A report on 26th of March revealed that President Donald Trump’s administration plans to withdraw funding from Gavi, a global health organization that provides vaccines to developing nations.
According to the New York Times, this decision was outlined in a 281-page document sent to Congress by the significantly downsized United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Monday night. The document details which grants will continue and which will be discontinued.
In addition to reducing support for Gavi, the U.S. government will also significantly scale back funding for malaria programs. However, some financial assistance will remain for treating HIV, tuberculosis, and providing food aid in regions affected by conflict and natural disasters.
The Times reported that only 869 of USAID’s more than 6,000 employees remain actively working. Out of over 6,000 grants, the administration has chosen to continue approximately 900 while ending more than 5,340.
The report estimates that the agency’s annual budget has been slashed by $40 billion, and USAID has since been absorbed by its parent department, the State Department.
Reacting to the report, Gavi emphasized the importance of U.S. support, stating on X (formerly Twitter), “With U.S. support, we can save over 8 million lives in the next five years and provide millions of children with a healthier future.”
William Moss, executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, warned that withdrawing U.S. financial support for Gavi could significantly undermine progress in reducing deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases and increase the risk of outbreaks within the United States.
Over the past 25 years, U.S. contributions to Gavi have reportedly helped save 18 million lives and enabled 19 countries to become self-sufficient, with some transitioning into donor nations themselves. The U.S. currently funds about a quarter of Gavi’s total budget.
