In recent weeks, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, terminated thousands of employees and consolidated divisions and functions across the department.
The cuts triggered concerns among health experts, who fear they may reduce U.S. capacities to respond to public health threats and make Americans less safe. But the impact could also go beyond U.S. borders.
A document outlining the White House’s Office of Management and Budget proposal for the HHS seen by Devex also shows funding for programs such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Global Health Center — which helps investigate outbreaks globally — and the National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center — which provides research training to U.S. and foreign scientists working in low- and middle-income countries — are also being eliminated.