By Eve Herold –
The cards in international healthcare funding have been reshuffled, and a new statement from the World Health Organization reports that a whopping 70% of countries are already struggling to provide care for the world’s most vulnerable populations. Millions of people are impacted worldwide, according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The sudden cuts to almost all USAID grants plus US plans to leave the organization mean that “Patients are missing out on treatments, health facilities have closed, health workers have lost their jobs, and people face increased out-of-pocket health spending,” Ghebreyesus told attendees at the World Health Assembly in Geneva on May 19. The WHO now has a $600 million budget shortfall and has been forced to revise its budget downward by 21%. The 70% figure for countries cutting services was obtained by polling 108 WHO country offices in March and April, most of which are in low- or middle-income nations. The abrupt changes, however, challenge countries to move away from dependency toward “a more sustainable self-reliance,” according to Ghebreyesus, and the WHO is working with nations to accelerate that process.