As the Trump administration settles in and federal budget priorities come under scrutiny, terminating foreign health funding may appear fiscally prudent to most conservatives. However, what many fail to recognize is that these investments serve dual purposes that directly benefit Americans: they improve global health and simultaneously safeguard our national interests.
Consider this paradox: cutting foreign health funding to "put America first" may actually put Americans at greater risk.
We’ve spent the past decade studying the intersection of public health and policy, with a focus on characterizing infectious disease surveillance in the Asia-Pacific region and developing behavioral and policy interventions for prevention and treatment. What we’ve observed is a complex web of interactions between the U.S. population and international communities that defies simplistic budget calculations.
The Philippines, where our (now terminated) National Institutes of Health-sponsored research was situated, offers an illuminating case study. With its strategic location and long history of U.S. military alliance, it regularly hosts thousands of American military personnel under the Visiting Forces Agreement. Alongside service members, large numbers of American tourists, business people, veterans, missionaries, students and immigrants/expatriates maintain continuous interactions with local communities, underscoring the ongoing exchange of people and public health risks.
What happens when these contacts occur in a setting with compromised public health infrastructure? A recent study reports that one-third of U.S. active-duty military personnel contract infectious diseases, with the greatest impact (64 percent) observed in service members during overseas deployments.
The dual threats of HIV and COVID-19 provide compelling examples.
In metropolitan Manila, HIV prevalence has risen at alarming rates over the past decade. According to the 2023 Philippine HIV/AIDS Registry, the total number of recorded HIV diagnoses surged by 31.54 percent between 2019 and 2022, increasing from 74,807 to 109,282 cases. During the same period, new diagnoses rose by 14.64 percent, with average daily HIV diagnoses between 35 to 44 cases.
Meanwhile, the Philippines reported approximately 4.2 million COVID-19 cases between 2020 and 2023, resulting in 65,000 deaths. Both HIV and COVID virus circulate in precisely the communities where Americans interact most frequently.
So why should American policymakers care? Because the consequences of these cuts extend far beyond the Philippines. The U.S. military continues to expand its base in the country to counter China's growing influence, and U.S. soldiers and citizens frequently engage with local communities. In 2023 alone, the Philippine tourism sector welcomed 5.4 million international visitors, with nearly two in 10 coming from the ...
