Amid so much gloomy news during a week marking Global Public Health Week and World Health Day, the column brings some reasons for hope – from the Parliament of Aotearoa/New Zealand to the streets of the United States.
Health angles on Australian election news, the importance of the cultural determinants of health, Conference Watch and details of upcoming events are also highlighted.
Among a series of global health updates is a call to protect global health partnerships in “the era of destructive nationalism”.
The quotable comes courtesy of American Public Health Association Executive Director Dr Georges Benjamin, who has issued a statement calling on Robert F Kennedy, Jr to resign as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services:
Americans deserve better than someone who is trying to impose his unscientific and judgmental view of public health and science. We deserve better than RFK, Jr. He demonstrated his incompetence in only a few weeks.
As a physician, I pledged to first do no harm and to speak up when I see harm being done by others. I ask my colleagues to join me and speak up. Secretary Robert Kennedy is a danger to the public’s health and should resign or be fired.”
Spotlight on measles
Statement by Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, Dr Tarun Weeramanthri (10 April)
“There is an increased risk of measles in the greater Melbourne area. The number of measles cases who acquired their infection in the greater Melbourne area is increasing. In addition, there is an ongoing risk of measles importation in Victoria in travellers returning from overseas or interstate. These recent measles cases have been infectious while in public settings at multiple locations around greater Melbourne area and Gippsland.
“Measles is a highly infectious viral illness that can lead to uncommon but serious complications, such as pneumonia and brain inflammation (encephalitis).
Measles vaccination coverage rates in Australia, while comparatively high, have declined to below the 95% national target since the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost all recent cases have arisen in people who have not had two documented doses of the MMR vaccine, showing the highly infectious nature of measles. In one instance, transmission occurred in a primary care waiting room, highlighting the importance of immediate isolation of people with fever and rash who present to healthcare settings.”
A bright spot
Amid so much gloomy news during a week marking Global Public Health Week and World Health Day, there was at least one reason to cheer.
Meanwhile, pushback and collective action are growing in the United States, from the courts to the streets.
Latest on Trump
Stat News: National public health group calls for RFK Jr. to resign, citing ‘complete disregard for science’. Georges Benjamin of American Public Health Association cites litany of actions taken by health secretary.
The article quotes an American Public Health Association statement (9 April):
APHA expressed concerns about Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as the choice for secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and in the few short weeks that he has been in this position, those concerns have been realised. The recent implementation of massive reductions in staff at key health agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the Health Resources and Services Administration, among others, along with acknowledgement since that many of these people shouldn’t have been fired, is the latest example of poor and thoughtless management that will only undermine the work of our nation’s top public health agencies to keep us all healthy.
During his nomination hearing, he promised that if shown the data regarding the safety and efficacy of vaccines, he would be “the first person to reassure the American people that they need to take those vaccines.” And yet during the hearing, he was confronted with multiple studies and responded with a small and unsupported study that reinforced his position as a vaccine skeptic.
His implicit and explicit bias and complete disregard for science has been in evidence since he was sworn in as Secretary. He has:
- Reduced staff at the relevant federal agencies and promoted a nonsensical reorganization of HHS that will weaken our nation’s ability to meaningfully address any health problem.
- Forced the leading FDA vaccine official, Dr. Peter Marks, to leave the agency where he led the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research and was instrumental in starting up Operation Warp Speed in the first Trump administration.
- Even after the confirmed deaths of two unvaccinated children from measles, Kennedy still refuses to strongly encourage vaccination, which is 97% effective at prevention of the disease.
- Promoted unscientific therapies such as vitamin A to treat measles, which has resulted in significant liver injury from its use among some children in Texas.
- Drastically reduced the nation’s capacity to respond to public health threats including the current measles epidemic, by precipitously cutting funding from state and local public health by clawing back $11 billion (about $34 per person in the US) in approved funding.
- Hired a known anti-vaxxer to lead a study to undermine proven science related to the MMR vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella, which is 97% effective and has a long history of safety.
- Stopped research at NIH that was focused on preventing future epidemics.
- Mocked the sitting governor of West Virginia to go on a diet with public weigh-ins.
- Announced plans to tell CDC to stop recommending fluoridation in community’s water.
- Dr. Marks wrote in his resignation letter “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.”
Americans deserve better than someone who is trying to impose his unscientific and judgmental view of public health and science. We deserve better than RFK, Jr. He demonstrated his incompetence in only a few weeks.
As a physician, I pledged to first do no harm and to speak up when I see harm being done by others. I ask my colleagues to join me and speak up. Secretary Robert Kennedy is a danger to the public’s health and should resign or be fired. 
Other global health updates
The article begins: “Long-standing global partnerships, critical for protecting the health of human beings and the planet we share, are under attack in 2025. Around the world, a pendulum swing towards nationalism and populism has threatened to destroy international scientific collaborations that took decades to build. Globally, the rise of hard-right extremism jeopardises fragile structures established to protect the health and human rights of people everywhere. The chaos of haphazard disruption, devoid of accountability, normalises a lack of perceived responsibility for our fellow human beings. Reckless global socio-political shifts hurt all of us, as citizens of one world, sharing its limited resources and facing common threats of diseases that respect neither borders nor executive orders.”
#AusPol
Statement by Doctors for the Environment Australia: News that the Queensland Government is considering breaking its bi-partisan commitment to reduce emissions by 75% by 2035 puts Queenslanders, already suffering from life threatening heat waves, fires and floods, at even greater risk.
Dr Kate Wylie, a GP and executive director at DEA, said: “We expect the Queensland Government to keep its promise and deliver the policies needed to reduce emissions by 75%. The decision to extend the life of coal-fired power stations beyond 2035, with Callide B to stay open for 3 more years beyond the planned 2028 closure, is irresponsible to say the least.
“We are already seeing the devastating impact of climate change in Queensland. The health impacts of fossil fuel pollution are well documented, accounting for more deaths globally than smoking. The impact of climate change driven extreme heat on human health is also well known, as is the increased risk of disease from floods, not to mention the impact on the mental health of affected communities.
“Right now, Queensland is suffering one of the worst floods in its history, an area four times the size of the UK has been hit, with swarms of mosquitoes the next challenge facing the state.
“This is not the time to be walking away from clean energy and embracing more coal and gas. We need to be reducing emissions right now, not increasing them. If we don’t act on this as a public health priority, simply put, more people are going to die or experience significant illness linked to the ongoing use of fossil fuels.”
First Nations health
Conference Watch
Media matters
Events upcoming
Register here to attend this #CroakeyLIVE on #climatehealthmatters!
