Overview of President Trump’s Executive Actions on Global Health (March 31, 2026 )
Updated March 31, 2026 — Starting in January 2025, a series of executive actions significantly restructured U.S. involvement in global health by prioritizing "America First" interests and biological definitions of sex.
On his first day in office, President Trump initiated the withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization, which became effective on January 22, 2026. Concurrently, a 90-day pause and review of all foreign aid was enacted, resulting in the cancellation of approximately 83% of USAID programs by March 2025. USAID was formally dissolved by July 1, 2025, and its remaining functions were transferred to the Department of State.
The administration also reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy, now known as the Promoting Human Flourishing in Foreign Assistance (PHFFA) policy, which prohibits funding for organizations that promote abortion, "gender ideology," or "discriminatory equity ideology". Federal policy now recognizes sex as an immutable biological binary, effectively ending the recognition of gender identity and funding for related programs. Additionally, the U.S. withdrew from 66 international organizations and rejoined the Geneva Consensus Declaration to promote "traditional" family values and reject an international right to abortion.
A new America First Global Health Strategy was released in September 2025, shifting the focus toward direct service support, commodities, and country co-investment. While aid to South Africa was largely halted due to policy disagreements, limited waivers were granted to allow the continuation of life-saving HIV/AIDS services under PEPFAR. Proposed budget requests for fiscal year 2026 reflect these shifts, seeking significant decreases or eliminations of funding for many long-standing global health activities.
| https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/overview-of-president-trumps-executive-actions-on-global-health/ |