A new policy shift from the second Trump administration has upended global public health funding: the United States has committed $600 million to Gavi, the international vaccine alliance, while simultaneously cutting off all U.S. government funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) that was channeled through the partnership. The move marks the latest escalation of a years-long conflict between the Trump administration and the United Nations health agency, delivering a major financial blow to the global health body.
In a joint statement released by the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services, officials confirmed the funding freeze, noting the decision aligns with President Donald Trump’s directive that Gavi negotiate structural reforms as a precondition for the resumption of full U.S. support that includes funding for WHO.
Gavi operates as a unique public-private partnership focused on expanding equitable access to life-saving vaccines across low- and middle-income developing countries. It collaborates with national governments, vaccine manufacturers, philanthropic groups, and global multilateral institutions to scale up immunization programs, targeting high-burden preventable diseases including polio, measles, and malaria. For decades, the U.S. has been one of the alliance’s largest and most consistent donors. The newly allocated $600 million is earmarked to support the production of mercury-free vaccines, a policy improvement Gavi has already agreed to implement in coordination with its board and member partner nations.
Tensions between the U.S. and the WHO date back to Trump’s first term in office. In 2020, early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump paused U.S. contributions to the WHO, citing fierce criticism of the agency’s pandemic response and falsely accusing it of spreading disinformation to align with China. At that time, the U.S. was the WHO’s single largest donor, contributing more than $400 million annually—roughly 15% of the organization’s total core budget. Former President Joe Biden reversed the decision within days of taking office in 2021, restoring full funding and halting Trump’s planned withdrawal from the organization. But when Trump returned to the presidency for a second term in January 2025, he used his inauguration day to announce a new U.S. withdrawal from the WHO and suspended all American contributions to the body.
Global health experts say the latest cuts to WHO funding through Gavi appear to be driven more by ideological commitments than evidence-based public health strategy. The WHO’s total annual operating budget sits at roughly $3.4 billion, just one-third of the budget of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drawing its funding from both mandated membership contributions from member states and voluntary contributions from partner organizations like Gavi. Despite its relatively small budget, the WHO holds an irreplaceable role in global health: it leads global prevention and control efforts for infectious diseases, and coordinates emergency public health responses to outbreaks and health crises in conflict-affected regions including Gaza, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.