Global Health Under Threat: a Message of Solidarit

The Trump administration’s attack on the American aid sector is a blow to the intrinsic value of humanitarianism itself. As humanitarians, our medical programs are the expression of our shared humanity; it is how we demonstrate solidarity with those in acute life-threatening need.  

When MedGlobal runs a mobile clinic in northwest Syria, provides mental healthcare in Ukraine, performs surgery for the wounded in Gaza, or offers primary healthcare to Rohingya children, we are not weighing our actions against their value to a government’s foreign policy. We believe that everyone, especially those experiencing violence, repression, environmental emergencies or extreme neglect, deserves healthcare. As we navigate the newly disrupted American aid sector, we must uphold and defend the intrinsic value of healthcare and emergency aid more than ever. 

As the largest donor, by far, of global health and humanitarian aid, the U.S.’s retreat is already having a blunt and immediate impact across the world. In every context where MedGlobal provides humanitarian health services – Gaza, Syria, Sudan, Lebanon, Yemen, Ukraine, Mexico, Colombia and Bangladesh – our teams are observing the suspension or closure of critical aid programs all around us, directly impacting health services for countless people in dire circumstances. We are witnessing: 

The funding cuts are real, and they are touching all corners of the globe where health needs are most acute. And by all appearances, the impact of American foreign aid cuts will only deepen. The prospect of the aid freeze lifting after 90 days of review looks distant, and while some waivers and exemptions have been issued, even agencies with waivers are struggling to keep programs going and paying staff as access to cash is constrained. 

Owing to its mixed and diverse donor base, MedGlobal’s programs are not immediately impacted by U.S. funding cuts. However, the ability of the health humanitarian sector, on the whole, to meet even the most critical needs has taken a massive step backward. In December, the United Nations estimated that only about one-third of global humanitarian needs were funded. The United States accounts for a substantial portion of this via USAID and other foreign aid agencies, as well as more than 40% of all international government healthcare funding globally. The U.S. aid freeze and shutdown of USAID, along with its withdrawal from multilateral aid and health initiatives, most notably the World Health Organization, will have a profound impact on global health, and put tremendous pressure on non-U.S. funded local and international organizations to fill widening gaps. 

Even purely in foreign policy terms – such as promoting global peace and security, curbing the spread of communicable diseases including potential pandemics, developing new medicines, and curbing global migration – the U.S. retreat from global health and humanitarian assistance is senseless and counterproductive. But the deeper blow is to the very notion of our shared humanity.  

The tone being set by what was previously the world’s leader in global health solidarity is an extreme version of us vs. them. This approach runs directly counter to humanitarian values. As humanitarians, we must now defend, more than ever, the intrinsic value of healthcare for all people, and the simple act of helping another person, no matter who or where that person is, when their life or health are acutely threatened. 

That is exactly why MedGlobal exists. We are grateful to our extensive community of donors who share our belief that all people deserve healthcare. We stand in solidarity with our colleagues across the aid sector impacted by these cuts and, by extension, the people experiencing extreme threats to their lives and health who now have even fewer options to receive assistance.