Health experts are warning of an impending global health crisis. The following figures make for sobering reading.
Published 13 October 2025
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Global health is currently facing a critical period of regression. In particular, the United States’ decision to withdraw from key institutions and cut development initiatives is setting off a chain reaction of health, social and geopolitical risks. Without a change of course, progress in areas once considered milestones in global health could be seriously undermined.
The US withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) has consequences for the entire world. Experts warn that infectious diseases could spread more rapidly in the future. Their concerns extend beyond the substantial funding gap to include the loss of the “spirit of the United States”.
In 2024, global military spending reached a record high of more than USD 2.7 trillion. By comparison, total official development assistance provided by all countries amounted to just USD 212 billion – less than one-tenth of global military expenditure.
In 2024, more doctors, nurses and paramedics lost their lives while carrying out life-saving work than in any year since the end of the Second World War.
Donald Trump has cut more than 80% of US foreign aid – equivalent to a quarter of global development funding. One study projects that these cuts could result in up to 14 million preventable deaths by 2030, including 4.5 million children under the age of five.
The global funding cuts are having devastating consequences for communities. In Afghanistan alone, more than 420 health centres were forced to close in the first five months of this year, with hundreds more expected to shut down by the end of the year. Several million people – particularly women and girls – have already lost access to basic healthcare.
In late 2024, the Swiss Parliament decided to cut the 2025 development cooperation budget by CHF 110 million. Further cuts are expected. A survey by Alliance Sud found that, as a result of the approved reductions, more than 600,000 people will no longer be reached by development programmes.
Sources: Swissinfo, Medicus Mundi Switzerland, SIPRI, OECD, IISD, The Lancet, OCHA, Swiss Federal Administration, Alliance Sud.
