The U.S. State Department’s new “America First” global health strategy prioritizes direct agreements with country governments, the private sector, and faith-based organizations over working with multilateral organizations and nongovernmental organizations.
Its release last week raised alarm within the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, a Pan-African public health organization that has long received U.S. support in areas such as outbreak response, provision of vaccines, and technical assistance.
Africa CDC was explicitly mentioned in proposed U.S. legislation that also emphasized a shift to direct country agreements, or “compacts.” The bill noted the Pan-African public health organization couldn’t be a part of these arrangements.
About the author
Sara Jervingsarajerving
Sara Jerving is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global health. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, VICE News, and Bloomberg News among others. Sara holds a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a Lorana Sullivan fellow. She was a finalist for One World Media's Digital Media Award in 2021; a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2018; and she was part of a VICE News Tonight on HBO team that received an Emmy nomination in 2018. She received the Philip Greer Memorial Award from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.
