A wave of federal budget cuts has shut down more than a dozen U.S. public health surveillance programs, raising concerns about the nation’s ability to monitor disease and mortality trends.
Mike Stobbe reports for The Associated Press.
In short:
- More than a dozen Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and related federal health-tracking initiatives, including those monitoring lead poisoning, maternal mortality, youth smoking, and job-related injuries, have been eliminated amid staffing cuts.
- Surveillance of transgender health data, environmental health threats like cancer clusters, and the national drug use survey has also ceased, limiting data available for research and policymaking.
- Some core data operations, such as the National Center for Health Statistics, remain intact, but efforts to modernize data collection and disease forecasting have been halted.
Key quote:
“The loss of that program is going to greatly diminish the ability to make linkages between what might be in the environment and what health might be affected by that.”
— Patrick Breysse, former overseer of the CDC’s environmental health programs
Why this matters:
Reliable health surveillance is crucial to responding to maintaining robust public health responses and policies, allowing researchers and policymakers to detect problems early and track the effectiveness of interventions. Eliminating programs that gather data on pregnancies, lead poisoning, drug use, and environmental exposures compromises the country’s ability to understand and respond to threats to health and safety. Without these insights, vulnerable populations — such as children, workers, and marginalized communities — may face heightened risks without detection or remedy. While some surveillance functions continue, the reduction of scope and staff hampers comprehensive public health responses and the nation’s readiness for emerging health crises.
Related: Editorial: Public health protections unravel as U.S. science agencies face political cuts
