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United Nations

Looming International Controversy Threatens Ebola Fight Funding

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians could jeopardize the global fight against Ebola and other pandemics as the World Health Organization (WHO) faces a budget crisis. A series of American laws, enacted in the mid-1990s, would defund the WHO if it admits the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) as a member, hindering the organization's ability to cooperate with the WHO on global health initiatives.

Key Takeaways:

  • The WHO is set to face a budget crisis due to a looming international controversy created by American laws, which would defund the organization if it admits the PLO as a member.
  • The WHO's budget was already severely impacted by the 2014 Ebola outbreak, which killed thousands in West Africa and caused widespread fear in the United States.
  • The WHO's work in global disease surveillance, detection, and response, including the agency's work on Ebola and other pandemics, relies heavily on American contributions, which totaled $290 million in 2013.
  • Democratic Representative Keith Ellison is preparing to introduce legislation to reform the American laws and give the president waiver authority to continue funding critical agencies like the WHO.
  • The Palestinians have the right to seek membership in international organizations like the WHO, and a bid for membership is possible, according to the chief representative of the PLO delegation to the United States, Ambassador Maen Rashid Areikat.
  • A cutoff of American funds to the WHO could have effects beyond just the agency's global health programs, potentially disrupting collaborations between the WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Statistics:

  • American contributions to the WHO in 2013 totaled $290 million.
  • The WHO suffered from a budget crisis in recent years, including the layoffs of more than 300 technical staff in 2011 (CSIS report).
  • The 2014 Ebola outbreak killed thousands in West Africa and caused widespread fear in the United States.
  • A Palestinian bid for WHO membership would cut off all American funding to the organization (Peter Yeo, president of the Better World Campaign).

Sources:

  • "Lives are unquestionably on the line," said Peter Yeo, president of the Better World Campaign (The Daily Beast).
  • American contributions to the WHO in 2013 totaled $290 million (Better World Foundation, citing State Department figures).
  • The WHO suffered from a budget crisis in recent years, including the layoffs of more than 300 technical staff in 2011 (CSIS report).
  • A Palestinian bid for WHO membership would cut off all American funding to the organization (Peter Yeo, president of the Better World Campaign).
  • The PLO has not been a designated terrorist organization since the early 1990s (Lara Friedman, director of policy of Americans for Peace Now).
  • The U.S. Senate voted unanimously in March to give Congress the power to cut U.S. funding to the U.N. or other international organizations that take "unfair or discriminatory action against Israel" (The Daily Beast).

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