Aside from the Republican Tax Law , the budget cut for CHIP and banning controversial words, it seems the general welfare of the Americans is on the brink of health collapse because there’s also a budget cut for CDC epidemic programs. The Congress decided to cut the department’s epidemic activities overseas up to 80%. Ever since Donald Trump assumed the presidency, he’s been very vocal about limiting the epidemic expeditions and medical missions the American health professionals are conducting overseas.
Congress to Cut Down CDC’s Overseas Epidemic Program By 80%
The former chief of the CDC Department had expressed concern about the recent budget cut, done by the Congress. He stated that the budget cut could potentially endanger the lives of Americans because these epidemic diseases that’s been plaguing other countries would spread across the North American continent and they can infect the country. If the budget was cut and the CDC professionals would fail to investigate such epidemics, the former chief fears that the country will be unprepared should these epidemic diseases start plaguing the country.
Since the American healthcare workers and medical professionals aren’t knowledgeable about such foreign epidemics and aren’t equipped with skills on how to treat the diseases, this may endanger the lives of Americans suffering from such epidemic. Aside from that, the budget cut resulted into downsizing of staff. For the past two weeks, the CDC had informed its personnel that it’ll stop its operations in 39 out of 49 countries they’re currently operating. This also hits the current operation and medical mission efforts of the team situated to address the issue of Ebola virus and Zika virus, which are deemed dangerous and highly contagious diseases. The agency also stated that they were forced to make this difficult decision because they won’t be receiving any more funding for the programs.
The Budget Cut Sparked Outrage (Yet Again) of the Americans
The final decision of the Congress sparked another wave of controversy and criticisms from top health officials, health organizations, and health institutions. This latest movement from the Congress and the Trump administration are leaving the health and wellbeing of every American citizen vulnerable and in jeopardy. The United States of America may be vulnerable and defenseless against an impending outbreak that could affect millions of its own people.
Dr. Frieden Expressed His Concerns About the Said Budget Cut
Aside from the national health issue and wellbeing for the Americans, Dr. Frieden also reiterated that the Trump administration failed to realized. This recent move of the Trump administration could also impede or halt any scientific and medical advancements the country had worked for so many years. It would also leave millions of Americans vulnerable to diseases if such illnesses left untreated because the country lacks the scientific knowledge for treatments. Currently, Frieden is serving as the CEO and President of the initiative Resolve to Save Lives.
Health Officials Address the Potential Health Security Following the Budget Cut
The Budget Cut Defeats the Purpose of the CDC
It can be remembered that the CDC department was established for the sole mission of investigating epidemics and disease outbreaks that may infect the country either from internal or external environment. Currently, the organization monitors around 30 to 40 outbreaks and epidemics from other countries every day. It also trained an astounding 10,000 medical personnels and disease detectives around the world in order to investigate these epidemics and conduct medical experiments to find a cure. This quest and initiative was founded during Frieden’s tenure and its current contract were supposed to end in October 2019. However, because of the budget cut, this quest may have to end sooner than later, jeopardizing any progress they have for their ongoing projects.
The Congress Approved Budget Cut for CDC Programs
The current CDC director Dr. Rebecca Martin , stated despite the budget cut and downsizing of their operations, they would remain prioritizing over ten countries specifically:
Guatemala
India
Jordan
Kenya
Liberia
Nigeria
Senegal
Thailand
Uganda
Vietnam
They prioritized their operations on the countries stated above because of the crucial projects they have. As with the other 39 countries, transition is underway and the medical teams assigned to these designated areas are expected to have a full departure by October 2020. However, Dr. Martin still remains positive that they can get additional funding in the future. If this happens, they would expand their operation to five more countries namely: the Democratic Republic of Congo, China, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and Sierra Leone.
