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.