АНУ-ын олон нийтийн санал асуулгаар иргэдийн дийлэнх нь гадаад улс орнуудад үзүүлэх өвчин урьдчилан сэргийлэх тусламжийг сэргээх нь зүйтэй гэж үзэж байна.
Echelon Insights байгууллагын явуулсан судалгаагаар АНУ-ын иргэдийн 75 хувь нь Бүгд Найрамдах Ардчилсан Конго Улс (БНАКУ) болон Уганда улсад дэгдээд буй Эбола өвчнийг хяналтад авах зорилгоор санхүүгийн тусламжийг сэргээхийг дэмжсэн байна. Энэхүү дэмжлэг нь улс төрийн үзэл баримтлалаас үл хамааран өргөн хүрээг хамарч байгаа бөгөөд судалгаанд оролцогчдын 90 хувь нь гадаад дахь өвчин урьдчилан сэргийлэх хөтөлбөрүүдийг санхүүжүүлэхийг дэмжжээ.
Өнгөрсөн онд АНУ-ын Ерөнхийлөгч Дональд Трамп гадаадын тусламжийн төсвөөс олон тэрбум долларыг танах бодлогыг хэрэгжүүлсэн юм. Үүний хүрээнд АНУ-ын Олон улсын хөгжлийн агентлаг (USAID)-ийн үйл ажиллагааг зогсоож, чиг үүргийг нь Төрийн департаментад шилжүүлсэн байна. Энэхүү шийдвэрийг Элон Маскийн удирдлагад байгуулагдсан Засгийн газрын үр ашгийн департамент (DOGE) удирдан хэрэгжүүлсэн бөгөөд тус байгууллага долдугаар сард татан буугджээ.
Мэргэжилтнүүдийн үзэж байгаагаар гадаад тусламжийн санхүүжилт огцом танагдсан нь Эбола өвчний дэгдэлтийг хүндрүүлж, өвчин урьдчилан сэргийлэх чухал үйлчилгээнүүд зогсоход хүргэсэн байна. БНАКУ-д өвчин дэгдсэнээс хойш 500 гаруй хүн амиа алдаж, батлагдсан тохиолдлын тоо 1,561-д хүрээд байгаа бөгөөд халдвар бүс нутгийн бусад улс оронд тархах эрсдэлтэй байгааг эрүүл мэндийн байгууллагууд анхааруулж байна.
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Three quarters of Americans support restoring US disease prevention aid to help contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, according to new polling, despite the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to foreign aid last year.
The survey, conducted by Echelon Insights on behalf of The Rockefeller Foundation, found that 75 per cent of respondents backed restoring funding to tackle the outbreak. The support extended across the political spectrum, with just over half, at 52 per cent, identifying as supporters of US President Donald Trump, who made cutting billions from US aid funding a priority upon returning to the White House last year.
The findings come as public health officials warn the Ebola outbreak could become one of the largest ever recorded.
The poll of more than 2,000 US adults also found that 90 per cent supported funding overseas disease prevention programmes, while 72 per cent backed restoring some or all global health funding worldwide in light of the outbreak.
Experts have said that the outbreak has been exacerbated by abrupt cuts to US and Western foreign support that have shuttered vital services, such as disease prevention programmes.
In July last year, the US Agency for International Development, or USAID, officially closed, with most of its operations abolished and a small remainder absorbed into the US State Department. The cuts were enacted by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a temporary organisation set up by Trump shortly after his return to the White House and overseen by trillionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.
DOGE was also closed earlier this month.
“I was as shocked as I was horrified,” Samantha Power, the last confirmed administrator of USAID, said of Trump’s decision in a recent interview with NPR. “I could not believe in the first instance that any human would suspend assistance, particularly life-saving assistance, without taking into account the human consequences or trying to do so in a manner that would allow people to make adjustments.”
As well as slashing health services, foreign aid cuts to critical infrastructure has led to increased violence that experts say has worsened the outbreak by decreased capacity in the region.
The death toll in the DRC has surpassed 500 since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, with more likely to have gone undetected. The number of confirmed cases has reached 1,561, amid continued community transmission.
Africa’s Centres for Disease Control has warned that ten other countries could be at risk, many with already fragile health systems, and modelling published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases predicted a spread to South Sudan within weeks.
The DRC is one of the largest and deadliest humanitarian crises in the world, with 1 million seeking refuge abroad and 21 million urgently in need of aid, including medical assistance and supplies.
This article has been produced as part of The Independent’s Rethinking Global Aid project
