B2 – Upper Intermediate
A report by Human Rights Watch highlights major donor nations cutting financial support for global health programs, particularly those fighting HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
Read the article to know why these reductions in funding risk reversing years of progress and could lead to increased preventable deaths in vulnerable populations.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/01/22/donor-nation-cuts-to-global-health-financing-affect-millions?
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does “marginalized group” mean? “Human Rights Watch found that global health funding cuts in 2025 have already had a dire impact, especially for marginalized groups that face systemic discrimination and barriers to health care, including men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers, and people who use drugs.” Use it in a sentence.
- What does “systemic discrimination” mean? “Human Rights Watch found that global health funding cuts in 2025 have already had a dire impact, especially for marginalized groups that face systemic discrimination and barriers to health care, including men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers, and people who use drugs.” Use it in a sentence.
- What does “outreach worker” mean? “Human Rights Watch interviewed 47 nongovernmental organization workers, health care outreach workers, and aid recipients affected by recent cuts to global health financing in Indonesia, Laos, and Nepal, focusing specifically on HIV/AIDS prevention and care.” Use it in a sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- How do you think cutting global health funding could affect developing countries the most?
- Should wealthy nations prioritize global health aid even if they face economic challenges at home? Why or why not?
- What diseases or health programs do you think would be impacted first by funding reductions?
- How might global health funding cuts affect the world beyond the countries receiving aid?
- What solutions could governments or organizations explore to prevent millions of lives from being at risk?