The Global Health Impact Brain Trust – Vision for The Future

For more than 60 years, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has played a critical role in advancing global health outcomes through investments in maternal and child health, reproductive health, infectious disease prevention, and health systems strengthening. USAID has been a key driver in efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, providing essential funding for initiatives such as PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. The agency has also been instrumental in supporting vaccination programs, ensuring access to family planning services, and improving healthcare infrastructure in low- and middle-income countries. In 2023, the United States contributed approximately 28.8% of total international health assistance, making it the largest donor globally.

With recent shifts in U.S. foreign aid policy and potential reductions in USAID funding, there is growing concern about the continuity of global health programs. Beyond livelihoods being lost, these cuts could result in disruptions to life-saving treatments, weakened healthcare systems, and setbacks in disease eradication efforts, ultimately affecting millions of vulnerable populations worldwide.  

The Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health believes that tracking the impact of these changes is essential to inform the architecture of global health moving forward. Understanding how foreign aid cuts influence health outcomes, service delivery, disease containment, localization efforts, and co-funding mechanisms will provide the data-driven evidence needed to inform future policy and investment decisions. We are forming the Global Health Impact Brain Trust to monitor these developments, assess their implications for global health risk, and devise strategic solutions to ensure continued progress in global health—despite evolving funding landscapes. Tracking the impact of global health policy and operating in an environment of uncertainty are core strengths of PopFam, which co-led the Global Gag Rule research working group under the previous Trump administration and has decades of experience working in complex, humanitarian settings.  

By bringing together experts in public health, policy, and international development from different corners of the world, this Brain Trust seeks to provide an informed, evidence-based vision for the future of global health in an era of shifting U.S. priorities.  If you’re interested in sharing your experience on how the recent changes in USAID affect your global health efforts, please email us at GHAE@cumc.columbia.edu.