Health and Human Rights News
News to 24 January 2026
United States leaves WHO without paying bills
On Thursday, 22 January, as the United States exited the World Health Organization (WHO) the US State Department announced it would not deliver on all its previous commitments of $490 million for 2024 and 2025. Stat News reported that the United States has not made good on all its assessed contributions for the past two years — including the final year of the Biden administration — effectively short changing WHO $278 million.
See also:
Enforceable Commitments to Global Health Needed to Fulfill Rights, FIGHT FOR RIGHTS VIEWPOINT SERIES, Vol 27/1, Moses Mulumba, Jessica Oga, Juliana Nantaba, and Ana Lorena Ruano, first published 2 March 2025
Donors cut support to Global Fund
Financing for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which provides programming and treatment for millions worldwide, has taken a serious hit as donor nations cut funding. Financial cuts from all but one of the 10 leading donor countries now endanger care for millions and risk reversing decades of progress, reports Human Rights Watch, adding, “Donor nations should immediately step up and close this funding gap.”
Global shortage of one million midwives
The world is facing a shortage of nearly one million midwives, with 90% of the shortage in low- and middle-income countries, and Africa lacking the most, reports the Guardian. Earlier studies have suggested that universal access to midwife-delivered care could prevent two-thirds of maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths, saving 4.3 million lives annually by 2035.
Children’s right to safe public spaces
The World Health Organization, UNICEF, and UN-Habitat are calling on city leaders to put children at the centre of urban design, arguing that public spaces are essential to children’s health, development and well-being. The Guide to creating urban public SPACES for children stresses the importance of safe and accessible public spaces for promoting children’s right to health.
Ethiopia urged to suspend gold mining over child health impacts
Children and others living near the re-opened Lega Dembi gold mine in Ethiopia continue to suffer serious health consequences from exposure to toxic chemicals used in mining. Human Rights Watch is asking the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to “urge the Ethiopian government to suspend mine operations in the interest of protecting child health, allow an independent environmental health assessment to recommend steps before the mine resumes, and ensure victims of abuse are provided effective remedy, including compensation, medical care, and access to justice.” The government refused to release its research on the mine’s health effects.
WHO discourages migrant detention while US ICE detentions surge
A World Health Organization evidence brief emphasizes the need for quality health care in immigration detention centers and calls for the use of detention only as a last resort. The report coincides with a surge in detentions by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from 40,000 people in January 2025 to more than 73,000 in January 2026. CBS News also reports medical care providers to the facilities have not been paid since October, and are cutting back services.
Israel bulldozes UNRWA facility, stops aid groups in Gaza
Israeli crews began the demolition of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) compound in East Jerusalem this week, a move condemned by UN Secretary-General António Guterres as a violation of international law. Israel accused the humanitarian aid agency of collaborating with Hamas. Over the last month, Israel has also said it will halt the operations of multiple aid groups in Gaza and the West Bank, barring Doctors Without Borders (MSF) from bringing in staff or life-saving aid, and leaving millions in the region without medical supplies, food, and health care.
Children and disabled people freezing after Russian attacks
Russian recent attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure have caused widespread power and heating outages across the country as temperatures drop below freezing. “This means that hundreds of thousands of families are now without heating and several areas, including a significant part of Kyiv, are also without water,” said Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk. “This affects in particular the most vulnerable, including children, older people and those with disabilities
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