significant health system disruptions

 

   countries are already experiencing significant health system disruptions –       WHO,

 Countries are already   experiencing significant   health system disruptions   WHO,

   The World Health Organization (WHO) issues warning on health service disruptions                 reported  in 70% of its surveyed country offices as a result of sudden suspensions and             reductions in official development assistance (ODA) for health.

 The findings, based on rapid WHO assessment of the fast-evolving situation, raise concern     for potentially deeper and prolonged effects on health systems and services across the             world, especially in vulnerable and fragile settings. This requires urgent action and                   international response.

 The new rapid stock take conducted in March–April 2025 with 108 WHO country offices,   primarily in low- and lower-middle-income countries, shows that many countries are working   to increase or reallocate funding from domestic and alternative external sources to address   gaps. However, up to 24% of WHO Country Office responses suggest budget cuts are   already translating into increased out-of-pocket payments. The poor and vulnerable likely risk   bearing the additional brunt of these impacts.

“These results paint a worrying picture about the impact of the sudden and unplanned cuts to   aid on the health of millions of people,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO   Director-General. “Although these cuts are a shock, they are also driving an accelerated   transition away from aid dependency to a more sustainable self-reliance, based on domestic   resources. Many countries are asking for WHO’s support, and WHO is working with them to   identify and tailor the most effective measures.”

 The stock take reports provide an early snapshot and insights from WHO country offices that    work closely with ministries of health, providing regular support on health systems policies        and planning. The stock take aimed at identifying the urgent support countries need to avoid    catastrophic impacts on the health of the populations and to guide monitoring of the rapidly      evolving situation.

  Key findings from the stock take show the following.

• The suspensions and reductions in ODA are disrupting all health system functions, with the most frequently reported impacts being on health emergency preparedness and response (70%), public health surveillance (66%), service provision (58%), humanitarian aid (56%), and the health and care workforce (54%).
• Health services are being disrupted across the board in at least one third of the responding countries, with high levels of disruptions reported in outbreak detection and response, malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections, family planning, and maternal and child health services.
• The nature and scale of service disruptions are comparable to those observed during the peak periods of the COVID-19 pandemic in some settings. 
• Critical shortages in the availability of medicines and health products are leaving one third of responding countries without commodities for major service areas.
• The pause in ODA has led to job losses for health and care workers in over half of responding countries, and significant disruptions to trainings.
• Information systems are particularly impacted as key health data collection is disrupted. Over 40% of countries experienced disruptions to key information systems, including collaborative surveillance and emergency systems, health management information systems, disease-specific reporting systems, lab information systems, and household/population surveys.
• Eighty-one of the 108 WHO country offices have expressed the need for support across a broad range of health areas, including innovative funding and resource mobilization, targeted technical assistance and support.

Given the rapidly evolving context, WHO will be monitoring the situation over time and will engage the global health community, including partners and donor agencies, to inform urgent response plans to mitigate deepening country impacts and enable greater sustainability.

Note to editors:

These findings represent a snapshot of the health systems and health services situation in the context of a rapidly evolving situation. Senior WHO country office staff were surveyed over the period of 7 March to 2 April 2025 to provide inputs and observations on the impact of ODA suspensions and reductions through a structured survey. WHO country offices in low- and lower-middle-income countries across all six WHO regions were included in this survey. They do not reflect the official views of the governments in the countries, territories and areas. WHO has a global presence in 150+ locations putting central focus on countries and populations, working to protect and improve the health of everyone, everywhere.