Trump's aid block could cause deaths, says USAID official

A senior official at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has issued a stark warning that the Trump administration's dismantling of the agency will result in unnecessary deaths.

Nicholas Enrich, who is the acting assistant administrator for global health at USAID, raised the alarm in a seven-page memo shared with staff.

In the memo, which was also reviewed by Reuters, Enrich claimed that "political leadership" had created significant barriers to delivering essential, life-saving humanitarian aid globally, a statement that directly contradicted assurances made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rubio had stated that lifesaving aid would continue despite President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's cost-cutting measures.

Just twenty minutes after sending the memo, Enrich informed his staff in a second email that he had been placed on administrative leave, effective immediately.

This decision, according to a source familiar with the matter, had already been made earlier in the week, well before Enrich sent his email outlining the potentially devastating consequences of USAID's dismantling.

Enrich's memo detailed the severe impact that the freeze on foreign aid is having on ongoing relief efforts, such as those aimed at controlling a deadly Ebola outbreak in Uganda, which had already claimed two lives and infected ten.

Enrich stated that the suspension of such programs would lead to preventable deaths, regional destabilisation, and pose significant threats to national security on a global scale.

The Trump administration's recent decision to cancel nearly 10,000 foreign aid grants and contracts, valued at nearly $60 billion, has resulted in the termination of about 90% of USAID’s global operations.

This abrupt reduction in aid, part of a broader government downsizing effort by Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has disrupted global humanitarian relief efforts.

Enrich's memo further warned that a year-long halt to USAID’s life-saving aid would lead to between 71,000 and 166,000 additional malaria deaths, an almost 40% increase in global tuberculosis cases, and up to 28,000 new cases of emerging infectious diseases like Ebola.

Following Trump’s order in January to freeze all foreign aid pending a review, Rubio issued a temporary waiver allowing critical aid, including essential medicines and food, to continue.

However, Enrich's memo described how officials at DOGE and the State Department had made it virtually impossible to approve payments for these critical programs. He mentioned that since February 14, no new life-saving health activities had been approved.

Even when programs were approved under the waiver, DOGE had restricted access to USAID’s payment systems, preventing funds from being drawn for critical programs, such as the Ebola response in Uganda.