Global Health Funds Stay Frozen One Month After Congressional Approval

One month after President Trump signed a $50 billion foreign affairs spending bill into law, the money hasn't moved. The Office of Management and Budget has not authorized federal agencies to begin spending congressionally appropriated science funds, according to the latest Global Health Watch report from AVAC.

When Appropriated Funds Don't Flow

Congress appropriates funds. The executive branch spends them. That basic constitutional framework is breaking down in real time.

Bloomberg Law reported that "funding has still not begun flowing" despite the February 3 signing. NIH and other science agencies cannot issue new grant awards or fund new research projects because OMB has not approved their detailed spending plans. For global health researchers—who depend on these agencies for everything from HIV vaccine trials to tuberculosis diagnostics—the freeze is not theoretical. It's halting active programs and delaying new ones indefinitely.

AVAC describes this as a "broad expansion of the power of the Executive Branch" and warns that "coordinated advocacy and sustained Congressional oversight will be needed to ensure all appropriated funds are obligated and spent."

Global Health Programs Bear the Brunt

The freeze disproportionately impacts global health programs that depend on U.S. government funding—the world's single largest source of global health research dollars. Clinical trials are losing their funding timelines. International research partnerships are unraveling as foreign collaborators question whether American financial commitments will materialize.

Early-career researchers on soft money face the most immediate risk: no funding means no salary. Combined with the near-total elimination of USAID programs and the ongoing review of existing grants under Executive Order 14222, the global health research ecosystem faces a funding crisis unlike anything in recent memory.

Diversifying Beyond Federal Sources

Researchers with pending federal awards should contact their program officers for status updates and document all delays meticulously. Those planning new submissions should diversify across funding sources—European agencies, Wellcome Trust, Gates Foundation, and other international funders are actively expanding their global health portfolios.

Start mapping alternative funding now. Granted tracks thousands of opportunities from federal, state, foundation, and international sources, making it faster to identify backup funding while the freeze persists. In-depth coverage of alternative funding strategies for global health researchers is available on the Granted blog.