The United States of America (USA) Government’s decision to stop extending financial assistance to Malawi and other poor countries pending a review, has left about 4 451 healthcare workers in the country jobless.
The data is contained in a study jointly conducted by the National Planning Commission (NPC) and International Food Policy Research Institute (Ifpri) released last month. It shows that as of March 2025, two months after US halted funding to Malawi and other countries, at least 4 451 healthcare staff relying on US-funding had their contracts terminated.
Co-authored by NPC research manager Andrew Jamali and director of knowledge and learning Joseph Nagoli as well as Lara Cockx, Joachim De Weerdt, Jan Duchoslav, Karl Pauw and James Thurlow from Ifpri also found that the donor cut affected health service delivery in the country.
The study found that even though key health programmes such as those related to HIV and Aids and malaria management appear to be subject to more modest cuts, several health-related services have been interrupted or are operating at reduced capacity.
Reads the study report: “As of March, 4 451 health staff reliant on US funding had had their contracts terminated and 18 drop-in centres serving populations living with HIV had closed down [UNAids, 2025].
“More broadly, cuts to treatment and prevention activities, including for example vaccination efforts supported by Global Vaccine Alliance [Gavi], will aggravate the spread of many infectious diseases leading to loss of lives and quality of life.”
The Vaccine Alliance is a public-private global health partnership founded in 2000 with the goal of increasing access to immunisation in low-income countries such as Malawi.
The study, therefore, recommends that government must evaluate the vulnerability of crucial services to aid cuts and collaborate with development partners to identify those whose loss would have the most severe impact.
Further reads the report: “Funding sources for the most essential programme should be diversified to reduce reliance on any single donor, which can jeopardise service continuity.
“In the current environment where traditional bilateral donors are reducing their development assistance budgets, a more balanced approach is needed.”
In an interview yesterday, NPC public relations and communications manager Thom Khanje confirmed that by March this year 4 451 health staff relying on US funding had their contracts terminated.
“Yes, [the figure] it’s correct,” he said.
Commenting on the matter in an interview yesterday, Malawi Health Equity Network executive director George Jobe expressed worry that many health personnel are now jobless following the US aid freeze.
In March this year, the US government terminated contracts worth $230 million (nearly K400 billion) under the United States Agency for International Development (USAid) in Malawi.
This followed US President Donald Trump’s decision in January this year to issue an executive order for a 90-day halt in foreign assistance pending a review of efficiencies and consistency with his foreign policy.
