Congress already approved the money. Children's lives are on the line. And one cabinet secretary is standing in the way.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, is blocking $600 million in U.S. funding from reaching Gavi — the global organization that delivers vaccines for measles, malaria, polio, and 17 other diseases to children in more than 50 of the world's poorest countries. The funds, which Congress appropriated for this purpose, are set to expire on September 30 if the Trump administration doesn't release them. Gavi estimates that tens of thousands of children could die as a result.

Kennedy's stated reason for the freeze centers on thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative used in some multi-dose vaccines that Gavi distributes. Kennedy has long claimed the preservative causes autism — a claim that has been repeatedly examined and not supported by the scientific evidence. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed thimerosal and concluded it is safe. Gavi and global health experts point out that multi-dose vials containing thimerosal are essential in developing countries, where reliable refrigeration is scarce. Without them, children don't get a safer alternative — they get nothing.

Kennedy has also raised concerns about a vaccine Gavi uses to protect children against diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough. The World Health Organization recommends this vaccine precisely because it offers longer-lasting protection and requires fewer doses — critical advantages in places where getting a child to a clinic more than once is a serious logistical challenge. Gavi says this vaccine is estimated to have saved 40 million lives over the past 50 years.

Even members of Kennedy's own party are pushing back. Senator Susan Collins, the Republican chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has said she plans to urge Secretary of State Marco Rubio to release the funding consistent with what Congress intended.

The science is clear. Congressional intent is clear. And the human cost of inaction is clear.

We are calling on the State Department and the Trump administration to immediately release the $600 million in congressionally approved funding to Gavi — before it expires, and before more children die from preventable diseases.