For decades, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been a bedrock of global health, coordinating responses to outbreaks and advising nations on everything from flu shots to Ebola. Today, that legacy is under threat as leadership turmoil and funding cuts hobble the agency.
Earlier this year, the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services removed a panel of CDC experts, eased hospital reporting requirements on staff vaccination rates and ousted the CDC director. Each move drew sharp criticism from the scientific community. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, told The Atlantic this spring, “In 2025, you can’t trust anything that comes out of the CDC.”
Trust is a currency in crisis management. When institutions lose it, responses slow and lives are at stake. Experts in HIV care for pregnant women and asthma specialists—at a time when an estimated 334 million people worldwide live with asthma—have already been sidelined. And cuts to media-relations staff mean less clear guidance for journalists and the public alike.
Imagine a world where early warnings about a novel virus arrive too late, or flu-vaccine campaigns falter without data-driven messaging. Those are the real risks when an agency once seen as the gold standard of public health starts to fray.
Without robust CDC leadership and resources, preparations for future pandemics, climate-driven health risks and annual immunizations could stall—not only in the U.S. but across G20 partners who rely on its expertise. For a generation of young global citizens, entrepreneurs in emerging markets, activists and digital nomads alike, the stakes are clear: a weakened CDC means a weaker global safety net.
The next chapter for global health hinges on restoring scientific integrity, stable funding and transparent communication. As the world watches, how the U.S. navigates this crossroads will shape trust in health institutions and ultimately influence everyone’s ability to face tomorrow’s crises together.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
