Over 14 million people could die from US foreign aid cuts: study
The study in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet was published as world and business leaders met at a United Nations conference in Spain to try to bolster the reeling aid sector.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) had provided over 40 percent of global humanitarian funding until Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.
Two weeks later, Trump's then-close advisor -- and the world's richest man -- Elon Musk boasted of having put the agency "through the woodchipper".
The funding cuts "risk abruptly halting -- and even reversing -- two decades of progress in health among vulnerable populations", warned study co-author Davide Rasella, a researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).
"For many low- and middle-income countries, the resulting shock would be comparable in scale to a global pandemic or a major armed conflict," he said in a statement.
Looking back over data from 133 nations, the international team of researchers estimated that USAID funding had prevented 91.8 million deaths in developing countries between 2001 and 2021.
That is more than the estimated number of deaths during World War II -- history's deadliest conflict.
- Children already dying -
The researchers also used modelling to project how funding being slashed by 83 percent -- the figure announced by the US government earlier this year -- could affect death rates.
The cuts could lead to more than 14 million avoidable deaths by 2030, the projections found.
That number included over 4.5 million children under the age of five -- or around 700,000 child deaths a year.
For comparison, around 10 million soldiers are estimated to have been killed during World War I.
USAID funding was found to be particularly effective at staving off preventable deaths from disease.
There were 65 percent fewer deaths from HIV/AIDS in countries receiving a high level of support compared to those with little or no USAID funding, the study found.
Deaths from malaria and neglected tropical diseases were similarly cut in half.
In South Sudan, people are already dying as a result of the US cuts, said Denish Ogen Rwot of the NGO Action Against Hunger, which has slashed its staffing in the country from 300 to 86.
"Already we are having children die," he told AFP.
A recently updated tracker run by disease modeller Brooke Nichols at Boston University estimates that nearly 108,000 adults and more than 224,000 children have already died as a result of the US aid cuts.
That works out to 88 deaths every hour, according to the tracker.
- More deaths from Europe, UK cuts -
After USAID was gutted, several other major donors, including France, Germany and the UK, followed suit in announcing plans to slash their foreign aid budgets.
These aid reductions, particularly in the European Union, could lead to "even more additional deaths in the coming years," study co-author Caterina Monti of ISGlobal said.
But the grim projections are based on the current amount of pledged aid, so could rapidly come down if the situation changes, the researchers emphasised.
Dozens of world leaders -- though no one from the United States -- attended an aid conference in the Spanish city of Seville this week.
A common declaration was adopted reaffirming previous goals but it is not legally binding.
This year's aid cuts spearheaded by the United States could also nearly double the number of people forced to flee their homes this year, the Danish Refugee Council warned Tuesday.
Before its funding was slashed, USAID represented 0.3 percent of all US federal spending.
"US citizens contribute about 17 cents per day to USAID, around $64 per year," said study co-author James Macinko of the University of California, Los Angeles.
"I think most people would support continued USAID funding if they knew just how effective such a small contribution can be to saving millions of lives."
dl/phz
Originally published as Over 14 million people could die from US foreign aid cuts: study
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Herald Sun
14 hours ago
- Herald Sun
Over 14 million people could die from US foreign aid cuts: study
More than 14 million of the world's most vulnerable people, a third of them small children, could die by 2030 because of the Trump administration's dismantling of US foreign aid, research projected on Tuesday. The study in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet was published as world and business leaders met at a United Nations conference in Spain to try to bolster the reeling aid sector. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) had provided over 40 percent of global humanitarian funding until Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. Two weeks later, Trump's then-close advisor -- and the world's richest man -- Elon Musk boasted of having put the agency "through the woodchipper". The funding cuts "risk abruptly halting -- and even reversing -- two decades of progress in health among vulnerable populations", warned study co-author Davide Rasella, a researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal). "For many low- and middle-income countries, the resulting shock would be comparable in scale to a global pandemic or a major armed conflict," he said in a statement. Looking back over data from 133 nations, the international team of researchers estimated that USAID funding had prevented 91.8 million deaths in developing countries between 2001 and 2021. That is more than the estimated number of deaths during World War II -- history's deadliest conflict. - Children already dying - The researchers also used modelling to project how funding being slashed by 83 percent -- the figure announced by the US government earlier this year -- could affect death rates. The cuts could lead to more than 14 million avoidable deaths by 2030, the projections found. That number included over 4.5 million children under the age of five -- or around 700,000 child deaths a year. For comparison, around 10 million soldiers are estimated to have been killed during World War I. USAID funding was found to be particularly effective at staving off preventable deaths from disease. There were 65 percent fewer deaths from HIV/AIDS in countries receiving a high level of support compared to those with little or no USAID funding, the study found. Deaths from malaria and neglected tropical diseases were similarly cut in half. In South Sudan, people are already dying as a result of the US cuts, said Denish Ogen Rwot of the NGO Action Against Hunger, which has slashed its staffing in the country from 300 to 86. "Already we are having children die," he told AFP. A recently updated tracker run by disease modeller Brooke Nichols at Boston University estimates that nearly 108,000 adults and more than 224,000 children have already died as a result of the US aid cuts. That works out to 88 deaths every hour, according to the tracker. - More deaths from Europe, UK cuts - After USAID was gutted, several other major donors, including France, Germany and the UK, followed suit in announcing plans to slash their foreign aid budgets. These aid reductions, particularly in the European Union, could lead to "even more additional deaths in the coming years," study co-author Caterina Monti of ISGlobal said. But the grim projections are based on the current amount of pledged aid, so could rapidly come down if the situation changes, the researchers emphasised. Dozens of world leaders -- though no one from the United States -- attended an aid conference in the Spanish city of Seville this week. A common declaration was adopted reaffirming previous goals but it is not legally binding. This year's aid cuts spearheaded by the United States could also nearly double the number of people forced to flee their homes this year, the Danish Refugee Council warned Tuesday. Before its funding was slashed, USAID represented 0.3 percent of all US federal spending. "US citizens contribute about 17 cents per day to USAID, around $64 per year," said study co-author James Macinko of the University of California, Los Angeles. "I think most people would support continued USAID funding if they knew just how effective such a small contribution can be to saving millions of lives." dl/phz Originally published as Over 14 million people could die from US foreign aid cuts: study
The Advertiser
a day ago
- The Advertiser
USAID cuts may cause over 14 million additional deaths
Deep funding cuts to the US Agency for International Development and its potential dismantling could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, according to research published in The Lancet medical journal. President Donald Trump's administration has made funding cuts to USAID and its aid programs worldwide in what the US government says is part of its broader plan to remove wasteful spending. The research was published on Monday, the same day former US presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush delivered rare open criticism of the Trump administration - and singer Bono recited a poem - in an emotional video farewell with staffers of the USAID. Obama called the Trump administration's dismantling of USAID "a colossal mistake". Speaking in a recorded statement, he offered assurances to the aid and development workers. "Your work has mattered and will matter for generations to come," he told them. Monday was the last day as an independent agency for the six-decade-old humanitarian and development organisation, created by president John F Kennedy as a peaceful way of promoting US national security by boosting goodwill and prosperity abroad. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered USAID absorbed into the State Department from Tuesday. USAID funding has had a crucial role in improving global health, primarily directed toward low and middle-income countries, particularly African nations, according to the study. The study estimated that over the past two decades, USAID-funded programs had prevented more than 91 million deaths globally, including 30 million deaths among children. Projections suggest that ongoing deep funding cuts - combined with the potential dismantling of the agency - could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, including 4.5 million deaths among children younger than five, the study said. Washington is the world's largest humanitarian aid donor, amounting to at least 38 per cent of all contributions recorded by the United Nations. It disbursed $US61 billion ($A93 billion) in foreign assistance last year, just over half of it via USAID, according to government data. "Our estimates show that, unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030," the study said. USAID was one of the first and most fiercely targeted for government-cutting by Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk, with staffers abruptly locked out of systems and offices and terminated by mass emailing. Trump claimed the agency was run by "radical left lunatics" and rife with "tremendous fraud." Musk called it "a criminal organisation." Rubio said the Trump administration cancelled over 80 per cent of all programs at USAID following a six-week review. The remaining approximately 1000 programs, he said, would now be administered "more effectively" under the US State Department and in consultation with Congress. with AP Deep funding cuts to the US Agency for International Development and its potential dismantling could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, according to research published in The Lancet medical journal. President Donald Trump's administration has made funding cuts to USAID and its aid programs worldwide in what the US government says is part of its broader plan to remove wasteful spending. The research was published on Monday, the same day former US presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush delivered rare open criticism of the Trump administration - and singer Bono recited a poem - in an emotional video farewell with staffers of the USAID. Obama called the Trump administration's dismantling of USAID "a colossal mistake". Speaking in a recorded statement, he offered assurances to the aid and development workers. "Your work has mattered and will matter for generations to come," he told them. Monday was the last day as an independent agency for the six-decade-old humanitarian and development organisation, created by president John F Kennedy as a peaceful way of promoting US national security by boosting goodwill and prosperity abroad. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered USAID absorbed into the State Department from Tuesday. USAID funding has had a crucial role in improving global health, primarily directed toward low and middle-income countries, particularly African nations, according to the study. The study estimated that over the past two decades, USAID-funded programs had prevented more than 91 million deaths globally, including 30 million deaths among children. Projections suggest that ongoing deep funding cuts - combined with the potential dismantling of the agency - could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, including 4.5 million deaths among children younger than five, the study said. Washington is the world's largest humanitarian aid donor, amounting to at least 38 per cent of all contributions recorded by the United Nations. It disbursed $US61 billion ($A93 billion) in foreign assistance last year, just over half of it via USAID, according to government data. "Our estimates show that, unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030," the study said. USAID was one of the first and most fiercely targeted for government-cutting by Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk, with staffers abruptly locked out of systems and offices and terminated by mass emailing. Trump claimed the agency was run by "radical left lunatics" and rife with "tremendous fraud." Musk called it "a criminal organisation." Rubio said the Trump administration cancelled over 80 per cent of all programs at USAID following a six-week review. The remaining approximately 1000 programs, he said, would now be administered "more effectively" under the US State Department and in consultation with Congress. with AP Deep funding cuts to the US Agency for International Development and its potential dismantling could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, according to research published in The Lancet medical journal. President Donald Trump's administration has made funding cuts to USAID and its aid programs worldwide in what the US government says is part of its broader plan to remove wasteful spending. The research was published on Monday, the same day former US presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush delivered rare open criticism of the Trump administration - and singer Bono recited a poem - in an emotional video farewell with staffers of the USAID. Obama called the Trump administration's dismantling of USAID "a colossal mistake". Speaking in a recorded statement, he offered assurances to the aid and development workers. "Your work has mattered and will matter for generations to come," he told them. Monday was the last day as an independent agency for the six-decade-old humanitarian and development organisation, created by president John F Kennedy as a peaceful way of promoting US national security by boosting goodwill and prosperity abroad. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered USAID absorbed into the State Department from Tuesday. USAID funding has had a crucial role in improving global health, primarily directed toward low and middle-income countries, particularly African nations, according to the study. The study estimated that over the past two decades, USAID-funded programs had prevented more than 91 million deaths globally, including 30 million deaths among children. Projections suggest that ongoing deep funding cuts - combined with the potential dismantling of the agency - could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, including 4.5 million deaths among children younger than five, the study said. Washington is the world's largest humanitarian aid donor, amounting to at least 38 per cent of all contributions recorded by the United Nations. It disbursed $US61 billion ($A93 billion) in foreign assistance last year, just over half of it via USAID, according to government data. "Our estimates show that, unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030," the study said. USAID was one of the first and most fiercely targeted for government-cutting by Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk, with staffers abruptly locked out of systems and offices and terminated by mass emailing. Trump claimed the agency was run by "radical left lunatics" and rife with "tremendous fraud." Musk called it "a criminal organisation." Rubio said the Trump administration cancelled over 80 per cent of all programs at USAID following a six-week review. The remaining approximately 1000 programs, he said, would now be administered "more effectively" under the US State Department and in consultation with Congress. with AP Deep funding cuts to the US Agency for International Development and its potential dismantling could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, according to research published in The Lancet medical journal. President Donald Trump's administration has made funding cuts to USAID and its aid programs worldwide in what the US government says is part of its broader plan to remove wasteful spending. The research was published on Monday, the same day former US presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush delivered rare open criticism of the Trump administration - and singer Bono recited a poem - in an emotional video farewell with staffers of the USAID. Obama called the Trump administration's dismantling of USAID "a colossal mistake". Speaking in a recorded statement, he offered assurances to the aid and development workers. "Your work has mattered and will matter for generations to come," he told them. Monday was the last day as an independent agency for the six-decade-old humanitarian and development organisation, created by president John F Kennedy as a peaceful way of promoting US national security by boosting goodwill and prosperity abroad. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered USAID absorbed into the State Department from Tuesday. USAID funding has had a crucial role in improving global health, primarily directed toward low and middle-income countries, particularly African nations, according to the study. The study estimated that over the past two decades, USAID-funded programs had prevented more than 91 million deaths globally, including 30 million deaths among children. Projections suggest that ongoing deep funding cuts - combined with the potential dismantling of the agency - could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, including 4.5 million deaths among children younger than five, the study said. Washington is the world's largest humanitarian aid donor, amounting to at least 38 per cent of all contributions recorded by the United Nations. It disbursed $US61 billion ($A93 billion) in foreign assistance last year, just over half of it via USAID, according to government data. "Our estimates show that, unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030," the study said. USAID was one of the first and most fiercely targeted for government-cutting by Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk, with staffers abruptly locked out of systems and offices and terminated by mass emailing. Trump claimed the agency was run by "radical left lunatics" and rife with "tremendous fraud." Musk called it "a criminal organisation." Rubio said the Trump administration cancelled over 80 per cent of all programs at USAID following a six-week review. The remaining approximately 1000 programs, he said, would now be administered "more effectively" under the US State Department and in consultation with Congress. with AP
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
More than 14 million people could die from US foreign aid cuts, study finds
More than 14 million of the world's most vulnerable people, a third of them small children, could die because of Donald Trump administration's dismantling of US foreign aid, research has projected. The study in the prestigious Lancet journal was published on Tuesday as world and business leaders gather for a UN conference in Spain this week hoping to bolster the reeling aid sector. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) had provided over 40 per cent of global humanitarian funding until Mr Trump returned to the White House in January. Two weeks later, Mr Trump's then-close advisor, Elon Musk, boasted of having put the agency "through the woodchipper". The funding cuts "risk abruptly halting, and even reversing, two decades of progress in health among vulnerable populations," warned study co-author Davide Rasella, a researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal). "For many low- and middle-income countries, the resulting shock would be comparable in scale to a global pandemic or a major armed conflict," he said in a statement. Looking back over data from 133 nations, the international team of researchers estimated that USAID funding had prevented 91 million deaths in developing countries between 2001 and 2021. They also used modelling to project how funding being slashed by 83 per cent — the figure announced by the United States government earlier this year — could affect death rates. The cuts could lead to more than 14 million avoidable deaths by 2030, the projections found. That number included over 4.5 million children under the age of five — or about 700,000 child deaths a year. For comparison, about 10 million soldiers are estimated to have been killed during World War I. Programmes supported by USAID were linked to a 15 per cent decrease in deaths from all causes, the researchers found. For children under five, the drop in deaths was twice as steep at 32 per cent. USAID funding was found to be particularly effective at staving off preventable deaths from disease. There were 65 per cent fewer deaths from HIV/AIDS in countries receiving a high level of support compared to those with little or no USAID funding, the study found. Deaths from malaria and neglected tropical diseases were similarly cut in half. After USAID was gutted, several other major donors including Germany, the UK and France followed suit in announcing plans to slash their foreign aid budgets. These aid reductions, particularly in the European Union, could lead to "even more additional deaths in the coming years," study co-author Caterina Monti of ISGlobal said. But the grim projections for deaths were based on the current amount of pledged aid. Researchers emphasised this could rapidly come down if the situation changes. Dozens of world leaders are meeting in the Spanish city of Seville this week for the biggest aid conference in a decade. The US, however, will not attend. "Now is the time to scale up, not scale back," Professor Rasella said. Before its funding was slashed, USAID represented 0.3 per cent of all US federal spending. "US citizens contribute about 17 cents per day to USAID, around $64 per year," said study co-author James Macinko of the University of California, Los Angeles. "I think most people would support continued USAID funding if they knew just how effective such a small contribution can be to saving millions of lives." AFP
