Aid funding cuts disrupt child vaccinations almost as much as pandemic, says UN

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By Jennifer Rigby

LONDON (Reuters) -Global aid funding cuts, led by the United States, are disrupting efforts to vaccinate children against deadly diseases almost as much as the COVID-19 pandemic did, the United Nations said on Thursday.

Outbreaks of infectious diseases, including measles, meningitis and yellow fever, have been increasing globally. 

Emergency and routine vaccinations meanwhile were significantly affected in nearly half of countries at the start of April due to the funding cuts, according to reports from World Health Organization offices in 108 largely low and lower-middle income countries. 

Cuts to funding also reduced vaccine supplies and hampered disease surveillance, the WHO and UNICEF said in a joint release with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. 

"Setbacks (are) at a similar level to what we saw during COVID-19. We cannot afford to lose ground in the fight against preventable disease," said Catherine Russell, UNICEF executive director.

COVID-19 caused what was called the largest backslide in childhood vaccination in a generation, and aid funding cuts, led by the U.S. – formerly the world’s largest donor – risked the same outcome, the joint release said.

They called for funding for childhood immunisation to be maintained ahead of Gavi’s funding round, which will be launched in June. The group is seeking $9 billion for its work from 2026-2030.  

Sania Nishtar, Gavi’s chief executive officer, said it was possible to fight the rise of infectious diseases but only if the group is fully funded. 

Measles cases have increased year-on-year since 2021, while meningitis surged in Africa last year and yellow fever cases also rose after declines in the last decade, the agencies said. 

Last month, an internal U.S. government document showed it would follow its cuts to UNICEF and the WHO, part of wider plans to streamline and focus foreign aid to align with the "America First" policy, by cancelling its contribution of around $300 million annually to Gavi.

Last week, the U.S. State Department told Reuters it had nominated Mark Lloyd, assistant administrator for global health, to Gavi’s 28-person board. The U.S. seat had previously been vacant. 

Both the U.S. State Department and Gavi declined to comment about what this could mean for U.S. funding.

(Reporting by Jennifer Rigby; editing by Barbara Lewis)