
Rubio hails end of USAID as study says its elimination could contribute to 14 million deaths in next 5 years
CNN
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed the end of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Tuesday as a new analysis found that its demolition could contribute to 14 million deaths in the next five years.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed the end of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Tuesday as a new analysis found that its demolition could contribute to 14 million deaths in the next five years. “This era of government-sanctioned inefficiency has officially come to an end. Under the Trump Administration, we will finally have a foreign funding mission in America that prioritizes our national interests,” Rubio said in a post on Substack Tuesday. “As of July 1st, USAID will officially cease to implement foreign assistance. Foreign assistance programs that align with administration policies—and which advance American interests — will be administered by the State Department, where they will be delivered with more accountability, strategy, and efficiency,” he said. The rapid destruction of USAID, led by the Elon-Musk backed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has seen thousands of foreign assistance programs slashed, including many focused on lifesaving work. A study published Monday in The Lancet estimates that the USAID funding cuts could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030. Nearly a third of those deaths – more than 4.5 million – are estimated to be among children younger than 5. Authors of the study said that the effects of the funding cuts “would be similar in scale to a global pandemic or a major armed conflict.”

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