Health Journal Online

Tag: admin

  • Trump Admin Set to Burn Million of Birth Control Instead of Distributing It: Report

    Trump Admin Set to Burn $10 Million of Birth Control Instead of Distributing It: Report

    Nearly $10 million worth of contraceptives already paid for by the US are en route from Belgium to France for incineration.

    The pills, intrauterine devices and condoms have been held at a warehouse in Antwerp, Belgium, since January, following President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze foreign aid. The family planning supplies will be burnt in France following transport — an operation that will cost taxpayers an additional $167,000, according to a state department spokesperson who confirmed the decision with The Guardian.

    The administration has reportedly denied offers from family planning organizations and the United Nations to purchase and distribute the supplies to women in need. According to MSI Reproductive Choices associate director of advocacy Sarah Shaw, the government would only accept full price for the products, which her global family planning organization could not afford on top of transport.

    “It’s not just about an empty shelf,” Shaw told the Guardian. “It’s about unfulfilled potential. It’s about a girl having to drop out of school. It’s about someone having to seek an unsafe abortion and risking their lives.”

    The halt in aid is part of a broader DOGE initiative dismantling USAID .

    Earlier this month, reports revealed the Trump administration’s plans to incinerate 500 metric tons of emergency food aid—enough to feed 1.5 million starving children in Gaza for a week. The food, stored in the UAE, was deemed expired but, according to career USAID staff, could still have been distributed safely.

    The freeze in aid has also delayed delivery of mpox vaccines promised to African countries experiencing outbreaks. A Politico report found nearly 800,000 doses will expire in less than six months, making them ineligible for shipment.

    Despite objections from humanitarian organizations who argue the rigid application of the administration’s policy is hurting vulnerable populations, the White House maintains that it is protecting taxpayer funds and adhering to legal restrictions on aid to agencies that offer abortion.

    Originally published on Latin Times

    Source link

  • Trump Admin Cancels Key Vaccine Policy Meetings as Health and Science Agencies Prepare for RFK Jr. Takeover

    Trump Admin Cancels Key Vaccine Policy Meetings as Health and Science Agencies Prepare for RFK Jr. Takeover

    President Donald Trump’s administration has canceled a number of key vaccine policy meetings as health and science agencies prepare for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to take over as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

    A number of the National Institutes of Health’s study sections, during which fellowship and grant applications are reviewed, were canceled, potentially delaying grant distribution, Stat News reported.

    Additionally, the Presidential Advisory Council for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria meeting, scheduled for Jan. 28-29, and a National Vaccine Advisory Committee meeting, scheduled for Feb. 20-21, were also canceled.

    “Peer review via study sections is required by law in order for the NIH to disburse most of the $40 billion annual extramural budget,” Norman E. Sharpless, a former director of the NIH’s National Cancer Institute, told Stat News.

    “If study sections and advisory council meetings are postponed for more than even a brief period, this will likely lead to interruptions in grant funding, which is bad for U.S. biomedical research.”



    An NIH spokesperson explained the cancellations are part of “a short pause to allow the new team to set up a process for review and prioritization.” Scholars, however, fear the delays and their ambiguous conclusion could have detrimental domino effects on their research.

    “If study sections don’t meet on time, then that could delay grants being distributed, which affects the ability of labs to pay their students and postdocs and staff,” Rebecca Pompano, a chemist and biomedical engineer at the University of Virginia, told Stat News. “In some cases, if there was a gap in funding, it could result in someone either not being hired at all or having to be laid off.”

    Pompano’s fears are compounded by RFK Jr.’s plans to overhaul the NIH. In the past, he has attacked the NIH for not studying the role of vaccines in autism and promised to fire “entire department” at the Food and Drug Administration, AP News reported.

    Originally published by Latin Times

    Source link