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Trump’s rejection of science threatens humanity’s health
A disdain for international agencies and treaties, plus cuts in public health programmes, could create a worldwide medical catastrophe, writes CONN HALLINAN
The slogan at a malaria summit in London this April. But the Trump administration has scrapped epidemic prevention programmes

WHEN people contemplate potential disasters ignited by the Trump administration’s foreign policy, places like the South China Sea, Central Asia or the Korean peninsula come first to mind.

Certainly, a dustup with Beijing, Tehran or Pyongyang is a scary thing to contemplate. But the thing that should also keep people up at night is Washington’s approach to international health organisations and the president’s stubborn refusal to address climate change.

Bad bugs are coming, and they are stronger and nastier than they have ever been. A few — like malaria and yellow fever — are ancient nemeses, but they’re increasingly immune to standard drugs and widening their reach behind a warming climate.

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