Public health experts are worried that the Trump administration's fund procurement freeze memo will not end the upset turmoil, and has hurt public health services.
“It's really difficult to tell what is actually happening. I don't know what the institution is happening, whether they should move forward, whether the funds should be continued, or whether the funding stops. I'm convinced. ” “It's a confused land now.”
The memo issued by the Management Budget (OMB) on Monday instructs the federal government's loans and subsidies, and the federal support program, medical clinics, non -profit organizations, and schools provided to the federal government. It caused uncertainty and waves of warning. I wondered if they would lose government funds.
The Trump administration stated that this order would not affect med care, social security, or other direct support, but the public health world is special for Medicade, supplementary nutritional support programs, women, infants and children. Supplement I was afraid of support programs such as nutrition programs. Government funds.
Washington DC Judge's Federal Judge temporarily blocked orders on Tuesday afternoon, and OMB canceled it a few days later on Wednesday. Soon, however, the White House Spokesman caused a further confusion from the posting of social platforms X, which states that freezing of funding is a “complete force” and the outline of ordering is the outline of the order. I did it.
Health experts told Hill, creating a “deep cold” between federal agencies on spending and services in both the United States and overseas.
They may include important services such as illness monitoring and occurring control, as they wonder if their jobs will receive federal government funds. He warned that when proceeding with program activities such as illness monitoring and occurring control, we could cause service interruption and instability.
For example, MICHAUD has explained that the federal funding laborator, which is working on the processing of H5n1 bird flu samples, may be able to think immediately before purchasing the necessary supplies.
And MICHAUD will be affected by more programs and people, as long as a longer public health worker remains unknown about his memo and its effects.
“It can cause all kinds of confusion because it throws a lot of smoke on the system,” said Misho.
According to Lawrence Gostin, the director of the Georgetown UNIVERSITY O'Neill Health Law Institute, the OMB memo and the confusion about the withdrawal, and the US foreign aid program that is still fluctuating from other Trump administration Continue to harm. 。
President Trump instructed a 90 -day suspension of U.S. external assistance and issued a “stop work” order to the non -governmental organization on the first day of his inauguration.
Among the foreign support programs affected by the freezing, there are other programs that provide the U.S. President's urgent plan (Pefar) for AIDS rescue and antiretrovirus drugs to fight HIV in Africa. there is.
Approximately 60 top ranked workers from the US International Agency (USAID) took immediate administrative leave shortly after the issuance of the order, and a few days later, about 400 USAID contractors were fired.
USAID is a government agency that manages foreign aid and development assistance and supervises humanity assistance, economic development, and global health programs.
The agency that describes the HIV/AIDS office as “an important implementation of Pepfar” I stopped temporarily After the suspension work order is issued, it will provide antiretrovirus drugs in Africa.
The Trump administration later allowed HIV drugs to be provided under the program.,, However, there is still confusion about what kind of work can be done inside the organization or on the African ground.
And due to the confusion, many workers are frozen in a fool.
“It's uncertain about whether they are allowed to provide drugs, and the procurement of medical workers and clinics needed to administer pharmaceuticals is frozen, even if they are possible. Gostin says.
“I really understand where things are standing, and no one in the federal government is frozen frozen,” Gostin said by email.
Health experts also warned that the memo had sent a harmful message to the Federal Public Health Labor.
“Eventually, the goal is to reduce federal funding and reduce the number of government employment,” said Misho. “The intention was clear … it's just a sign of something that might come to the road.”
