Cuts Undermine Health Monitoring Nationwide
U.S. health tracking cuts: The Trump administration cuts over a dozen federal programs tracking public health in 100 days. This move was part of a massive shake-up led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who campaigned on the slogan “Make America Healthy Again.”
Among the casualties: programs monitoring maternal health, youth tobacco use, lead poisoning, environmental disease links, and work-related injuries. The Associated Press confirmed the eliminations after reviewing budget drafts and interviewing federal employees.
CDC Surveillance Efforts Gutted
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) faced some of the largest cuts. Staff working on tracking abortions, pregnancies, job injuries, and youth smoking were all laid off. Programs studying transgender health risks and sexual violence were also terminated.
Health experts warn these aren’t redundant services.
“If the U.S. is interested in making itself healthier again, how is it going to know, if it cancels the programs that help us understand these diseases?”
Key Public Health Data Lost
- Maternal Health & Abortion:
The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System—a vital tool in studying maternal mortality—lost its entire team. So did teams tracking IVF and abortion data. - Lead Poisoning in Kids:
The CDC’s lead program was defunded, ending support for cities like Milwaukee investigating lead exposure in schools and tainted applesauce outbreaks. - Environmental Public Health:
The 23-year-old program linking environment and health was scrapped, making cancer cluster tracking and climate-related illness monitoring far harder. - Violence & Transgender Data:
Trans status is no longer recorded in violent death stats, limiting the ability to track violence against LGBTQ+ populations.
Occupational and Youth Health Surveillance Gutted
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) saw deep cuts. Programs studying black lung disease and deaths in oil and gas industries were either suspended or scheduled for termination.
They also axed youth-focused surveys like the National Youth Tobacco Survey and National Survey on Drug Use and Health, eliminating key insight into youth drug and vape trends.
Forecasting and Disease Preparedness Dismantled
Efforts to modernize data and predict outbreaks also came to a halt. The Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, created after COVID-19, stopped work on a measles outbreak forecast due to layoffs.
“We don’t know what we don’t know.”
Lack of Transparency Fuels Concerns
The administration has not released a public list of discontinued programs. Instead, they proposed vague budget cuts that halved the CDC’s core funding and shifted its focus solely to infectious diseases.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has defended the cuts, citing waste and redundancy. But public health leaders say these data losses weaken the nation’s ability to respond effectively to health threats.
Conclusion
America may be flying blind on critical health data. With programs shut down and public transparency lacking, some fear this is intentional—a tactic to prevent public concern by keeping them uninformed.
Source: AP News
