Dangerous pathogens left not guaranteed in laboratories throughout Africa. Inspections on MPOX, Ebola and other infections were stopped at airports and other inspection points. Millions of unregistered animals that are shipped across the border.
Scientists say that the Trump administration stopped on external aid has fallen into programs that prevent and overcome disease outbreaks around the world, leaving people everywhere more vulnerable to the causes of dangerous diseases.
It includes Americans. Fascism that begins abroad can appear quickly: the Corona virus may appear in China for the first time, for example, but soon appeared everywhere, including the United States. When polio or dengue appears in this country, cases are usually related to international travel.
“It is in the interest of the American people in reality to maintain diseases,” said Dr. Gitinji Gitihai, who heads the AMELEFHORTH Africa, a large non -profit organization that relies on the United States for about 25 percent of its financing.
“Diseases make their way to the United States even when we have the best people, and now we don’t put our best people.”
In interviews, more than 30 current and former officials of the United States Agency for International Development, members of health organizations and experts in infectious diseases described a world more dangerous than it was a few weeks ago.
Many spoke on the condition that his identity is not disclosed for fear of revenge by the federal government.
Timing is comfortable: The Democratic Republic of the Congo faces the most bloody MPOX in history, where cases explode in dozens of other African countries.
The United States is home to the aggravating bird flu crisis. Multiple hemorrhagic fever viruses exist: Ebola in Uganda, Marburg in TanzaniaAnd Lhasa In Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
In 2023, the United States Agency for International Development invested about $ 900 million To finance laboratories and prepare to respond to emergency in more than 30 countries. The temporary suspension of external aid stopped these programs. Even payments for grants for work already completed are sorted in the courts.
The concessions issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were supposed to allow some work to continue to contain Ebola, Marburg and MBUX, as well as preparing for bird flu.
But the appointed Trump administration suffocated and created obstacles to the implementation of exemptions, according to the exemptions, according to the exemptions, according to The US Agency for International Development by Nicholas to enrichHe was the Agency Agency Agency for World Health until Sunday.
Then last month, the Trump administration canceled about 5,800 contracts, and effectively closed most of the initiatives funded by the United States Agency for International Development, including many who received follow -up permission.
“It was finally clear that we will not implement,” even programs that have exemptions, and Mr. Trich remembers in an interview.
The decision is likely to lead to more than 28,000 new cases of infectious diseases such as Ebola and Marburg, and 200,000 cases of paralysis paralysis are paralyzed every year, According to one estimate.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement sent via e -mail that Foreign Minister Marco Rubio “has been working hard since I swear to review every dollar spent.”
The statement reported that “we will be able to say that every program we manage there serves the national interest, because it makes us safer, stronger or more prosperous.”
Most employees of the American Agency for International Development Completed Or put on an administrative leave without warning. The agency had more than 50 people dedicated to the outbreaks of the disease, as a result of paying Congress to enhance the epidemic.
Now she has six. It included those who were separated by the leading expert in the laboratory diagnosis and the director of the Ebola response. “I have no idea how six people manage four responses in the disease.”
Hundreds of thousands of health workers in Africa were also sent to the house.
In early January, The Tanzanian government denied There were new cases of Marburg, hemorrhagic fever. The community health worker was trained through the US Ebola virus program, which was reported to be the disease after a week.
Fascism finally grew to include 10 cases; The government said the government is now under control.
Even more calm, external aid helps prevent, discover and treat diseases that can endanger Americans, including drug -resistant HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and bacteria that do not respond to available antibiotics.
A lot of this work stopped, and organizations or other countries cannot fill the gap. What is heavier than the loss is the American withdrawal from the World Health Organization, which has developed measures to reduce costs on its own.
“This is a loss scenario.”
Dr. Fukuda said that reducing foreign aid deprives the world of American leadership and expertise, but it also prevents the United States from global discussions, “for the sake of life, I cannot see justification or the reason for this systematic approach that is very calculated to withdraw public health.”
Trying to adapt
The intense focus of USAID on global health security is Busty for a decadeBut she often received support from the two parties. The Trump administration first expanded the program to 50 countries.
Many aid aimed to eventually help them to address problems on their own. To some extent, that was happening.
But in the face of a new virus or outbreak, “There are many things that one must do and learn, and many countries cannot do this on its own,” said Dr. Lusail Bloomberg, an infectious disease doctor and an expert in emerging diseases.
The American Agency for International Development and its partners helped countries identify the experience and training and the machines they need, and gathered officials in various ministries and farmers participating, companies and families.
“In fact, it does not cost the US government so much,” said an official with a major development organization. “But this type of confidence building, communication, and the participation of evidence is a real force that the United States brings to health security-and this has gone.”
In Africa, some countries’ reaction to the disappearance of aid was with warning, while others with resignation. “We are doing our best to adapt to this development,” said Dr. Mohamed Ali Pat, Minister of Health of Nigeria.
He said: “The United States government is not in the end, in the end, for the health and security of the Nigerian people.” “At the end of the day, the responsibility is our birth.”
A successful outbreak response requires countless elements: investigators to confirm the initial report; Workers trained on the test; Access to test sets; Sampling transmission; Laboratory with a sufficient number of workers, ongoing water, electricity and chemical supplies for diagnoses; And experts to explain and dispose of the results.
In broad strokes, the Center for Disease Control provided experience in diseases and logistical services funded by the United States Agency for International Development and stakeholders who held the World Health Organization, including ministries of health.
Before freezing aid, the employees of each institution often speak every day, exchange information and discussion strategy. Together, they reduced the time of response to the outbreak of two weeks in 2014 to five days in 2022 to only 48 hours recently.
But now, the experts of the Center for Control of Diseases who have taken their experiences for decades are not allowed to speak to colleagues at the World Health Organization
The United States Agency for International Development for Transport, Laboratory supplies, fuel for generators and phone plans to track communications. Many of her investments also stopped in simple solutions to problems that seem to be difficult.
In West Africa, for example, the rodents spreading the Lhasa fever invaded food in search of food. One of the programs on the USAID stopping project presented food -resistant dining containers to reduce the problem, but it is now closed.
In the Congo, where corruption, conflict, and endless outbreaks mean that monitoring “is similar to Swiss cheese even at the best times”, the MPOX response slowed because there were no health workers to transfer samples.
More than 400 MPOX patients have been left, they were cut off after escaping from sunken clinics. Before restarting some of the works, the United States has set Two new cases from MPOXBoth in people who traveled to East Africa.
In Kenya, the US International Development Agency supported eight laboratories and community monitoring in 12 high -risk provinces. Laborators in the provinces of Marsabett, Mandra and Garisa – which the borders of Ethiopia and Somalia – have run out of test sets and reagents for diseases including the rock valley fever, yellow fever and polio, and lost nearly half of its employees.
Kenya also challenges Uganda and Tanzania, close to Congo – all of which are fighting in a serious outbreak – and has lost more than 35,000 workers.
“It may mean that these orders to stop work may mean that they increase the risk of an index pass that passes without anyone noticing.” His organization ended nearly 400 of its 2400 employees.
Several laboratories in Africa store samples of pathogens that occur naturally in the environment, including many weapons. With the closure of surveillance programs, pathogens can be stolen, and a vital terrorist attack may not be discovered until it is too late.
Some experts are concerned about the bad actors who may release a threat such as cholera in water, or are the anthrax weapon or Brucel’s disease, common in African animals. Others said they were concerned that even the unacceptable dealing of these pathological threats may be sufficient to stop a disaster.
Funding from the United States government helped use and train laboratory workers to maintain and get rid of dangerous viruses and bacteria.
But now, pathogens can be transferred inside and outside laboratories without anyone wisely. “We have lost our ability to understand the location of pathogens.”
Its company helped 17 African laboratories to become accredited in vital safety measures and supported five countries in formulating laws to ensure compliance. Now the company is closing.
In the future, other countries, including China, will know more about where there are risky pathogens, Sandhaus said: “It is a very dangerous feeling for me.”
An official at the US International Development Agency said that China has already invested in building laboratories in Africa, as it is easier and easier to “work on everything it wants without anyone else notice.”
Another official said that Russia also provides mobile laboratories for the Ugandans in Mala on the border with Kenya.
Abdnasayer Youssef Othman, the veterinary epidemic and head of a working group in the Ministry of Health in Somalia, said that some African countries such as Somalia have fragile health systems and continuous security threats, but the minimum ability to track infections that cause sick animals and people.
Every year, Somalia exports millions of beauty, livestock and other livestock, primarily to the Middle East. He said that the nation was strongly relied on external aid to examine animals.
Dr. Othman said: “The consequences of this lack of funding, from my point of view, will be disastrous and increase the possibility of the uncontrolled disease.”
In countries with greater economies, foreign aid helped build relationships. Thailand is a pioneer in infectious diseases, and the American Agency for International Development has funded a modest project on malaria disposal that enhances monitoring capabilities.
Joy Shah said that the sudden end of this commitment risks the loss of goodwill.
She said: “In Asia, relations are decisive for any kind of work, but in particular for the roles that work with the patient’s monitoring and data.” “The Americans will suffer if other countries are reluctant to deal with us about the outbreak of the disease.”
