USAID cut health toll

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Barely six weeks into his second term as president, Donald Trump has made sure that his legacy will be the proliferation of death and suffering around the world. As part of an election promise to address the federal budget deficit while focusing more on domestic needs, Trump has slashed US foreign aid to almost nothing.

Before Trump's second inauguration, his advisor, Elon Musk, claimed he would help shave $2 trillion off the federal budget. But despite the carnage of recent weeks, by his own measure, he has only cut $65 billion, while journalists and Musk's own data only show, at best, about $10 billion in savings.

Meanwhile, USAID spending in 2024 accounted for just 0.3% of US federal spending, and the return on that investment is huge. Several previous secretaries of state and defence have noted that diplomacy in general and USAID, in particular, have saved the US billions by helping address international problems that could destabilise regions and impact US geopolitical and economic interests while also raising US prestige by helping people on the ground in some of the poorest countries in the world.

The impact of slashing US foreign aid on global health is profound and alarming. As the world's largest foreign aid provider, the US plays a critical role in combating diseases, supporting healthcare infrastructure and providing humanitarian assistance in regions that desperately need it.

The proposed cuts will unravel decades of progress in improving health outcomes and managing public health crises. Experts say up to one million children could suffer from acute malnutrition due to cuts to food aid, while up to 166,000 additional deaths from malaria are possible. A projected increase of 30% in new TB cases and, in a worst-case scenario, the potential paralysis of 200,000 more children from polio over the next decade are harrowing outcomes of this cost-cutting.

Unfortunately, while it is not very hard to change the notoriously transactional Trump's mind, it is clear he places no value on the lives of foreigners, especially poor ones.