Global health financing has been cut by more than 50% in recent years.

Omissions

• The authoritative global figure (IHME development assistance for health) is a ~21–22% decline between 2024 and 2025, i.e. less than half of the '>50%' claimed.
• The only magnitude close to '50%' concerns U.S. aid overall: 'the dismantling of USAID alone represents an estimated 83% reduction in its programmes, cutting overall U.S. aid funding by approximately half' — a national, not a global, figure.
• OECD official development assistance (ODA) overall fell ~9% in 2024 with a projected further 9–17% drop in 2025, well below 50%.
• Over recent years the decline is cumulative (≈21% in 2024–2025 plus ≈6% in 2025–2026), not a single '>50%' cut.

Sources

• PrimaryInstitute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) — Health financing21% decline in development assistance for health (DAH) globally between 2024 and 2025, from $49.6 billion to $39.1 billion.
• PrimaryWorld Health Organization — WHO issues guidance to address drastic global health financing cutsThis year's funding cuts have compounded years of persistent health financing challenges for countries, including rising debt burdens, inflation ...
• PrimaryOECD — Cuts in official development assistance: Full ReportThe OECD projects a 9 to 17% drop in official development assistance (ODA) in 2025. This comes on top of a 9% drop in 2024.
• AcademicApeagyei et al., 'Tracking development assistance for health, 1990–2030' (PMC / The Lancet)We found that global DAH is set to decrease by 22% ($11.2 billion) between 2024 and 2025, followed by an additional decrease of 6% ($2.2 billion) ...
• SecondaryISGlobal — Global Aid Cuts Could Reverse Decades of Progress in Health and DevelopmentThe dismantling of USAID alone represents an estimated 83% reduction in its programmes, cutting overall U.S. aid funding by approximately half ...
• SecondaryThink Global Health — The State of Global Health Funding: August 2025Global Health Funding Plummets. Driven by U.S. cuts, total funding for development assistance for health dropped by more than $10 billion in 2025.