US funding cuts push Eastern Africa to the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe

A worker offloads consignment of USAid medical equipment towards the fight against Ebola, at Roberts International Airport in Monrovia on August 24, 2014.

Photo credit: Reuters

Across Eastern Africa, the sudden reduction in US global health and humanitarian funding is accelerating a widespread humanitarian crisis.

For decades, the United States has played a critical role in financing global health programmes, contributing nearly 40 percent of the world’s funding for HIV, TB, malaria, vaccinations, and emergency humanitarian responses. Today, that lifeline is unravelling.