Healthcare aid from abroad is expected to see a 30% to 40% drop this year compared to 2023, according to the United Nations health agency.
This has already led to reductions of up to 70 percent in key health services in some of the 108 low- and middle-income countries outlined in a new WHO report.
More than 50 of these countries also reported job losses among health and care workers, the UN agency noted, a situation made worse by years of financial difficulties driven by inflation, sovereign debt repayments and heavy reliance on external support.
Essential services such as maternal care, immunization and disease surveillance are under threat in many low- and middle-income countries, the WHO has warned.
Lives lost
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “sudden and unanticipated aid cuts” have already hit many countries hard, “costing lives and putting hard-won health gains at risk”.
But he added that now was the time for countries to move from “aid dependence” to “sustainable self-reliance” by using their national resources to focus on protecting the most vulnerable.
Several countries are already taking measures. Nigeria increased its health budget by $200 million to offset cuts in external funding, while Ghana lifted the cap on excise tax revenues to increase its national health insurance fund by 60 percent.
The WHO said such measures show that national leadership and global solidarity are essential to supporting 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 the first formal treaty between Australia and indigenous people, describing it as a “major step towards justice and equality” and an “important opportunity for all Australians”.
Passed by Victorian state legislators, the treaty established a democratically elected First Peoples’ Assembly – the Gellung Warl – with a “truth-telling” body, called Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna, and a responsible body, known as Nginma Ngainga Wara.
Mr. Türk said the initiative marks important progress toward self-determination for the country’s first peoples, addressing “continued exclusion and discrimination” resulting from colonization.
A historic, “truly transformative” step
In his statement, he added that Victoria’s approach could be “truly transformative” if fully implemented, ensuring Indigenous communities have a direct voice in shaping 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 hope that Victoria’s example would inspire similar action elsewhere in 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 of worsening crisis of exclusion of women
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 in the grip of one of the world’s most serious crises, and women and girls are bearing the consequences,” said the United Nations Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls. “Yet they remain excluded 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 entirely absent from the leadership of Haiti’s transition, where all seven voting members of the Presidential Council are men, and the new cabinet is failing to meet the constitutional quota of 30 percent female representation.
“Haitian women have long played a vital role in rebuilding communities and supporting social cohesion,” the Group said. “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 “the crisis in Haiti cannot be resolved without confronting the gender dynamics of violence and governance.”
