Press
Institut Pasteur statement on U.S. administration's attacks against biomedical research, global public health action and vaccination
For several months now, the current U.S. administration has consistently attacked and endeavored to weaken biomedical research and public health action in the United States and worldwide with unparalleled vigor. This situation has many consequences – both ethical and economic – but above all it is a grave attack on healthcare protection, and an unprecedented assault on the systems and institutions responsible for protecting lives.
Certain key scientific topics in infectious diseases, immunology, vaccinology and women's health have been deprioritized as research projects eligible for federal funding. In addition, the United States has abruptly withdrawn from major global public health programs, dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and just recently moving ahead with its decision to exit the World Health Organization (WHO). The general scale of the threats now facing these activities is huge, and the implications for public health are likely to be considerable. According to The Lancet, the end of USAID could result in the loss of 14.1 million lives by 2030, including 4.5 million children under the age of 5. This is not only a grave injustice for the populations directly affected, but it demonstrates a broader lack of understanding of how populations are nowadays interconnected, where lack of disease control in certain affected areas can easily result in previously controlled or new infections spreading across the globe.