Restore Humanity Campaign – Response to US Global Policies and Funding Cuts

Events

Ireland’s Restore Humanity Campaign – Reimagining Global Health and Development in the Wake of Aid Cuts: Countries’ Response

In the aftermath of Trump’s abrupt $60 billion cut to foreign aid, and as other high-income countries scale back their commitments, there is an urgent need to rethink how health and development are funded and delivered. This moment calls for urgent, bold and decisive strategies to diversify funding streams and strengthen country self-reliance.

Join us for a timely and provocative webinar with activists and thought leaders who are challenging conventional models and reimagining the future of global health and development.

When: Wednesday 23rd April, 5pm Ireland time

Where: Online via Zoom

Speakers

Amanda Banda, Independent Consultant in Health Politics and Policy

Amanda is an Independent Consultant in health politics and policy with over 17 years of experience. She influences policy and funding decisions to ensure access to quality public health care for underserved communities, primarily in Africa, while also supporting partners in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Asia Pacific. Her expertise includes infectious diseases, health systems, sexual reproductive health and rights, pandemic preparedness, and global health governance. Currently, she is supporting the COMPASS Coalition on health financing and co-leads a sub-working group focused on engaging the African Union, African CDC, African Governments, and G20 on health financing.

Christian Acemah, Executive Director, Uganda National Academy of Sciences

Christian Acemah serves as Executive Director (also referred to as Executive Secretary) of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences (UNAS). Previously, Christian was Director for Strategy and Program Development for the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Africa program. He was concurrently a Visiting Professor of African Studies and Social Sciences at Quest University, Canada, for six years. Additionally, Christian experienced the internal workings of a global health partnership as Executive Officer, Policy and Research at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance in Geneva, Switzerland. At the same time, GAVI transitioned from being part of UNICEF to becoming a Swiss foundation. He has worked in the Sudan-Uganda program of the Lutheran World Federation on refugee health and HIV/AIDS M&E. Christian holds a first degree in Mathematics and Philosophy from St. John’s College (Santa Fe, New Mexico), a graduate degree in International Development and Strategy from Georgetown University (Washington, DC), and qualified as an international corporate governance professional through The Chartered Governance Institute of UK and Ireland. He holds a Graduate Certificate in Refugees and Humanitarian Crises from the Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM).

Fionnuala Murphy, Head of Global Advocacy, Frontline AIDS

Fionnuala is Head of Global Advocacy at Frontline AIDS, a global civil society partnership working together to achieve the global goal of ending AIDS, where she oversees influencing work on HIV prevention, human rights and sustainability. She has worked as a campaigner and advocate for the last 18 years, collaborating with partners from around the world to secure major wins on HIV financing, access to medicines, harm reduction, violence against women and other areas. Fionnuala holds an LLB in Law with French, as well as post graduate qualifications in Community Development and Literary Journalism. As Fionnuala grew up in Northern Ireland, she draws inspiration from her personal experiences of colonialism, conflict and community resistance in her approach to advocacy today.

Latest News

AV Briefing Room April 2025

On Tuesday 1st April, members of the Restore Humanity Campaign were invited to Leinster House to brief policymakers on the devastating impact of recent and ongoing foreign aid cuts, stop-work orders, and other attacks on global health and development, humanitarian aid, science, research, and healthcare. Alongside those of us present in person, we shared powerful video messages from our colleagues and partners in the Global South, highlighting the real human cost of these decisions.

Impact Videos

Restore Humanity – Interview on BBC Ulster Drive Time with Dr Nadine Ferris France on Monday 10th February 2025

Listen to the full Evening Extra show on Radio Ulster, BBC Sounds here.
 

Read our RTE News Article

Read our Irish Independent Article

Brendan O’Shea: Why Donald Trump’s USAid cuts will be catastrophic for the world’s most vulnerable

Background

On Monday 20th January 2025, President Donald Trump wasted no time signing Executive Orders that sent shockwaves through the global health community. He announced the US would withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) and freeze all foreign aid programmes for 90 days. These moves threaten the lives of millions worldwide, leaving individuals, organisations, and governments scrambling to respond to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.

The United States contributed $1.284 billion to the WHO in 2022-2023, accounting for 15% of its overall budget and is its largest single donor. Without this funding, the WHO is now grappling with the Marburg virus outbreak, Mpox prevention, vaccine programmes, TB, malaria, child and maternal health, and H5N1 (bird flu) surveillance with markedly fewer resources. The WHO’s mandate to promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable is under threat. 

On Friday 24th January 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio placed a freeze on most US-funded foreign aid programmes, suspending vital work under the pretence of a “review” for efficiency and alignment with Trump’s “America First” policy. In 2023, the US spent USD 66 billion dollars on official development assistance (the US spends the most on foreign aid of any country worldwide). 

Let us be clear: This is not a review. It is a death sentence for millions.

Trump’s twin decisions to withdraw from the WHO and freeze nearly all current US-funded foreign aid programmes are not only directly impacting our ability to reach our SDG targets but also causing devastation in the global south.

A ticking time bomb has been placed on anyone availing of life-saving medicines in PEPFAR funded clinics. A recent NYT article highlights that 600K people will die from AIDS in South Africa alone in the next decade if PEPFAR were to shut permanently – and only 20% of South Africa’s HIV budget is funded by PEPFAR. Countries that are primarily funded by US-funded programmes will see far worse outcomes. Trump’s freeze goes far beyond HIV. The freeze of USAID programmes, the withdrawal from WHO, and the CDC’s ban from working with the WHO all have colossal impacts on our work. 

Trump ‘flooded the field’ by signing so many shocking executive orders that this news may get lost in all the confusion. We must come together to ensure the Irish people know the ramifications of these stop orders and coalesce around the concrete call to action for the Irish government. 

How Can You Help?

We are calling on Irish NGOs, Civil Society Organisations, and the Global Health Community to come together to engage, advocate, campaign, and mitigate this global health and humanitarian crisis. 

If you would like to get involved, please click here to join the email group and receive updates.

If you have any issues with this link or require any assistance, please email [email protected]

A Call to Action for Ireland

At this critical juncture, the Irish government must act. Ireland has a strong tradition of leadership in global health, a long history of good diplomatic relations with the US and a commitment to ensuring no one is left behind. Now more than ever, we must step up to mitigate this crisis. We urge the Irish government to:

1. Plug the Funding Gap: To prevent interruptions to lifesaving programmes, Irish Aid must step up to provide essential support to programmes it already partners with.
2. Diplomatic Leadership: Use every diplomatic channel to press the U.S. administration to reverse these catastrophic policies. Highlight Ireland’s significant concerns with the US consulate and demand a commitment to global health.
3. Strong and coordinated response: Convene an immediate gathering of countries and philanthropists to forge a global response.
4. Collaborate Regionally/Globally: To ensure the survival of US-financed programmes, Ireland must work with our EU counterparts and our partners in the Global South to increase regional and global financial and humanitarian support.
5. Protect Supply Chains: The Irish government must engage with its large pharmaceutical industry to ensure the medical supply chain remains intact, particularly for antiretrovirals and other essential medicines.
6. Love and solidarity, not exclusion and persecution: The Irish government on behalf of the Irish people must make Ireland’s collective values of love and solidarity into meaningful actions, overriding growing exclusionary and divisive actions and language.

Information and Resources

• Sign up to AVAC Global Health Watch Newsletter for updates
• AMFAR analysis on impact of PEPFAR closures
• US exit from WHO: it is about much more than WHO – Article by Ilona Kickbusch

• Charities reeling from USAid freeze warn of ‘life or death’ effects

• Chaos erupts in US science as Trump’s team declares freeze on federal grants

• USAid website offline as Trump moves to put agency under state department

• Deaths predicted amid the chaos of Elon Musk’s shutdown of USAid

• Trump moves to put nearly all USAID Washington staff on leave

• State Department moving to evacuate USAID staff worldwide: Sources

• Most USAID staff cut from agency, marking end of world’s largest donor

• Why Do We Need USAID? Stephen Talks To Samantha Power, Fmr. USAID Administrator

• Argentina to withdraw from WHO after Trump exit, citing ‘deep differences’

• Withdrawing the U.S. From and Ending Funding to Certain United Nations Organizations and Reviewing U.S. Support to All International Organizations
• Read our RTE News Article
• Read our Irish Independent Article

• United States: Experts dismayed by decision to reinstate Cuba as State Sponsor of Terrorism, call for lifting of unilateral coercive measure

• Out of the rubble

• NRC forced to suspend essential aid for 100,000s
• Trump aid cuts will cost millions of lives, warns Vatican

• The Truth About U.S. Foreign Aid: A Response To Secretary Marco Rubio

• Brendan O’Shea: Why Donald Trump’s USAid cuts will be catastrophic for the world’s most vulnerable

• France’s proposed budget cuts set to slash overseas development aid

• EU to review its multi-billion euro foreign aid allocations

• 90 Day Suspension Order Resources

• Global research: U.S. Freeze on HIV Funding Threatens Lives of Hundreds of Thousands

• Impact of Funding Freeze on TB Response in High TB Burden Countries

• We are right to feel enraged at the current moment, but hope is how we’ll win