarian organization still operating in Zamzam.
Marion Ramstein, MSF emergency field coordinator

“On April 12 and 13, our team in Tawila saw more than 10,000 people fleeing from Zamzam and nearby areas. They arrived in an advanced state of dehydration, exhaustion, and stress. They have nothing but the clothes they’re wearing, nothing to eat, nothing to drink. They sleep on the ground under the trees. Several people told us about family members left behind—lost during the escape, injured, or killed.”

MSF set up a health post at the entrance of Tawila city to receive the new arrivals and provide water and medical care. Our teams quickly distributed what we had on hand, such as blankets, mosquito nets, and buckets; and we are referring the most critical cases to the local hospital MSF has been supporting since last October. MSF teams are also screening newly arrived children for malnutrition so they can immediately receive therapeutic food and be enrolled in our nutritional program for adequate care.

A health worker screens a child for malnutrition in Tawila, North Darfur. | Sudan 2024 © MSF

Hunger and famine take hold

Widespread starvation is taking hold in areas across Sudan, according to the UN: Sudan is currently the only place in the world where famine has been officially declared in multiple locations. Famine was first declared in Zamzam camp for internally displaced people in August 2024, and has since spread to 10 more areas. Seventeen additional regions are now on the brink. Without immediate intervention, hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk.

In March, MSF supported multi-antigen catch up vaccination campaigns for children under 2 years old in South Darfur. The over 17,000 children who received vaccinations in 11 of the 14 localities were also screened for malnutrition, with 7 percent of those screened found to be suffering from severe acute malnutrition and with 30 percent with global acute malnutrition. In December 2024, during a therapeutic food distribution in Tawila locality, North Darfur, MSF teams screened over 9,500 children under 5 years old. They found a staggering 35.5 percent global acute malnutrition rate, with 7 percent of the children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

MSF staff hold a meeting at the mobile clinic in Atam, South Sudan, which has received thousands of Sudanese refugees. | South Sudan 2025 © Paula Casado Aguirregabiria/MSF

Simultaneous emergencies compound crises

Sudan is facing multiple, overlapping health emergencies at the same time. MSF teams have treated over 12,000 patients—including women and children—for trauma injuries directly resulting from violent attacks. During the first week of February 2025, MSF teams in three areas of Sudan—Khartoum, North Darfur, and South Darfur states—treated mass influxes of war-wounded patients. Sudan is also experiencing one of the worst maternal and child health crises we are seeing anywhere in the world. In October 2024, in two MSF-supported facilities in Nyala, capital of South Darfur, 26 percent of pregnant and breastfeeding women seeking care were acutely malnourished.

“Outbreaks of measles, cholera, and diphtheria are spreading, driven by poor living conditions and disrupted vaccination campaigns,” said Marta Cazorla, MSF emergency coordinator. “Mental health support and care for survivors of sexual violence remain painfully limited. These compounding crises reflect not just the brutality of the conflict, but the dire consequences of the crumbling public health care system and a failing humanitarian response.”

Since April 2023, more than 1.7 million people have sought medical consultations at hospitals, health facilities and mobile clinics MSF supports or is working in, and more than 32,000 people were admitted to our emergency wards.

About 13 million people have been displaced by the conflict, according to the UN—many of them displaced multiple times. Of these, 8.9 million remain displaced inside Sudan, while 3.9 million have crossed into neighboring countries. Many live in overcrowded camps or makeshift shelters, without access to food, water, health care, or a sense of the future. People depend entirely on humanitarian organizations—but organizations are not responding everywhere.

MSF doctors examine Sameera, who developed an arm infection from a poorly administered injection following a home delivery. | Sudan 2025 © Belen Filgueira/MSF

Health facilities destroyed

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 70 percent of health facilities in conflict-affected areas are barely operational or completely closed, leaving millions without access to critical care amid one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history. Since the war began, MSF has recorded over 80 violent incidents targeting our staff, infrastructure, vehicles, and supplies. Clinics have been looted and destroyed, medicines stolen, and health care workers assaulted, threatened, or killed.

“Buildings were destroyed, even beds were looted, and medicines ,” said Muhammad Yusuf Ishaq Abdullah, MSF health promotion officer in Tawila, North Darfur, about the state of Tawila’s hospital after being attacked and looted in June 2023. “From afar, it looked like a hospital, but when you entered it, it was a shelter for snakes and grass.”

These attacks must stop. Medical personnel and facilities are not targets.

A mother cares for her child in the pediatric section of the cholera treatment center in Kosti, which experienced a cholera outbreak. | Sudan 2025 © MSF

The threat of rainy season approaches

The fast-approaching rainy season threatens to make an already catastrophic situation even worse—severing supply routes, flooding entire regions, and cutting off communities just as the hunger gap peaks and malnutrition and malaria spike.

MSF calls for immediate preparedness measures ahead of the rainy season. More border crossings must be opened, and key roads and bridges must be repaired and kept accessible, especially in Darfur, where seasonal flooding isolates communities year after year.

In addition, humanitarian restrictions must be lifted, and unhindered access must be guaranteed. MSF urges all actors—including donors, governments, and UN agencies—to enable and prioritize aid delivery, ensuring that assistance not only reaches the country but is transported swiftly and safely to the hardest-hit and most remote communities. Without a serious commitment to overcoming the political, financial, logistical, and security barriers that hinder last-mile delivery, countless lives will remain beyond the reach of help.

The people of Sudan have endured this horror for too long. They cannot and should not wait any longer to access essential needs.

We speak out. Get updates.

MIL OSI NGO –

April 15, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Africa’s healthcare funding crisis: 3 strategies to manage deadly diseases

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Francisca Mutapi, Professor in Global Health Infection and Immunity. and co-Director of the Global Health Academy, University of Edinburgh

The increasing trend of reducing foreign aid to Africa is forcing the continent to reassess its approach to healthcare delivery.

African countries face a major challenge of dealing with high rates of communicable diseases, such as malaria and HIV/Aids, and rising levels of non-communicable diseases. But the continent’s health systems don’t have the resources to provide accessible and affordable healthcare to address these challenges.

Historically, aid has played a critical role in supporting African health systems. It has funded key areas, including medical research, treatment programmes, healthcare infrastructure and workforce salaries. In 2021, half of sub-Saharan Africa’s countries relied on external financing for more than one-third of their health expenditures.

As aid dwindles, a stark reality emerges: many African governments are unable to achieve universal health coverage or address rising healthcare costs.

The reduction in aid restricts healthcare services and threatens to reverse decades of health progress on the continent. A fundamental shift in healthcare strategy is necessary to address this crisis.

The well-known maxim that “prevention is better than cure” holds not just for health outcomes but also for economic efficiency. It’s much more affordable to prevent diseases than it is to treat them.

As an infectious diseases specialist, I have seen how preventable diseases can put a financial burden on health systems and households.

For instance, each year, there are global economic losses of over US$33 billion due to neglected tropical diseases. Many conditions, such as lymphatic filariasis, often require lifelong care. This places a heavy burden on families and stretches national healthcare systems to their limits.

African nations can cut healthcare costs through disease prevention. This often requires fewer specialist health workers and less expensive interventions.

To navigate financial constraints, African nations must rethink and redesign their healthcare systems.

Three key areas where cost-effective, preventive strategies can work are: improving water, sanitation, and hygiene; expanding vaccination programmes; and making non-communicable disease prevention part of community health services.

A shift in healthcare delivery

Improving water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure

Many diseases prevalent in Africa are transmitted through contact with contaminated water and soil. Investing in safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure is an opportunity. This alone can prevent a host of illnesses such as parasitic worms and diarrhoeal diseases. It can also improve infection control and strengthen epidemic and pandemic disease control.

Currently, WASH coverage in Africa remains inadequate. Millions are vulnerable to preventable illnesses. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2020 alone, about 510,000 deaths in Africa could have been prevented with improved water and sanitation. Of these, 377,000 deaths were caused by diarrhoeal diseases.

Unsafe WASH conditions also contribute to secondary health issues, such as under-nutrition and parasitic infections. Around 14% of acute respiratory infections and 10% of the undernutrition disease burden – such as stunting – are linked to unsafe WASH conditions.

By investing in functional WASH infrastructure, African governments can significantly reduce the incidence of these diseases. This will lead to lower healthcare costs and improved public health outcomes.

Local production of relevant vaccines

Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective health interventions available for preventing infection. Immunisation efforts save over four million lives every year across the continent.

There is an urgent need for vaccines against diseases prevalent in Africa whose current control is heavily reliant on aid. Neglected tropical diseases are among them.

Vaccines can also prevent some non-communicable diseases. A prime example is the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which can prevent up to 85% of cervical cancer cases in Africa.

HPV vaccination is also more cost-effective than treating cervical cancer. In some African countries, the cost per vaccine dose averages just under US$20. Treatment costs can reach up to US$2,500 per patient, as seen in Tanzania.

It is vital to invest in a comprehensive vaccine ecosystem. This includes strengthening local research and building innovation hubs. Regulatory bodies across the continent must also be harmonised and markets created to attract vaccine investment.

Integrating disease prevention into community healthcare services

Historically, African healthcare systems were designed to address communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis and HIV. This left them ill-equipped to handle the rising burden of non-communicable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. One cost-effective approach is to integrate the prevention and management of these diseases into existing community health programmes.

Community health workers currently provide low-cost interventions for health issues such as pneumonia and malaria. They can be trained to address non-communicable diseases as well.

In some countries, community health workers are already filling the service gap. Getting them more involved in prevention strategies will strengthen primary healthcare services in Africa. This investment will ultimately reduce the long-term financial burden of treating chronic diseases.

A treatment-over-prevention approach will not be affordable

Current estimates suggest that by 2030, an additional US$371 billion per year – roughly US$58 per person – will be required to provide basic primary healthcare services across Africa.

Adding to the challenge is the rising global cost of healthcare, projected to increase by 10.4% this year alone. This marks the third consecutive year of escalating costs. For Africa, costs also come from population growth and the rising burden of non-communicable diseases.

By shifting focus from treatment to prevention, African nations can make healthcare accessible, equitable and financially sustainable despite the decline in foreign aid.

Francisca Mutapi is affiliated with Uniting to Combat NTDs

– ref. Africa’s healthcare funding crisis: 3 strategies to manage deadly diseases – https://theconversation.com/africas-healthcare-funding-crisis-3-strategies-to-manage-deadly-diseases-253644

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

April 15, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: Africa’s healthcare funding crisis: 3 strategies to manage deadly diseases

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Francisca Mutapi, Professor in Global Health Infection and Immunity. and co-Director of the Global Health Academy, University of Edinburgh

The increasing trend of reducing foreign aid to Africa is forcing the continent to reassess its approach to healthcare delivery.

African countries face a major challenge of dealing with high rates of communicable diseases, such as malaria and HIV/Aids, and rising levels of non-communicable diseases. But the continent’s health systems don’t have the resources to provide accessible and affordable healthcare to address these challenges.

Historically, aid has played a critical role in supporting African health systems. It has funded key areas, including medical research, treatment programmes, healthcare infrastructure and workforce salaries. In 2021, half of sub-Saharan Africa’s countries relied on external financing for more than one-third of their health expenditures.

As aid dwindles, a stark reality emerges: many African governments are unable to achieve universal health coverage or address rising healthcare costs.

The reduction in aid restricts healthcare services and threatens to reverse decades of health progress on the continent. A fundamental shift in healthcare strategy is necessary to address this crisis.

The well-known maxim that “prevention is better than cure” holds not just for health outcomes but also for economic efficiency. It’s much more affordable to prevent diseases than it is to treat them.

As an infectious diseases specialist, I have seen how preventable diseases can put a financial burden on health systems and households.

For instance, each year, there are global economic losses of over US$33 billion due to neglected tropical diseases. Many conditions, such as lymphatic filariasis, often require lifelong care. This places a heavy burden on families and stretches national healthcare systems to their limits.

African nations can cut healthcare costs through disease prevention. This often requires fewer specialist health workers and less expensive interventions.

To navigate financial constraints, African nations must rethink and redesign their healthcare systems.

Three key areas where cost-effective, preventive strategies can work are: improving water, sanitation, and hygiene; expanding vaccination programmes; and making non-communicable disease prevention part of community health services.

A shift in healthcare delivery

Improving water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure

Many diseases prevalent in Africa are transmitted through contact with contaminated water and soil. Investing in safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure is an opportunity. This alone can prevent a host of illnesses such as parasitic worms and diarrhoeal diseases. It can also improve infection control and strengthen epidemic and pandemic disease control.

Currently, WASH coverage in Africa remains inadequate. Millions are vulnerable to preventable illnesses. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2020 alone, about 510,000 deaths in Africa could have been prevented with improved water and sanitation. Of these, 377,000 deaths were caused by diarrhoeal diseases.

Unsafe WASH conditions also contribute to secondary health issues, such as under-nutrition and parasitic infections. Around 14% of acute respiratory infections and 10% of the undernutrition disease burden – such as stunting – are linked to unsafe WASH conditions.

By investing in functional WASH infrastructure, African governments can significantly reduce the incidence of these diseases. This will lead to lower healthcare costs and improved public health outcomes.

Local production of relevant vaccines

Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective health interventions available for preventing infection. Immunisation efforts save over four million lives every year across the continent.

There is an urgent need for vaccines against diseases prevalent in Africa whose current control is heavily reliant on aid. Neglected tropical diseases are among them.

Vaccines can also prevent some non-communicable diseases. A prime example is the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which can prevent up to 85% of cervical cancer cases in Africa.

HPV vaccination is also more cost-effective than treating cervical cancer. In some African countries, the cost per vaccine dose averages just under US$20. Treatment costs can reach up to US$2,500 per patient, as seen in Tanzania.

It is vital to invest in a comprehensive vaccine ecosystem. This includes strengthening local research and building innovation hubs. Regulatory bodies across the continent must also be harmonised and markets created to attract vaccine investment.

Integrating disease prevention into community healthcare services

Historically, African healthcare systems were designed to address communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis and HIV. This left them ill-equipped to handle the rising burden of non-communicable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. One cost-effective approach is to integrate the prevention and management of these diseases into existing community health programmes.

Community health workers currently provide low-cost interventions for health issues such as pneumonia and malaria. They can be trained to address non-communicable diseases as well.

In some countries, community health workers are already filling the service gap. Getting them more involved in prevention strategies will strengthen primary healthcare services in Africa. This investment will ultimately reduce the long-term financial burden of treating chronic diseases.

A treatment-over-prevention approach will not be affordable

Current estimates suggest that by 2030, an additional US$371 billion per year – roughly US$58 per person – will be required to provide basic primary healthcare services across Africa.

Adding to the challenge is the rising global cost of healthcare, projected to increase by 10.4% this year alone. This marks the third consecutive year of escalating costs. For Africa, costs also come from population growth and the rising burden of non-communicable diseases.

By shifting focus from treatment to prevention, African nations can make healthcare accessible, equitable and financially sustainable despite the decline in foreign aid.

– Africa’s healthcare funding crisis: 3 strategies to manage deadly diseases
– https://theconversation.com/africas-healthcare-funding-crisis-3-strategies-to-manage-deadly-diseases-253644

MIL OSI Africa –

April 15, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: COVID-19: Salford 75s and over urged to top up your protection this spring!
Source: City of Salford
National Booking System opens for COVID-19 vaccinations spring/summer 2025

NHS offers COVID-19 vaccines to people who are at increased risk of serious illness from the virus – including those aged 75 and over (by 17 June 2025)

Residents of care homes for older adults, and those with a weakened immune system urged to top up protection

The vaccine has saved countless lives, prevented thousands from needing to go to hospital and helped us to live with the virus without fear or restrictions.
Top up your protection against COVID-19 by getting vaccinated this spring if you are eligible. Those at increased risk from severe illness can get the vaccine, including those aged 75 or over (on 17 June 2025), people with a weakened immune system or who live in an older adult care home. Those eligible will be able book from 25 March, for appointments from 1 April.

If eligible, you do not need to wait for an invitation to book your vaccine. To book, please visit the NHS App, the NHS website or call 119 for free. You may also be able to visit a walk-in site which does not require a booking.

Don’t get caught out. If you or your child are eligible, make sure you get any extra protection you need this spring. Get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Councillor John Merry, Lead Member for Social Care and Mental Health at Salford City Council said:

“Long COVID-19 can still be very dangerous and even life threatening, particularly for older people and those with a weakened immune system. The COVID-19 vaccines provide good protection against severe disease, hospitalisation and can protect those most vulnerable from death.

“The vaccine has saved countless lives in Salford, prevented thousands from needing to go to hospital and helped us to live with the virus without fear or restrictions. The NHS will be sending out invitations, but you do not need to be invited to book your COVID-19 spring vaccine so please do take up the offer when you receive it.”

How to get the COVID-19 vaccine

There are several ways you can get you COVID jab.

If you’re eligible for the spring COVID-19 vaccine, you can:

You do not need to wait for an invitation before booking an appointment.

You can also get vaccinated at:
- a walk-in COVID-19 vaccination site – no appointment is needed
- a local service, such as a community pharmacy or your GP surgery
- your care home (if you live in a care home)
You can call the Greater Manchester Care Gateway Team on 0161 947 0770 or 0800 092 4020 if you need help to find a walk-in site.

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Date published

Monday 14 April 2025

Press and media enquiries
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
April 15, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: How the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service protects public health at home and abroad

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Mark Dworkin, Professor of Epidemiology, University of Illinois Chicago

The Epidemic Intelligence Service has produced a cadre of highly trained public health experts over its 74-year history. peterhowell/iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

When the Trump administration announced in February 2025 that it was cutting 10% of staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it seemed that a small but storied program within it called the Epidemic Intelligence Service – also known as the CDC’s disease detectives – would also be cut. A few days later, the program was reinstated. And in March, Epidemic Intelligence Service officers traveled to Texas to support the state’s public health officials in fighting the ongoing measles epidemic.

But after another massive upheaval at the CDC in April, the unit’s future is uncertain. As of now, applications for the program’s next round of fellows has been postponed.

The Epidemic Intelligence Service is a dynamic crisis response team. Just as firefighters rush into burning buildings to save lives, this team’s specialists mobilize both domestically and internationally to help curb disease outbreaks. But first and foremost, it is a training program that has produced some of the most highly trained and regarded public health experts in the country who have gone on to work at local and state public health offices, academic departments and international health organizations.

We are public health experts – one an experienced professor who served in the Epidemic Intelligence Service from 1994-1996, and the other an early career trainee who was accepted to its incoming class of 2025-2027. Although it’s not clear how the administration will enact its new vision for the CDC, we hope a continued urgency to identify and fight infectious disease threats – the essence of the Epidemic Intelligence Service – remains a national priority.

A program rooted in national security

The Epidemic Intelligence Service is a two-year fellowship open to physicians, scientists and other health professionals. The program accepts 50 to 80 people each year.

Students participate in an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer training course in July 1955.
Dr. Alex Langmuir, CDC

The Epidemic Intelligence Service was founded in 1951, just five years after the launch of the CDC, in response to Cold War-era concerns about biological warfare. Alexander Langmuir, its founder, was the CDC’s chief epidemiologist and has often been called the father of shoe-leather epidemiology – on-the-ground, out-of-the-office disease investigation through extensive field work and engagement with affected populations.

In a report announcing the unit’s establishment, Langmuir and a colleague wrote that one of the “problems that would emerge in the event of biological warfare attacks” was “the dearth of trained epidemiologists.” They recognized the urgent need for a specialized team capable of rapidly identifying and responding to potential bioterrorism threats.

Newspaper headlines on April 13, 1955, announce the effectiveness of the polio vaccine.
March of Dimes via Wikimedia Commons

The new division soon evolved to address a wide range of civilian public health threats. In 1955, as one of its first major actions, the program’s officers were tasked with investigating an outbreak of polio in children that started just as the first mass vaccination campaign against the disease launched. Within weeks, Epidemic Intelligence Service officers helped trace the outbreak to a few batches of a vaccine manufactured by a California company called Cutter Laboratories in which the virus had not been properly killed. The incident led to increased safety regulations in vaccine production and boosted public confidence, paving the way to eliminating polio from the U.S. in the ensuing decades.

The Epidemic Intelligence Service has led the way in tackling many of the most historically significant outbreaks of the past 75 years. Starting in 1966, the unit’s officers were deployed to West Africa to assist in a worldwide smallpox eradication campaign that laid the groundwork for eliminating the disease 13 years later. In 1976, the disease detectives were sent to investigate an outbreak in Philadelphia of a mysterious deadly illness. They helped to characterize what would eventually be known as Legionnaires’ disease, a previously unknown bacterial cause of pneumonia.

And in 1981, a tip from an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer serving in the Los Angeles County Health Department led to the first description of a new disease that would become the global epidemic of HIV-AIDS. The program’s officers went on to help lead foundational studies on prevalence, prevention and treatment of AIDS around the world.

Beyond vaccines and immunization

Even from its earliest days, vaccine-preventable and infectious diseases were far from the Epidemic Intelligence Service’s only focus. During the program’s first 15 years, its officers were involved in a wide swath of epidemiological investigations in areas including lead paint exposure, a cancer cluster’s connection to birth defects, family planning practices and famine relief.

These activities established the group’s priorities of addressing chronic diseases and population health – goals that have also driven its involvement in disaster response efforts, including hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and Katrina, as well as the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

The Epidemic Intelligence Service has also played a key role in keeping the nation’s food supply safe. It investigates major outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, helping to identify which foods are implicated so that contaminated products are removed from shelves and disseminating investigation findings that inform food safety policy. For example, officers investigated a 1993 outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 linked to undercooked hamburgers at several Jack in the Box restaurants. The outbreak sickened more than 700 people and resulted in the deaths of four children. It also led to major food safety reforms including expanded meat and poultry inspection nationwide.

The CDC’s “disease detectives” train at sites across the U.S. and abroad.

A legacy of impact

The importance of an expert, nimble team of disease detectives has only increased. Over the past few years, Epidemic Intelligence Service officers have responded to countless public health threats.

The program’s officers were involved at every stage of the COVID-19 pandemic response, conducting outbreak investigations on cruise ships, in prisons and in many other settings. They investigated the outbreak of monkeypox in the U.S. in 2022. Most recently they have investigated cases of avian influenza and are working to help describe and control the ongoing measles outbreak in Texas.

Perhaps the Epidemic Intelligence Service’s most significant legacy has been in building a worldwide network of deep epidemiological expertise. To date, the program has trained more than 4,000 disease detectives, and its officers have collectively conducted thousands of outbreak investigations.

The unit’s impact has been global. It has been called in to investigate outbreaks on six continents and has served as a model for epidemiology programs developed in dozens of countries.

All of these activities, at home and abroad, have shaped health policy in crucial ways that in turn protect people’s health. It is increasingly clear that disease outbreaks will continue to occur in the U.S. and abroad. In our view, the Epidemic Intelligence Service’s history provides rich evidence of its value.

I am currently a member of the EIS Alumni Association Executive Committee.

Casey Luc does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. How the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service protects public health at home and abroad – https://theconversation.com/how-the-cdcs-epidemic-intelligence-service-protects-public-health-at-home-and-abroad-251042

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

April 15, 2025
MIL-OSI NGOs: Two years of war in Sudan leave millions more in need than ever
Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –
As Sudan marks two years of war, people continue to experience the catastrophic consequences and can no longer wait for real assistance.

As the rainy season approaches, humanitarian organisations must scale up, and the warring parties must allow, desperately-needed humanitarian assistance.

As bombing and violence continues, MSF calls on the warring parties to ensure civilians, humanitarian personnel, and medical teams are protected.
Sudan – As the war in Sudan between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) enters its third year, people remain unseen, bombed, besieged, displaced, and deprived of food, and basic lifesaving services. Of the country’s 50 million people, 60 per cent need humanitarian assistance, and people are facing simultaneous health crises and limited access to public healthcare. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reiterates our calls on the warring parties and their allies to ensure that civilians, humanitarian personnel, and medical teams are protected. All restrictions on the movements of humanitarian supplies and staff must be removed, especially as the rainy season fast approaches.

“The warring parties are not only failing to protect civilians — they are actively compounding their suffering,” says Claire San Filippo, MSF Emergency Coordinator. “Wherever you look in Sudan, you will find needs — overwhelming, urgent, and unmet.”

“Millions are receiving almost no humanitarian assistance, medical facilities and staff remain under attack, and the global humanitarian system is failing to deliver even a fraction of what’s required,” says San Filippo.

As frontlines have shifted over the course of the war, especially in Khartoum and Darfur, civilians feared retaliatory attacks from both warring parties. For the past two years, both RSF and SAF have repeatedly and indiscriminately bombed densely- populated areas. RSF and allied militias have unleashed a campaign of brutality, including systematic sexual violence, abductions, mass killings, looting of aid, erasure of civilian neighbourhoods, and occupation of medical facilities. Both sides have laid siege to towns, destroyed vital infrastructure, and blocked humanitarian aid.

Widespread starvation is taking hold, according to the UN; Sudan is currently the only place in the world where famine has been officially declared in multiple locations. Famine was first declared in Zamzam internally displaced people’s camp in August 2024, and has since spread to a further 10 areas, while 17 additional regions are now on the brink. Without immediate action, hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk.

In March 2025, MSF supported multi-antigen catch up vaccination campaigns for children under the age of two in South Darfur. Over 17,000 children who received vaccinations were also screened for malnutrition, with a rate of 30% global acute malnutrition, and 7% suffering from severe acute malnutrition. In December 2024, during a therapeutic food distribution in Tawila locality, North Darfur, MSF teams screened over 9,500 children under five years old. They found a staggering 35.5% global acute malnutrition rate, with 7% of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

A scene in the busy emergency room at Al-Nao hospital, supported by MSF in Omdurman. Khartoum state, Sudan, March 2025.
Tom Casey/MSF

Simultaneously, Sudan is facing multiple, overlapping health emergencies. MSF teams have treated over 12,000 patients — including women and children — for trauma injuries directly resulting from violent attacks. During the first week of February 2025, MSF teams in Khartoum, North Darfur, and South Darfur states treated mass influxes of war-wounded patients. Sudan is also experiencing one of the worst maternal and child health crises we are seeing anywhere in the world. In October 2024, in two MSF-supported facilities in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, 26 per cent of the pregnant and breastfeeding women seeking care were acutely malnourished.

“Outbreaks of measles, cholera and diphtheria are spreading, driven by poor living conditions and disrupted vaccination campaigns,” says Marta Cazorla, MSF Emergency Coordinator. “Mental health support and care for survivors of sexual violence remain painfully limited.”

“These compounding crises reflect not just the brutality of the conflict, but the dire consequences of the crumbling public healthcare system and a failing humanitarian response,” says Cazorla.

Since April 2023, more than 1.7 million people have sought medical consultations at hospitals, health facilities and mobile clinics MSF supports or is working in. More than 320,000 people were admitted in our emergency wards.

More than 13 million people have been displaced by the conflict, many of them multiple times. Of these, 8.9 million remain displaced inside Sudan, while 3.9 million have crossed into neighbouring countries. Many live in overcrowded camps or makeshift shelters, without access to food, water, or healthcare. People depend entirely on humanitarian organisations — but only where these organisations are responding.

Health facilities destroyed

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 70 per cent of health facilities in conflict-affected areas are barely operational or have closed, leaving millions of people without access to critical care amid one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history. Since the war began, MSF has recorded over 80 violent incidents targeting our staff, infrastructure, vehicles, and supplies. Clinics have been looted and destroyed, medicines stolen, and healthcare workers assaulted, threatened, or killed.

In June 2023, Tawila hospital, in North Darfur, was attacked and looted.

“Buildings were destroyed, even beds were looted, and medicines were burned to the ground,” says Muhammad Yusuf Ishaq Abdullah, MSF health promotion officer in Tawila. “From afar, it looked like a hospital, but when you entered it, it was a shelter for snakes and grass.”

These attacks must stop — medical personnel and facilities are not targets.

Zahra Abdullah holds her baby inside the kitchen of shelter after receiving her food basket. South Darfur, Sudan, January 2025.
Abdoalsalam Abdallah

Upcoming rainy season

The rainy season, fast approaching, threatens to make an already catastrophic situation even worse. Supply routes could be severed and entire regions flooded, cutting off people just as the hunger gap peaks, and malnutrition and malaria spike.

MSF calls for immediate preparedness measures ahead of the rainy season. More border crossings must be opened, and key roads and bridges must be repaired and kept accessible, especially in Darfur, where seasonal flooding isolates communities year after year.

Humanitarian restrictions must be lifted, and unhindered access must be guaranteed. MSF urges all groups — including donors, governments, and UN agencies — to enable and prioritise aid delivery, ensuring that assistance not only reaches the country but is transported swiftly and safely to the hardest-hit and most remote communities. Without a serious commitment to overcoming the political, financial, logistical, and security barriers that hinder last-mile delivery, countless lives will remain beyond the reach of help.

The people of Sudan have endured this horror for two years too long; they cannot and should not wait any longer.

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Speech 13 Mar 2025
MIL OSI NGO –
April 14, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Minister-President of the German State of Bavaria, Markus Söder called on Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences; reiterates strong collaboration between the two nations

Source: Government of India

Minister-President of the German State of Bavaria, Markus Söder called on Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences; reiterates strong collaboration between the two nations

Long – standing Indo-German cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), underlines the potential for bilateral cooperation, says Dr Jitendra Singh

India and Germany to Deepen Cooperation in AI, Quantum Tech, Clean Energy, and Biotechnology

Dr. Jitendra Singh Hails Indo-German 2+2 University and Industry Collaboration

Highlights India emergence in Space, Nuclear and Biotech and next generation technologies such as AI, Quantum technologies

Posted On: 13 APR 2025 4:21PM by PIB Delhi

In a significant diplomatic and scientific engagement, Minister-President of the German State of Bavaria, Markus Söder called on Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, and reiterated strong collaboration between the two nations.

One to one bilateral between the two leaders, was followed by high-level delegation level meeting led by the two Ministers

Welcoming the high-level German delegation, Dr. Jitendra Singh emphasized the long-standing Indo-German cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), underlining the potential for bilateral cooperation in priority areas including Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Technologies, Biotechnology, Clean Energy, Electric Mobility, Cyber-Physical Systems, and Green Hydrogen.

“India has embarked on mission-mode programs under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. We seek economic and sustainable solutions through scientific and technological interventions, and Germany is a natural partner in this endeavor,” stated Dr. Jitendra Singh.

Dr. Jitendra Singh applauded the Indo-German 2+2 collaboration model involving joint efforts between academia and industry from both countries, calling it a landmark step toward creating future-ready, innovation-driven ecosystems.“The 2+2 collaboration is a futuristic model. It brings together universities and industries from both countries to solve global challenges through innovation, co-development, and commercialization,” Dr. Jitendra Singh said.

Dr. Jitendra Singh recalled the Golden Jubilee of Indo-German S&T Partnership celebrated last year, adding that the recent Indo-German S&T Governing Body Meeting in Germany further reinforced the commitment to deepen scientific engagement. He highlighted the shared cultural and intellectual legacy between the two nations, mentioning Max Mueller’s pioneering translation of the Upanishads and the Rigveda, which laid the foundation for Indo-European scholarly ties.

Dr. Jitendra Singh spotlighted India’s remarkable progress in the biotech sector, boasting over 3000 startups and leading globally as the largest vaccine manufacturer. He noted the significance of the recently approved BIOe3 policy, which focuses on Energy, Economy, and Employment to drive the next wave of biotech innovation.

Dr. Jitendra Singh outlined India’s emergence as a biotech powerhouse with over 3000 startups and the recent launch of the BIOe3 policy, aimed at driving Energy, Economy, and Employment through biotech innovation.

The Science and Technology Minister states that India’s Space-Tech and Nuclear sectors, now open to private players, offer tremendous collaborative opportunities. He further stated that India ranks 3rd globally in startups and unicorns, making it a vibrant destination for tech partnerships.

“India’s academic outreach to Germany continues to deepen, with over 50,000 Indian students enrolled in German universities—mostly in STEM disciplines—a number that has tripled in the last seven years”, says Dr. Singh

Dr. Jitendra Singh called for a reciprocal increase in German students studying in India, particularly in the areas of Oriental Studies, Indian Culture, and Traditional Knowledge Systems.

“Germany has emerged as a favoured academic destination for Indian youth. Now we hope to see more German students exploring India’s intellectual heritage and scientific capabilities,” he said.

Dr. Jitendra Singh fondly recalled his recent visit to Berlin, observing the growing popularity of Indian cuisine and culture, with locals enthusiastically embracing Indian flavours in more than a dozen Indian food outlets.

The German side was represented by Dr. Markus Söder, along with Dr. Philipp Ackermann, German Ambassador to India, and other senior delegates. From the Indian side, Dr. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST); Dr. Praveen Somasundaram, Head of International Cooperation, and Dr. Alka Sharma, Senior Advisor,Department of Biotechnology, also participated in the deliberations.

*****

NKR/PSM

(Release ID: 2121439) Visitor Counter : 85

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

April 14, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Lighting Up Kashi

Source: Government of India

Lighting Up Kashi

Sacred City, Smart Future

Posted On: 13 APR 2025 6:58PM by PIB Delhi

“India today is carrying forward both development and heritage together, Our Kashi is becoming the best model for this.”

~Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Kashi isn’t just a city—it’s a living soul. It breathes through the ripples of the Ganga and the quiet strength of its people. Here, ancient stones whisper stories of the past while glass-fronted buildings reflect the promise of tomorrow. The city where life and death meet at Manikarnika Ghat, now welcomes wide roads, smart lighting and modern corridors. This is Kashi’s journey—where the sacred and the smart co-exist, not in conflict, but in harmony. A place where every street holds a story and every step leads to a blend of soul and structure.

On April 11, the ancient city of Kashi witnessed a moment of progress. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone and inaugurated development projects worth over ₹3,880 crore in Varanasi.It was a celebration of growth—what PM Modi called a true “festival of development.”

Ten years ago, a trip through Varanasi meant endless traffic and dusty detours. Today, the city is rewriting that story. Projects like the Phulwariya flyoverand theRing Road are easing traffic woes, saving precious time for daily commuters and lakhs of pilgrims. Travel between districts like Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Balliaand Mau has become faster and more connected than ever before.

PM Modi also laid foundation stone for—a road bridge connecting Varanasi Ring Road and Sarnath, long-awaited flyovers at Bhikharipur and Manduadih, and a highway underpass road tunnel on NH-31 at the Varanasi International Airport worth over Rs 980 crore. These projects aren’t just concrete and steel; they’re the backbone of a growing city opening up to the world.

To brighten up lives and lighten up the city, Prime Minister Modi gave a major push to Kashi’s power network. He inaugurated two400 KV and one 220 KV substations—projects worth over ₹1,045 crore. Add to that a ₹775 crore boost with new substations in Chaukaghat and Ghazipur.

But real power lies not just in wires, but in wisdom. Staying true to his vision of “education for all,” the Prime Minister opened new doors of learning. Rural education got a lift with 356 libraries and 100 Anganwadi centres. He also laid the foundation for revamping 77 primary schools under the Smart City Mission.

One of the most heartwarming transformations in Purvanchal has come through Banas Dairy. It has helped turn thousands of small dairy farmers into confident entrepreneurs. Over ₹105 crore in bonuses were distributed to livestock-rearing families—most of them women.These women, now proudly known as “Lakhpati Didis”, are a shining symbol of real empowerment.

PM Modi also highlighted how schemes like the Kisan Credit Card, free vaccinations for livestock, and the Rashtriya Gokul Mission are helping farmers. They’re raising healthier animals and finding better markets for their produce.

Once, people from Purvanchal had to travel far for good medical care. Through the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, lakhs of families in Uttar Pradesh have received free treatment and saving lives.PM Modi personally handed out Ayushman Vay Vandana cards to elderly citizens—ensuring free medical care for all above 70, regardless of income.

Development in Kashi is not just about roads and hospitals—it’s about dreams too. With new stadiums and a world-class sports complex, young athletes from Varanasi are now getting the platform they need to shine. PM Modi reminded everyone that if India wants to host the 2036 Olympics, our youth need to begin their journey now—and Kashi is making sure they’re ready.

From the rhythmic beats of the tabla to the intricate designs of zardozi, Varanasi’s rich culture is gaining international fame. Over 30 local products from Varanasi and surrounding districts now carry the prestigious GI (Geographical Indication) tag, including the famous thandai, red stuffed chilli, tiranga barfi and even Jaunpur’s imarti and Pilibhit’s flute.

PM Modi also announced the creation of an Ekta Mall, a space where the diverse crafts and products from across India will be showcased under one roof—right here in Kashi.

As Varanasi stands at the crossroads of tradition and transformation, the city proves one simple truth: development is most meaningful when it touches lives and preserves the soul of a place.With folded hands and firm resolve, Kashi moves forward—proud of its past, and prepared for its future.

References

Lighting Up Kashi

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Santosh Kumar/ Sarla Meena/ Kamna Lakaria

(Release ID: 2121462) Visitor Counter : 103

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

April 14, 2025

MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: A Dose of Atmanirbhar Bharat

Source: Government of India

A Dose of Atmanirbhar Bharat

How Make in India is transforming India’s Global Pharmaceutical Footprint

Posted On: 13 APR 2025 2:56PM by PIB Delhi

Introduction

The Department of Pharmaceuticals, under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, is responsible for matters related to the pricing and availability of affordable medicines, research and developmentand international obligations. With a vision to make India the world’s largest provider of quality medicines at reasonable prices, the department’s efforts align with the Make in India initiative. The Indian pharmaceutical industry continues to play a crucial role in manufacturing high-quality, cost-effective medicines for both domestic and global markets, marked by its dominance in branded generic medicines, competitive pricing, and a robust network of indigenous brands.[1]

India has been UNICEF’s largest vaccine supplier for the past six to seven years, contributing 55% to 60% of total volume procured contributing 99%, 52% and 45% of the WHO demand for DPT, BCG and the measles vaccines, respectively.[2]

Overview of the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

[3][4]

Medical Devices

The medical devices sector in India is an essential and integral constituent of the Indian healthcare sector, particularly for prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management of all medical conditions and disabilities. The medical devices sector is a multi-disciplinary sector. Its constituent device categories are-

electro-medical equipment
implants
consumables and disposables
surgical instruments
in vitro diagnostic reagents

Several segments of the medical device industry are highly capital-intensive, with a long gestation period, and require continuous induction of new technologies and the ongoing training of healthcare professionals to adapt to new technologies in the sector.

[5]

Export & Import of Medical Devices

Foreign Direct Investment

The Department of Pharmaceuticals considers FDI proposals falling under the Government approval route in pharmaceutical and meditech activities for approval or rejection as per FDI Policy.

In the financial year of 2024-25, from April 2024 to December 2024, FDI inflows (in both pharmaceuticals and medical devices) has been ₹11,888 Crore.

Further, the Department of Pharmaceuticals has approved 13 FDI proposals worth ₹7,246.40 Crore for brownfield projects during FY 2024-25.

[6]

Production Linked Incentive Scheme

The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, launched in 2020 by the Government of India, is a transformative initiative aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing, attracting investments, reducing reliance on imports and increasing exports. Aligned with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and the larger Make in India initiative, the scheme offers financial incentives based on production performance, encouraging companies to scale up operations, adopt advanced technologies, and improve global competitiveness.

For pharmaceuticals, the initiative aims to reduce import dependence on Key Starting Materials (KSMs), Drug Intermediates (DIs), and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), strengthening India’s manufacturing base. By promoting production and innovation, it boosts domestic capabilities and global competitiveness.

Overview of the PLI Schemes

The Department of Pharmaceuticals administers three PLI schemes as part of the Government of India’s larger initiative to enhance manufacturing capabilities. These include:

PLI Scheme for Pharmaceuticals
PLI Scheme for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical KSMs/DIs/APIs
PLI Scheme for promoting domestic manufacturing of Medical Devices[7]

PLI Scheme for Pharmaceuticals[8]

The PLI Scheme for Pharmaceuticals was approved by the Union Cabinet on 24 February 2021[9], with a financial outlay of ₹15,000 croreand the production tenure from FY 2022- 2023 to FY 2027-28, provides financial incentive to 55 selected applicants for manufacturing of identified products under three categories for a period of six years. Under this scheme, high value pharmaceutical products such as patented/off-patented drugs, biopharmaceuticals, complex generics, anti-cancer drugs, autoimmune drugs, among others, are manufactured.[10]

Key Features of the Scheme:

The scheme supports the manufacturing of pharmaceutical goods under three categories:

Category 1: Biopharmaceuticals, complex generic drugs, patented drugs or those nearing patent expiry, gene therapy drugs, orphan drugs, and complex excipients.
Category 2: Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), Key Starting Materials (KSMs), and Drug Intermediates (DIs).
Category 3: Repurposed drugs, autoimmune drugs, anti-cancer drugs, anti-diabetic drugs, cardiovascular drugs, and in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) devices [11]

PLI Scheme for KSMs, DIs, and APIs[12]

The PLI Scheme for KSMs, DIs, and APIs was launched on 20 March 2020, with a financial outlay of ₹6,940 crore for the period FY 2020-21 to FY 2029-30. The main objective of Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical Key Starting Materials (KSMs)/ Drug Intermediates and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in India is to promote domestic manufacturing of 41 identified bulk drugs to address their high import dependence.

Achievements under the PLI Scheme for KSMs, DIs, and APIs

One of the significant achievements under the PLI scheme has been the surpassing of targeted investments. While the initial commitment was ₹3,938.57 crore, the actual realized investment has already reached ₹4,253.92 crore (as of December 2024).

Under the PLI scheme for Bulk Drugs, a total of 48 projects have been selected under the scheme, of which 34 projects have been commissioned for 25 bulk drugs as of December 2024.

Notable Projects Under the PLI Scheme for Bulk Drugs

Penicillin G Project (Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh): ₹1,910 crore investment; expected import substitution of ₹2,700 crore per annum.
Clavulanic Acid Project (Nalagarh, Himachal Pradesh): ₹450 crore investment; expected import substitution of ₹600 crore per annum.[13]

PLI Scheme for Medical Devices[14]

The PLI Scheme for Medical Devices was launched to support domestic manufacturing of high-end medical equipment and reduce reliance on imports. The scheme provides financial incentives to manufacturers in key segments such as radiology, imaging, cancer care, and implants.The period of the scheme is from financial year 2020-21 to financial year 2027-28 with total financial outlay of Rs. 3,420 crore. Under the scheme, financial incentive is given to selected companies, at the rate of 5% of incremental sales of medical devices manufactured in India and covered under the target segments of the scheme, for a period of five years.

Category of applicant	Incentive Period	Incentive rate
Category A	FY 2022-23 to FY 2026-27	5% limited to Rs.121 crore per applicant
Category B	FY 2022-23 to FY 2026-27	5% limited to Rs.40 crore per applicant

The details of incentive under the scheme are as follows:

https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2025/jan/doc202516481901.pdf

[15]

Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks

Approved in March 2020, the Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks scheme (FY 2020–21 to FY 2025–26) aims to establish parks with world-class common infrastructure to reduce manufacturing costs and enhance self-reliance in bulk drugs. Proposals from Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh were approved under the scheme. Financial assistance is capped at ₹1,000 crore per park or 70% of the project cost (90% for Northeastern and Hilly States), with a total outlay of ₹3,000 crore.[16]

Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya JanaushadhiPariyojana

With an objective of making quality generic medicines available at affordable prices to all, Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya JanaushadhiPariyojana (PMBJP) aims to ensure access to affordable, quality generic medicines across India.

Some of the activities under this initiative include:

Raising Awareness: Educating the public on the benefits of generic medicines, highlighting that affordability doesn’t compromise quality and countering the belief that higher prices mean better efficacy.
Encouraging Prescriptions of Generic Drugs: Promoting the use of generics by motivating healthcare professionals, especially in government hospitals, to prescribe cost-effective alternatives.
Enhancing Accessibility: Ensuring the availability of essential generic medicines across therapeutic categories, with a focus on reaching underserved communities.[17]

As of April 8, 2025, there are a total of 15,479 Jan AushadiKendras across the country.

Strengthening of Pharmaceuticals Industry Scheme (SPI Scheme)

The SPI scheme is a Central Sector Scheme (CSS) with an outlay of Rs.500 Cr with thescheme period from FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26. [18]

Conclusion:

India’s pharmaceutical and medical devices sectors stand as a testament to the country’s growing capabilities in science, innovation, and manufacturing. Through visionary initiatives like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes and Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya JanaushadhiPariyojana (PMBJP), the Department of Pharmaceuticals has not only bolstered domestic production but also ensured equitable access to affordable healthcare solutions. With its continued commitment to self-reliance under the Make in India vision, India is poised to solidify its position as a global hub for high-quality, cost-effective medicines and medical technologies, empowering both its citizens and contributing significantly to global health outcomes.

References:

A Dose of Atmanirbhar Bharat

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Make in India (Pharmaceuticals) | Explainer | 08

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

April 14, 2025

MIL-OSI Russia: Cosmonautics Day: always first!

Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

April 12 is Cosmonautics Day in Russia. It is difficult to imagine a person who does not know that this date is associated with the first human space flight, made by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in 1961. However, his legendary flight was not the first or last achievement of the national space program.

Let us briefly recall the main milestones of the practically endless journey into interstellar space, begun by Russian science.

The first theorist of astronautics, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, was born on September 17, 1857. It was he who put forward the ideas of “rocket trains” (prototypes of multi-stage rockets), a space elevator, life on orbital stations, and, in principle, voiced the need for human settlement in space.

The first artificial Earth satellite was launched on October 4, 1957. It was a sphere with a diameter of 58 cm and a weight of 83.6 kg with two radio transmitters. It was with it that the space era of mankind began.

The first hard landing on an extraterrestrial body – the Moon – took place on September 14, 1959. The automatic interplanetary station Luna-2 reached the Earth’s natural satellite.

The first image of the far side of the Moon was taken by the Luna-3 automatic interplanetary station on October 7, 1959.

The first animals to successfully complete an orbital space flight on the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 5 on August 19, 1960, were the mongrel dogs Belka and Strelka.

The first human flight into space was on April 12, 1961. Today is Cosmonautics Day.

The first female cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova, set off on her three-day flight on June 16, 1963.

The first human spacewalk was on March 19, 1965. It was done by Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who spent 16 minutes in airless space.

The first soft landing on the Moon and transmission of a panoramic photograph of the Moon to Earth was carried out by the automatic interplanetary station Luna-9 on February 3, 1966.

The first docking of the manned spacecraft Soyuz-4 and Soyuz-5 took place on January 16, 1969.

The first planetary rover, Lunokhod-1, began its work on November 17, 1970. In 11 lunar days, it traveled 10,540 km.

The first soft landing on Venus was made by the automatic interplanetary station Venera-7 on December 15, 1970.

The first soft landing on Mars was made by the automatic interplanetary station Mars-3 on December 2, 1971.

The first manned orbital station Salyut-1 was launched on April 19, 1971 and operated in orbit for 175 days.

The first multi-module orbital station Mir began its work on February 19, 1986. It spent 5,511 days in orbit, 4,594 of which were inhabited, and during this time it made 86,331 revolutions around the Earth. 28 expeditions with a total of 104 cosmonauts and astronauts from 12 countries conducted more than 23,000 scientific experiments at the station.

The first full-length feature film, scenes for which were shot in space by professional filmmakers – “Challenge”. Director Klim Shipenko and actress Yulia Peresild launched on October 5, 2021 and spent 12 days on the International Space Station, filming 30 hours of material, of which 35 minutes were included in the final running time of the film.

Russian science is still at the forefront of space exploration. On April 8, 2025, the “Victory Rocket”, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, sent Russian cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov, Alexei Zubritsky and NASA astronaut Jonathan Kim to the ISS, where they will spend 245 days in space.

The first management university in the country congratulates everyone on Cosmonautics Day and wishes to always be the first in everything!

Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 12.04.2025

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

MIL OSI Russia News –

April 12, 2025

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