WHO Chief: US Actions Have Major Impact on Global Health
The United States' pause on foreign aid contributions is having a serious impact on global health, hitting programmes fighting polio, HIV and other threats, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday.
Tedros urged the U.S. to consider resuming aid funding until solutions can be found.
"There are actions that the U.S. government is taking... which we're concerned are having a serious impact on global health," said Tedros in a virtual press conference from Geneva.
Efforts to tackle HIV, polio, mpox and avian flu were all impacted by the U.S. foreign aid pause implemented by President Trump last month shortly after he took office while the programs are reviewed.
In particular, Tedros said, the suspension of funding for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) had caused an immediate stop to HIV treatment, testing and prevention services in the 50 countries it supports.
Despite the subsequent waiver allowing some services to resume, prevention efforts for at-risk groups were not included, he said.
"Clinics are shuttered and health workers have been put on leave," he added, saying that the WHO is trying to help countries fill gaps in supplies of anti-retroviral drugs.
Both the funding suspension and the disengagement of U.S. institutions were also affecting the effort to eradicate polio and the response to mpox, he said, and in Myanmar, almost 60,000 people had been left with no access to life-saving services.
Despite the subsequent waiver allowing some services to resume, prevention efforts for at-risk groups were not included, he said.
"Clinics are shuttered and health workers have been put on leave," he added, saying that the WHO is trying to help countries fill gaps in supplies of anti-retroviral drugs.
Both the funding suspension and the disengagement of U.S. institutions were also affecting the effort to eradicate polio and the response to mpox, he said, and in Myanmar, almost 60,000 people had been left with no access to life-saving services.
Maria Van Kerkhove, interim director for pandemics and epidemics, said that WHO had not had influenza reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since around January 24, though.
"We are continuing to reach out to our colleagues and the U.S. government agencies. We haven't heard back from them, but we will continue to reach out, and we hope again that that exchange resumes," she said.
Tedros also referred to the funding gap for WHO itself. The agency has already reformed its funding model in recent years, but other ideas were also on the table, he said.
These include raising an endowment of $50 billion, although he did not give details about how that would be done. He also said the agency has considered cash recovery, or charging for some of its services, for institutions or people that could pay.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
MTV Lebanon
30-05-2025
- MTV Lebanon
30 May 2025 13:40 PM France to Ban Outdoor Smoking in Most Public Places
France will ban smoking in all outdoor places that can be accessed by children, including beaches, parks and bus stops, the health and family minister announced Thursday. Famed as a country where smokers linger over cigarettes on cafe terraces or strolling down cobblestone streets, France has increasingly tightened restrictions on tobacco use in public spaces in recent years. The new ban, which will enter into force on July 1, will cover all spaces where children could be present, including "beaches, parks, public gardens, outside of schools, bus stops and sports venues", said the minister Catherine Vautrin. "Tobacco must disappear where there are children," Vautrin said in an interview published by the regional Ouest-France daily on its website. The freedom to smoke "stops where children's right to breathe clean air starts," she said. The ban will also extend to schools, to stop students smoking in front of them. Offenders face a fine of up to 135 euros ($154), Vautrin said. The ban will not extend to France's iconic cafe terraces however, the minister said. Electronic cigarettes, which have boomed in France in recent years, are also not covered. France already forbids smoking in public spaces such as workplaces, airports and train stations, as well as playgrounds. Anti-smoking groups had been fighting for a broader ban. An estimated 35 percent of France's population are smokers -- higher than the averages for Europe (25 percent) and the world (21 percent), according to the World Health Organization. Around 75,000 people are estimated to die from tobacco-related complications each year in France. According to a recent opinion survey, six out of 10 French people (62%) favour banning smoking in public places. The government's National Anti-Tobacco Programme for 2023 to 2027 proposed a smoking ban similar to the one announced by Vautrin, calling France to "rise to the challenge of a tobacco-free generation from 2032". But anti-tobacco organisations had voiced concern the authorities were dragging their feet on implementing the measures. More than 1,500 cities and villages had already imposed their own bans on smoking in public spaces such as parks, beaches and ski slopes. Vautrin said there were no plans to place additional taxes on cigarettes "at the moment", citing the thriving black market that emerged after existing taxes were introduced in a bid to discourage smoking.
LBCI
26-05-2025
- LBCI
Palestinians to raise flag at WHO for the first time after vote
The Palestinian delegation won the right to fly their flag at the World Health Organization (WHO) after a symbolic victory in a vote on Monday that its envoy hopes will lead to greater recognition within the United Nations and beyond. The proposal, brought by China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and others, at the global agency's annual assembly in Geneva passed with 95 in favor and four against - Israel, Hungary, Czech Republic and Germany - and 27 abstentions. It follows a successful Palestinian bid for membership of the U.N. General Assembly last year and comes amid signs that France could recognize a Palestinian state.
Nahar Net
21-05-2025
- Nahar Net
Two of last functioning hospitals in north Gaza encircled by Israeli forces
by Naharnet Newsdesk 21 May 2025, 14:55 Two of northern Gaza's last functioning hospitals have been encircled by Israeli troops, preventing anyone from leaving or entering the facilities, hospital staff and aid groups said this week, as Israel pursued its renewed offensive into the devastated Palestinian territory. The Indonesian hospital and al-Awda hospital are among the region's only surviving medical centers. Israeli authorities issued evacuation orders Friday for large parts of northern Gaza ahead of attacks intended to pressure the Hamas militant group to release more hostages. New evacuation orders followed Tuesday. Both hospitals as well as another and three primary health care centers are within the evacuation zone, though Israel has not ordered the evacuation of the facilities themselves. Another two hospitals and four primary care centers are within a 1,000 meters (yards) of the zone, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization. Israeli military operations and evacuation orders "are stretching the health system beyond the breaking point," he said. Hundreds of attacks on health facilities The WHO said hospitals in northern Gaza are "at a serious risk of shutting down completely." The United Nations agency has documented nearly 700 attacks on health care facilities in Gaza since the start of Israel's 19-month war against the Hamas militant group. The Israeli military has raided or laid siege to hospitals throughout the war, accusing Hamas of using them as command centers and to hide fighters, though it has only provided evidence for some of its claims. Hamas security men have been seen in hospitals during the war, controlling access to certain areas, and in recent weeks Israel has targeted alleged militants inside health facilities. Palestinians say the latest attacks on hospitals in the north are part of a larger plan to displace the population to the south and eventually drive them from Gaza. Israel has vowed to facilitate what it refers to as the voluntary migration of much of Gaza's population to other countries, which many Palestinians and others view as a plan for forcible expulsion. Israel wants to "ensure the forced displacement of people from the area," said Rami Shurafi, a board member of al-Awda hospital. Al-Awda's courtyard and its ambulances came under fire starting Monday. The Indonesian hospital comes under attack The Indonesian hospital, once the largest in northern Gaza, has been surrounded by Israeli troops, which were positioned about 500 meters (545 yards) away. Drones have hovered above, monitoring any movement, since Sunday, an aid group that supports the hospital said. The Israeli military said its forces were operating around the hospital and targeting Hamas infrastructure but that troops had not entered the facility and ambulances were allowed to move. Israeli bulldozers demolished a perimeter wall of the hospital, according to the aid group MERC-Indonesia and a hospital staff member who had since evacuated. The staffer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. On Tuesday, airstrikes targeted the hospital's generators, sparking a fire and damaging its main power supply. The strikes also caused damage to the hospital's water supply, according to a video posted by MERC-Indonesia. Large flames were seen rising from the area before daybreak. A speaker in the video said the fire was close to the hospital fuel supply, but firefighters controlled the flames. At least one staff member was killed, according to WHO, which said those who remained in the hospital were in urgent need of water and food. The U.N. said it was working to transfer remaining patients to other facilities. Military activity around the hospital also damaged ceilings, the hospital roof and some equipment. At least 20 doctors and staff members decided to stay in the building, and most patients evacuated themselves after fighting intensified in the area starting Thursday. Doctors and staffers at the hospital were not immediately reachable for comment. A video posted by MERC-Indonesia from the hospital windows showed an Israeli tank a few meters (several feet) away from the hospital. Israeli strikes isolate al-Awda hospital Nearly a kilometer (about half a mile) away, Israeli drones fired Monday into the al-Awda hospital courtyard, preventing movement, Shurafi said. On Tuesday, Israeli drones fired at two ambulances that transferred three patients to Gaza City as the crews tried to return to the hospital, spokesperson Khaled Alhelo said. They were redirected to western Gaza. Alhelo himself was unable to return to the hospital Tuesday because of military activity. There are currently no ambulances or internet lines at al-Awda hospital, the two officials said. Israeli troops are about 900 meters (about half a mile) away from the hospital, Alhelo said. But the real risk, he said, is from Israeli drones flying over the hospital and preventing any movement in or out. "Anyone moving in the hospital is fired at. They are all keeping low inside the hospital," he said. About 47 patients, including nearly 20 children and several pregnant women, and some 140 doctors and medical staff members are still at the hospital, hospital board member Shurafi said. He said the hospital board decided not to evacuate the hospital and called for supplies and the return of ambulances because there are still bombings and wounded people in the area. "In light of the war, and conflict, it should remain functioning," Shurafi said. He said the hospital has been besieged and raided several times since the war began in October 2023, but he called the current phase the "most critical." The Israeli military had no comment on the situation at al-Awda. The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 others. The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's retaliatory offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.
