Restore Child Health Funding Now

In December, the Department of Health and Human Services abruptly canceled millions of dollars in federal grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics, setting off lawsuits, alarm from doctors, and national outrage. This decision came without warning and without a clear public health justification, placing children’s lives at risk in the middle of an already fragile health care landscape.

This funding cut is an urgent threat to children, families, and pediatric providers across the country. It must be reversed immediately.

For years, these grants have supported life-saving, evidence-based initiatives. According to the academy, the funding backed efforts to reduce sudden infant deaths, strengthen teen and young adult health, prevent birth defects including fetal alcohol syndrome, and ensure earlier identification of autism. Eliminating this support doesn’t save money. It shifts enormous human and financial costs onto families, schools, hospitals, and communities.

Sudden infant death remains one of the leading causes of death for babies under one year old in the United States. Early autism screening is proven to improve long-term developmental outcomes and reduce lifelong care costs. Prevention of fetal alcohol syndrome spares children from permanent disabilities that are entirely avoidable. Teen and young adult health programs reduce suicide risk, substance use, and untreated mental illness. Cutting these programs guarantees worse outcomes and higher costs down the line.

Reporting from multiple national outlets shows that tens of millions of dollars were pulled from the nation’s largest pediatric organization, which represents more than 67,000 pediatricians. Public health experts have warned that the decision undermines scientific consensus and weakens the infrastructure that keeps children healthy before crises occur. The American Academy of Pediatrics has now taken the extraordinary step of suing the federal government to protect children from further harm.

Every day this funding remains frozen, programs shut down, staff are laid off, and families lose access to prevention and early intervention services that cannot be easily rebuilt.

Court deadlines and congressional oversight are approaching, but HHS need not wait. The agency can act now.

We demand that the Department of Health and Human Services immediately restore all canceled grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics, protect child health funding from political interference, and reaffirm its commitment to evidence-based care.

Children’s health is not optional. Restore the funding now.