US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offices in Angola and South Sudan were shuttered last week, and the Zimbabwe office is slated to close at the end of the year, with a dozen other foreign offices expected to follow suit in the coming years, Politico reported today.
Decreased CDC funding, State Department–issued operational limitations, and security problems are leading to the office shutterings, a CDC official told Politico anonymously.
The closures are part of President Donald Trump’s “America First Global Health Strategy” and follow the shutdown of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which managed foreign aid from 1961 until 2025.
Cuts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) hobbled the CDC, which has 30% fewer employees on its payroll than it did before Trump began his second term. Before the budget cuts, the CDC used to fund the distribution of tests and drugs, direct people to medical care, train local health workers, and help foreign governments improve their healthcare systems.
Potential repercussions for foreign nations, US
Now, however, only countries that agree to shoulder more of their own health costs over time and demonstrate improved health and development metrics will receive CDC assistance. So far, 35 countries have agreed to the terms, including Angola and South Sudan, which will receive $71 million and $146 million, respectively, over the next three years.
Source: www.cidrap.umn.edu
