The World Health Organization has warned the public about a looming surge of diseases previously eradicated by vaccines due to the global budget cuts by donors.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a statement released on April 2025, said that cuts to global health funding, particularly from major donors like the United States, are causing a resurgence of diseases previously controlled or nearly eradicated by vaccines, such as measles, polio, and rubella.
According to him, these funding cuts also threaten progress against malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis, with potential increases in cases and deaths.
Dr Tedros warned that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) continue to rise sharply, now accounting for nearly three-quarters of all deaths annually worldwide.
“Without immediate and sustained global efforts to restore and enhance health funding, services, and disease control programs, the world faces a worsening trend in both infectious and noncommunicable diseases with significant health and socioeconomic consequences,” Dr Tedros said.
In parts of sub-Saharan Africa, vaccination campaigns improved routine immunization, drastically reducing cases of yellow fever, which had become a menace.
However, WHO acknowledges that this progress is now at risk due to funding cuts to global health that have put this success in jeopardy.
WHO emphasizes the need for urgent, coordinated international action to address these challenges, including accelerating progress towards Universal Health Coverage and strengthening disease surveillance and response systems to prepare for future outbreaks, potentially even deadlier than COVID-19.
