Steep cuts to the US Agency for International Development threaten to cause more than 14mn extra deaths by 2030 and reverse some gains made against diseases such as HIV/Aids, malaria and respiratory infections, new research has warned.
The slashed funding to the agency — which former presidential adviser Elon Musk boasted of feeding “into the wood chipper” — could lead to 4.5mn young children dying who would otherwise have lived, according to the paper published in the Lancet late on Monday.
The study highlights alarm about the impact of the US retreat from efforts to combat deadly diseases and promote wider public health improvements. Washington has long been a leading donor to low- and middle-income countries.