Latest news with #DavideRasella
LBCI
a day ago
- Health
- LBCI
Over 14 million people could die from US foreign aid cuts, study shows
More than 14 million of the world's most vulnerable people, a third of them small children, could die because of the Trump administration's dismantling of U.S. foreign aid, a study in the Lancet journal projected Tuesday. "For many low- and middle-income countries, the resulting shock would be comparable in scale to a global pandemic or a major armed conflict," study co-author Davide Rasella, a researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, said in a statement. AFP
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump global aid cuts risk 14 million deaths in five years, report says
Donald Trump's move to cut most of the US funding towards foreign humanitarian aid could cause more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, according to research published in The Lancet medical journal on Monday. A third of those at risk of premature deaths are children, the research finds. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in March that President Trump's administration had cancelled over 80% of all programmes at the US Agency for International Development, or USAID. "For many low- and middle-income countries, the resulting shock would be comparable in scale to a global pandemic or a major armed conflict," Davide Rasella, who co-authored the Lancet report, said in a statement. The funding cuts "risk abruptly halting - and even reversing - two decades of progress in health among vulnerable populations," added Rasella, a researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health. The report comes as dozens of world leaders are meeting in the Spanish city of Seville this week for a United Nations-led aid conference, the biggest one in a decade. Looking back over data from 133 nations, the team of researchers estimated that USAID funding had prevented 91 million deaths in developing countries between 2001 and 2021. They also used modelling to project how funding being slashed by 83% – the figure announced by the US government earlier this year – could affect death rates. The cuts could lead to more than 14 million avoidable deaths by 2030, the projections found. That number included over 4.5 million children under the age of five – or around 700,000 child deaths a year. The Trump administration, previously led by billionaire Elon Musk's cost-cutting initiative, aimed to shrink the federal workforce. It has also accused USAID of supporting liberal projects. The US, by far the world's largest humanitarian aid provider, has operated in more than 60 countries, largely through contractors. According to Rubio, there were still approximately 1,000 remaining programmes that would be administered "more effectively" under the US State Department and in consultation with Congress. Still, the situation on the ground has not been improving, according to UN workers. Last month, a UN official told the BBC that hundreds of thousands of people were "slowly starving" in Kenyan refugee camps after US funding cuts reduced food rations to their lowest ever levels. At a hospital in Kakuma, in northwestern Kenya, the BBC witnessed a baby who could barely move and was showing signs of malnutrition, including having parts of her skin wrinkled and peeling.
Time of India
a day ago
- Health
- Time of India
14 million lives at risk: USAID cuts trigger global health alarm; Lancet study warns
A study in The Lancet reveals that steep cuts to USAID funding could lead to over 14 million additional deaths globally by 2030, reversing decades of progress in combating diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria. Steep cuts in funding for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) threaten to cause more than 14 million additional deaths worldwide by 2030, according to a study published in The Lancet on Monday. Researchers analysed mortality data from 133 low‑ and middle‑income countries spanning 2001‑2021 and calculated that USAID‑backed health programmes had prevented about 91.8 million deaths in those two decades. The modelling suggests that the current wave of cuts would erase much of that progress, potentially leading to 1.78 million–2.5 million excess deaths each year between 2025 and 2030. 'This structural defunding could represent one of the most significant setbacks to global health in decades,' said co‑author Davide Rasella of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health. 'It risks causing millions of preventable deaths, particularly among the most vulnerable, and reversing progress in health and socio‑economic development.' The paper attributes the largest share of historic lives saved to USAID's work on HIV/Aids, estimating a near two‑thirds fall in related deaths—about 25.5 million people—over the study period. Programmes tackling malaria, diarrhoeal diseases, neglected tropical diseases and lower respiratory infections were credited with saving another 31 million lives. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Perdagangkan CFD Emas dengan Broker Tepercaya IC Markets Mendaftar Undo But that track record is under threat. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Congress in March that 83 per cent of USAID projects would be terminated, with the remainder folded into the State Department. USAID spent roughly $42.4 billion in 2023, yet the agency's long‑term budget outlook remains uncertain as some cutbacks face court challenges. The shift follows comments last year by former presidential adviser Elon Musk, who boasted that USAID funding had been fed 'into the wood chipper'. The consequences have already started to ripple: US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr announced last week an end to Washington's $300 million annual contribution to Gavi, the international vaccine alliance historically channelled through USAID.
Independent Singapore
a day ago
- Health
- Independent Singapore
Trump's aid slash triggers global death forecast: 14 million lives at risk, Lancet finds
A group of African women and children (for illustration purposes only) PARIS, FRANCE: A new study revealed that more than 14 million people, many of them young children, could perish by 2030 because of deep cuts in U.S. foreign assistance. The study, published in The Lancet and featured in the latest Inquirer report, was released as world leaders assemble in Seville, Spain, for a key United Nations (UN) aid conference. It presented the possible repercussions of the Trump administration's decision to demolish the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). 'For vulnerable populations, this is a shock on par with a global pandemic or major war,' said co-author Davide Rasella of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health. By making use of data from 133 nations and cutting-edge modelling methods, researchers estimate that the USAID subsidy aided in preventing 91 million deaths between 2001 and 2021, but with U.S. foreign assistance now reduced by 83%, development could be hard hit, principally in health systems across low- and middle-income countries. Millions of children at risk as health gains reversed The anticipated human toll is confounding — more than 4.5 million children under five are projected to die in the next five years because of the sudden aid reductions, approximately 700,000 young lives lost every year. The range is comparable to the death statistics of World War I, researchers said. Initiatives supported by USAID had reduced child mortality by 32% and all-cause mortality by 15%, with sharp drops in deaths from HIV/AIDS, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases. The decommissioning of USAID came weeks after Donald Trump's return to the White House in January, with his then-advisor Elon Musk bragging that the agency had been put 'through the woodchipper.' In the months since, key European benefactors — Germany, France, and the UK — have also restructured their aid pledges, worsening the predicament. Global leaders meet in Spain, but the U.S. stays away The alarming report comes as many of the world's leaders and influential business 'crème de la crème' converge in Seville for the biggest aid-focused conference in a decade. Yet, the United States, historically the single major donor to worldwide charitable aid, is conspicuously absent. Before the reductions, USAID accounted for just 0.3% of the federal budget — roughly 17 cents per American per day. 'Now is the time to scale up, not scale back,' Rasella admonished. Fellow study author James Macinko of UCLA echoed the sentiment, stressing how far tiny donations can go: 'If people realized that US$64 (S$81) a year could help save millions of lives, I believe they'd want to keep this lifeline going.' While the forecasts are ugly, researchers underscore that these are not irrevocable. With transformed political resolve and financial backing, much of the damage could still be avoided.
BBC News
a day ago
- Health
- BBC News
Trump's aid cut risks causing 14 million deaths, report finds
Donald Trump's move to cut most of the US funding towards foreign humanitarian aid could cause more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, according to research published in The Lancet medical journal on Monday.A third of those at risk of premature deaths are children, the research Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in March that President Trump's administration had cancelled over 80% of all programmes at the US Agency for International Development, or USAID."For many low- and middle-income countries, the resulting shock would be comparable in scale to a global pandemic or a major armed conflict," Davide Rasella, who co-authored the Lancet report, said in a statement. The funding cuts "risk abruptly halting - and even reversing - two decades of progress in health among vulnerable populations," added Rasella, a researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global report comes as dozens of world leaders are meeting in the Spanish city of Seville this week for a United Nations-led aid conference, the biggest one in a back over data from 133 nations, the team of researchers estimated that USAID funding had prevented 91 million deaths in developing countries between 2001 and also used modelling to project how funding being slashed by 83% – the figure announced by the US government earlier this year – could affect death cuts could lead to more than 14 million avoidable deaths by 2030, the projections found. That number included over 4.5 million children under the age of five – or around 700,000 child deaths a to Rubio, there were still approximately 1,000 remaining programmes that would be administered "more effectively" under the US State Department and in consultation with the situation on the ground has not been improving, according to UN month, a UN official told the BBC that hundreds of thousands of people were "slowly starving" in Kenyan refugee camps after US funding cuts reduced food rations to their lowest ever a hospital in Kakuma, in northwestern Kenya, the BBC witnessed a baby who could barely move and was showing signs of malnutrition, including having parts of her skin wrinkled and peeling.
