Study Links USAID Funding Cuts to 14 Million Preventable Deaths

Deep budget slashes to the U.S. Agency for International Development, driven by the Department of Government Efficiency, could trigger over 14 million additional deaths by 2030. Researchers warn that these reductions threaten to reverse two decades of global health progress, creating a crisis comparable to a major armed conflict.

A report published in The Lancet indicates that the scale of human loss includes 4.5 million children under the age of five. To calculate these projections, experts from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and various international institutions compared current funding levels against the steep reductions announced earlier this year. Between 2001 and 2021, USAID-backed initiatives were credited with preventing 91 million deaths, a track record now facing an abrupt reversal.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously announced that 83% of USAID programs would be canceled, a move he celebrated as an overdue reform alongside the Department of Government Efficiency. Critics, including journalists and humanitarian observers, have sharply condemned the policy, pointing to the immediate scarcity of medical supplies and food in countries like Sudan. Davide Rasella, a coordinator of the study, emphasized that the resulting shock to low- and middle-income nations will likely mirror the devastation of a global pandemic.