Study: USAID program cuts could lead to over 14 million deaths

More than 14 million people worldwide could die by 2030 due to the decision of the US President Donald Trumpʼs administration to sharply cut programs of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

This is stated in a study published on June 30 in the journal Lancet.

A team of scientists analyzed data from 133 countries and territories, including low- and middle-income countries, to assess the impact of USAID assistance programs on mortality of people of all ages from various causes from 2001 to 2021.

They concluded that USAID programs helped reduce overall mortality in these countries by 15% (91.8 million) and mortality among children under 5 by 32% (30.4 million).

In particular, the program reduced mortality from:

• HIV/AIDS by 65% — 25.5 million lives saved;
• malaria by 51% — 8 million lives;
• neglected tropical diseases by 50% — 8.9 million lives.

Significant reductions in mortality from tuberculosis, malnutrition, diarrheal diseases, lower respiratory infections, and maternal and perinatal complications were also recorded.

Scientists predict that the current sharp funding cuts could lead to more than 14 million additional deaths among people of all ages by 2030, including 4.5 million deaths among children under 5 years of age.

• After Donald Trump became president of the United States, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was established in Washington, which is supposed to improve the efficiency of the American government. As part of the governmentʼs spending cuts, the US government, among other things, suspended aid programs to other countries, offered federal officials to resign and receive compensation. The US also decided to liquidate the Department of Education, and the US Central Intelligence Agency began laying off recently hired employees.
• Also, within the framework of the departmentʼs work, the US decided to reorganize, and in fact close, USAID, a program that fought poverty and hunger around the world and was an essential tool of US soft power.
• In mid-May, Reuters wrote that Trumpʼs decision to cut foreign aid was causing food for millions of people to spoil in warehouses in the US.

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