Health aid from abroad is expected to see a decline of between 30 and 40 percent this year, compared to 2023, according to the UN health agency.
This has already resulted in reductions of up to 70 percent in key health services in some of the 108 low- and middle-income countries featured in a new WHO report.
More than 50 of these nations also reported job losses among health and care workers, the UN agency noted, a situation worsened by years of financial strain driven by inflation, sovereign debt payments and heavy reliance on external support.
Critical services such as maternal care, vaccination and disease surveillance are at risk in many low- and middle-income countries, the WHO warned.
Lives lost
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “sudden and unplanned aid cuts” have already hit many countries hard, “costing lives and jeopardizing hard-won health gains.”
But he added that now was the time for countries to move from “aid dependence” to “sustainable self-sufficiency” using domestic resources to focus on protecting the most vulnerable.
Several countries are already taking action. Nigeria has increased its health budget by $200 million to offset external funding cuts, while Ghana has lifted a cap on excise tax revenue to increase its national health insurance fund by 60 percent.
The WHO said such measures show that national leadership and global solidarity are crucial to sustain health systems in a new era of limited aid.
Türk welcomes Australia’s first treaty with indigenous peoples
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday welcomed Australia’s first formal treaty with indigenous peoples, describing it as a “major step towards justice and equality” and an “important occasion for all Australians”.
Approved by Victorian state legislators, the treaty establishes a democratically elected First People’s Assembly: the Gellung. Warl, along with a “truth-telling” body, called Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna, and an accountability body, known as Nginma Ngainga Wara.
Türk said the initiative marks an important step towards self-determination for the country’s first peoples, addressing the “continuing exclusion and discrimination” arising from colonization.
Historic step, ‘truly transformative’
In her statement, she added that Victoria’s approach could be “truly transformative” if fully implemented, ensuring Indigenous communities have a direct voice in the formulation of laws and policies that affect their lives.
The move follows the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, which called for constitutional recognition and a voice for Indigenous Australians. Mr Türk expressed his hope that Victoria’s example would inspire similar action in other parts of Australia and beyond, promoting reconciliation and respect for human rights for all.
About a quarter of Australia’s population lives in the state of Victoria.
Haiti: Independent UN experts warn that the exclusion of women is deepening the crisis
Independent UN human rights experts have warned that Haiti’s deepening crisis cannot be resolved as long as women remain excluded from decision-making and exposed to widespread sexual violence.
“Haiti is mired in one of the most serious crises in the world, and women and girls are the most affected,” said the United Nations Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls. “However, they remain marginalized from the processes that determine their security, their rights and their future.”
In Haiti, people carrying their belongings flee their homes at nightfall due to violence.
Experts appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council said women are completely absent from Haiti’s transitional leadership, where all seven voting members of the Presidential Council are men, and the new cabinet fails to meet the constitutional quota of 30 percent female representation.
“Haitian women have long played critical roles in rebuilding communities and supporting social cohesion,” the Group stated. “Their exclusion is not only unfair: it is a strategic failure.”
‘Weapon of terror’
Criminal gangs continue to use sexual violence as a “weapon of terror,” particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince, while survivors are left without protection or justice.
The experts urged Haitian authorities and international partners to act immediately to ensure women’s equal participation in political, security and recovery processes, warning that “Haiti’s crisis cannot be addressed without confronting the gender dynamics of violence and governance.”
