Editor’s note: Our community faces unprecedented challenges and an uncertain and unfolding future. In response, we are committed to curating relevant news and resources to keep members informed, advancing programming that harnesses the power of technology and innovative financing to continue to encourage health innovation globally, and fostering opportunities for our network to engage in efforts to re-imagine the future of global health. Find earlier updates here, here, here and here.

 

On April 1, around 10,000 U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) employees from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were put on leave, leading to a 25% reduction in the HHS workforce. These cuts jeopardize essential public health services, including disease monitoring and medical research, and are accompanied by a 35% reduction in contracted funding, raising legal and operational concerns. These policy shifts come on the heels of the March cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), aiming to slash 83% of its programs and fold the agency into the State Department by July 2025. This drastic move is leading to the dismissal of almost all USAID staff and the cancellation of $75.9 billion in funding, impacting vital health services and significantly reducing U.S. global health funding by $9 to $10 billion this fiscal year alone. 

The steep decreases in global health funding could lead to millions of new HIV and malaria cases, worsen maternal and child mortality rates, and hinder the fight against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases, putting millions of lives at risk globally. The HHS cutbacks threaten to disrupt critical health initiatives, including disease monitoring, medical and food safety, medical research, and the administration of health insurance for nearly half the U.S. population. The ramifications of these cuts extend beyond health services. The announcement of the HHS reductions alone caused a 4% fall in the S&P pharmaceutical index, indicating growing investor unease about the future of medical research and healthcare delivery. Experts caution that the reductions could hinder U.S. biotechnological innovation and trigger a brain drain in the scientific community, as dwindling funds force researchers to seek opportunities overseas.

 

Updates and Impacts (a few of many)

While not a comprehensive list by any means, the following are a few recent developments.  

USAID and Foreign Aid

• In March, the Trump administration announced plans to cut 83% of the programs at USAID and integrate the agency into the State Department by July 2025. The planned reorganization will see the termination of most USAID functions not aligned with administration priorities, resulting in the dismissal of nearly all USAID staff. (KFF)
• Financial implications are significant, with $75.9 billion in USAID program funding targeted for cuts, including essential health services. The State Department is also facing significant cuts, with 2,100 programs (40% of total) potentially ending, totaling $4.6 billion. Some programs are exempt from cuts, including a $13.4 billion award to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. (Devex)
• These cuts and the recent U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization come on top of years of declines in global funding for health. (Vox)
• The U.S. withdrawal could result in a $9 to $10 billion reduction in global health funding this fiscal year alone, with potentially up to $40 billion over the next few years. An analysis by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation shows the U.S. provided roughly 32% of total global health funding. The gap is huge and European nations and private philanthropies like the MacArthur and Gates foundations are unable to fully compensate for the shortfall, despite increases in their health-related spending. (Science)
• This drastic restructuring and reduction of USAID threatens global health initiatives and represents a fundamental shift in U.S. foreign aid strategy, posing risks to global stability and health security, according to experts including Dr. Atul Gawande, former Assistant Administrator for Global Health at USAID, who briefed U.S. Senators on April 1. (Inside Medicine)
• On April 4, the Trump administration abruptly terminated 42 USAID programs, previously marked safe, that provided critical humanitarian and emergency food aid in Africa and the Middle East. This move, which included significant cuts to emergency food assistance, shocked the aid sector and raised alarms about potential life-threatening impacts on millions of people facing starvation. USAID leadership tried to rescind six of those terminations on Monday. (Devex)
• Experts predict catastrophic health outcomes, including millions of new HIV and malaria cases and deaths, due to the funding cuts. Countries and organizations previously reliant on U.S. support are scrambling to find replacement funding sources amid fears of dire health impacts worldwide. 
• Aid cuts could have ‘pandemic-like effects’ on maternal deaths, the WHO warns. (The Guardian) A recent Stanford-led study published in The Lancet Global Health reveals that prolonged foreign aid sanctions significantly reverse progress in reducing maternal, infant, and child mortality in low-resource countries. By analyzing three decades of data, researchers found that sanctions lasting five years or more could negate up to 64% of gains in maternal health. (Stanford)
• On Tuesday April 8, a study in The Lancet estimated that suspending the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) could lead to about one million new H.I.V. infections by 2030 and could lead to nearly 500,000 AIDS deaths among children and the orphaning of 2.8 million more. (NYT) While PEPFAR maternal health programs are still funded, USAID implemented most PEPFAR programs. With USAID dismantled, there are few remaining health officials to oversee the program. (NYT) As a result, even the lifesaving HIV services permitted under a waiver are in jeopardy. (Devex)
• Cuts to Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, could result in over a million child deaths over five years. (NYT)
• Approximately 3.8 million women globally have lost access to contraception, potentially leading to a rise in unplanned pregnancies and related health issues. (Vox)
• The elimination of funding for mosquito control and polio eradication could lead to a resurgence of mosquito-borne diseases and an additional 200,000 polio cases annually. (US News)

HHS and Medical Research Update

• On April 1, U.S. HHS top officials, scientists, and staff across the NIH, FDA, and CDC were put on leave, impacting around 10,000 employees, culminating in a 25% total reduction in the HHS workforce due to buyouts and retirements. This massive cutback has raised concerns about its potential to disrupt vital health initiatives and weaken the ability of the U.S. to monitor disease outbreaks, ensure food and medical safety, conduct medical research and clinic trials, and administer health insurance for nearly half of the U.S. population. 
• Legal experts are questioning the legality of these firings, citing potential procedural law violations and the broad, rapid scope of the reductions that could severely affect agency operations. (STAT)
• Other disruptions loom, including a demand by HHS for all of its agencies to cut their total contracted funding by 35%. 
• At NIH, the 35% cuts could eliminate many contract scientists who help run research labs and halt clinical trials on the NIH campus and beyond, among other impacts. The staff losses at the agencies also come amid wider turmoil in biomedical research, following NIH cuts to hundreds of grants touching on topics such as diversity and gender research, Trump’s threats to freeze or cancel grants to universities whose policies he dislikes, and an order to slash NIH’s overhead payments to universities. (Science) A judge has paused the overhead cuts, and court battles could determine the fate of all three moves. (Science) Most seminal discoveries in medicine have been supported by the NIH and nearly all FDA-approved drugs that improve life quality or longevity are linked to NIH involvement in their development, according to several former NIH leaders. 
• On April 4, a federal judge in Rhode Island stopped a Trump administration attempt to cut over $11 billion in public health grants related to the COVID-19 pandemic and pandemic preparedness.The temporary restraining order came after 23 states and the District of Columbia sued, claiming the cuts were arbitrary, lacked proper notice, and endangered public health by potentially affecting states’ ability to manage infectious diseases and vaccine access. (Axios)
• The ramifications of these cuts extend beyond health services. In response to the HHS layoffs, the S&P pharmaceutical index fell 4% due to these layoffs, signaling market fears about the economic impact heightened by the potential loss of institutional knowledge and the disruption of critical health functions, such as drug approvals. (Axios) 
• Financial analysts highlight that the minor budget savings could be offset by broader economic damages to the healthcare sector. (Washington Post) 
• In addition, nearly half of all U.S. counties will experience economic losses of at least $250,000 as a result of the Trump administration’s planned cuts to indirect funding by the NIH, per the Science & Community Impacts Mapping Project. More than 500 counties will lose more than $6.25 million in funding, their data shows. (Axios)
• For decades, the U.S. has been the global leader in biotechnology innovation. A new report by the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology finds that the U.S. is dangerously close to falling behind China. The Commission’s assessment is that the future of American biotechnology leadership is only possible through strategic federal action that encourages innovation by spurring private investment. This includes targeted investments and strategic government reforms to reduce regulatory bottlenecks. (Biotech) 
• Reduced government support is risking a brain drain as it may deter scientists from pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors, potentially stifling innovation. Many U.S. scientists are considering opportunities abroad due to cuts in research funding at higher education institutions. These funding reductions pose academic, economic, and national security concerns. (Science) 
• Thousands of U.S. universities, including Alliance academic members, offer programs designed to prepare the next generation of public health, global health and international development professionals. However, with the recent dismantling of USAID leading to a depleted job market, there is uncertainty about the future of these courses and the students enrolled in them. Universities are already facing tough times with the NIH cuts and political targets; this is one more. (Devex)

 

In our next issue, we will focus on the future—curating unfolding strategies and surfacing new ideas to navigate these challenging times and re-envision the future of global health. We encourage all members to contribute their insights by emailing us at communications@bayareaglobalhealth.org or completing this anonymous member survey to share USG policy impacts and ideas. Your perspectives are crucial as we strive to support our multi-sector members and collaboratively forge a responsive and resilient future, leveraging our collective expertise.

Resources

Advocacy and Mobilization

• Alliance members CUGH (here and here), DNDi, For Our Health (here and here), Friends of the Global Fight (here and here), GAIA (here and here), Global Health Corps (here and here), Global Health Council (here and here), Global Health Technologies Coalition (here and here), IDEO.org, Maya Health Alliance, MedShare, Nexleaf Analytics, North Carolina Global Health Alliance (here and here), PATH, Pathfinder, Population Services International (here and here), ReSurge International, Seed Global Health (here and here), San Francisco Community Health Center (here and here), Stanford (here and here), UC Berkeley, UCGHI, and UCSF (here and here) have spoken with the press or issued statements. 

• Find and Contact Your Representatives: U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. Here is a list of key decision makers in Congress, their contact information, as well as sample language to consider.

Navigating the Legal Questions and Resources for Workers

• Humentum offers resources for navigating the foreign assistance pause.
• Connective Impact has launched an open-source resource document in response to the U.S. foreign aid policy shifts. 
• Devex has summarized 5 rapid response funds for organizations affected by the US aid freeze.
• Unlock Aid has an emergency fund for frontline organizations: Foreign Aid Bridge Fund.
• Just Security has a Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.
• Tech Change is sharing a job board and resource curation for those impacted.
• Other job opportunities sites include: Philanthropy News Digest,  Idealist.org, WorkforGOOD, FastForward, Reconsidered, The Impact Job, ExecSearches.com, and Foundationlist.org. 

Sources and What We Are Reading

April 18, 2025

• Pro Publica I Trump’s War on Measurement Means Losing Data on Drug Use, Maternal Mortality, Climate Change and More
• MedPage Today I Trump Turns COVID Info Website Into a Promotion Page for ‘Lab Leak’ Theory
• MedPage Today I Medical Journals Get Letters from DOJ
• CBS I FDA Making Plans to End Its Routine Food Safety Inspections, Sources Say
• STAT I Opinion: Five Priorities to Remake the FDA in a Time of Deep Uncertainty
• STAT I NIH Said to Have Halted Awarding of New Grants to Top Universities

April 17, 2025

• Devex I ‘What’s In’ and ‘What’s Out’ in USAID’s Global Health Programming
• CNN I Top NIH Nutrition Researcher Studying Ultraprocessed Foods Departs, Citing Censorship Under Kennedy
• KFF Health News I Beyond Ivy League, RFK Jr.’s NIH Slashed Science Funding Across States That Backed Trump
• Devex I As Famine Data Dries Up, Can AI Step In?
• Devex I Trump Administration Extends Foreign Aid Review for Another 30 Days

April 16, 2025

• Washington Post I Internal Budget Document Reveals Extent of Trump’s Proposed Health Cuts
• Inside Medicine I A 64-Page HHS Restructuring Proposal Outlines Sweeping Cuts to US Public Health.
• STAT I Opinion: The CDC’s Critical Occupational Safety Institute Has Been Virtually Wiped Out
• Devex I DOGE Staffer Takes Over at the State Department’s Office of Foreign Aid
• The Conversation I The Sudden Dismissal of Public Records Staff at Health Agencies Threatens Government Accountability
• STAT I ‘The Same Bobby Kennedy’: How RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Criticism Came Rushing Back
• Washington Post I Women, Minorities Fired in Purge of NIH Science Review Boards
• Reuters I Us Consumer Safety Agency to Stop Collecting Swaths of Data After CDC Cuts
• STAT I Trump Budget Draft Proposes NIH Consolidation and 40% Spending Cut

April 15, 2025

• STAT I RFK Jr. Plans Changes to Vaccine Side Effect Reporting System
• STAT I Universities Begin Search for Indirect-Cost Fix That Might Assuage Trump Administration
• STAT+ I Trump Targets Health Care Costs With Executive Order on Drug Price Negotiations, Hospital Payments
• STAT+ I Harvard Scientist Ordered to Halt Multicenter TB Trial in Funding Freeze
• Devex I Trump Administration Plans to Cut State Department Funding by Half
• STAT I Harvard Funding Cuts Will Largely Spare Affiliated Hospitals, Trump Administration Says

April 14, 2025

• STAT I Why CDC Cuts Are Being Called ‘The Greatest Gift to Tobacco Industry in the Last Half-Century’
• STAT I Closure of CDC Hepatitis Lab Imperils US Outbreak Response, Prevention
• Devex Pro I What’s Next for Global Development Funding in 2025?

April 11, 2025

• STAT I Opinion: Other Countries Must Step Up to Fill the Void of USAID
• Devex I Trump Admin Cuts Hundreds of Grants at USADF Despite Legal Limbo
• KFF Health News I Trump HHS Eliminates Office That Sets Poverty Levels Tied to Benefits for at Least 80 Million People
• STAT+ I Inside US Health Agencies, Workers Confront Chaos and Questions as Operations Come Unglued
• NPR I Dozens of USAID Contracts Were Canceled Last Weekend. Here’s What Happened
• Devex Pro I 4 Ways to Diversify Your Funding Strategy

April 10, 2025

• New York Times I As Kennedy Champions Chronic Disease Prevention, Key Research Is Cut
• STAT I RFK Jr. Suggests Some Vaccines Are Risky or Ineffective, Downplays Measles Threat
• STAT I Crucial FDA Drug Reviews Expected to Be Slowed by Job Cuts

April 9, 2025

• Axios I A Closer Look at the Nationwide Impact of NIH Cuts
• Inside Medicine I CDC Has No Acting Director, Sources Confirm.
• Devex I USAID Foreign Officers to Be Repatriated, Local Staff Fired by Aug. 15
• Devex Pro I USAID’s Merger with the State Department: The Pros, Cons, and Questions

April 8, 2025

• Inside Medicine I HHS “Reductions to Absurdity,” One Week On.
• Devex I Marco Rubio: What Part Is He Actually Playing in USAID’s Dismantling?
• New York Times I All Federal Experts on H.I.V. Prevention in Children Overseas Were Dismissed
• STAT+ I HHS Firings Could Face Legal Challenges Over Inaccuracies, Process Used to Make Cuts
• Devex I A ‘Death Sentence for Millions’ as US Cuts More Aid
• Devex I What Will USAID Feeder Schools Do Now?
• Nature I NSF Slashes Prestigious PhD Fellowship Awards by Half
• Devex I Trump Administration Admits Lifesaving Aid Was Accidentally Cut
• AP News I As a Future of US Foreign Aid Cuts Comes Into Focus, so Do Efforts to Respond
• Health Policy Watch I Recent Aid Cuts Jeopardize 40% Reduction in Maternal Mortality Since 2000

April 7, 2025

• Axios I HHS Cuts Felt Locally as Regional Offices Close
• Devex I Which USAID Offices Saw the Most Cuts?
• KFF Health News I Firings at Federal Health Agencies Decimate Offices That Release Public Records

April 6, 2025

• Inside Medicine I Dr. Atul Gawande Updates Senators on the Destruction of USAID
• Axios I Key Safety Hotlines Disrupted by HHS Cuts

April 5, 2025

• Devex I USAID Staff Told They May Be Called Back to Work to Wind Agency Down
• The Guardian I Trump Administration Eviscerates Maternal and Child Health Programs

April 4, 2025

• Devex Pro I Leaked US State Department Data Raises More Questions Than Answers
• Health Policy Watch I Court Papers Against NIH Claim that Grant Cuts Are an ‘Ideological Purge’
• Axios I States Are Losing Billions in Federal Childhood Vaccine Funding
• New York Times I Judge Permanently Bars N.I.H. From Limiting Medical Research Funding
• NPR I How Will the Deep Cuts at the Centers for Disease Control Affect Global Programs?

April 3, 2025

• STAT I Why a Small Journal’s ‘Blueprint for NIH’ May Offer Clues to the Agency’s Future
• Axios I Drug Industry Worries About FDA Delays
• Axios I The Emerging Health Communications Gulf
• Politico I Fauci Allies Get the Axe at NIH
• STAT+ I A Running List of Senior FDA Officials Who Have Left the Agency
• STAT I Federal Judge Says She Will Temporarily Block Billions in Health Funding Cuts to States
• Wall Street Journal I RFK Jr. Plans to Reinstate Some Federal Workers, Programs
• MedPage Today I Over 350K Health Workers Face Deportation Risk
• KFF Health News I Trump’s DEI Undoing Undermines Hard-Won Accommodations for Disabled People

April 2, 2025

• STAT+ I Trump Administration Begins Mass Cuts of Federal Health Policy Researchers
• Inside Medicine I HHS Cuts: The Method Was the Madness.
• STAT I Decimation of HHS Comms, FOIA Offices Will Leave Americans in the Dark About Urgent Health Matters
• New York Times I Trump Administration Demands Additional Cuts at CDC
• Salon I Trump’s Cruel Calculus on Public Health Is Slashing Lifelines for the Most Vulnerable
• CNN I Scholars, Groups Sue Trump Administration Over Canceled NIH Research Funding
• The Hill I Democrats Investigating RFK Jr. Bird Flu Response

April 1, 2025

• Washington Post I Widespread Layoffs, Purge of Leadership Underway at US Health Agencies
• Politico I Thousands Laid off as Kennedy and Musk Take Aim at Health Agencies
• New York Times I Major Layoffs Begin at Health Agencies That Track Disease and Regulate Food
• US News I Trump Health Layoffs Include Staff Overseeing Bird Flu Response, Source Says
• CNN I ‘It’s a Bloodbath’: Massive Wave of Job Cuts Began at Us Health Agencies
• STAT I Nearly 2,000 Top Researchers Call On Trump Administration to Halt ‘Assault’ on Science
• Devex I Opinion: USAID Can Maintain Its Impact Amid a Transition to DOS
• CNN I ‘The Lives of Individuals in the US Are at Stake,’ Researchers Warn After HHS Cancels Hundreds of Vaccine Grants
• The Lancet I Public Health Under Trump 2.0: The First 50 Days
• Reuters I US Senator Cassidy Calls on Kennedy to Appear Before Senate Panel Over Health Agency Cuts
• Your Local Epidemiologist I Why We Keep Going
• New York Times I Millions of Women Will Lose Access to Contraception as a Result of Trump Aid Cuts
• AP News I States Sue Trump Administration for Rescinding Billions in Health Funding
• STAT I Trump Administration Sued Over Decision to Rescind Billions in Health Funding
• KFF I The USAID List of Terminated Global Health Awards – What Does It Tell Us?
• Science I Trump Officials Will Screen NIH Funding

March 31, 2025

• Devex Pro I Which Multilaterals Are Hit Most by USAID Terminations?

March 28, 2025

March 27, 2025

• STAT+ I RFK Jr. Brings FDA Under Tighter Control with HHS Workforce Cuts
• STAT I Trump Administration Says It Wants to Fight Fentanyl, but It’s Slashing Budget to Fight Opioid Overdoses
• Reuters I FDA Staff Struggle to Meet Product Review Deadlines After DOGE Layoffs
• Devex I FHI 360, Friends of the Global Fight: The USAID Awards the Trump Administration Killed — and Kept
• Devex I Who Lost the Most? The 20 USAID Contractors Hit Hardest
• The Atlantic I UCSF: The NIH’s Most Reckless Cuts Yet
• Devex I Global Health Council: What’s the Status of All the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Aid Freeze?

March 26, 2025

• New York Times I U.S. to End Vaccine Funds for Poor Countries
• Devex I Kenyan Govt Internal Memo Warns of ‘Domino Effect’ of US Health Cuts
• CBS I Senate Confirms Marty Makary to Lead FDA, Jay Bhattacharya to Head NIH
• Washington Post I Vaccine Skeptic Hired to Head Federal Study of Immunizations and Autism
• STAT+ I Tara Schwetz, Who Oversaw Creation of ARPA-H, Placed on Leave by NIH
• Devex I Ousted USAID Health Lead Says US Fumbled Uganda’s Ebola Response
• Friends of the Global Fight: How the Global Fund Makes the u.s. Safer, More Secure and More Prosperous
• Devex Pro I What’s Left, but More Importantly, What’s Ahead for USAID?
• CBS I DOGE Removes Details on Canceled USAID Contracts From Its Online “Wall of Receipts”

March 25, 2025

• STAT+ I NIH Cuts Halt 24-Year Program to Prevent HIV/Aids in Adolescents and Young Adults
• STAT I 5 High-Level CDC Officials Are Leaving in the Latest Turmoil for the Public Health Agency
• STAT I Trump Nominates Republican Once Accused of Mishandling Taxpayer Funds as HHS Watchdog
• Wall Street Journal I Trump Administration Plans to Freeze Family-Planning Grants
• NBC I CDC Is Pulling Back $11B in COVID Funding Sent to Health Departments Across the US
• Washington Post I Opinion: Why I Left My Job Leading Public Health Messaging for the CDC
• Health Policy Watch I PEPFAR Reauthorisation Expires with No Clarity About Renewed US Funding for HIV
• Health Policy Watch I Civil Society Organisations Face Backlash After Trump, Musk Link USAID Grantees to ‘Terrorism’

March 24, 2025

• STAT I Cancer Research, Long Protected, Feels ‘Devastating’ Effects Under Trump
• Politico I Tracking Canceled USAID Contracts
• STAT+ I NIH Is Removing Some Outside Scientific Advisers Who Evaluate Agency Research
• STAT I Trump Picks Susan Monarez to Run the CDC
• ProPubilca I NIH Ends Future Funding to Study the Health Effects of Climate Change
• Devex I Foreign Aid Is an Easy Political Target. But Do Americans Want It Gone?
• Washington Post I Opinion I Funding for R&D Isn’t a Gift to Academia
• BBC I Gilead Sciences: US Cuts to HIV Aid Will Cost Millions of Lives — UNAIDS Chief
• ProPubilca I NIH Ends Future Funding to Study the Health Effects of Climate Change

March 23, 2025

• Politico I Global Aids Program Teetering After Trump Admin’s Shock-and-Awe

March 21, 2025

• Devex I How Is This ‘Reimagined’ Proposal for Usaid Hitting the Sector?
• Devex I Has USAID Spending Been Cut by Less Than We Thought?
• Devex I Who Is Still Hiring in the US?
• ​​Devex I For Those Laid Off from USAID, New Job Resources Are Plentiful

March 20, 2025

• The Conversation I US Isn’t First Country to Dismantle Its Foreign Aid Office − Here’s What Happened After the UK Killed Its Version of USAID
• Devex I Memo Lays Out Plan to Replace USAID with New Humanitarian Agency
• Devex I Why the US Aid Freeze Could Be a Moment to Reform Food Aid

March 19, 2025

• Axios I Fallout From Trump Research Cuts Expands Across Academia
• Reuters I US Senate Democrats Demand Reversal of CDC Mass Firings
• Politico I Trump Aides Circulate Plan for Complete Revamp of Foreign Aid Programs
• Stanford Report I Study Finds Foreign Aid Sanctions Set Back Decades of Progress on Maternal and Child Mortality
• Roll Call I SF Community Health Center: Trump’s Policies Threaten His 2019 Vow to End HIV, Experts Say

March 18, 2025

• Washington Post I Trump Administration Moves to Reinstate Thousands of Probationary Workers
• Washington Post I Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Elon Musk and DOGE from Further Dismantling USAID
• Axios I HHS Drops Surgeon General’s Advisory on Gun Violence
• STAT I ‘No One Can Fill That Gap’: Why a Global Health Leader Sees US Funding as Irreplaceable
• Reuters I Funding Cuts for Global Health Programs Threaten Childhood Vaccination Efforts, WHO Says
• WSJ I Trump Administration Weighing Major Cuts to Funding for Domestic HIV Prevention
• Fierce Healthcare I Trump Rescinds Biden Executive Order on COVID-19 Data Collection, Memo on LGBTQ Rights

March 17, 2025

• STAT I WHO Issues Starkest Warning Yet on Fallout from US Withdrawal of Aid for Global Health
• STAT+ I NIH Cancels Funding for Landmark Diabetes Study at a Time of Focus on Chronic Disease
• UN I Eighty Percent of WHO-Supported Facilities in Afghanistan Risk Shutdown by June
• CNN I As Bird Flu Continues to Spread, Trump Administration Sidelines Key Pandemic Preparedness Office
• Devex I 4 Strategies for Diversifying Funding in a Post-USAID World

March 16, 2025

• Devex I US Congress Passes Budget Bill, but Questions Remain on Foreign Aid
• Devex I Exclusive: Inside the Closed-Door Meeting on USAID’s Future
• KFF I Scientists Say NIH Officials Told Them to Scrub mRNA References on Grants

March 15, 2025

• NY Times I Opinion I Musk Said No One Has Died Since Aid Was Cut. That Isn’t True.
• New Yorker I Hundreds of Thousands Will Die

March 14, 2025

• STAT+ I At NIH, ‘Everyone Is on Edge’ as They Brace for Deep Cuts and More Centralized Control
• Devex I Inside USAID’s Postmortem Program Review
• Devex I USAID Implementing Partners Told Government Must Pay Up
• Inside Medicine I Trump’s Acting NIH Director Appoints Himself as Acting Head of the Office That Controls External Grant Funding.
• STAT+ I RFK Jr.’s ‘MAHA’ Commission Meets for the First Time — Behind Closed Doors
• Devex Pro I Watch. Philanthropy, Blended Finance, and the Evolving Role of NGOs
• AP I Appeals Court Lifts Blocks on Trump’s Orders Restricting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Programs

March 13, 2025

• STAT I White House Pulls Nomination of Dave Weldon as CDC Director Hours Before Hearing
• Devex I FHI 360: Cuts to USAID-Funded Research Another Blow to Global HIV Response
• Science I Can NIH Overturn a Court Order Blocking It From Slashing Overhead Payments? Unlikely, One Expert Says
• Devex I Vital Strategies: ‘How Did We Get Here?’ — African Health Experts on Ending Aid Dependence

March 12, 2025

• Time I U.S. Added to Global Human Rights Watchlist Over Declining Civil Liberties
• Devex I Congressional Hearing Kicks Off DFC Reauthorization Efforts
• Devex I Gilead Sciences: USAID Funding Cuts Jeopardize Breakthrough Drugs and Research
• Devex I Opinion I Trump’s War On Science Imperils Global Development and Cooperation
• Devex I Trump’s New ‘Loyalty Test’ for UN and Aid Groups
• Devex I As Aid Dwindles, Can Philanthropy Rewrite the Rules of Giving?

March 11, 2025

• Politico I USAID Official Tells Remaining Staffers: Shred and Burn All Your Documents
• AP News I Court Asked to Intervene After Email Tells USAID Workers to Destroy Classified Documents
• Devex I Judge Orders Trump to Pay USAID Partners, Rejects ‘Unbounded’ Power
• Inside Medicine I Public Health Under Siege. The Legal Battles Shaping the Future of US Medicine, Public Health, and Science.
• Undark I Federal Science Hamstrung by DOGE’s Credit Card Spending Limit
• Devex I Trump Taps Project 2025’s Russell Vought to USADF, IAF Boards

March 10, 2025

• New York Times I Judge Orders U.S.A.I.D. and State Dept. to Pay Funds ‘Unlawfully’ Withheld
• Devex I Remaining USAID Programs Now Under State Department, 5,200 Programs Canceled
• Devex I As the USAID Dust Settles, What’s the Development Job Market Outlook?
• Washington Post I NIH to Terminate or Limit Grants Related to Vaccine Hesitancy and Uptake
• ProPublica I National Cancer Institute Employees Can’t Publish Information on These Topics Without Special Approval
• The New Humanitarian I The Data Streams That Underpin Humanitarian Response Are About to Collapse

March 9, 2025

• STAT I HHS Makes $25,000 Buyout Offer to Most of Its Employees

March 7, 2025

• STAT+ I NIH Abruptly Terminates Millions in Research Grants, Defying Court Orders
• STAT+ I NIH Has Paused Patenting of Discoveries, Slowing Their Use in Developing Treatments
• ABC I NIH Terminating Active Research Grants Related to LGBTQ+, DEI Studies
• Devex I Trump Administration Rapidly Guts the Inter-American Foundation
• Washington Post I Global Health Council: Judge Orders USAID Payments to Some Foreign Aid Groups by Monday

March 6, 2025

• New York Times I FHI 360: Defunded Aid Programs Are Asked by Trump Administration to Prove Their Value, on a Scale of 1 to 5
• Washington Post I Trump’s Foreign Aid Demolition Hits Major Christian Charities
• Washington Post I Global Health Council: Judge Orders USAID Payments to Some Foreign Aid Groups by Monday
• Devex I What Peter Marocco Told Lawmakers About USAID at a Closed-Door Meeting
• Devex I DOGE Takes Over US African Development Foundation
• Nature I NIH to Terminate Hundreds of Active Research Grants
• NIH I NIH Centralizes Peer Review to Improve Efficiency and Strengthen Integrity
• Devex I Judge Denies Temporary Order in USAID Personal Services Contractors Case

March 5, 2025

• NYT | Supreme Court Rejects Trump’s Bid to Freeze Foreign Aid 
• NPR | Supreme Court Upholds a Lower Court Order to Force USAID to Pay Contractors
• KFF | CDC Firings Undermine Public Health Work Far Beyond Washington
• Reuters | US Judge Bars Trump Administration from Cutting NIH Research Funding
• Devex | Opinion: Trump Aid Shock Underscores Need for More Made-in-Africa Medicine
• Science | Trump Tracker
• Washington Post I Supreme Court Reinstates Order for the Trump Administration to Un-Freeze Foreign Aid
• Washington Post I NIH Reels with Fear, Uncertainty about Future of Scientific Research
• STAT I Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction Blocking Trump Cuts to NIH Research Overhead Payments 
• STAT I CDC Invites Back About 180 Fired Employees, Including Some Who Help Fight Outbreaks
• Devex I ‘That Money is Going to Sink Us’: USAID-Funded Startups Fight to Survive

March 4, 2025

• KFF | Poll: Two Thirds Believe Dissolving USAID Will Lead to More Illness and Death Globally, While Nearly Half Say It Would Significantly Reduce the Budget Deficit and Fund Domestic Programs
• Devex | How Will the Rest of the World Respond to Lights-Out at USAID?
• Inside Medicine I Some CDC Probationary Employees Have Been Reinstated. “We Apologize for Any Disruption that this May Have Caused.”

March 3, 2025

• Devex | Funding Freeze on Us Foreign Aid Is ‘Over,’ Trump Administration Claims
• Devex | The Urgent Need to Rethink Africa’s Health Financing
• STAT+ I NIH Terminates Ongoing Grants for LGBTQ+ Research

March 2, 2025

• NYT | U.S.A.I.D. Memos Detail Human Costs of Cuts to Foreign Aid
• CNN I NC Global Health Alliance: ‘They Are Harming Ordinary People’: Trump’s Funding Cuts Are Taking a Toll in North Carolina
• The Hill I Global Health Council: USAID Cuts Could Send Global Health Into Chaos

March 1, 2025

• AFP | Groups Say Millions Already Hit as US Guts Aid
• Pro Publica I The Trump Administration Said These Aid Programs Saved Lives. It Canceled Them Anyway.

February 28, 2025

• Devex | ‘Disaster’ as Health Programs Reel from USAID Terminations
• Devex | UN Chief: US Cuts Make the World Less Healthy, Safe, and Prosperous
• Devex | Aid Groups Present Case to Supreme Court as Decision Looms
• Devex | Critical Global Surveys Fall Casualty to US Foreign Aid Gutting
• NPR | On Thursday Word Came: No More USAID Funds for a Clinic That Gets HIV Meds to Kids
• The Guardian | US Shutdown of HIV/AIDS Funding ‘Could Lead To 500,000 Deaths in South Africa’
• Forbes | Kenyan Health Worker On USAID Cuts — ‘We Are Going To Choose Now Between Food And Drugs’
• Science | ‘A Bloodbath’: HIV Field is Reeling After Billions in U.S. Funding Are Axed
• Washington Post I Global Health Council: Groups Urge Supreme Court to Keep Deadline for USAID to Pay $2 Billion
• Devex I USAID Asks Partners for Information on Recently Cut Awards
• Huffington Post I CDC Staff Prohibited From Co-Authoring Papers With World Health Organization Personnel

February 27, 2025

• Devex | Supreme Court Pauses Order to Release Billions of Dollars in Foreign Aid
• Health Policy Watch | US Terminates Thousands of Life-Saving Global Health Grants Including for HIV, TB and Malaria
• NYT | U.S. Terminates Funding for Polio, HIV, Malaria and Nutrition Programs Around the World
• KFF | The Trump Administration’s Dismantling of Global Health: What’s Next
• Inside Medicine I FDA Vaccine Meeting Abruptly Canceled. Meeting Was to Determine 2025-2026 Influenza Vaccine Composition.
• CBC I USAID Workers Pack Belongings, as Trump Administration Targets 90% of Foreign Aid Contracts
• The Atlantic I Inside the Collapse at the NIH
• Politico I Global Health Council: USAID Cuts Expected to Devastate Global Health

February 26, 2025

• Devex | Nearly 10,000 Awards Cut from USAID, State Department
• Reuters | Trump Blocked From Imposing Sweeping Federal Funding Freeze
• NYT | Trump Administration Ends Global Health Research Program
• NPR | The Trump Administration Kills Nearly All USAID Programs

February 25, 2025

• NYT | President Trump’s Cuts to Medical Research
• NPR | Judge Tells Trump Administration It Has Less Than 2 Days to Resume USAID Funding
• Devex I Why Are Thousands Being Culled from USAID, and Who Will Be Left Standing?
• Washington Post I Judge Orders Trump Administration to Pay Millions in USAID Funds
• SF Community Health Center: Our Fight Begins
• Devex I Judge Orders USAID to Release Millions of Dollars in Foreign Aid
• STAT I CDC Will No Longer Process Transgender Data

February 24, 2025

• NPR | Trump Officials Will Put 4,700 USAID Employees on Leave and Eliminate 1,600 Jobs
• Devex I USAID Staff Start Receiving Termination Letters
• STAT I U.S. Joins WHO-Led Flu Vaccine Meeting, Despite Planned Withdrawal from Agency
• STAT I Some NIH Study Sections Will Resume Grant Reviews, but Final Funding Decisions Are Still in Limbo

For further sources, see our previous recaps here and here.