Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. In his first hours
Speaker 1: in office, President Trump signed an executive order to withdraw
Speaker 1: the US from the World Health Organization.
Speaker 2: So we paid five hundred million dollars to World Health.
Speaker 3: When I was here and I.
Speaker 1: Terminated China with one point four billion people, they were
Speaker 1: paying thirty nine million.
Speaker 4: We were paying five hundred million. It seemed a little
Speaker 4: unfair to me.
Speaker 1: The WHO has called on Trump to reconsider the order.
Speaker 1: The loss of its top donor could put its work
Speaker 1: on a Bola, HIV and Marburg at risk.
Speaker 2: For over seven decades, WHSHOW and the United States of
Speaker 2: America have saved countless lives and protected Americans and all
Speaker 2: people from health threats. We hope the United States will reconsider.
Speaker 1: On today's episode of The Next Africa Podcast, we'll ask
Speaker 1: what this could mean for disease prevention in Africa, how
Speaker 1: health agencies have reacted, and.
Speaker 3: Who else might now step in.
Speaker 1: I'm Jennifer's Abasaja and this is the Next Africa Podcast,
Speaker 1: bringing you one story each week from the continent driving
Speaker 1: the future of global growth with the context only Bloomberg
Speaker 1: can provide. Joining us this week is Bloomberg's Healthcare and
Speaker 1: consumer reporter Janis Q who is based here in Johannesburg
Speaker 1: with us. Jannis, thanks us always for coming on.
Speaker 4: Thank you. It's been a bit of a week, I know.
Speaker 3: Right, and we're just getting started with a new administration.
Speaker 1: Let's start with the basics here, because many people are
Speaker 1: probably aware of what the who was or became aware
Speaker 1: of the organization during the COVID pandemic. But maybe you
Speaker 1: can spell out exactly what it is that this organization does.
Speaker 4: It's a watchdog, an advice giver, and a hands on
Speaker 4: tough organization. That is, it works to contain diseases like
Speaker 4: the recent impox, polio and Marlburg virus rex. It also
Speaker 4: categorizes the risk of the spread of diseases and that
Speaker 4: helps it coordinate global efforts in combating these diseases. It
Speaker 4: organizes programs, setting global standards and developing guidelines, so it
Speaker 4: performs a lot of functions and rarely pulls together efforts
Speaker 4: and funding for global health security.
Speaker 1: And when we zero in on Africa, then Janesh, how
Speaker 1: does their work get a bit more targeted?
Speaker 4: So Africa has formed some of humanity's most devastating diseases
Speaker 4: yellow fever, HIV, boler lesser among them, and yet the
Speaker 4: continent has some of the lowest health spending and fust resources.
Speaker 4: The WHOS focus its work on both strengthening health systems
Speaker 4: to cope with climate related changes in the spread of
Speaker 4: old diseases like malaria, and also prepare as best as
Speaker 4: possible for emerging pathogens. With so many competing demands in Africa,
Speaker 4: it's hard to single out a single focus, but certainly
Speaker 4: some of the biggest disease killers in Africa since the
Speaker 4: WHO was formed in nineteen four eight have been malaria, TB,
Speaker 4: HIV and diarrhea illnesses such as cholera, So those are
Speaker 4: big focus points even today.
Speaker 1: And we had you on a few months ago, Jenna,
Speaker 1: speaking about m parks when you mentioned a few of
Speaker 1: the other diseases that have sort of proliferated on the continent.
Speaker 1: What is that risk here if funding is pulled from
Speaker 1: the WHO, especially on the continent.
Speaker 4: Well, other than the millions of Africans who will siffer
Speaker 4: and die, which really can't be underestimated, there is a
Speaker 4: risk of mutated variants that scientists then have to scramble
Speaker 4: to understand, and in some cases these variants may not
Speaker 4: respond to vaccines and other interventions, so that's a big risk,
Speaker 4: and of course the very real risk of global spread.
Speaker 4: Even in remote areas in the Congo, people do business
Speaker 4: and then they return home to various parts of the
Speaker 4: world and spread is real.
Speaker 1: So then it again, as we talk about quite a
Speaker 1: bit with diseases, the diseases no no borders.
Speaker 3: So when you talk.
Speaker 1: About globally, this could if we do see the US
Speaker 1: actually follow through on this plan to leave the WHO,
Speaker 1: this could become a global issue.
Speaker 4: Absolutely. The USE is the who's main source of funding,
Speaker 4: so the impact will be huge. To put that into context,
Speaker 4: if we look at the excitements in nineteen eighty when
Speaker 4: smallpox was eradicated, it had taken immense coordinated efforts globally
Speaker 4: and funding. So finally ridding the world of something like
Speaker 4: HIV is also possible. But as Hiddeny Clark, who chased
Speaker 4: the Lancet Advisory Board and Health and Climate Change set
Speaker 4: in a panel in DeVos, it will take prioritization, political will,
Speaker 4: hard cash, and of course dealing with equity issues. So
Speaker 4: without that funding it doesn't work.
Speaker 1: Stick with us, Jennis, when we come back, we're going
Speaker 1: to talk about what the reaction has been since we
Speaker 1: did hear this announcement from President Trump and who if
Speaker 1: anyone could actually step in to fill the shortfall, we'll
Speaker 1: be right back. Welcome back today on the podcast, we're
Speaker 1: talking about President Trump's decision to withdraw the US from
Speaker 1: the World Health Organization. JENSQ, our Healthcare and Consumer reporter
Speaker 1: is still with us.
Speaker 3: So it's only been a few days, as.
Speaker 1: We were mentioning earlier in the podcast, but there has
Speaker 1: been quite a bit of reaction to the news this week.
Speaker 1: Have we heard from the WHO? What have some of
Speaker 1: these organizations been saying.
Speaker 4: The WHO certainly did put out a statement and it
Speaker 4: is a serious concern. We have also heard from governments
Speaker 4: in Africas and Bobby's finance minister says he sees two
Speaker 4: hundred million dollars of US funding at stick after the decision.
Speaker 4: There will likely be small over implications for the US
Speaker 4: President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief known as PEPFAR and
Speaker 4: this program, started twenty years ago by then President George W. Bush,
Speaker 4: has arguably been one of the most impactful programs the
Speaker 4: US has had and is relied upon in at least
Speaker 4: seven countries. Probably aren't actually in Africa. These are serious concerns.
Speaker 1: And so then you're mentioning the funding earlier. The US,
Speaker 1: from what we know, provides just over one billion dollars
Speaker 1: in funding. Are there other countries that are just as
Speaker 1: significant in terms of plugging the funding gap.
Speaker 4: As instan There aren't countries that come anywhere close to
Speaker 4: that level of funding, but we have seen interest from
Speaker 4: China in helping for the gap and other Asian and
Speaker 4: Middle Eastern countries who will likely step up. It's worth
Speaker 4: noting that this will also probably increase their influence on
Speaker 4: global health, and that is something that I would imagine
Speaker 4: many in DC are still weighing up and need to consider.
Speaker 1: What do you mean by that, Janis I mean the
Speaker 1: influence of global health? What does that actually look like?
Speaker 4: So some funding goes to the WHO in a broad
Speaker 4: context that helps paste off who work at the WHO, etc.
Speaker 4: But some funding goes very specifically to certain programs, and
Speaker 4: if you've got a country like China who are giving
Speaker 4: that funding, some of that funding could be directed to
Speaker 4: specific programs and that obviously just changes the influence. Also
Speaker 4: when we look at continent like Africa, when you've got
Speaker 4: to step away from health for a minute. But when
Speaker 4: you've got China building the roads that lead to the mines,
Speaker 4: that infrastructure is crucial to many many countries, and China
Speaker 4: then gets access to the raw materials. It can be
Speaker 4: similar in health, when things are directed very specifically to
Speaker 4: certain programs, it can change the influence.
Speaker 1: If we do see President Trump sticking with this promise,
Speaker 1: would it have an effect on the other health agencies
Speaker 1: on the continent, like the Africa CDC.
Speaker 4: It definitely would. The extent to which it affects them
Speaker 4: would have to still be seen. I would imagine that
Speaker 4: if President Trump is looking internally more and is less
Speaker 4: generous with global issa choose, he will probably pull funding
Speaker 4: for a variety of things, and the who could then
Speaker 4: be just the start. As I mentioned pep FAR. I
Speaker 4: mean that that is an incredibly important program throughout Africa,
Speaker 4: and it is directly linked to the US and the
Speaker 4: US president and so you know, if he came out
Speaker 4: and pulled that, it would have big impacts on other
Speaker 4: organizations like Africa CDC if they need to divert funding
Speaker 4: from things they are already using, you know, using it
Speaker 4: for because they need to plug other gaps. As we've
Speaker 4: discussed there are so many competing needs in Africa and
Speaker 4: so if anything, there needs to be more funding, not less.
Speaker 1: And is there any help for a U turn from Trump?
Speaker 1: I know, we never really know what is coming next.
Speaker 3: What are your sources telling you?
Speaker 4: Well, the speed that he came out with this decision
Speaker 4: doesn't look particularly promising at the stage. But as you say,
Speaker 4: never say never, especially with President Trump's So I would
Speaker 4: like to think that ultimately the risks to global health
Speaker 4: security surely have to be taken seriously, and those conversations
Speaker 4: hopefully will happen.
Speaker 1: And finally, Janis, as we were mentioning, emparks was a
Speaker 1: wide concern last year when we were talking about, you know.
Speaker 3: Diseases in healthcare on the continent.
Speaker 1: What is the focus now for you, especially now that
Speaker 1: we're talking about this news coming from the US potentially,
Speaker 1: I mean, what's the focus of the healthcare industry?
Speaker 3: I guess here on the continent.
Speaker 4: So this year in Africa, certainly, IMPOS continues to be
Speaker 4: a big issue. Rates of spread of that disease have
Speaker 4: not really dropped, and getting vaccines into arms is still
Speaker 4: a big issue, especially for children. There are obviously other
Speaker 4: diseases across the continents that are concerning. We've recently seen
Speaker 4: an outbreak of Marburg in Tanzania. This bleeding fever is
Speaker 4: got a high fertility rate and can spread quite easily,
Speaker 4: healthcare officials often being at the forefront of the risk
Speaker 4: as they're trying to help people. There's also it's been
Speaker 4: a long time coming, but climate change is a big
Speaker 4: issue in Africa. Arguably, Africa's the hardest hits and the
Speaker 4: least responsible for climate change and disease spread changes as
Speaker 4: globe bombs up, so we see floods, we see drafts
Speaker 4: in areas that previously didn't have these problems, and with
Speaker 4: that comes the risk of the spread of cholera and
Speaker 4: mosquito borne diseases like malaria and even dingy. These are
Speaker 4: our real problems and if anything, they need increased funding.
Speaker 1: Jennis, thanks as always for joining us and for your reporting,
Speaker 1: and you can read all of our coverage across Bloomberg platforms.
Speaker 1: Now here's some of the other stories we've been following
Speaker 1: across the region this week. Africa's biggest crude producer, in Nigeria,
Speaker 1: has emerged from a year's long output slamp due to
Speaker 1: improved secure city creating a quandary for the government.
Speaker 3: Stretched public finances badly.
Speaker 1: Need the extra revenue that would come from higher oil exports,
Speaker 1: but the country is also under pressure to adhere to
Speaker 1: OPEC PLUS production limits that have helped keep global crude
Speaker 1: prices above seventy dollars a barrel. Analysts predict further growth
Speaker 1: in Nigeria's output this year and a possible showdown with
Speaker 1: OPEC Plus over the country's.
Speaker 3: Quota and Angola.
Speaker 1: Plans to sell stakes in its biggest telecommunications company unitel
Speaker 1: Essay and two lenders in the coming months to attract investors.
Speaker 1: That's according to the Minister of State for Economic Coordination,
Speaker 1: Jose de Lima Masano. Masano made the announcement during an
Speaker 1: interview with Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos
Speaker 1: late Tuesday. Africa's third largest oil producer, will also dispose
Speaker 1: of steaks in Banco de Fomento, Angola, its second largest lender,
Speaker 1: and Standard Bank Group's local unit, he told us. And
Speaker 1: you can follow these stories across Bloomberg, including the Next
Speaker 1: African Newsletter. We'll put a link to that in our
Speaker 1: show notes. This program was produced by Adrian Bradley. Don't
Speaker 1: forget to follow and review this show wherever you usually
Speaker 1: get your podcasts. I'm Jennifer's Abasoga. Thanks as always for listening.
Speaker 1: We'll see you next time.