Shashika Bandara
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shashikalb.bsky.social
Shashika Bandara
@shashikalb.bsky.social
Fish curry enthusiast. Global Health Policy and Human Rights. Ph.D. @McGillU. Formerly @DukeU.
Read our analysis of the political economy of the pandemic agreement implementation with relevance to ongoing PABS negotiations @who.int and our ways forward in addressing pandemics.

@benjaminmasonmeier.bsky.social @jocalynclark.bsky.social @madhupai.bsky.social

www.bmj.com/content/392/...
WHO Pandemic Agreement is only the beginning: strengthening implementation to protect global health
www.bmj.com
February 17, 2026 at 6:12 PM
Reposted by Shashika Bandara
Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died on Tuesday at 84, entered the national spotlight during the civil rights movement and ran for president twice. He also courted controversy while in the public eye. These are seven key moments in his life.
Seven Pivotal Moments in Jesse Jackson’s Life
The Rev. Jesse Jackson entered the national spotlight during the civil rights movement and ran for president twice. He also courted controversy while in the public eye.
nyti.ms
February 17, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Reposted by Shashika Bandara
Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus made a farewell broadcast to the nation before handing over to an elected government. The 85-year-old Nobel peace prize winner has been Bangladesh’s ‘chief adviser’ since a 2024 popular uprising.
u.afp.com/S6Gy
u.afp.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:00 PM
What a game from #SriLanka against Australia! It’s been a while since I went back and watched a game! Reminds me of the joyful brand of cricket we play.
#T20WorldCup
www.icc-cricket.com/tournaments/...
Sri Lanka power on with complete display | Match Highlights | T20WC 2026 | ICC Men's T20 World Cup, 2026 | ICC
Sri Lanka ace the chase in style to beat Australia by 8 wickets and book their place in Super 8 of ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.
www.icc-cricket.com
February 16, 2026 at 11:12 PM
Reposted by Shashika Bandara
"We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats’ feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar"

The Hollow Men (1925), T.S. Eliot
February 16, 2026 at 7:30 PM
At this point I’m inclined to get a pigeon predator to deter pigeons from my balcony. I also welcome other not so extreme ideas.
February 16, 2026 at 2:26 PM
An important read on the racist and misogynist PR machinery of the White House - its historical parallels and current impact.
Important to avoid becoming numb or normalizing these framings.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Trump’s Obama and Bad Bunny posts crystallize his political philosophy | Sidney Blumenthal
Maga is a recapitulation of the dark side of American history that cohered into nativist nationalism a century ago
www.theguardian.com
February 16, 2026 at 12:07 PM
Pakistan needs to stop imploding in these India vs Pakistan games man. Need more competitive games.
February 15, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Also applies to Saturday :) and Valentine’s Day.
Friday. Here is one of my faves off of J.Cole's excellent new album 'Fall Off'! Chill flow, story telling and Erykah Badu makes this a gem of a track! Enjoy!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a_a...
J. Cole - The Villest (Official Audio)
YouTube video by J. Cole
www.youtube.com
February 14, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Wow. What an upset!! Need to catch the highlights.

www.france24.com/en/live-news...
Zimbabwe pull off shock win over Australia at T20 World Cup
Zimbabwe beat a depleted Australia by 23 runs on Friday in Colombo to pull off the biggest shock of the T20 World Cup so far.
www.france24.com
February 13, 2026 at 7:16 PM
Friday. Here is one of my faves off of J.Cole's excellent new album 'Fall Off'! Chill flow, story telling and Erykah Badu makes this a gem of a track! Enjoy!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a_a...
J. Cole - The Villest (Official Audio)
YouTube video by J. Cole
www.youtube.com
February 13, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by Shashika Bandara
BREAKING: Four states led by Democrats sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, aiming to halt deep cuts in federal public health funds that had already been allocated.

Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/h...
Four States Sue Administration Over Loss of Public Health Funds
www.nytimes.com
February 12, 2026 at 12:21 AM
TIME 100 Health has RFK Jr. - do we need to rexamine the definition of leader TIME?
Neutral language/approaches often masks the intentional damage. A very poor choice to lift up/platforms those we shouldn’t.

RFK Jr. is destroying public health. Reshaping is not the synonym.
time.com/collections/...
February 12, 2026 at 1:13 AM
T20 workd cup flew under my radar!
India vs Pakistan is obv gonna be electric. Hopefully Sri Lanka does well.

mashable.com/article/icc-...
T20 World Cup 2026 livestream: Watch ICC Men's T20 World Cup for free
Live stream all the action from India and Sri Lanka without spending anything.
mashable.com
February 11, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Reposted by Shashika Bandara
Holy shit—a terrible waste of $$

Bhattacharya is so kooky

“If lots of people believe it & it’s moving public health, we as NIH have an obligation, again, to treat it seriously,” Bhattacharya said at a MAHA event

Great reporting by @rachanadpradhan.bsky.social

kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
US Cancer Institute Studying Ivermectin’s ‘Ability To Kill Cancer Cells’ - KFF Health News
At a January event organized by allies of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., National Cancer Institute Director Anthony Letai said results may be released “in a few months.” Ivermectin, used to d...
kffhealthnews.org
February 10, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by Shashika Bandara
No science, just vibes.
February 11, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Bernie Sanders delivers a scathing take down of billionaire class - the biggest factors in shifting status quo towards inequity.
Billionaires deeply influence political and structural determinants of health - and in the examples provided by Bernie their influence is negative.
February 10, 2026 at 2:15 AM
February 9, 2026 at 2:43 AM
Reposted by Shashika Bandara
Breaking News: Thailand embraced nationalism and the monarchy for the first time in years, rejecting a recent progressive movement in elections on Sunday.
Seeking Stability, Thai Voters Decisively Reject Progressive Party
It was the first time in years that a conservative party preaching nationalism, patriotism and respect for the monarchy came out on top.
nyti.ms
February 8, 2026 at 8:18 PM
J. Cole and Bad Bunny dominating the charts. Critique of the inequitable status quo and introspection can make it in the charts. Both album covers incidentally have chairs in the cover (for trivia fans).
February 7, 2026 at 9:11 PM
Who else suffers from the condition of losing and looking for your glasses? I somehow had to look for my glasses three times this morn.
February 7, 2026 at 3:29 PM
Reposted by Shashika Bandara
Democratizing Knowledge Through Global Health Podcasts

Podcasts are a great way to learn, share, exchange, and democratize global health knowledge

Here is my new list of podcasts worth checking out!

communities.springernature.com/posts/democr...
Democratizing Knowledge Through Global Health Podcasts
Podcasts are a great way to learn, share, exchange, and democratize global health knowledge. Here are several wonderful podcasts worth checking out!
communities.springernature.com
January 26, 2026 at 5:22 PM
J. Cole's 'The Fall Off' is out! Brilliant album - looking into the fault lines of the system, than playing into media frenzies/beefs/attacks etc.
There is a song "What if?" asking what if actually Tupac and Biggie talked and settled it - will all those deaths happen?
Beautiful production&curation.
February 6, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Excellent, well researched short article by a student journalist Héloïse Durning at McGill @mcgillghp.bsky.social on the measles resurgence and pathways forward. It is in French but also can be read in English.

#globalhealth #vaccines

www.delitfrancais.com/2026/02/04/l...
Le retour de la rougeole aux États-Unis - Le Délit
Les conséquences du mouvement antivax.
www.delitfrancais.com
February 6, 2026 at 1:18 AM
I spoke to Interprofessional Global Health Course students tonight. I asked "What gives you hope in global health?" Their answers didn't disappoint! Finding hope in community and solidarity is joyous!

Shout out to the organizing student team Wan-Li Sun, Greta Zogaj, Adetomiwa Adedire, and others.
February 4, 2026 at 2:05 AM