A new study published in The Lancet reveals alarming potential consequences of funding cuts to international aid initiated by Donald Trump's administration, predicting a staggering increase of 14 million premature deaths globally by 2030, with children being disproportionately affected.
Trump's Cuts to Global Aid Could Lead to Over 14 Million Premature Deaths, Study Warns
Trump's Cuts to Global Aid Could Lead to Over 14 Million Premature Deaths, Study Warns
Research indicates drastic funding reductions to foreign aid from Trump's administration may result in 14 million avoidable deaths by 2030, significantly impacting vulnerable populations.
The article text:
According to a new study published on Monday in The Lancet medical journal, drastic reductions in funding for foreign humanitarian aid by Donald Trump's administration could result in over 14 million additional deaths by 2030. Alarmingly, approximately one-third of those at risk of these premature deaths are children.
In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that President Trump's administration has cancelled more than 80% of the programs funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Co-author of the Lancet report, Davide Rasella, remarked that the shock to low- and middle-income countries from these cuts could be comparable in severity to a global pandemic or a significant armed conflict.
“The funding cuts risk abruptly halting - and even reversing - two decades of progress in health among vulnerable populations,” noted Rasella, who is affiliated with the Barcelona Institute for Global Health.
The report arrives amidst a United Nations-led aid conference in Seville, Spain, which is being celebrated as the largest of its kind in a decade. Scrutinizing data from 133 nations, the research team observed that USAID funding had been instrumental in preventing 91 million deaths in developing countries from 2001 to 2021. Their modeling forecasts that an 83% reduction in funding, as announced by the US government, could significantly elevate death rates.
Among the 14 million projected avoidable deaths are over 4.5 million children under five years old, translating to approximately 700,000 child deaths annually. Following a cost-cutting initiative initiated by billionaire Elon Musk under the Trump administration, there has been an increasing criticism targeted at USAID for purportedly funding liberal agendas.
The US, recognized as the world's largest provider of humanitarian aid, operates in over 60 nations, primarily through contracted services. Rubio did clarify that around 1,000 programs would still be maintained, suggesting they can be managed "more effectively" through the US State Department in consultation with Congress.
Despite this, conditions in numerous affected areas remain dire. A UN official recently reported that hundreds of thousands of individuals are slowly starving in Kenyan refugee camps, attributing the crisis to deeper cuts in food rations caused by US funding reductions. The BBC reported on a hospital in Kakuma, northwestern Kenya, where malnutrition was clearly evident in a severely underweight baby, whose skin exhibited signs of extreme deficiency.
According to a new study published on Monday in The Lancet medical journal, drastic reductions in funding for foreign humanitarian aid by Donald Trump's administration could result in over 14 million additional deaths by 2030. Alarmingly, approximately one-third of those at risk of these premature deaths are children.
In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that President Trump's administration has cancelled more than 80% of the programs funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Co-author of the Lancet report, Davide Rasella, remarked that the shock to low- and middle-income countries from these cuts could be comparable in severity to a global pandemic or a significant armed conflict.
“The funding cuts risk abruptly halting - and even reversing - two decades of progress in health among vulnerable populations,” noted Rasella, who is affiliated with the Barcelona Institute for Global Health.
The report arrives amidst a United Nations-led aid conference in Seville, Spain, which is being celebrated as the largest of its kind in a decade. Scrutinizing data from 133 nations, the research team observed that USAID funding had been instrumental in preventing 91 million deaths in developing countries from 2001 to 2021. Their modeling forecasts that an 83% reduction in funding, as announced by the US government, could significantly elevate death rates.
Among the 14 million projected avoidable deaths are over 4.5 million children under five years old, translating to approximately 700,000 child deaths annually. Following a cost-cutting initiative initiated by billionaire Elon Musk under the Trump administration, there has been an increasing criticism targeted at USAID for purportedly funding liberal agendas.
The US, recognized as the world's largest provider of humanitarian aid, operates in over 60 nations, primarily through contracted services. Rubio did clarify that around 1,000 programs would still be maintained, suggesting they can be managed "more effectively" through the US State Department in consultation with Congress.
Despite this, conditions in numerous affected areas remain dire. A UN official recently reported that hundreds of thousands of individuals are slowly starving in Kenyan refugee camps, attributing the crisis to deeper cuts in food rations caused by US funding reductions. The BBC reported on a hospital in Kakuma, northwestern Kenya, where malnutrition was clearly evident in a severely underweight baby, whose skin exhibited signs of extreme deficiency.
