CDC Closes Angola and South Sudan Offices, with Zimbabwe Next as U.S. Ties Health Aid to Country Deals

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The closures matter beyond Africa because these offices have served as an early warning system for outbreaks. Travelers who were recently in South Sudan must enter the U.S. through designated airports for enhanced Ebola screening while a large outbreak continues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Key details remain unclear. The reasons for the closures come from an anonymous CDC official, and the State Department has not said what CDC services will cost each country.

The CDC opened its South Sudan office in 2006. According to the CDC’s South Sudan page, CDC-supported programs identified 6,381 new HIV cases in 2025, about 45% of the country’s new diagnoses, and supported HIV treatment for 49,238 people. The agency also helped establish the country’s first national public health emergency operations center in 2018, which has coordinated responses to Ebola, Marburg virus disease and cholera.

A CDC official told Politico that declining funding, operating limits set by the State Department, and security problems drove the closures, CIDRAP reported. The CDC has about 30% fewer employees than it did before President Trump began his second term.

The closures follow the State Department’s America First Global Health Strategy, released Sept. 18, 2025. In a letter accompanying the strategy, Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote that the U.S. must “keep what is good about our health foreign assistance programs while rapidly fixing what is broken,” NPR reported. A senior administration official described the approach as “giving them skin in the game and ownership.”

Under deals with 35 countries that took effect Oct. 1, recipient countries promise to pay a growing share of their own health costs and show progress on health measures. Each country chooses the CDC services it wants, and the State Department pays the agency for them. Angola is set to receive $71 million through 2030, and South Sudan is set to receive $146 million over three years.

A KFF tracker counted 36 signed agreements as of Oct. 8, worth about $26.7 billion in combined U.S. and partner funding, with partner countries covering 39%. KFF found that U.S. global health funding for these countries is down about $8.1 billion, or 34%, from historical levels.

The State Department said countries “have now selected CDC services that will result in CDC overseas funding levels that are at or higher than prior years,” with only the Kenya and Rwanda deals lowering CDC funding “slightly.” HHS said the CDC will maintain its global health security work “through regional offices, headquarters staff, other U.S. government personnel and implementing partners.”

As of Oct. 6, the CDC’s Ebola situation summary counted 8,750 confirmed cases and 4,208 confirmed deaths, nearly all in Congo. No cases tied to this outbreak have been reported in the United States, and the CDC says the overall risk to the American public remains low.

Travelers who were recently in Congo are temporarily barred from boarding commercial flights to the U.S. U.S. citizens and nationals who were in Uganda or South Sudan within 21 days of arriving must enter through designated airports for enhanced screening.

Critics say fewer field offices means weaker early warning. “Who’s going to pick up the phone if there’s a Marburg outbreak and the Zimbabwe office has closed?” Asia Russell, executive director of the HIV advocacy group Health GAP, told Politico.

Patients in Angola, South Sudan and Zimbabwe who rely on CDC-backed HIV and TB programs face the most direct effects. In the U.S., the concern is narrower. It mainly affects travelers heading to East and Central Africa for work, aid missions or family visits, and the clinicians who treat them when they return. Anyone who feels sick within 21 days of leaving an affected country should call a clinician or emergency department ahead of time and share their travel history.

Zimbabwe, which rejected a deal earlier this year over concerns about sharing sensitive health data, is expected to lose its office at the end of December. In June, 24 Democratic senators and Senate Health Committee Chair Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, asked appropriators to keep $2 billion flowing from the State Department to the CDC for global health work in the fiscal 2027 spending bill, which has not been released. Until the State Department publishes what each service costs, neither the administration’s assurances nor its critics’ warnings can be fully checked.

Which CDC offices have closed? The Angola and South Sudan offices closed Oct. 1, according to Politico. The Zimbabwe office is set to close at the end of the year, with a dozen or more others expected to follow in the coming years.

Why are the offices closing? A CDC official cited declining funding, State Department operating limits and security problems. U.S. health aid is also shifting to country-by-country agreements.

What do the new deals require? Countries agree to pay a growing share of their health costs and show progress on health measures. They choose the CDC services they want, and the State Department pays the CDC for them.

Is the administration cutting CDC funding? The State Department says country choices will keep CDC overseas funding at or above prior levels, except in Kenya and Rwanda. It has not released what the services cost.

Is there a risk to people in the U.S.? No Ebola cases tied to the current outbreak have been reported in the U.S., and the CDC says the risk remains low. Critics say fewer offices could slow outbreak detection abroad, while HHS says regional offices and partners will continue that work.

What should travelers do? Check CDC travel health notices before trips to East or Central Africa. Anyone who becomes sick within 21 days of returning should call a health care provider first and mention where they traveled.