Getty ImagesThe World Health Organization (WHO) chief said plans to address HIV, polio, mpox and bird flu were affected by the freeze of the U.S. Health Organization head (WHO).
U.S. President Donald Trump has taken steps to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), deeming its spending “completely unexplainable.”
But his chief, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, urged the Trump administration to consider resuming aid funds until another solution is found.
HIV treatment and other services were disrupted in 50 countries, he said in a briefing Wednesday.
Dr. Tedros spoke for the first time about the freezing of U.S. aid funds during a virtual press conference in Geneva. Global health. ”
He noted in particular that the president’s AIDS relief emergency program Pepfar suspended Pepfar, which he said had stopped HIV treatment, testing and prevention services in 50 countries.
He added that probation for life-saving services did not stop interruption.
“The clinic has been closed and health workers have been on leave,” Dr. Tedros said.
Global health experts warn that the spread of the disease, and delays in vaccines and new therapies due to cutting.
Trump believes that the US Agency for International Development is “incompetent and corruption.”
He recently announced a significant cut to the agency’s 10,000 workforce and immediately suspended nearly all assistance programs.
The agency spends about $40 billion (£3.2 billion) on humanitarian aid, accounting for about 0.6% of the U.S. government spending annually, with much of that going to health programs.
The vast majority of U.S. Agency for International Development spends most of its money in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, mainly for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
Elon Musk is a billionaire who is working on the White House’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal government, who previously claimed that aid agencies are “criminal organizations.”
Neither Trump nor Musk provided clear evidence to support their claims.
and the freeze at the USAID, President Trump has taken steps to withdraw the United States from the WHO.
Under the Biden administration, the United States is the largest funder of the UN health agency, and in 2023 it contributed one-fifth of the agency’s budget.
Dr. Tedros said Trump’s decision is affecting national cooperation on global health threats. He also said the United States has reduced reports of influenza cases in humans.
The WHO said it has adopted measures similar to the emergency measures used during the co-pandemic to fill the gaps in the lack of shortages — for example, life-saving antiretroviral drugs, such as those used to treat people with HIV.
Meg Doherty, WHO’s director of global HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections (STI), said efforts are being made to coordinate important drug supplies among countries.
But, she said a better long-term solution is needed: “We are always looking for support shared from state to state, but it is a short-term approach.”
