Donald Trump's return as US president could be upsetting;
Organizations and officials say some of the cases undermine Washington's commitment to global efforts to improve public health.
Trump transition team plans again Withdrawal from the World Health Organization They said this reflects widespread suspicion of international institutions and calls into question the U.S. contribution to scientific research, infectious disease control and pandemic preparedness.
John Arne Rottingen, chief executive of the Wellcome Trust, one of the largest foundations funding health research, said: “America's health leaders bring tremendous technical expertise, leadership, and influence, and their potential loss from the world stage would be devastating and result in their withdrawal from the United States. ” As a result, global health is further weakened. ”
Experts also worry that the second Trump administration will ignore scientific best practices and spread disinformation around the world. They cited Trump's nomination, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Prominent anti-vaccination activist As Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Peter Maberdach, medicine access director at US-based consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said blocking vaccination campaigns would threaten “millions of lives around the world”. . “Disinformation could set back one of humanity's major achievements of the past 100 years.”
A source close to President Trump's transition team said, “I don't think President Trump cares much about what self-proclaimed world health experts say. I gave a big vote against the people who imposed this on me.”
Health experts have already warned that President Trump will begin the process of withdrawing from the WHO on January 20, the first day of his administration, completing the unfinished business of his first term and potentially having major repercussions. are.
important program.
Officials face deadlock in WHO-mediated negotiations pandemic preparedness treaty They also fear that the new administration will sign the treaty's death warrant.
The United States is the largest donor to the WHO and the Global Fund to fight HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria. It funds national programs such as Pepfar, which is working to fight HIV in more than 50 countries.
The cut in U.S. funding would come at a bad time for nonprofits already battling budget cuts. Donors from other wealthy countries As memories of the coronavirus pandemic fade.
Vaccine alliance Gavi is seeking to raise at least $9 billion for the next five-year funding cycle, and the Global Fund is seeking pledges for a replenishment round by October. Diane Stewart, head of donor relations at the Global Fund, said funding for health care is “shrinking or stagnating.”
Some NGOs will also be hurt by the re-enactment of the Global Gag Rule, which would cut off U.S. funding to organizations they fund or promote. abortion service. During the Trump administration, this led to Marie Stopps International and the International Family Planning Foundation cutting off funding.
U.S. domestic agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fund scientific research around the world.
Dr. Bernard Ogutu, a principal investigator at the Kenya Medical Research Institute, which receives support from the NIH, CDC and the U.S. military, said funding cuts come as many countries, including Kenya, suffer a “meltdown” of healthcare collapse. said the threat was a “double tragedy”. their economy.
Mr Kennedy's appointment has caused particular concern in Australia, which provided expertise and equipment to fight the 2019 crisis. measles outbreak Dozens of children have been murdered in the Pacific island nation of Samoa.
have I met an anti-vaccine activist. Earlier in the year in Samoa, President Kennedy was accused of sowing distrust as authorities sought to restore confidence in the vaccination program. Last year, two children died after a measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shot was accidentally mixed with a muscle relaxant. President Kennedy denied any responsibility for the subsequent measles outbreak.
If the Trump administration attacks the reliability of pediatric shots such as the MMR vaccine, it will increase the risk of more deadly outbreaks like the measles outbreak in Samoa, experts have warned. There is.
University of Melbourne pediatrics professor and vaccinologist Margie Dunchin said it was “very concerning” that vaccine skeptics like Kennedy in the Trump administration seemed “unable to interpret or acknowledge solid scientific evidence”. ”
For now, the World Health Organization wants to avoid President Trump's attention. Some have privately rallied sympathetic Republicans in Congress to compile a report arguing that foreign funding can also help protect Americans.
Bjorn Lomborg, head of the Copenhagen Consensus Center think tank, urged Trump's health team to focus on “wise spending” to improve the effectiveness of U.S. aid.
Improving care for newborns and mothers is one area where targeted spending can make a big difference, he said. According to United Nations statistics, approximately 2.3 million children die each year in the first month of life, and 300,000 mothers die each year during childbirth.
“That's really Trump's strength. He's not afraid to piss off a lot of people and say, 'We're going to do the smart thing first,'” he added.
If the U.S. cuts health funding, it's unclear who will fill the gap. Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health at Georgetown Law School, said he has been told by European leaders that neither the EU nor their countries are likely to act aggressively.
The prospect of China taking control of world institutions may worry President Trump, but Beijing also remains “ambivalent” about institutions such as the WHO, argues Jeremy Hude, a political scientist at Portland State University. .
“China has a very different way of thinking about global health and multilateralism than the United States,” Gostin said.
The Gates Foundation, a major force in global health and the WHO's second-largest funder, has not yet committed to increasing its donations.
For Ayoade Alakija, a global health expert and chairman of Switzerland-based diagnostic NGO Find, the potential US withdrawal is a “clarion call” for leaders of developing countries to invest in their countries. .
Healthcare is “under threat from multiple perspectives,” she said. “We saw that with the coronavirus, but at least Trump can be honest.” [in thinking]”I don't really care about you guys.”
Additional reporting by Oliver Burns in New York
