BY NORMAN WETTERAU, MD
Image courtesy of Google Images
Republican President George Bush started the PEPFAR program that has saved millions of lives including the lives of children from HIV. This is only one health program of many that was supported by USAID and dropped.
Much medical assistance for TB, HIV, and child-health was provided by USAID. Although there are charges that much of this money is wasted or misused, much is not.
The Congressional Research Service has published a study which you can look at. Most of the money goes through other organizations. The Catholic Church is the number one group and goes for food and medical care. Look up the study if you wish (https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF10261). When I read some of this material, the facts did not seem to support the idea that most USAID money was inappropriately used or used for administrative overhead. In a future article we may see how the cessation of funds have affected FM women and children overseas.
USAID provides much of the money through Christian organizations that have health programs on the ground. The Free Methodist hospitals in Congo do not receive direct operating aid from USAID, but there are programs for TB and HIV that provide help through our medical facilities.
Most USAID funding has stopped. Dr. Nichols, associate professor of Global Health at Boston University School of Public Health, estimates that there will be an unnecessary TB death every 7 min now that the TB program has been defunded. (https://www.bu.edu/articles/2025/mathematician-tracks-deaths-from-usaid-medicaid-cuts/?)
There is some potential good news. Bill Gates has pledged billions of dollars to help close this gap. The Gates Foundation said it had three priorities: reducing preventable deaths of mothers and babies, ensuring the next generation grows up without having to suffer from deadly infectious diseases, and lifting millions of people out of poverty.
So the big questions are: do Christians agree with the above three goals and will Christian Churches step up to the plate and give more for child health, malnutrition and infectious disease treatment in Africa?
As mentioned above, many Christian mission groups had received funds from USAID . Will their churches make up the lost revenue? Will Free Methodist Churches increase their giving? Some Christians have supported the cut in USAID since they think churches, not the government, should provide this. Will they provide the help?
It would be truly sad if Christian churches, some of whom supported the cessation of USAID, do not give more for these humanitarian needs. Let us, as FM health professionals, speak up in our own churches. Ask for increased giving to FM medical missions and ask our pastors to call our church to pray for our medical work overseas as well as peace in Congo and Haiti.
This article expresses fact but also opinion. Feel free to e-mail comments to normwetterau@aol.com.