The US decision to freeze foreign aid is seriously affecting global health, jeopardizing programs to fight polio, HIV and other diseases, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said today. He called on the US government to reconsider the decision until a solution is found.
“We are concerned about some steps by the US government that seriously threaten global health,” Tedros told a virtual press conference from Geneva. US President Donald Trump, shortly after taking office in January, froze foreign aid payments until a review of the programs was carried out.
Tedros noted that the suspension of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has halted HIV treatment, testing and prevention in 50 countries. “Clinics have been closed and health workers have been sent home,” he warned, adding that the WHO was trying to help affected countries by purchasing antiretroviral drugs.
Efforts to eradicate polio and the response to smallpox have also been hit, while in Myanmar 60.000 people have been left without basic health services.
“We call on Washington to consider continuing funding, at least until alternative solutions are found,” Tedros said.
Additionally, Trump began withdrawing the US from the WHO on the first day of his term, further disrupting cooperation, especially in the fight against epidemics and influenza, he warned.
