The United States is expected to drastically reduce its financial support for vaccinations in poor countries. This prospect, which is part of significant budget cuts initiated by the Trump administration, adds to the already widespread concerns of public health experts.
These new cuts could cause "more than a million deaths" worldwide, Sania Nishtar, executive director of the Vaccine Alliance, told AFP on Thursday.
Also known by its acronym Gavi, this organization spearheads international efforts to accelerate vaccination, particularly in poor countries that lack the funds to launch campaigns. It brings together public and private stakeholders: the World Health Organization (WHO), the international pharmaceutical industry, etc.
Now, Gavi is the latest target of US budget cuts to international aid, according to the New York Times.
The newspaper, citing a document submitted to the US Congress, reports that President Donald Trump's administration plans to halt all funding to Gavi. The United States contributes nearly a quarter of the organization's funding, worth several billion dollars, much of which is dedicated to Covid vaccination.
"We have not yet received any termination notice from the US government and are in contact with the White House and Congress to secure $300 million approved by Congress for our activities in 2025 and longer-term funding from Gavi," Nishtar told AFP.
But, when questioned by the New York Times, the American diplomacy confirmed to the newspaper the existence of the document cited, and declared that the cancelled programs were "incompatible with the national interest."
– A threat to everyone? –
This announcement is part of a drastic reduction in American international aid, a move that has already raised many concerns, for example in the fight against AIDS.
This adds to the fears about vaccination, and many public health experts have strongly criticized the cessation of US funding to Gavi.
In its 25 years of existence, the organization has notably contributed to the vaccination of more than a billion of the world's poorest children against deadly diseases such as measles, yellow fever and cholera.
The withdrawal of US funding would have "dramatic consequences for the health of children around the world," epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo of Brown University in Rhode Island warned to AFP.
For her, American aid is not akin to "charity," but rather "a winning investment to prevent deadly and costly epidemics" that could come back like a boomerang on American soil.
This is the tone adopted by many researchers who have reacted to the reduction in US aid for international health. Many emphasize that the entire world stands to gain from eradicating dangerous diseases everywhere.
"When diseases like measles or tuberculosis spread around the world, we are all at risk," warned David Elliman, a pediatric researcher at University College London.
Experts therefore insist on the financial argument and not just the moral one: American budget cuts, while financially attractive in the short term, are not necessarily so in the long term.
Gavi itself claims that for every dollar spent in the countries where it operates, $21 will be saved over the next ten years. However, this model follows very broad criteria, since it also takes into account the supposed effects of diseases on the job market and the economy.
English 
French