US FUNDING SUSPENSION WREAKS HAVOC

Saro Thiruppathy analyses the disastrous impact of the suspension of USAID funding on the world’s healthcare sector

In an effort to provide civilian foreign aid and development assistance overseas, America established the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in November 1961.

Prior to the independent agency of the US government being dismantled and funds frozen on the orders of President Donald Trump in February, USAID employed about 10,000 people of whom around two-thirds worked overseas.

For over 60 years, USAID funded global emergency responses such as the fight against highly infectious diseases – including Ebola, Zika and SARS among others – which have continued to see sporadic outbreaks over the years.

The sudden decision by the Trump administration to freeze funding through USAID poses a major hazard to global healthcare initiatives. Such programmes around the world covered the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and so on, as well as vector borne transmission of diseases such as malaria.

Nearly 10,000 USAID international contracts were suspended overnight including aid for food and nutrition, peace and security, and the prevention of human trafficking – a major challenge that the US is currently facing in relation to its illegal immigration issue.

GLOBAL IMPACT In addition to all the other hardships that poor and developing countries will face as a result of the suspension of USAID funding, analysts fear that the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), which distributes aid to hard to reach locations and conflict affected communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Syria, Haiti, Yemen and Mauritania will cease.

If UNHAS can’t operate in these countries, the UN won’t be able to provide anymore humanitarian assistance to their vulnerable populations.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) enables the vaccination of millions of children against the dreaded disease and it does so every year in over 40 countries. And since the US contributed a quarter of GPEI’s annual budget, it is feared that since the freezing of aid at least 110 million children who should have been vaccinated against polio will remain unprotected.

Meanwhile, the WHO is fighting to save lives in Uganda, following an outbreak of the Sudan virus disease in January. Entry and exit screenings at the airport in Uganda and two border crossings that were funded with US assistance will also be compromised. SVD is an extremely contagious member of the hemorrhagic Ebola virus family.

Malaria cases increased tenfold in Myanmar over a four year period. And with the cessation of assistance from USAID, it won’t be possible to deliver malaria tests and medication for patients.

Nor will the International Organization for Migration (IOM) be able to provide assistance to victims of human trafficking anymore through its Global Assistance Fund (GAF).

Manzanillo in Mexico is the main entry point for Fentanyl, which is commonly known as the ‘zombie drug.’ The US has been valiantly battling this scourge and in 2023, through a tripartite partnership between the US State Department, Mexican government and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Container Control Programme (CCP) was established in the Port of Manzanillo.

Under the CCP, customs and law enforcement officials were provided critical training in the effective identification and ins­pection of suspect containers, in an effort to combat the trafficking of humans and drugs.

In 2024, it had been possible to intercept and confiscate precursor chemicals that were set to enter the US from China. In addition to these chemicals, there were also seizures of methamphetamines and Fentanyl at the Port of Manzanillo.

Due to the funding freeze however, the continuous training of personnel has come to an end, and there’s a distinct possi­bility that the influx of illegal drugs and trafficked persons into the US will increase once more.

GLOBAL FEARS Analysts believe that the US withdrawal from the development aid arena is the green light that China and Russia need to expand their spheres of influence, as well as win the hearts and minds of beneficiary nations.

Even though the US and other Western nations have been highly critical of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and the support it has been offering Africa, Asia and South America, it seems that the West is now unable to prevent China’s footprint (as a reliable partner in development assistance) from spreading across the world.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that programmes fighting Ebola have been restored and some funds are still available for related activities. American officials claim that despite the waiver however, USAID funds for Ebola prevention have not been fully operationalised.

This assault on the global health sector began in January when Trump terminated the US’ relationship with the World Health Organization.

Among the agencies that received stop funding notices since then are the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Stop TB Partnership and Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN).

In addition to these agencies, projects that were providing assistance to millions of people who had been forcibly displaced from their homes and countries have also been suspended.