A new report from the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) raised concerns about the long-term consequences of suppressing or distorting scientific information during public health crises. Titled “The Cost of Concealment: The People Pay the Price,” the report examines how failures in transparency and accountability can erode public trust and compromise health outcomes.
The report identifies a recurring pattern in which political pressures, institutional interests, and reputational concerns have influenced how critical health information is communicated. This pattern, the report suggests, has been evident in past events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently in the restructuring of the National Institutes of Health in the United States, and Argentina’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization.
“In times of crisis, the public depends on officials and scientists to provide clear, objective, and timely information,” said Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator for CAPHRA. “When this duty is compromised, the consequences are measured not just in lost trust, but in lost lives.”
The report emphasizes that limited transparency and selective reporting can have global ramifications, empowering misinformation, weakening public institutions, and leading to ineffective policy responses. It concludes with a call for renewed commitment to ethical standards, transparency, and scientific independence, and urges officials, researchers, and institutions to prioritize public welfare over political or personal interests.
“When science is manipulated or dissenting views are silenced, it ceases to be a tool of discovery and becomes a tool of conformity,” said Clarisse Virgino, CAPHRA’s representative in the Philippines.
