Resting

I felt really unwell this afternoon, so I didn't go anywhere.  Sylvie spent the whole day - and indeed all of yesterday and the day before - lying in front of the baseboard heater and sleeping.

The daughter of one of the dialysis techs is a health care researcher in Africa and this is the message she sent out yesterday:

I am seeing firsthand the impacts of the stoppage of US foreign assistance in the health sector. Critical, lifesaving work to address malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and mental health care were stopped without warning. This sudden funding suspension is profoundly cruel.

People are being denied lifesaving services and many people throughout the world will die, particularly children under 5. Any claim otherwise is simply not true and demonstrates ignorance of how vulnerable some communities are. Politicians who support these actions are directly responsible for these preventable deaths.

Despite proclaiming "waivers" have been granted for life saving programs, programs have been shut down, clinics closed, food and medication is not being distributed (and expiring!) and local staff are unemployed while they wait for word whether or not their programs are included in this mythical waiver.

People with no knowledge are being fed misinformation and proclaiming that "these programs never helped anyone...just spent our money...etc." while PEPFAR alone is credited with saving 25 MILLION lives in just 23 years.

Funding priorities always change with a new administration, but I am shocked at how heartless this was. These are the actions of people who literally don't care if people live or die. I don't claim to be an expert in either USAID or PEPFAR (my worked isn't funded by either), maybe some changes would have been beneficial. But any changes, whether I agree with them or not, can be made with deliberate planning to minimize harm to innocent people. Speak up and tell your politicians that you care about these lives even if they don't. If we won't act, who will?