Emergency Statement: US Government Executive Orders
Action for Global Health calls for an emergency response following the US Government’s alarming Executive Orders – including the withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), the freeze on USAID spending and the reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule – and their disastrous implications for global health.
As a network of more than 50 global health organisations, we are seeing these implications first-hand. From halting efforts to battle a deadly Marburg outbreak in Tanzania, to cutting off maternal care in Afghanistan, recent decisions are undoing years of progress on global health, inflicting severe harm on people’s health and lives and thrusting the world deeper into polycrisis.
The cumulative impact of these decisions will be devastating for the health of populations all around the world, but will disproportionately impact the poorest and most vulnerable. It is essential that the UK not only leverage its influence to call on the US administration to reverse these decisions, but also work with other country governments and donors to mitigate their impact.
Health systems and services have been plunged into chaos. As funding freezes cascade to the ground, organisations are scrambling to ensure continued support reaches communities. The Emergency Humanitarian Waiver has cast uncertainty over whether organisations can continue their life-saving work, compounded by contradictory instructions from US Government officials.
Additionally, the US withdrawal from the WHO threatens a significant funding shortfall – further jeopardising the health of vulnerable populations. The WHO is a critical leader in coordinating emergency responses, setting global health standards, providing technical guidance, and coordinating disease surveillance across 194 member states. This withdrawal would severely impair the WHO’s ability to detect and respond to disease outbreaks, leaving the world more vulnerable to future pandemics.
Furthermore, the reinstatement of the expanded Global Gag Rule will have far-reaching consequences including and beyond sexual and reproductive health services. Under previous implementations, this policy led to the closure of health clinics providing primary health care, HIV/AIDS services, and maternal health care in many low-income countries. The expanded version threatens to disrupt entire programmes and health systems that will undo years of progress in global health equity and the rights of women and girls.
Faced with this chaos, it is imperative to deliver clarity, strategy and action. We call on the UK Government to map out an emergency strategy and response, leveraging their influence, diplomatic channels, funding, programmes, convening power and strategies, to ensure services
are protected for those who need them. As the official convenor of global health civil society with the UK Government – we stand ready to support these efforts.