Recent shifts in U.S. funding priorities and political tensions are severely weakening global health infrastructure, according to discussions at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) meeting. The cuts, driven by the current administration’s policies, threaten pandemic preparedness, international collaboration, and even domestic health security. The consequences extend beyond immediate funding losses: they risk losing a generation of scientists, eroding trust in U.S. leadership, and jeopardizing hard-won gains in global disease control.
Attendance Declines Reflect Broader Concerns
Attendance at the ASTMH meeting dropped significantly—from 4,700 last year to around 3,500 this year—reflecting the impact of funding cuts, visa issues, and safety concerns among international attendees. The absence of U.S. government representatives, particularly from the NIH, CDC, and DoD, was striking. According to ASTMH CEO Jamie Bay Nishi, many European and Canadian researchers are reluctant to travel to the U.S. due to heightened enforcement by ICE and concerns about racial profiling.
This decline signals a deeper trend: a growing distrust of U.S. commitment to global health collaboration. The cuts aren’t just numbers on a budget sheet; they directly impact the ability of scientists and researchers to connect, share knowledge, and respond effectively to emerging threats.
The Erosion of U.S. Leadership
Experts at the ASTMH meeting highlighted how U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) and cuts to USAID are reversing decades of progress in global health. Wafaa El-Sadr of Columbia University pointed out that while high-income countries have greater access to advanced treatments, low-income nations struggle with basic access to essential medicines. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a landmark achievement that saved 26 million lives and prevented countless HIV infections in newborns, is now at risk.
The U.S. spends $872 billion on defense annually—more than the next nine highest-spending countries combined—while allocating less than 1% of its budget to global health initiatives. This imbalance underscores a dangerous misallocation of resources, prioritizing military spending over preventative health measures that ultimately protect U.S. interests.
Pandemic Preparedness at Risk
Sten Vermund, Dean of the University of South Florida College of Public Health, emphasized that U.S. isolation weakens its own pandemic preparedness. The Ebola outbreak of 2014-16 exposed this vulnerability: the U.S. spent $2.5 billion preparing for outbreaks domestically but only $250 million on support for Africa, where the vast majority of cases occurred. NIAID even halted Ebola vaccine development in 2012.
Vermund noted that programs like ENVISION, which targeted neglected tropical diseases, were canceled due to USAID funding cuts. International clinical trials and NIH grants—totaling $800 million—have been frozen or canceled, including $500 million in mRNA vaccine research. The CDC faces a 53% budget cut ($5 billion loss), eliminating 42,000 jobs and over 60 major programs in chronic disease prevention, HIV/AIDS, immunization, and substance use prevention.
The Cost of Lost Expertise
Daniel Jernigan, former director of the CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, warned that the CDC is now “hamstrung” by micromanagement and staff losses. The agency has lost the pipeline of young scientists—bioinformaticists, laboratorians, epidemiologists, and data analysts—due to hiring freezes and budget cuts. Melinda Rostal, a public health scientist, noted that job competition is fierce, with up to 1,000 applicants for each position.
Former CDC officials Deb Houry, Demetre Daskalakis, and Daniel Jernigan resigned in protest over the firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez, signaling a deeper crisis within the agency. The administration is reportedly attempting to make foreign aid conditional on sharing biological specimens and genetic sequences without guaranteeing access to resulting vaccines or medicines.
In conclusion, the current U.S. policies are dismantling decades of progress in global health, undermining pandemic preparedness, and eroding international trust. These cuts are not just a matter of budgets; they represent a strategic failure that will have far-reaching consequences for both global stability and U.S. security. The loss of scientific expertise and the erosion of collaborative partnerships will leave the world—and the U.S.—more vulnerable to future health crises.
