Obama and Bush call Trump’s USAID closure a ‘travesty’ as report warns of 14 million extra deaths | Global development
Barack Obama and George W Bush criticized the closure of the US International Development Agency (USAID), because a study is that preventive deaths can result in a “amazing number” – more than 14 million for five years.
Former US presidents, as an independent organization, said goodbye to a video for USAID employees on the last day, while the Trump administration made rare criticisms.
In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that 83% of the USAID programs were canceled. The agency endures the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where it will be replaced with a successor named America.
A study published in Lancet He found that the outages could cause more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030 and could be one third of those among the children.
Multinational researcher group has been calculated by multinational researcher group, health care, nutrition, humanitarian aid, development, education and relevant sectors, financing for the last twenty years in low and medium -income countries have helped prevent deaths.
As a result: “Unless the sudden financing deductions announced and applied in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a surprising number of preventive deaths may occur by 2030.”
For most of the poorer countries of the world, the shock will be similar to a global pandemia or a large armed conflict, but he said, but it will be caused by a conscious and preventive policy. ”
Francisco Saúte, General Manager of Manhayana Health Research Center, said, ında From our experiences, we witnessed how local health systems strengthen the ability of local health systems to respond to diseases such as HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, ”he said. “Cutting this financing is not only at risk, but also weakens the critical infrastructure that lasted for decades.”
Researchers said that the decrease in expenditures of other international donors will potentially create more additional deaths.
The USAID was founded by President John F Kennedy twenty years ago and had recently had two wide support.
However, it was targeted by the current administration in an aggressive way. Donald Trump claimed that the agency was ruled by “Radikal Sol Lunatics ve and was carried out with“ enormous fraud ”. Elon Musk called it a, “a criminal organization.”
In a recorded message played at a video conference for USAID employees on Monday, Obama said that the dismantling of the agency was a “tremendous mistake”.
The call was closed to the media, but some of the video was shared with Associated Press.
“Usaıd is a transvestite of the USAID and this is a tragedy.
“Sooner or later, he adds the following by adding the following:“ Your work will be important and important for future generations. ”
Bush in his message, Emergency Plan for the President of the AIDS relief (Pepfar)It is credit by saving more than 25 million lives. He said: “Do you live in our national interests 25 million people? I think so, so are you.”
He said to the participants: “You have shown the great power of America with your business – and this is your good heart.”
Pepfar would play a major role in the presentation of new, long -acting drugs to prevent HIV in poorer countries this year; DUTIES LEAVED GLOBAL HEALTH AFFECTIONS unsure Whether plans will continue as they hoped.
Video -The conference joined by thousands of people, including participation in overseas countries.
The singer Bono read a poem he wrote on the occasion and told the employees: “They called you fraudsters/when we were the best.”
The Trump administration closed the USAID and was criticized for its sudden nature and was criticized for its sudden nature, and in February, organizations and personnel masses were terminated through their masses.
Call on Monday also included former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the US Ambassador to UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
As a 8 -year -old scared child in a camp for Liberian refugees, humanitarian workers who described the welcome appearance of USAID workers with food participated.
The USAID was the world’s leading donor for human and development aid. Finance from the USA in 2023 43 % Lancet writers, state donations to the human system.
Davide Rasella, the Professor of the Research and Coordinator of the study, pointed out a UN summit in Seville this week and said, “These findings are coming at a critical moment, Dav said Davide Rasella.
“If we want to reach the SDGs [sustainable development goals]We cannot afford to remove funding mechanisms such as USAID, which has proven to save millions of lives. Now scaling time, scaling time. “
