Foreign aid has long been the backbone of global health efforts, providing access to life-saving medicine, vaccinations, and frontline healthcare. However, massive cuts in development aid by the U.S. and European countries are now reversing decades of progress.
- The U.S. has halted almost all critical aid programs under sweeping USAID stop-work orders.
- European nations have made substantial cuts:
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- The Netherlands – 30%
- Belgium – 25%
- France – 37%
- The UK – 40%
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These decisions are not simply adjustments to existing budgets, they are having immediate and devastating consequences on the healthcare systems that millions rely on.
Preventable deaths and collapsing healthcare systems
Lisa Hilmi, Executive Director of CORE Group, told DevelopmentAid that these cuts have already led to preventable deaths.
“We’ve heard of community health workers who have committed suicide after losing their jobs and access to medicine. In East Africa, stockouts of medicine have left mothers traveling long distances to seek care for malnourished children – many of whom have died due to food insecurity after feeding centers were forced to close,” she explained.
Hilmi emphasized that these were not isolated cases but systemic failures caused by the sudden funding collapse.
Resurgence of preventable diseases
The collapse of global health programs is triggering outbreaks of preventable diseases:
- Polio eradication efforts have stalled due to stop-work orders from USAID and funding cuts by European donors.
- Malaria control efforts are similarly under threat
- HIV/AIDS programs are facing a dire situation as the ending of funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in several regions is expected to result in catastrophic losses.
Katri Bertram, International Director of Impact and Advocacy at Light for the World, echoed this, commenting that:
“In South Africa alone, where more than 7 million people are HIV-positive, the termination of PEPFAR will lead to over 600,000 additional deaths over the next decade.”
Bertram cited data from the Center for Global Development, showing that every day, almost 4,000 people are dying from HIV/AIDS due to these funding cuts, while an additional 1,500 people perish from other humanitarian crises exacerbated by aid reductions.
Looming epidemic threats
The cuts are expanding way beyond immediate healthcare issues. The U.S. funding cut for World Health Organization (WHO) programs coupled with increased global mobility have led to:
- Weakening cross-border immunization programs
- Higher number of cases of Anthrax, Rift Valley fever and rabies
“We estimate a 20–25% rise in Anthrax cases and 300–400 additional human deaths per year in the Horn of Africa alone. Rift Valley fever cases are expected to increase by 18–20%, and rabies deaths by up to 40%,” Hilmi warned.
Political shift behind aid cuts
Both experts highlight that the current crisis is not an accident but the culmination of a long-term shift in donor priorities.
Bertram has traced the trend back to 2015 when European political discourse shifted in response to migration waves from Syria and Yemen.
“Development aid began to be framed not as an investment in global stability but as a liability, a narrative that has only gained traction over the past decade,” she observed.
She pointed out that European countries have gradually redirected their official development assistance (ODA) budgets to fund domestic refugee costs, leaving less for international health programs.
The latest abrupt withdrawal of funding will leave a devastating void that could cost millions of lives, the experts noted.
Call to action: What must change
Hilmi called for urgent political action, including:
- Immediate payment for work already completed
- A resumption of critical nutrition and water supplies
- The renewal of immunization programs
“We must rethink aid responsibly, but we cannot simply abandon people. This is a violation of human rights at every level,” she commented.
For her part, Bertram is calling for a shift towards local healthcare autonomy to build more resilient systems.
“For decades, we’ve spoken about transitioning from donor dependency to sustainable, locally driven models. But the reality is that the transition never really happened. Now, with aid cuts accelerating, countries and communities are being forced to take control without the safety net of gradual adaptation,” she commented.
She went on to say that donor interests should no longer be prioritized.
“We need to stop chasing donor priorities and focus on impact. Are we truly serving communities, or are we just serving donors? This crisis forces us to answer that question honestly,” she said.
Bertram also warned against nostalgia for the old aid model, arguing that efforts should focus on building new, sustainable approaches rather than attempting to reverse funding cuts that are unlikely to be reinstated.
See also: Surviving US Stop Work Orders: Recovery Tactics and Legal Recourse | DevelopmentAid Dialogues
