WHO says US aid cuts strain response to health crises worldwide

The United States slashing foreign aid risks piling pressure on already acute humanitarian crises across the globe, a World Health Organization official said Sunday, also warning against withdrawing from the UN agency. 

Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has effectively frozen foreign aid funding, moved to dismantle the US Agency for International Development and other programmes, and announced plans to leave the WHO.

The funding cuts will likely hinder the ability to continue delivering robust aid to communities in desperate need of care. 

The WHO's regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, cited the ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, and Yemen as areas where healthcare institutions and aid programmes were already under pressure before the funding shakeups. 

A US departure from the WHO will also undercut long established channels of communication with leading research facilities, universities and public health institutions that are based in the United States.