Kampala, Uganda – While Ebola resurfaced in Uganda earlier this year, people who were identified as close contacts of infected patients have often buried health workers to avoid quarantine. Until March, Peter Waiswa, an associate professor at the University of Makerere, and his team of 100 people looked for why this happens, among other questions on human behavior in health crises. They wanted to change the design of health programs, so that people participate without fear.
Now, their ambitions are through the window, and for some, their work too.
The five -year collaboration which included the Ugandan Makerere University, the University of California San Diego and other global partners ended after US President Donald Trump published a executive decree On January 20, cutting almost all of American foreign aid.
“The team was emotional. Many people did not know what to do then because of the partnership and the teamwork that had been built and the value of the research, “explains Waiswa.
This disturbance is only an example of the consequences during the rupture of American aid, a large part of which has been disseminated through the American agency for international development. In 2024 alone, the US government financed 283 programs related to research in Africa, most of them through USAID, totaling more than $ 240 million.
Uganda had 13 of these programs, or nearly US $ 700,000 in 2024.
Through the continent, the collapse is devastating – including in the field of health research. But it is not only the healthy researchers who are affected. People were already participating in clinical trials and the life of others could have been transformed by research results, says Waiswa.
“If you suspend a study suddenly – (there are) people who have received implants for controlling HIV, and we cannot find and remove them,” explains Waiswa. “It’s absurd.”
Dr. Andrew Kambugu, Executive Director of Infectious Diseases Institute in Kampala, worked on a project with several countries aimed at integrating mental health support in the treatment of tuberculosis, which in 2022 killed almost half a million people in Africa.
The financing of this project was also cut, just like Kambugu and his team were about to start data collection.
“We have received a letter saying that this does not correspond to their national interests,” he said, referring to communications noting American priorities.
The program could have benefited generations, he said, but now the funding they have already received must return to the USAID.
Among those that research could have helped, it is inock Tibihwa. In 2024, he received a diagnosis of tuberculosis. When his neighbors discovered him, they moved away from him and his family.
“They thought they would be infected,” he said. “I suffered from depression.”
In his community, tuberculosis would be linked to HIV and poverty, he says. He temporarily stopped his treatment and his condition worsened. It is now back on tuberculosis medications, thanks to local efforts, but estimates that mental health services would be useful for many patients with tuberculosis.
Some of the damage caused by the funding suddenly taken from the USAID could have been avoided if African leaders followed their 2006 commitment to increase research at least 1% of their gross domestic product. Many countries, including Uganda, have not yet increased internal funding.
About 57% of Uganda financing for research and development comes from international partners, according to a 2019 report from the United Kingdom Government. The Ugandan government finances very little. In 2022, only 0.14% of the country’s GDP went to research.
In comparison, in 2021, the United Kingdom spent 2.9% of its GDP in scientific research, while the United States spent 3.45%.
Another problem, apart from the disturbances of the work, is that governments that depend on foreign funding have little control over research, the main donors shaping the global health program. Diseases such as elephantiasis, bilharzie, river blindness and many others are neglected, explains Kambugu.
“Health research should be dictated by data: what is most killing us?” he said.
This discontent in health research priorities is a global problem. The financing of transmitted diseases prevails over that of non -transmitted diseases, according to the 2019 study published in the Journal of Medical Economics. Mental health is another area that is almost completely ignored by international donors.
If the lack of expenditure for non -transmitted diseases in countries like Uganda continues, this could cause on foot health care pushing nearly 150 million people worldwide – creating a serious long -term sustainability problem, even for richer nations, according to the study.
The freezing of the USAID funding could be an opportunity for African governments to change things by funding the research that benefits their country, explains Kambugu. But there is a reason why it is not yet a priority for some, he adds. Many are dealing with complex problems. Long periods of civil war, for example, have forced certain governments to change their priorities to respond to emergencies.
Countries like South Africa, Egypt and Kenya make significant progress with internal funding. Egypt reached the objective, spending 1.02% of its GDP on research in 2022. And Kenya and South Africa are close, investing approximately 0.8% and 0.61% respectively.
The objective is possible, if only governments stopped waste money, says Waiswa.
“Many expenses come into (the elections). If we have done the same for science – even for things that we are not able to do, we can bring the experts to come here and do it for us, ”he says.