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New Plan Scales Back C.D.C.’s Work on Diseases Abroad
The New York Times • • health
Key Points:
- The Trump administration is proposing a plan to overhaul the CDC’s role in a global HIV program, potentially reducing its involvement in managing disease surveillance, laboratory networks, and childhood immunizations.
- If implemented by October 1, the plan would transfer control of significant funding and decision-making from the CDC to the State Department, sidelining CDC experts in global health.
- The proposal could lead to the closure of about one-third of the CDC’s 60 country offices within three years, weakening the agency’s long-term global health capacity.
- The changes target the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a program instrumental in saving 26 million lives, historically managed primarily by USAID and the CDC.
- Critics, including Dr. Atul Gawande, warn that the plan would end the CDC’s autonomy and independence in global health work, potentially undermining efforts to detect and control outbreaks like Ebola.
