International Study: Over 14 million additional deaths possible due to US cuts
According to a recent study, the slashing of US development aid could result in more than 14 million additional deaths over the next five years. Around five million of these could be children under the age of five, according to a study published in the journal "The Lancet" by several scientists from Barcelona and Salvador da Bahia in Brazil. They warned that the cuts in development aid initiated by the US government should not be reversed.
01.07.2025, 07:35
SDA
In the study, the researchers used data from more than 130 countries and regions to examine mortality in the period from 2001 to 2021 and finally drew up a forecast for the years 2025 to 2030.
Researchers: USAID has prevented many deaths
They came to the conclusion that USAID has made a significant contribution to reducing deaths in the past: USAID-funded programs have prevented nearly 92 million deaths overall by 2021, including more than 30 million among children under five, they say. For example, a 65 percent reduction in mortality from HIV/AIDS and a 51 percent reduction from malaria are associated with this.
The authors warn: "Our estimates show that there could be a staggering number of preventable deaths by 2030." For many low- and middle-income countries, the impact would even be similar in scale to a global pandemic or a major armed conflict, they say.
At the beginning of his second term in office, US President Donald Trump had more than 80 percent of USAID's funding cut, which amounted to around a quarter of all international development funding. The development aid agency was to be dismantled by July 1.
