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. 

Suspensions and reductions in Official Development Assistance (ODA) are severely disrupting health systems across multiple functions, according to key findings from a recent stock take. The most affected areas include health emergency preparedness and response (70%), public health surveillance (66%), service provision (58%), humanitarian aid (56%), and the health and care workforce (54%). In at least a third of the responding countries, health services are being disrupted across the board, particularly in outbreak detection and response, malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections, family planning, and maternal and child health services. In some settings, the scale of these disruptions mirrors the peak periods of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The data also highlights critical shortages in medicines and essential health products, with one-third of countries reporting a lack of commodities for key services. The pause in ODA has resulted in job losses among health and care workers in over half of the countries surveyed, along with significant interruptions in training programs. Information systems are also under strain, with over 40% of countries experiencing disruptions in health data collection, surveillance systems, lab networks, and household surveys. In response, 81 of the 108 WHO country offices have called for urgent support, ranging from innovative funding mechanisms to targeted technical assistance, to help stabilize and sustain essential health services.