FILE PHOTO: A view shows The World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 28, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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DENIS BALIBOUSE
The cuts in official global aid are causing health service disruptions comparable to those seen during the Covid-19 pandemic in some regions, the World Health Organization said in its latest ‘stock take’ report.
About 70 per cent of WHO’s country offices have reported disruptions in health service, as a result of sudden suspensions and reductions in official development assistance (ODA) for health, the WHO warned, adding that there was potential for deeper and prolonged effects on health systems and services across the world, especially in vulnerable and fragile settings.
Health services were being disrupted across the board in at least one third of the responding countries, “with high levels of disruptions reported in outbreak detection and response, malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections, family planning, and maternal and child health services,” the report revealed. “The nature and scale of service disruptions are comparable to those observed during the peak periods of the COVID-19 pandemic in some settings,” it added.
“The new rapid stock take conducted in March–April 2025 with 108 WHO country offices, primarily in low- and lower-middle-income countries, shows that many countries are working to increase or reallocate funding from domestic and alternative external sources to address gaps,” the UN health agency said.
However, it added, “up to 24 per cent of WHO Country Office responses suggest budget cuts are already translating into increased out-of-pocket payments. The poor and vulnerable likely risk bearing the additional brunt of these impacts.”
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said, the cuts were a shock, but “they are also driving an accelerated transition away from aid dependency to a more sustainable self-reliance, based on domestic resources.” WHO country offices in low- and lower-middle-income countries across all six WHO regions were included in this survey, it said.
Covid-scale disruptions
The report found, that “suspensions and reductions in ODA were disrupting all health system functions, with the most frequently reported impacts being on health emergency preparedness and response (70 per cent), public health surveillance (66 per cent), service provision (58 per cent), humanitarian aid (56 per cent), and the health and care workforce (54 per cent).” Critical shortages in the availability of medicines and health products were leaving one third of responding countries without commodities for major service areas, it said.
The pause in ODA had led to job losses for health and care workers in over half of responding countries, and significant disruptions to trainings, the report said. Information systems were particularly impacted as key health data collection was disrupted, it added. “Over 40 per cent of countries experienced disruptions to key information systems, including collaborative surveillance and emergency systems, health management information systems, disease-specific reporting systems, lab information systems, and household/population surveys,” the report pointed out.
Published on April 11, 2025