World News in Brief: Self-sufficiency call for healthcare funding, Australia treaty with Indigenous Peoples, Haiti women at risk

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) issued new guidance on Monday to help poorer nations cope with severe global funding cuts for essential medical services worldwide.

According to the UN health agency, healthcare aid from abroad is projected to see a decline of between 30 and 40 per cent this year, compared with 2023.

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This has already resulted in reductions of up to 70 per cent in key health services in some of the 108 low and middle-income countries that feature in a new WHO report.

More than 50 of these nations also reported job losses among health and care workers, the UN agency noted, a situation made worse by years of financial strain driven by inflation, sovereign debt repayments and a heavy reliance on outside support.

At risk are critical services such as maternal care, vaccination and disease surveillance in many low and middle-income countries, WHO has warned.

Lives lost

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “sudden and unplanned cuts to aid” have already hit many countries hard, “costing lives and jeopardising hard-won health gains”.

But he added that now was the time for countries to transition away from “aid dependency” towards “sustainable self-reliance” by using domestic resources to focus on protecting the most vulnerable.

Several countries are already taking action. Nigeria has increased its health budget by $200 million to offset external funding cuts, while Ghana has lifted a cap on excise tax revenues to boost its national health insurance fund by 60 per cent.

WHO said such steps show that national leadership and global solidarity are crucial to sustaining health systems in a new era of constrained aid.

Türk welcomes Australia’s first treaty with Indigenous Peoples

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The UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk, welcomed Australia’s first formal treaty with Indigenous Peoples on Monday describing it as a “major step toward justice and equality” and a “significant occasion for all Australians.”

Passed by legislators in the state of Victoria, the treaty establishes a democratically elected First Peoples Assembly – the GellungWarl – along with a “truth-telling” body, called Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna, and an accountability body, known as Nginma Ngainga Wara.

Mr. Türk said the initiative marks important progress towards self-determination for the country’s First Peoples, addressing the “continued exclusion and discrimination” stemming from colonisation.

Historic step, ‘truly transformative’

In his statement, he added that Victoria’s approach could be “truly transformative” if fully implemented, ensuring Indigenous communities have a direct voice in shaping laws and policies that affect their lives.

The move follows the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, which called for constitutional recognition and a voice for Indigenous Australians. Mr. Türk expressed hope that Victoria’s example would inspire similar action elsewhere in Australia and beyond, promoting reconciliation and respect for human rights for all.

Around a quarter of Australia’s population lives in the state Victoria.

Haiti: Independent UN experts warn women’s exclusion deepening crisis

Independent UN human rights experts have warned that Haiti’s deepening crisis cannot be resolved while women remain excluded from decision-making and exposed to widespread sexual violence.

“Haiti is in the grip of one of the world’s most severe crises, and women and girls are bearing the brunt,” said the UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls. “Yet they remain sidelined from processes that determine their safety, rights, and future.”

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In Haiti, people carrying their belongings flee their homes as night falls due to violence.

The UN Human Rights Council-appointed experts said women are entirely absent from Haiti’s transitional leadership, where all seven voting members of the Presidential Council are men, and the new cabinet fails to meet the constitutional quota of 30 per cent female representation.

“Haitian women have long played critical roles in rebuilding communities and supporting social cohesion,” the Group said. “Their exclusion is not only unjust – it is a strategic failure.”

‘Weapon of terror’

Criminal gangs continue to use sexual violence as a “weapon of terror”, particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince, while survivors are left without protection or justice.

The experts urged Haitian authorities and international partners to act immediately to ensure women’s equal participation in political, security and recovery processes, warning that “Haiti’s crisis cannot be addressed without confronting the gendered dynamics of violence and governance.”