The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning about widespread health service disruptions in 70% of its surveyed country offices, resulting from sudden suspensions and reductions in official development assistance (ODA) for health. A rapid stock take conducted in March-April 2025 with 108 WHO country offices, primarily in low- and lower-middle-income countries, shows that many countries are working to increase or reallocate funding from domestic and alternative external sources to address gaps. However, up to 24% of WHO Country Office responses suggest budget cuts are already translating into increased out-of-pocket payments, which may disproportionately affect the poor and vulnerable.
The disruptions are affecting various health services, including emergency preparedness, public health surveillance, service provision, humanitarian aid, and the health and care workforce. Health services are being disrupted across the board in at least one third of the responding countries, with high levels of disruptions reported in outbreak detection and response, malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections, family planning, and maternal and child health services. Critical shortages in the availability of medicines and health products are leaving one third of responding countries without commodities for major service areas.
The pause in ODA has led to job losses for health and care workers in over half of responding countries, and significant disruptions to trainings. Information systems are particularly impacted, with key health data collection disrupted. Over 40% of countries experienced disruptions to key information systems, including collaborative surveillance and emergency systems, health management information systems, disease-specific reporting systems, lab information systems, and household/population surveys.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized that while the cuts are a shock, they are also driving an accelerated transition away from aid dependency to a more sustainable self-reliance, based on domestic resources. Many countries are asking for WHO’s support, and WHO is working with them to identify and tailor the most effective measures. Given the rapidly evolving context, WHO will be monitoring the situation over time and will engage the global health community, including partners and donor agencies, to inform urgent response plans to mitigate deepening country impacts and enable greater sustainability.
WHO/Ruth Abla ADJORLOLO
