Posted on: Fri 14-03-2025

Some Nigerians with a wrong intent to mock believe that sick people, especially those living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Africa, particularly Nigeria, are now an “endangered species” due to the United States’ withdrawal from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

 

On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States, marking his return to the White House after defeating the Democratic candidate in a fierce election battle. As the world watched to see how he would begin delivering on his promise to make “America great again,” he wasted no time in signing executive orders that sent shock waves across the globe.

 

One of his most controversial directives came just days into his presidency – the announcement of the US withdrawal from WHO, a body it had been a founding member since 1948. This move was not entirely unexpected, as Trump had previously attempted to exit WHO in 2020 before his decision was overturned by President Joe Biden in 2021.

 

To the jubilation of his supporters and the dismay of critics, Trump successfully pushed through the withdrawal in early 2025. In February, he followed up with additional decisions, including cutting funding to certain organisations like the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

 

The leadership of WHO bemoaned the decision for obvious reasons. According to financing data, the US contributed an estimated $988 million between January and November 2024, marking approximately 14 per cent of WHO’s $6.9 billion budget. The organisation further noted that US funding provides the backbone for many of its large-scale emergency operations aimed at combating diseases globally.

 

Citing an example, WHO stated, “US funding covers 95 per cent of the WHO’s tuberculosis programme in Europe, along with 60 per cent of the agency’s TB efforts in Africa, the Western Pacific, and headquarters in Geneva.”

 

As events continued to unfold, the African Union (AU) also expressed deep concern over the development. In a statement, the Commission emphasised the crucial role the US has played in shaping global health standards over the past seven decades. He noted that the US was a key supporter in establishing the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), which works closely with WHO to tackle global health challenges.

 

This concern, coupled with comments such as those in the opening paragraph of this piece, should not be taken at face value or dismissed as mere press statements. It warrants careful consideration. Although the latter’s comment may be seen as a reaction to unfolding events or an attempt to jokingly mock Nigeria and Africa, more is at stake if the lives of millions of Africans solely depend on that funding.

 

Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa, a book written in 2009 by Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo, comes to mind. It earnestly challenged the traditional approach to foreign aid in Africa.

 

Moyo argues that foreign aid has failed to lift Africa out of poverty and has instead created a culture of dependency, corruption, and stagnation. She claims that aid has undermined Africa’s incentive to develop its own economic and political systems. In this case, it has stunted the development of Africa’s health sector.

 

It is a universal truth that no nation can survive in isolation, but countries should be able to provide themselves with basic survival needs. The concern raised by the AU may well validate Moyo’s hypothesis because, despite having a continent-wide centre for disease control, Africa remains dependent on aid from foreign entities like WHO.

 

In 2001, the Abuja Declaration was signed by African leaders with the promise to increase budgetary allocation for health, eradicate HIV/AIDS, and strengthen the health sector through improved infrastructure, human resources, and access to essential medicines.

 

Two decades later, we are crying over a single nation’s withdrawal from WHO because we have failed to fulfill promises we made to ourselves. What happens if other “powerful” countries decide to quit? Will our already poor health indices worsen? This should be a wake-up call.

 

All hope is not lost, as some progress has been made. In Nigeria, there was a breakthrough in November 2024. Doctors at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), in collaboration with the Sickle Cell Foundation, successfully carried out a bone marrow transplant on two patients. This procedure, once thought impossible in Nigeria, was described as “a significant step forward in the treatment of sickle cell disease—the first of its kind in West Africa.”

 

Also, in February 2025, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) joined the ranks of medical facilities that have successfully performed kidney transplants.

 

Nigeria can capitalise on and refine these developments, attracting patients from other regions for treatment. This influx will generate revenue and possibly, elevate us to a level where we no longer rely on funding from external organisations.

 

Nigeria and other African nations can build on their existing resources to generate revenue while investing further in research to discover cures or treatments for diseases that we have traditionally relied on palliatives for.  

 

By

Lawal Dahiru Mamman

Daily Trust News

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