JAMA Netw Open. 2026 May 1;9(5):e2615000. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.15000.
ABSTRACT
IMPORTANCE: The abrupt withdrawal of humanitarian aid in early 2025 has destabilized health systems across sub-Saharan Africa, yet little is known about the frontline realities of these cuts in refugee-hosting settings.
OBJECTIVE: To explore health care practitioners’ perspectives and experiences of how reductions in global health funding have affected services and refugee health and to identify practitioner recommendations for sustaining care.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This qualitative study used semistructured, in-depth interviews conducted in July 2025 at 6 health facilities within Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Uganda. Participants were health care practitioners representing diverse cadres and facility sizes.
EXPOSURE: Reduction of humanitarian aid.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcomes were health care practitioners’ perspectives on the impacts of funding reductions, including changes in service delivery, supply availability, staff conditions, and anticipated future health trends, as well as their recommendations to mitigate harms. Rapid qualitative techniques and thematic analysis were used to analyze responses to obtain actionable implications systematically and efficiently.
RESULTS: The 26 participants (mean [SD] age, 30.92 [3.52] years; 16 men [61.5%]) had a mean (SD) duration in practice of 6.80 (2.65) years, with a mean (SD) of 3.09 (1.92) years in Nakivale. Interviews yielded 4 overarching themes and 18 subthemes: (1) reductions in health care services (HIV and tuberculosis services, nutritional support, maternal health, immunization adherence, inpatient and outpatient care, and perceptions of service availability), (2) supply shortages (medical supplies, transportation fuel, and household support), (3) deteriorating staff conditions (staff reduction, workload and burnout, and resilience), and (4) future predictions and recommendations (disease patterns, migration patterns, bridging the funding gap, and general settlement conditions).
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This qualitative study examined the cascading outcomes of humanitarian aid withdrawal on refugee health care through the voices of frontline practitioners. Their testimonies underscored urgent priorities for restoring and retargeting aid-investing in high-impact levers, strengthening local leadership, and advancing policy reforms-to safeguard refugee health and system resilience, while reminding us of the shared human stakes of humanitarian policy and the global responsibility to act.
PMID:42189537 | DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.15000
