Global health facing greatest disruption in memory: WHO chief

The World Health Organization (WHO) chief said Thursday that the UN agency is facing the greatest disruption to health in memory as abrupt cuts and withdrawal of US funding and other measures have led to a pause in treatment campaigns for more than 140 million people.

“For years, we have said global health financing needs to be changed and emphasized the importance of self-reliance and domestic financing,“ Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference.

French ambassador for Global Health, Anne-Claire Amprou, who is a WHO Intergovernmental body member, said the combination of $1.4 billion from the US, generous pharmaceutical donations, private-sector innovation and largely public-sector health workers had helped stop the transmission of lymphatic filariasis, river blindness, schistosomiasis, intestinal worms and trachoma in 14 countries.

She said Bangladesh, Benin, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mali, Mexico, Nepal, Niger, Togo and Vietnam all achieved the elimination of at least one non-tropical disease.

“However, the abrupt cuts and withdrawal of US funding, on top of other donor countries cutting investments to NTDs, have led to treatment campaigns for more than 140 million people being paused, and research on new medical tools being cut,” she said.

Amprou said donor countries can spend money where they want, and the WHO is grateful to those who have funded health systems globally for decades.

“But instead of an orderly decline, the abrupt cuts to overseas development aid and a challenging economic and trade environment are sewing chaos in public health,” said Ampro.

At the beginning of the year, the US administration of Donald Trump said it intends to withdraw from the WHO.

The WHO faces a funding gap of almost $600 million in 2025, according to reports.

“We hope the United States will reconsider, and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe,” the UN agency said at the time of the announcement.