So - I've actually led Ebola outbreak response at @USAID.
This is bunk from Elon. They have laid off most of the experts, they're bankrupting most of the partner orgs, have withdrawn from WHO, and muzzled CDC.
What's left is a fig-leaf effort to cover their asses politically.
This is bunk from Elon. They have laid off most of the experts, they're bankrupting most of the partner orgs, have withdrawn from WHO, and muzzled CDC.
What's left is a fig-leaf effort to cover their asses politically.
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1894793659809144864
I led USAID's response to the 2014-15 outbreak in West Africa.
Also went to Congo with WHO to assess response at peak of the 2019 outbreak (under Trump 1).
Those were both robust USG ops.
That capacity has now been wrecked.
cgdev.org/publication/st…
Also went to Congo with WHO to assess response at peak of the 2019 outbreak (under Trump 1).
Those were both robust USG ops.
That capacity has now been wrecked.
cgdev.org/publication/st…
Normally there would be:
- resources rapidly pushed to partners & host govt
- robust interagency (USAID/CDC/DOD) teams deployed to field, backstopped by Ops Centers in DC and Atlanta
- real-time operational cooperation and info-sharing with WHO
But not this time.
- resources rapidly pushed to partners & host govt
- robust interagency (USAID/CDC/DOD) teams deployed to field, backstopped by Ops Centers in DC and Atlanta
- real-time operational cooperation and info-sharing with WHO
But not this time.
Some limited resources have gone to partners, but things that would normally move in hours or days took weeks this time.
And meanwhile the huge wave of global program cancellations today (in violation of a court order) is crippling partner orgs' response capacity.
And meanwhile the huge wave of global program cancellations today (in violation of a court order) is crippling partner orgs' response capacity.
Most experts and operations staff at USAID have been pushed out.
USAID's ops centers have been shut down (the main ops centers were in USAID's Reagan Building HQ, which Elon has now leased to DHS).
USAID's capacity to deploy response teams is totally broken.
USAID's ops centers have been shut down (the main ops centers were in USAID's Reagan Building HQ, which Elon has now leased to DHS).
USAID's capacity to deploy response teams is totally broken.
CDC has been hammered by DOGE as well, with huge cuts to the disease detectives that staff frontline responses.
CDC leadership also issued guidance barring staff from talking to WHO...
cbsnews.com/news/cdc-commu…
npr.org/sections/shots…
CDC leadership also issued guidance barring staff from talking to WHO...
cbsnews.com/news/cdc-commu…
npr.org/sections/shots…
...even as WHO is the lead on int'l support to the Ugandan govt.
WHO is really good at this - in large part because of USG investments in their emergency capacity over the past decade.
But Trump has withdrawn the US from WHO and cut off support. whitehouse.gov/presidential-a…
WHO is really good at this - in large part because of USG investments in their emergency capacity over the past decade.
But Trump has withdrawn the US from WHO and cut off support. whitehouse.gov/presidential-a…
Bottom line: Elon's vendetta against USAID and the federal workforce is shredding all of the systems that the USG has built up to protect the US homeland against global outbreak risks.
Scrambling to recall a few staff and issue some belated funding is just window dressing.
/end
Scrambling to recall a few staff and issue some belated funding is just window dressing.
/end
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