Global health programs in crisis as U.S. freezes aid
WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES — The United States foreign aid freeze, announced by President Donald Trump, has sparked a global health crisis, halting critical programs funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
These programs, which combat diseases like HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis, are now in jeopardy, leaving millions of vulnerable people without access to essential care.
Franklin Wanyama, a 29-year-old HIV-positive resident of Nairobi, is one of many affected.
“We patients who are HIV positive, we are really panicked,” he said. His clinic continues to ration medications while others have shut down entirely. Wanyama also lost his job mentoring HIV-positive individuals at a U.S.-funded facility, further compounding his uncertainty.
Critical HIV and malaria programs face immediate shutdown
The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which provides antiretroviral treatment to over 20 million people globally, has been severely disrupted. Clinics reliant on PEPFAR funding have suspended staff and limited services.
Salim Abdool Karim from South Africa’s Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research warned that if PEPFAR services cease, the consequences will be catastrophic.
Similarly, the President’s Malaria Initiative has been paralyzed. Over one million insecticide-treated bed nets remain stranded in Ethiopia during peak malaria transmission season.
“Without these services…people will die,” said Taylor Williamson, a malaria prevention expert.
WHO funding gap threatens global health security
The U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) exacerbates the crisis by disrupting global health collaborations. The WHO faces a $1 billion funding gap as it scrambles to maintain programs like polio eradication and pandemic preparedness.
Peter Horby of Oxford University expressed concern over the diminished U.S. role in addressing global health threats: “There will be a huge loss of money and expertise.”
Humanitarian crisis looms amid suspended programs
Experts warn that the freeze could reverse decades of progress in combating infectious diseases while damaging U.S. diplomatic relations. Gavin Yamey of Duke University emphasized that this abrupt halt is “the exact opposite of a well-managed transition.”
With millions at risk and alternative funding sources uncertain, urgent action is needed to reverse the freeze or fill the void left by U.S. aid programs
