The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has abruptly terminated multiple federal grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics, eliminating millions of dollars in funding for vital child health programmes as tensions escalate between the professional group and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The cancelled awards, which in aggregate totalled more than eighteen million dollars this year, supported work on preventing sudden infant death syndrome, improving rural access to care, adolescent health, early autism identification and other critical public health services.

Officials from HHS said the grants were rescinded because the projects “no longer align with departmental priorities”, a justification that included objections to the use of what the department described as “identity-based language” in award documentation, citing references to racial disparities and terms such as “pregnant people”.

The revocations affect funds previously awarded by both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, which has been one of the most prominent critics of Kennedy’s reconfiguration of federal vaccine policy — including his overhaul of the COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and the dismissal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent vaccine advisory panel — criticised the decision as a threat to child health.

AAP leadership said that the sudden loss of funding will directly impact families and communities across the United States and is exploring legal routes to challenge the cancellations.

The dispute is part of a broader clash over vaccine policy and public health guidance.

The AAP and other medical organisations have filed lawsuits arguing that the administration’s changes to vaccine recommendations, including removing COVID-19 shots from standard immunisation schedules for children and pregnant women, violate federal law and undermine evidence-based public health practices.

These legal challenges highlight deep disagreements over the conduct of federal health policy and the role of scientific expertise in setting national immunisation standards.

Administration officials have defended their actions, maintaining the right to align federal funding with revised departmental goals, but public health advocates warn that the abrupt cancellation of grants and the erosion of long-standing partnerships with provider organisations could weaken infrastructure for preventive care.

The ongoing litigation and policy friction signal that debates over vaccine guidance and federal public health priorities will remain a central issue in U.S. health policy debates into the next year.