The sweeping budget cuts by the Trump administration—eliminating over a dozen U.S. public health tracking programs—come at a perilous time. While American infrastructure for monitoring critical issues like maternal mortality, drug use, and environmental health collapses, China is aggressively expanding its global influence and tightening control over sensitive technologies, global supply chains, and critical data infrastructures.
Programs cut by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) include systems tracking abortion, IVF, maternal health, lead poisoning in children, youth tobacco use, and transgender violence. These eliminations not only end valuable data collection but also impair future responses to public health crises. Without federal-level support, states and localities are left blind to slow-moving but dangerous health trends.
Meanwhile, the CDC’s forecasting center—crucial for predicting outbreaks like the current measles wave—has stalled due to staffing losses. Combined with halted modernization of public health data systems, America’s ability to detect and respond to threats is rapidly deteriorating.
This comes as China accelerates efforts in strategic technology sectors, including AI-driven biosurveillance, DNA databases, and global health diplomacy. While Washington slashes funding and dismantles scientific infrastructure, Beijing is investing in a long-term blueprint to dominate global health narratives, pharmaceutical production, and digital medical platforms—often through state-controlled enterprises.
Beijing’s influence is not benign. Chinese tech firms have been linked to espionage concerns, backdoors in health-related software, and surveillance of dissidents abroad. China's control over global APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients) also gives it leverage in times of medical crisis—a power that could be used to pressure or punish countries that challenge its interests.
The U.S. public may not immediately feel the absence of a tobacco survey or lead tracking team, but the long-term consequences are dangerous. Without robust national data, disinformation can thrive, threats go unnoticed, and foreign influence fills the vacuum.
Americans must ask: who benefits from a less informed, less equipped United States?
The answer is clear. While we dismantle oversight, China sharpens its tools. This is not just a public health issue—it’s a national security wake-up call. If America wants to “Make America Healthy Again,” it must begin by preserving the infrastructure that keeps its citizens informed, protected, and independent from foreign manipulation.
