- WHO Chief faults Trump’s suspension of funding to PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, noting that it has caused immediate stop to HIV treatment, testing and prevention services in 50 countries.
- With the immediate halt of U.S. aid plan, ongoing prevention programmes for at-risk groups disrupted as clinics close, sending thousands of health workers home.
- For decades, economies across Sub-Saharan Africa have pivoted on USAID to drive critical health interventions and humanitarian relief.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has sounded the alarm over looming negative impact on several critical health initiatives in Africa including HIV, malaria, and Tuberculosis (TB) across the world following the withdrawal of financing by the U.S. under President Donald Trump’s new administration.
In an update on Tuesday, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that economies across Africa and beyond risk plunging into disruptions to ongoing HIV treatment plans, while also suffering setbacks on various polio eradication initiatives.
Dr. Tedros added that the withdrawal of aid from the U.S. posed a challenge for economies already strained in responding to mpox epidemics in Africa.
Across the continent, Polio and HIV and Aids remains a significant burden, consuming vast amounts of scarce resources allocated to health.
“The suspension of funding to PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, caused an immediate stop to HIV treatment, testing and prevention services in the 50 countries,” Dr. Tedros said.
He added that despite a waiver for life-saving services, with the immediate halt of U.S. aid plan, ongoing prevention programmes for at-risk groups remain in several countries remains excluded, clinics have closed, and thousands of health workers have ceased working.
U.S. aid withdrawal triggers immediate cancellation of critical HIV research
President Trump’s USAID’s stop-work order triggered immediate cancellation of critical HIV research and closed many treatment clinics in Africa, where over 25 million people live with HIV and Aids.
Already, reports show that USAID-affiliated organizations in Uganda and Nigeria, which are some of the worst affected countries by HIV, have fired thousands of healthcare workers and warned of severe shortages of critical drugs, which suppress HIV positive people’s viral load and prevent transmission among populations.
If Donald Trump’s move is implemented to the fullest, USAID, which for decades has been the U.S’ face of international aid will see over 10,000 workers spread across Africa and the world shrink to under 300. Media reports show that just a dozen USAID workers would remain in the African bureau and eight in the Asia continent.
For decades, economies across Sub-Saharan Africa have pivoted on USAID to drive critical health interventions and humanitarian relief. Support from the USAID has also been channeled to other devastating health crises in Africa including malaria, and tuberculosis (TB) that keep claiming millions of lives annually.
Given the impending negative impact, Dr. Tedros called on President Trump to reconsider its funding approach, at least until alternative solutions can be found to maintain essential health services.
Ebola outbreak in Uganda
Meanwhile, Dr. Tedros noted that the global health agency is closely following the recently reported Ebola outbreak in Uganda where nine confirmed cases, including one death has been cited. WHO has already deployed emergency teams to support surveillance, treatment and infection control measures in the East African country.
Additionally, a vaccine trial, which was launched just four days after the outbreak was declared in Uganda, is now underway, while approval for a therapeutics trial is pending. To sustain the response to the viral disease, WHO has allocated an additional $2 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies, supplementing the $1 million already provided.
Conflict in DR Congo
The humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is also straining health services, with more than 900 deaths and over 4,000 injuries reported amid escalating violence in the east.
“At most, only one-third of people who need health services in North and South Kivu are able to receive them,” Dr. Tedros stated, noting the risks posed by infectious disease outbreaks such as mpox and cholera.
He added that critical supplies such as medicines and fuel, are running critically low, further complicating WHO’s ability to respond.
Read also: USAID shut down: Africa on edge as Musk, Trump end almost a century of global aid
