USAID Freeze Strains Global Health Initiatives, WHO Warns

WHO Chief highlights the consequences of the USAID funding halt on HIV treatment and other essential health services across 50 nations.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has voiced serious concerns over a freeze on tens of billions of dollars of overseas aid from the United States, which has significantly disrupted crucial health programs aimed at combating diseases such as HIV, polio, mpox, and bird flu. Amidst these tensions, WHO chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has made a compelling appeal for the U.S. government to reconsider its stance and restore funding until alternative solutions are established.

During a virtual press conference held in Geneva, Dr. Tedros emphasized the dire implications of the funding freeze, particularly highlighting the impact on the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR). He reported that health services related to HIV treatment, testing, and prevention have been stopped in 50 countries, leading to shuttered clinics and furloughed health workers.

Experts in the global health arena have raised alarms over the possibility of disease outbreaks and hindered progress on vaccine development due to the financial cuts. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump advocates for closing down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), calling it "totally unexplainable" and accusing it of incompetence and corruption.

Trump's administration has recently proposed substantial cuts to the agency's workforce while halting nearly all aid programs, with USAID managing around $40 billion annually for humanitarian efforts primarily in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Europe. Elon Musk has also characterized USAID as a "criminal organization," yet both figures have failed to substantiate their claims with concrete evidence.

Besides the aid freeze, Trump is working to pull the U.S. out of the WHO, from which the United States was previously the largest funding contributor under the Biden administration. Dr. Tedros stated that this decision is undermining collaborative efforts to address global health emergencies, with the U.S. also reducing its reporting on human bird flu cases.

In response to the aid cuts, the WHO has initiated emergency measures reminiscent of those activated during the COVID-19 pandemic, including efforts to maintain a supply of life-saving antiretroviral medication for those living with HIV. Meg Doherty, director of global HIV, hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections programs at the WHO, acknowledged these short-term strategies while emphasizing the need for a more sustainable solution for sharing resources among countries.