The United States Agency for International Development is being shut down by the Trump administration after significant program cuts. The administration claims USAID has mismanaged funds. Contrarily, a new study indicates that USAID programs have saved over 90 million lives since 2001. Researchers warn ongoing funding cuts could lead to 14 million additional deaths by 2030. USAID has historically funded diverse initiatives, including health and education programs. A focused assessment was conducted to evaluate the overall impact of USAID funding on mortality outcomes.
"Is [USAID] a good use of resources? We found that the average taxpayer has contributed about 18 cents per day to USAID," says James Macinko, a health policy researcher at UCLA and study co-author. "For that small amount, we've been able to translate that into saving up to 90 million deaths around the world."
Since USAID was formed in 1961, it's funded a wide range of programs, from giving school lunches to children in Haiti to distributing HIV medication across sub-Saharan Africa.
As the Trump administration started cutting programs, Macinko and researchers from Europe, South America and Africa got to work assessing just what USAID's impact has been.
The study estimates that USAID programs have saved over 90 million lives over the past two decades. The researchers also estimate that if the current cuts continue through 2030, 14 million people who might have otherwise lived could die.
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