The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that global healthcare aid to low and middle-income countries is expected to decline by 30 to 40 per cent this year compared to 2023. This sharp reduction has already caused a severe drop—up to 70 per cent—in key health services in some of the 108 countries covered by a new WHO report. More than 50 of these nations have also reported job losses among healthcare workers, a situation worsened by inflation, sovereign debt repayments, and dependence on foreign aid. Essential services such as maternal care, vaccination, and disease surveillance are now at serious risk.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that sudden cuts to aid have already cost lives and undermined years of progress in global health. He called on governments to shift from dependency on foreign assistance toward sustainable self-reliance by strengthening domestic funding for health systems. Some countries are already making progress in this direction—Nigeria has increased its health budget by $200 million to compensate for external funding cuts, while Ghana has lifted its cap on excise tax revenues, boosting its national health insurance fund by 60 per cent. WHO emphasized that national leadership combined with global solidarity is key to sustaining health systems in an era of constrained aid.
In Australia, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk welcomed the state of Victoria’s landmark treaty with Indigenous Peoples, calling it a “major step toward justice and equality.” The treaty establishes a democratically elected First Peoples Assembly, known as the Gellung Warl, a truth-telling body, Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna, and an accountability mechanism called Nginma Ngainga Wara. Türk highlighted that this initiative represents significant progress toward self-determination and reconciliation for Indigenous Australians, addressing long-standing exclusion and discrimination linked to colonization. He noted that if fully implemented, Victoria’s approach could be “truly transformative,” empowering Indigenous communities to shape policies affecting their lives. The development follows the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, which called for constitutional recognition and a political voice for Indigenous Australians, and Türk expressed hope that this example would inspire similar action across the nation.
Meanwhile, in Haiti, independent UN human rights experts have warned that the country’s escalating crisis cannot be resolved without women’s participation in leadership and decision-making. The UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls reported that women remain excluded from Haiti’s transitional government, where all seven voting members of the Presidential Council are men, and the new cabinet fails to meet the constitutional quota of 30 per cent female representation. The experts condemned the ongoing sexual violence used by criminal gangs as a “weapon of terror,” particularly in Port-au-Prince, where survivors receive little protection or justice. They stressed that Haitian women have long played crucial roles in rebuilding communities and maintaining social cohesion, and that their exclusion not only violates their rights but also undermines national recovery. The experts urged Haitian authorities and international partners to ensure women’s full and equal participation in political, security, and recovery processes, emphasizing that the crisis cannot be solved without addressing gender inequality.
