Ebola response hobbled by US withdrawal from global health

The Ebola outbreak spreading throughout Central Africa is the first major outbreak since the Trump administration demolished its global health programs and largely withdrew from the world stage last year. 

Experts say the absence is palpable.   

While the U.S. is sending resources and teams of experts overseas, public health and infectious disease experts say President Trump’s cuts are undermining the response and likely delayed detection of the virus. 

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) shuttered last year, with operations officially ceasing in the summer. At the same time, the U.S. moved to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), effective at the beginning of this year. 

These two developments marked the end of the U.S.’s dominant stance in global public health, according to people on the ground. 

More than 500 suspected cases of the Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) have been reported from Congo alone, with the WHO declaring the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. 

“The fact that the U.S. has significantly scaled back, reduced its funding, reduced its footprint, or reduced the number of staff does affect the response,” Jen Kates, senior vice president and director of the Global and Public Health Policy Program at KFF, told The Hill. 

“I wouldn’t say that the this has contributed to the start of this outbreak,” she added. “But the loss of infrastructure and capacity is going to take a toll, and that can impact the ability to respond.” 

The outbreak has already impacted an American........

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