Trump cuts funding to global vaccine group
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White House cuts funding to global vaccine program
The Trump administration plans to stop providing U.S. funding for Gavi, a program that helps purchase shots to vaccinate children in developing countries.
© AP
The program was launched in 2000 and has since helped vaccinate more than 1.1 billion children against diseases like COVID-19, Ebola and malaria.
Gavi was one in a lengthy list of canceled international aid programs that were previously funded by the U.S. Agency of International Development (USAID).
The U.S. is the third largest contributor to Gavi, providing 12 percent of the program’s budget. Funding from the U.S. has increased over the last 10 years from $175 million in fiscal year 2014 to $300 million in fiscal year 2024, according to an analysis from the health policy research group KFF.
Without U.S. funding, Gavi will struggle to provide life-saving vaccines to children in low-income countries across the globe.
“With U.S. support, we can save over 8 million lives over the next 5 years and give millions of children a better chance at a healthy, prosperous future,” the organization said in a statement on social platform X.
“For 25 years, the USA and Gavi have had the strongest of partnerships. Without its help, we could not have halved child mortality, saved 18 million lives or helped 19 countries transition from our support (some becoming donors themselves). We hope this partnership can continue,” the statement continued.
U.S. watchdog group Public Citizen suggested the Trump administration’s decision to cut funding to Gavi may be illegal.
“Congress has authority over foreign assistance funding. The administration’s attempt to unilaterally walk away from its Gavi commitment raises serious legal questions and should be challenged,” said Liza Barrie, the group’s director for global vaccines access.
“Lawmakers must stand up for the rule of law, and for the belief that the value of a child’s life is not determined by geography.”
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