The director general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has urged US President Donald Trump to reverse significant cuts to global health funding, warning that the disruption could cost millions of lives worldwide.
“We ask the US to reconsider its support for global health, which not only saves lives around the world but also makes the US safer by preventing outbreaks from spreading internationally,” Ghebreyesus said during a media briefing on Monday.
Ghebreyesus cautioned that the two HIV programs could undo 20 years of progress, leading to more than 10 million additional cases of HIV and 3 million HIV-related deaths, more than triple the number of deaths last year.
The call comes after Trump froze all US foreign aid, including substantial assistance for global health, affecting countries like South Africa.
Trump also withdrew from the WHO after returning to the White House in January as a president.
The cuts to US funding for countries through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would have a significant impact, Ghebreyesus said.
“The sudden cuts to US funding are also affecting efforts to eradicate polio, to monitor the emergence of diseases such as avian influenza, and to respond to disease outbreaks and humanitarian crises,” he said.
Ghebreyesus stated that nearly 24 million people in crisis areas are at risk of losing access to essential health services.
Disruptions to the supply of Malaria diagnostics, medicines, and insecticide-treated bed nets have been reported due to stock-outs, delayed delivery, or lack of funding.
“Over the last two decades, the US has been the largest bilateral donor to the fight against malaria, helping to prevent an estimated 2.2 billion cases and 12.7 million deaths,” Ghebreyesus said.
“If disruptions continue, we could see an additional 15 million cases of malaria and 107,000 deaths this year alone, reversing 15 years of progress.”
He also noted the suspension of the US anti-HIV initiative, Pepfar, has caused an immediate halt to services for HIV treatment, testing, and prevention in more than 50 countries.
“Eight countries now have substantial disruptions to antiretroviral therapy and will run out of medicines in the coming months,” he said.
On Tuberculosis, Ghebreyesus that nine countries have reported “failing procurement and supply chain for TB drugs, jeopardising the lives of people with TB.”
” Twenty-seven countries in Africa and Asia are facing crippling breakdowns in their response, with shortages of human resources, disruptions to diagnosis and treatment, data and surveillance systems collapsing, and vital community engagement work deteriorating,” he said.
On the topic of immunisation, Ghebreyesus warned that WHO's Global Measles and Rubella Network, which is funded solely by the US, faces imminent shutdown.
“This comes at the worst possible time when measles is making a comeback,” he said.
While acknowledging the US generosity over many years, Ghebreyesus stressed that it is within the US' rights to decide what it supports and to what extent.
However, he added that the US also has a responsibility to ensure any withdrawal of direct funding is done in an orderly and humane manner that allows countries to seek alternative funding sources.
“If the US decides not to restore direct funding to countries, we ask it to engage in dialogue with affected countries so plans can be made to transform from reliance on US funding to more sustainable solutions, without disruptions that cost lives,” Ghebreyesus said.