Key points
- USAID funding has saved over 91 million lives globally
- Deep funding cuts could cause 4.5 million child deaths
- Trump administration cancelled 80pc of USAID programmes
ISLAMABAD: More than 14 million of the world’s most vulnerable individuals, a third of whom are young children, could perish as a result of the Trump administration’s dismantling of US foreign aid, a study published in The Lancet journal on Tuesday has projected.
“For many low- and middle-income countries, the resulting shock would be comparable in scale to a global pandemic or a major armed conflict,” said study co-author Davide Rasella, a researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, according to Arab News.
Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump’s administration has implemented cuts to USAID and its aid programmes worldwide, which the US government says is part of a broader effort to eliminate wasteful spending.
Improving global health
Human rights experts and advocates have warned against these cuts. Funding from USAID has played a crucial role in improving global health, primarily targeting low- and middle-income countries, especially those in Africa, according to the study.
The study estimates that over the past twenty years, programmes funded by USAID have prevented more than 91 million deaths globally, including 30 million among children.
Projections suggest that ongoing significant funding cuts — combined with the potential dismantling of the agency — could result in over 14 million additional deaths by 2030, including 4.5 million deaths among children under five years old.
Largest humanitarian donor
Washington is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor, responsible for at least 38 per cent of all contributions recorded by the United Nations. It disbursed $61 billion in foreign assistance last year, with just over half of that amount channelled through USAID, according to government data.
“Our estimates show that, unless the sudden 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 stated, according to Reuters.
In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration had cancelled over 80 per cent of all programmes at USAID following a six-week review.
He added that the remaining approximately 1,000 programmes would now be administered “more effectively” under the US State Department and in consultation with Congress.
The Trump administration, previously led by billionaire Elon Musk’s cost-cutting initiative, aimed to shrink the federal workforce. It has also accused USAID of supporting liberal projects, reports the BBC.
