Global study warns: Drastic cuts to USAID funding could cause more than 14 million additional deaths, including 4.5 million children, by 2030.
USAID funding cuts could lead to more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, study says
Reuters reports this.
A sharp reduction in funding for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and its likely elimination could lead to more than 14 million additional deaths worldwide by 2030, according to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet .
The Trump administration, which took office in January, has instituted sweeping cuts to USAID and its aid programs around the world as part of a policy of “cutting wasteful spending.”
But human rights and development experts warn that such moves could have disastrous consequences. USAID plays a key role in improving global health by focusing aid on low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Africa.
Research shows that over the past 20 years, USAID-funded programs have saved more than 91 million lives worldwide, including 30 million children's lives.
Projections suggest that continuing deep funding cuts and potentially dismantling the agency could lead to 14 million extra deaths by 2030, including 4.5 million among children under 5, The Lancet notes.
The United States remains the world’s largest donor of humanitarian aid, providing at least 38 percent of all contributions recorded by the United Nations. Last year, the U.S. government provided $61 billion in foreign aid, more than half of it through USAID.
“Our estimates show that if the funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are not reversed, the world will face a shocking number of avoidable deaths,” the report said.
In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration had canceled more than 80% of USAID programs after a six-week review.
The approximately 1,000 remaining programs are now administered by the State Department “more efficiently” and in consultation with Congress.
Recall that in February, US President Donald Trump accused USAID of “fraud” due to the alleged waste of money and “unprecedented corruption,” and also called for the agency to be completely closed.
