Health

Health Programs Shutter Around the World After Trump Pauses Foreign Aid

Published

10 months ago

February 1, 2025

Health Programs Shutter Around the World After Trump Pauses Foreign Aid

Lifesaving health initiatives and medical research projects have shut down around the world in response to the Trump administration’s 90-day pause on foreign aid and stop-work orders.

In Uganda, the National Malaria Control Program has suspended spraying insecticide into village homes and ceased shipments of bed nets for distribution to pregnant women and young children, said Dr. Jimmy Opigo, the program’s director.

Medical supplies, including drugs to stop hemorrhages in pregnant women and rehydration salts that treat life-threatening diarrhea in toddlers, cannot reach villages in Zambia because the trucking companies transporting them were paid through a suspended supply project of the United States Agency for International Development, U.S.A.I.D.

Dozens of clinical trials in South Asia, Africa and Latin America have been suspended. Thousands of people enrolled in the studies have drugs, vaccines and medical devices in their bodies but no longer have access to continuing treatment or to the researchers who were supervising their care.

In interviews, more than 20 researchers and program managers described the upheaval in health systems in countries across the developing world. Most agreed to be interviewed on the condition that their names not be published, fearing that speaking to a reporter would jeopardize any possibility that their projects might be able to reopen.

Many of those interviewed broke down in tears as they described the rapid destruction of decades of work.

The programs that have frozen or folded over the past six days supported frontline care for infectious disease, providing treatments and preventive measures that help avert millions of deaths from AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases. They also presented a compassionate, generous image of the United States in countries where China has increasingly competed for influence.

The State Department and U.S.A.I.D. did not respond to requests for comment.

There will now be no one to take custody of millions of dollars’ worth of supplies for vital oxygen systems, purchased for programs funded by U.S.A.I.D. that support health clinics in some of the world’s poorest countries. The shipments, now in transit, are scheduled to reach ports in the coming days, but employees of those programs have been ordered to stop work.

On Tuesday night, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued an exemption to the funding freeze for “lifesaving humanitarian assistance,” including what a State Department memo called “core lifesaving medicine.” However, shuttered H.I.V. and tuberculosis treatment programs have been told by their contacts at U.S.A.I.D. that they cannot resume work until they receive written instruction that the waiver applies specifically to them.

Also on Tuesday, a federal judge blocked the freeze until Feb. 3. But in practice, most U.S.A.I.D. country offices and programs are proceeding as if the freeze remains in place.

They have been unable to obtain clarification on whether and when their work can continue because their assigned contacts at U.S.A.I.D. have either been fired or furloughed, or are under strict instructions to not talk to anyone.

Despite the court order, thousands of people have already lost their jobs as a result of the freeze. About 500 U.S.-based employees of U.S.A.I.D. were fired. In countries from India to Zimbabwe, staff members for health projects were immediately fired. An organization called the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, which does research on a top killer of children, laid off more than 1,000 employees this week.

If the waiver announced by Mr. Rubio does not apply to their work — as is likely because it is expected to exempt only a narrow scope of activities — many nonprofit groups will not have enough funds to pay their employees or maintain supplies. Already, organizations that rely on U.S.A.I.D. funds have not been able access any money, even for reimbursement of expenses already incurred.

Two-thirds of the staff of the President’s Malaria Initiative, an organization founded by former President George W. Bush that is the largest donor to anti-malaria programs and research worldwide, have been fired. Those employees were contract staff members, because the agency had longtime hiring freezes for permanent positions, and included some of the most senior and respected scientists working on malaria control in the world.

While the interruption of H.I.V. treatment has prompted an outcry, the suspension of malaria work also immediately jeopardizes lives, said a scientist who was a senior staff member at the President’s Malaria Initiative for a decade and was fired on Tuesday.

Malaria interventions in Africa are carefully planned around rainy seasons, the time of which varies by region. Houses are sprayed with insecticide, and children are treated with an antimalarial medication during peak malaria transmission times.

“You could open the funding floodgates again tomorrow and you will still have children dying months from now because of this pause,” the scientist said.

More than 50 million children received preventative drugs before the rainy season last year.

The delivery of rapid tests and malaria drugs into Myanmar, where cases of malaria increased nearly tenfold to 850,000 in 2023 (the most recent figures available) from 78,000 in 2019, has been frozen. Some organizations now have no workers left to distribute the supplies even if they were to arrive.

In some parts of the country, more than 40 percent of cases are of a type of malaria that is often deadly in children under the age of 5. Malaria drugs would seem to qualify under the stipulation of “lifesaving humanitarian assistance, including essential medicines” included in the waiver, but in the absence of certainty, no one has been bold enough to try to free the drugs now stuck at the Thai border.

Some 2.4 million anti-malaria bed nets are sitting in production facilities in Asia, manufactured to fulfill U.S.-funded orders and bound for countries across sub-Saharan Africa. Those contracts are now frozen, because the U.S.A.I.D. subcontractor that bought them is not allowed to talk to the manufacturer under the terms of the freeze. Contracts for eight million more nets are now in limbo, an executive with the manufacturer said.

U.S.A.I.D.’s largest project is called the global health supply chain, an effort to streamline procurement of supplies for H.I.V., malaria, maternal health and other key areas, to make the system more efficient and save money. It operates in more than 55 countries where, in many cases, it supplies the bulk of key medicines. Now its global web of staff has been ordered to stop work except for essential tasks, like guarding commodities in warehouses.

In Zambia, U.S.A.I.D. supports the bulk distribution of public health products, using the private trucking industry to move medicines from a central supply depot to seven regional hubs, from which they are taken by truck, motorbike and boat to rural health centers. It’s part of the extensive U.S. support of the health system in Zambia, one of the world’s poorest countries, and over time it has been working to build up the supply chain capacity of the government.

Since the stop-work order was issued last Saturday, all of the vehicles transporting health products have been stopped. “They have effectively paralyzed the Zambian public health sector by pulling out so abruptly,” said one consultant who worked with the program. Similar U.S.-funded systems, now frozen, also moved a major share of basic medical supplies in Mozambique, Nigeria, Malawi and Haiti.

In East Africa, medical researchers working on projects to find ways to stop transmission of H.I.V. and develop more effective contraception have found themselves floundering for explanations to give to participants in their clinical trials.

“We have women testing vaginal rings, they already have the rings in them, people who got an injectable for H.I.V. prevention — when you say ‘stop,’ what happens to them?” said an H.I.V. researcher who is an investigator on a number of clinical trials. “We have an ethical obligation to people who volunteer for trials.”

Apoorva Mandavilli contributed reporting.

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Health

5 Surprising Ozempic Side Effects Doctors Are Finally Revealing (Like Back Pain and Hair Loss)

Published

1 hour ago

December 12, 2025

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5 Surprising Ozempic Side Effects Doctors Are Finally Revealing (Like Back Pain and Hair Loss)

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Relationship coach blames Oprah for pushing family estrangement ‘for decades’

Published

2 hours ago

December 12, 2025

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Relationship coach blames Oprah for pushing family estrangement ‘for decades’

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Oprah Winfrey is shining a light on family estrangement, which she calls “one of the fastest-growing cultural shifts of our time” — but one expert says the media mogul helped fuel that very culture.

“A Cornell University study now shows that almost one-third of Americans are actively estranged from a family member,” Winfrey said on a recent episode of “The Oprah Podcast,” referring to adult children going “no-contact” with parents, siblings or entire family systems.

Winfrey said the trend is a “silent epidemic” that can be especially relevant during the holidays.

ONE TOXIC BEHAVIOR KILLS RELATIONSHIPS, LEADING HAPPINESS EXPERT WARNS

But family and relationship coach Tania Khazaal, who focuses on fighting “cutoff culture,” took to social media to criticize Winfrey for acting as if the estrangement crisis appeared “out of thin air.”

“Now Oprah is shocked by the aftermath of estrangement, after being one of the biggest voices pushing it for decades,” Canada-based Khazaal said in an Instagram video, which drew more than 27,000 likes and 3,000 comments.

Oprah Winfrey recently discussed what she called a “silent epidemic” of family estrangement on her podcast. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

Khazaal claimed that Winfrey’s messaging started in the 1990s and has contributed to a cultural shift where walking away became the first resort, not the last.

According to the relationship coach, millennials, some of whom grew up watching Oprah, are the leading demographic cutting off family members — and even if it wasn’t intentional, “the effect has absolutely been harmful,” Khazaal told Fox News Digital.

FAMILY BREAKUPS OVER POLITICS MAY HURT MORE THAN YOU THINK, EXPERT SAYS

The coach, who has her own history with estrangement, questioned why Winfrey is now treating the issue as a surprising crisis.

“Now she hosts a discussion with estranged parents and estranged kids, speaking on estrangement like it’s some hidden, sudden, heartbreaking epidemic that she had no hand in,” she said in her video.

Nearly one-third of Americans are estranged from a family member, research shows. (iStock)

Khazaal said she believes discussions about estrangement are necessary, but insists that people shouldn’t “rewrite history.”

“Estrangement isn’t entertainment or a trending conversation piece,” she added. “It’s real families, real grief, parents dying without hearing their child’s voice.”

JENNIFER ANISTON, KATE HUDSON, HEATHER GRAHAM’S SHOCKING REASONS THEY BECAME ESTRANGED FROM THEIR PARENTS

Winfrey reportedly responded in the comments, writing, “Happy to have a conversation about it — but not on a reel. Will have my producer contact you if you’re interested.” But the comment was later deleted due to the backlash it received, Khazaal told Fox News Digital.

“I would still be open to that discussion,” Khazaal said. “The first thing I’d want her to understand is simple: Setting aside cases of abuse or danger, the family unit is the most sacred structure we have.”

Experts emphasize that estrangement should be a last resort. (iStock)

“When children lose their sense of belonging at home, they search for it in the outside world,” she added. “That’s contributing to the emotional fragility we’re seeing today.”

Her critique ignited a debate online, with some social media users saying Khazaal is voicing a long-overdue concern.

PSYCHIATRIST REVEALS HOW SIMPLE MINDSET SHIFTS CAN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE CHRONIC PAIN

“The first time I heard, ‘You can love them from a distance’ was from Oprah … in the ’90s,” one woman said.

“My son estranged himself from us for five years,” one mother commented. “The pain, hurt and damage never goes away.”

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Others, however, argued that Winfrey’s podcast episode was empathetic and that estrangement shouldn’t be oversimplified.

Mental health experts say the conversation around estrangement is more complex than any single celebrity influence, and reflects broader cultural shifts.

Experts say today’s focus on boundaries and emotional well-being has reshaped family expectations. (iStock)

In the episode with Winfrey, Joshua Coleman, a California-based psychologist, said, “The old days of ‘honor thy mother and thy father,’ ‘respect thy elders’ and ‘family is forever’ has given way to much more of an emphasis on personal happiness, personal growth, my identity, my political beliefs, my mental health.”

Coleman noted that therapists sometimes become “detachment brokers” by unintentionally green-lighting estrangement.

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Jillian Amodio, a licensed master’s social worker at the Maryland-based Waypoint Wellness Center, told Fox News Digital that while public figures like Winfrey help normalize these conversations, estrangement might just be a more openly discussed topic now.

“Estrangement used to be handled privately and quietly,” she said.

Winfrey’s take on family estrangement is prompting a broader discussion amid the holiday season. (iStock)

But even strained relationships can be fixed with the right support, experts say.

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Susan Foosness, a North Carolina-based clinical director of patient programs at Rula Health, said families can strengthen their relationships by working with a mental health professional to improve communication, learn healthier conflict-resolution skills, and build trust and empathy through quality time together.

“No family is perfect,” Foosness told Fox News Digital.

Khazaal agreed, saying, “Parents need to learn how to listen without slipping into justification, and children need help speaking about their pain without defaulting to blame or avoidance.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Winfrey for comment.

Health

Major measles outbreak leads to hundreds quarantined in US county, officials say

Published

14 hours ago

December 11, 2025

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Major measles outbreak leads to hundreds quarantined in US county, officials say

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South Carolina is facing a major measles outbreak, resulting in the quarantine of hundreds of residents.

The South Carolina Department of Health (DPH) reported in a media briefing on Wednesday that the current number of measles cases has reached 111 as part of the current Spartanburg County outbreak.

DPH first reported a measles outbreak in the Upstate region on Oct. 2.

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The health department confirmed that 254 people are currently in quarantine and 16 are in isolation to prevent further spread.

The health department confirmed that 254 people are currently in quarantine in the upstate region. (Getty Images)

“This significant jump in cases is unfortunate,” a DPH spokesperson commented on the outbreak.

Public exposure was identified at Inman Intermediate School, with 43 of their students in quarantine.

“This significant jump in cases is unfortunate.”

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Eight other intermediate and middle schools in the area are also reportedly undergoing quarantine. The DPH said multiple students have had to quarantine twice due to repeat exposure.

“Vaccination continues to be the best way to prevent the disruption that measles is causing to people’s education, to employment and other factors in people’s lives and our communities,” the spokesperson said.

“This significant jump in cases is unfortunate,” a DPH spokesperson commented on the current outbreak. (iStock)

Out of the 111 confirmed cases, 105 were unvaccinated. Receiving a vaccination within 72 hours has been shown to prevent measles infection, the DPH spokesperson noted.

Some cases are related to travel exposure, while others are from an unknown source, suggesting that measles is circulating in the community, the DPH noted.

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Connecticut has also reported its first measles case in four years, according to the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

The department confirmed on Thursday that an unvaccinated child in Fairfield County, under the age of 10, was diagnosed with measles after recently traveling internationally.

“Vaccination continues to be the best way to prevent the disruption that measles is causing,” a DPH spokesperson said. (iStock)

The child began to show symptoms several days later, including a runny nose, cough, congestion, fever and a rash starting at the head and spreading to the rest of the body.

The Connecticut DPH noted that measles is “highly contagious” and can spread quickly through the air via coughing or sneezing. The CDC has estimated that nine out of 10 unvaccinated individuals who encounter an infected person will develop the measles virus.

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According to the International Vaccine Access Center, more than 1,800 cases of measles have been reported in 2025, which is the most since the U.S. declared the virus eliminated in 2000. It is also the most cases recorded in three decades.

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“The single best way to protect your children and yourself from measles is to be vaccinated,” DPH Commissioner Manisha Juthani, M.D., wrote in a statement. “One dose of measles vaccine is about 93% effective, while two doses are about 97% effective.”

Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle reporter for Fox News Digital.