A leading global health organization has sounded the alarm over a potential crisis, warning that up to one million children could die from preventable diseases if the United States withdraws its financial support.
Dr. Sania Nishtar, head of Gavi, an alliance that provides life-saving vaccines to developing nations, told the BBC that losing US funding would severely undermine global health security. Her warning comes amid reports from the New York Times that the Trump administration is considering halting contributions to Gavi, despite the US being its third-largest donor.
While Gavi has not yet received an official notice of termination, Dr. Nishtar confirmed that discussions are ongoing with the White House and Congress to secure $300 million in funding for 2025, along with longer-term financial commitments. The US has previously pledged $1.6 billion for the 2026-2030 period, which accounts for approximately 15% of Gavi’s total budget.
Since returning to office in January 2025, President Donald Trump has emphasized his “America First” approach, signaling a shift in overseas spending priorities.
The international development sector has been preparing for widespread cuts, with USAID among the first agencies affected when the Trump administration imposed a 90-day freeze on all foreign aid earlier this year. The move was part of broader budget reductions overseen by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
Dr. Nishtar warned that without US support, 75 million children could miss critical vaccinations, exposing them to deadly diseases such as measles, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and polio. Additionally, the ability of health agencies and governments to maintain emergency vaccine stockpiles for outbreaks of Ebola, cholera, and mpox would be severely compromised.
Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has echoed Gavi’s concerns, emphasizing the devastating impact that funding cuts could have on global health efforts.
“The consequences of this political decision will be catastrophic,” said MSF USA chief programs officer Carrie Teicher.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) “fully supports” Gavi and was “engaging” with US authorities on the disruption caused by the withdrawal of US funding for major programmes, said Africa CDC emergencies incident manager Dr Ngongo Ngashi.
He added: “We are prioritising routine vaccines but we also know how crucial vaccines for emergencies are.”
Dr Ngashi also said it was “critical that we find our own funding streams – that are not dependent on the decision of partners” and which help Africans contribute “to advancing public health”.
Gavi has said it will try to further broaden its donor base. Indonesia, a country that has previously been a recipient of Gavi’s assistance, became a donor last year.
“As a lean and efficient organisation where 97 cents in every dollar raised goes towards our immunisation programmes, it is impossible to consider that any cut in funding by the US would not have disastrous implications for global health and for the safety of people everywhere,” Dr Sania Nishtar said.
The BBC has contacted the US State Department, which runs what remains of USAID, for comment.