U.S. Agency for International Development

Wisconsin Democratic lawmakers and reproductive rights advocates called for state-level protections for birth control, citing potential federal threats from the Trump administration and the Supreme Court. They referenced the 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut decision and concerns that the Dobbs ruling could lead to challenges against contraception access.

Rare-earth developer Aclara is seeking U.S. backing for its Chilean project. Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency, and U.S. President Doanld Trump announced plans to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

A webinar hosted by MedPage Today discusses the implications of dwindling global response capacity for the Ebola outbreak in Congo. Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Faust and Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International and a former USAID official, examine the issue.

The Trump administration is criticized for blaming the World Health Organization for its inadequate response to an Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Experts argue that U.S. policies, including cuts to global health funding and withdrawal from WHO, have weakened the response to the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. WHO officials and health experts highlight delays in international action and the challenges of combating the outbreak in a conflict-affected region.

New research links the shutdown of USAID to increased violence in Africa, with countries receiving significant U.S. aid experiencing armed clashes, protests, and riots after the agency’s dismantling. The findings were published in the Science journal.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda is linked to U.S. funding cuts to USAID, which reduced aid from $1.2 billion in 2024 to $67 million by late 2025. Defunded systems and loss of experienced workers hindered early containment of the third-largest Ebola outbreak in history.

Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Program, requested the Trump administration for increased food aid, questioning the impact of the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The Trump administration's anti-vaccine policies are undermining immunization efforts domestically and globally, particularly by withholding funding from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made unsubstantiated claims against vaccines and Gavi, while the White House has dismantled or defunded key health organizations like USAID and the WHO. The poorest and most vulnerable populations are suffering the greatest consequences of these policy changes.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has resulted in at least 130 deaths and over 500 suspected cases, with experts warning that Trump administration policies have undermined global health security. The World Health Organization's chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed deep concern about the scale and speed of the outbreak. The rare strain of the disease, known as Bundibugyo, has further complicated the response to the outbreak.

The USAID has $19 billion in funds to cover costs associated with closing out terminated programs. Critics are pushing to use these funds to save lives. The agency notified Congress about the available funds late last month.