Dr. Raj Panjabi Profile picture
Former White House NSC Senior Director and Special Assistant to the President. Recovering public servant. Speaking inquiries below.
Mar 10, 2023 6 tweets 1 min read
President Biden’s Budget Keeps America Safe and Confronts Global Challenges.

Here are four ways the President’s Budget Bolsters American Leadership in Global Health:

👇🏾🧵

whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/… 1. The Budget includes $10.9 billion through State and USAID to reinforce U.S. leadership in addressing global health and health security…
Feb 21, 2022 5 tweets 2 min read
I’m devastated by the loss of my mentor, friend and partner in health, Paul Farmer. I mourn with his family, colleagues at Harvard, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Partners In Health and many friends across the world who, like me, were inspired by the power of his example.🧵 For nearly two decades, I had the privilege of teaching with, serving with and most of all learning from Paul. There are so many memories, but one that’s on my mind now was from our first meeting, when as a medical and public health student, I asked him for career advice.
Jun 19, 2021 7 tweets 2 min read
The 2021 Ebola outbreak in Guinea has been brought to an end.

Many of us remember the horror of the last Ebola outbreak in 2014 which infected nearly 30,000 people. This 2021 outbreak infected about 20 people.

So what made a difference?👇🏾

1/1

afro.who.int/news/ebola-out… Speed (amongst other key factors). According to Dr Sakoba Keita, a Guinean physician who led his country’s response to the 2014 and 2021 Ebola outbreak:

In 2014, notification of 1st case took 4 months.

In 2021, notification of 1st case took 15 days.
Jun 18, 2021 8 tweets 2 min read
Vaccines on wheels? If we take COVID-19 vaccines beyond the walls of clinics and pharmacies, we can reach unvaccinated people. The other night, I hopped on a bus to vaccinate people at a public event in the town square. A thread on what I learned:
1/8
First, meet people where they are. As people went to and from the event, they stepped onto our bus to get their shots. None had had the time to schedule a vaccine appointment at a pharmacy or clinic. Some worked multiple jobs. Others couldn’t find child care.
2/8
Jun 13, 2021 7 tweets 2 min read
My Dad has been a photographer for four decades. Filming weddings is his life’s passion. Prior to COVID, he’d film 2-3 weddings a month. Then coronavirus spread. Social distancing was introduced. Wedding after wedding was canceled. Filming stopped and so did his income. 1/x My father went more than a year without a wedding to film. What threatens our lives, threatens our way of living. 2/x
Jun 10, 2021 5 tweets 1 min read
As a physician, I’ve seen too many colleagues make the ultimate sacrifice on the frontlines. Over 115,000 health and care workers have died during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s why we should invest more in health workers to prevent the next pandemic @TIME

time.com/collection/pre… We need new systems to raise alarms for emerging public health crises. But alarms don’t ring themselves, health workers do.
May 5, 2021 10 tweets 2 min read
1/ Bring the vaccine to people. Don’t wait for people to come to the vaccine. To increase COVID-19 vaccination rates especially amongst marginalized communities that’s what we have to do. But how? 2/ Here are 3 lessons I learned while volunteering recently to vaccinate people in an immigrant community in my state’s poorest city, an area that was our COVID-19 epicenter.
Apr 19, 2021 6 tweets 1 min read
Last summer I came home after testing patients in a COVID clinic where I was forced to reuse the same gown all day. When I got home, I didn’t want to risk infecting my family. So I took off all my clothes before entering the front door. My children were amused. But I was worried. The anxiety of being unprotected while caring for patients with this virus is unlike any other I have felt. It’s a fear that I know every health worker feels. And then things changed. I got vaccinated.
Feb 1, 2021 8 tweets 4 min read
After being sworn in this morning, I'm honored to share that I've been appointed by @POTUS as the President’s Malaria Coordinator to lead the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (@PMIgov). I'm grateful for this chance to serve. My reflections on my first day in office:👇 My family and I arrived in America 30 years ago after fleeing civil war in Liberia. A community of Americans rallied around my family to help us build back our lives. It's an honor to serve the country that helped build back my own life as part of the Biden-Harris Administration.