The administration of US President Donald Trump has ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce its contract spending by $2.9 billion, The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter. 

According to the report, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) instructed the CDC about two weeks ago to cut roughly 35% of its contract expenditures by April 18. 

This directive follows an earlier reduction in the CDC’s workforce, in which around 2,400 employees were laid off due to DOGE’s orders. 

The affected staff had been working in critical public health areas, including environmental health, asthma, injury and violence prevention, lead poisoning, smoking cessation, and climate change, the report said. 

'Cutting off our arms and legs' 

"Funding grants and contracts are the mechanism by which we get things done," an unnamed CDC scientist told the newspaper, adding, "They are cutting off our arms and legs." 

While the CDC’s largest contract, worth some $7 billion annually for the Vaccines for Children Program, is legally protected from the cuts, other essential operations, such as IT infrastructure, security, cleaning, building management, and research initiatives, may face significant reductions. 

In addition to these cuts, in late March, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) discontinued grants totaling around $11.4 billion that were previously allocated for tracking infectious diseases, supporting mental health services, and funding addiction treatment programs, The Times reported. 

Crackdown on health agencies

With the US halting its contributions and other nations redirecting funding toward defense spending, the World Health Organization now faces a $600 million shortfall in 2025, Tedros warned in the message sent to UN health agency staff.

The WHO is set to slash its budget by 21% following the United States' decision to withdraw, forcing the global health body to reduce its workforce and operational reach, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an internal email obtained by AFP on Saturday.

After returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump not only triggered the US pullout from WHO but also froze nearly all US foreign aid, including funds supporting global health programs.

The United States had been the WHO’s largest donor, contributing $1.3 billion to the 2022-23 budget, accounting for 16.3% of its total funding. Most of that funding came through voluntary contributions earmarked for specific programs, rather than fixed membership fees.

"Dramatic cuts to official development assistance by the United States and others are causing massive disruptions to countries, NGOs, and United Nations agencies, including WHO," Tedros wrote.