The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission, chaired by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, recently released its second report, the Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy. As required by President Trump’s February 13 executive order (EO) establishing the MAHA Commission, this strategy report purports to outline new and in-progress federal actions that build upon the Commission’s first report released in May, the Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment. (See previous FABBS article for more information on the first report.)
FABBS members have long talked about the importance of many of the stated goals underlying the MAHA movement, including health promotion and prevention, building resilience, and reducing the burden of chronic disease. However, the MAHA Commission’s approach to achieving these goals as they relate to children violates the principles of Gold Standard Science, despite claims to the contrary, and is undermined by rash changes across HHS programs. Commission members’ biases appear throughout the report. For example, the report begins with the view that vaccines are harmful, rather than asking basic questions about vaccine effectiveness and risks. The report also overlooks many structural factors that underlie the health crises it claims to combat.
Furthermore, the strategy report is redundant, poorly organized, and not strategic. Throughout the document, the Commission directs public health agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to research topics that it is already studying through intramural research, extramural research, or both. Directives are often vague and it is not always clear how each directive will support the Commission’s goals. The report also fails to recognize that many of the programs and resources needed to address the children’s health crisis have been terminated or face severe cuts. Finally, the report itself has no regulatory power and it is unclear how it will be implemented.
Overall, the strategy report represents a stark departure from a long history of quality and integrity in government scientific reports.
This report offers over 100 executive directives and actions, organized across four categories:
- Advancing Critical Research to Drive Innovation: Pursue rigorous, gold-standard scientific research to help ensure informed decisions that promote healthy outcomes for American children and families, as well as drive innovative solutions.
- Realigning Incentives and Systems to Drive Health Outcomes Research to Drive Innovation: Implement policy reforms, deregulation, and structural improvements that will drive advancements in innovation to create better options for American families and address the root causes of childhood chronic disease.
- Increasing Public Awareness and Knowledge: Promote public awareness and knowledge of health concerns that affect children and empower parents to make informed choices by increasing transparency and access to reliable health and nutrition information. These efforts will help restore trust in public health recommendations and encourage healthier lifestyles in American families.
- Fostering Private Sector Collaboration: Foster private sector collaboration with MAHA initiatives to accelerate innovation in health-focused technologies, agricultural solutions, and healthier nutrition outcomes. These partnerships can ensure increase access to effective solutions for American families.
FABBS has been closely following the MAHA movement and its impact on federal science agencies such as NIH, and will continue to do so. We have already engaged with several Congressional offices—including those of the MAHA Caucus’s founding members—to provide analysis of the initial MAHA Children’s Health Assessment and offer ourselves as a resource moving forward to work towards achieving shared stated goals.
