US agrees to one-year funding deal for maternal and newborn health in poorest Countries
Originally published by NTV Kenya — Read the original article →
The United States has reached a $25 million agreement with UNICEF to continue supplying life-saving medicines and equipment for mothers, newborns and young children in at least 15 countries, following months of uncertainty over disrupted aid programmes. The one-year arrangement, confirmed by UNICEF and the U.S. State Department, aims to prevent further shortages as countries previously reliant on American assistance negotiate new health funding agreements.
The disruption has already affected healthcare in some countries. At Nyangezi General Hospital in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, workers said they had run out of medicines including oxytocin, used to prevent and treat severe bleeding after childbirth, and amoxicillin, an antibiotic. A local health official said shortages had forced facilities to buy medicines at market prices, with the cost of care doubling or tripling over the past six months as eastern Congo also battles Ebola.
The agreement follows the Trump administration’s decision to freeze and scale back foreign aid and dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as part of its “America First Global Health Strategy”. The UNICEF deal covers countries including Congo, Haiti and Mali, but represents only a small portion of the aid affected. Washington has also signed more than 30 bilateral health agreements requiring recipient countries to contribute funding, while governments work towards taking over supply chains previously managed by U.S. contractors.