The Trump administration's decision to dismantle the US International Development Agency as foreign aid is likely to cause huge human suffering, according to the agency's estimates. among them:
Up to 18 million additional malaria cases per year, as well as 166,000 additional deaths.
Every year, 200,000 children are paralyzed by polio, resulting in hundreds of millions of infections.
One million children are not treated for severe acute malnutrition.
Over 28,000 new cases of infectious diseases in Ebola and Marburg every year.
These harsh forecasts were laid out in a series of notes by Nicholas Endich, and obtained by the New York Times, an assistant administrator at Global Health at USAID. Enrich was placed on administrative leave on Sunday.
In one memo, he placed blame for these potential health crises on “USAID, the State Department and Doge's “political leadership” that have continued to create and produce intentional and/or unintentional obstacles that completely hindered the implementation of the aid program.
These leaders have blocked payment systems, created new, ineffective processes for payments, and constantly shifted guidance on which activities are recognized as “lifesaving.”
Another memo explains the institution's global health workforce reduction from 783 on January 20th to under 783 on Sunday.
In an interview, Enrich said he released the memo on Sunday afternoon. After the email arrived, I placed him on vacation and set straight records on the eruption of USAID staff and the end of thousands of life-saving grants.
By detailing the series of behind the scenes' events, he hoped, “It's clear that we have never been given the opportunity to actually implement life-saving humanitarian assistance.”
State Department officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In January, the Trump administration froze funds aimed at foreign aid. On January 28th, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a temporary exemption for humanitarian assistance.
But in reality, little money is being delivered, essentially shutting down aid programs around the world, forcing hundreds of organizations to attackers and firefighters.
Still, employees at USAID's Global Health Department were optimistic to implement the exemption and attempted to “do everything they could,” Redich said.
However, on Wednesday, the Trump administration abruptly ended about 5,800 projects funded by USAID.
“It was finally clear that we wouldn't implement under that waiver,” Enrich said.
“I needed it to myself and all the staff who were putting their hearts into doing this. We needed a record to show what happened,” he said.
Ensic said he wanted to edit another note that showed how he and others communicated the risk of disrupting key programs for marking the agency's political appointees Lloyd and Tim Maceberger. However, he said they repeatedly sought details to justify the program.
“It is clear that the Trump administration is violating court orders and does not provide life-saving aid that it claims to be funded under the exemption,” said Matthew Cabana, director of the Center for Global Health Policy and Politics at Georgetown University.
“Unless we turn around, this will cost millions of lives, due to the government's own accounting,” added Dr. Kabana.
Other devastating effects could include uncontrolled outbreaks of MPO and avian influenza, including an increase in 105 million cases in the US alone, increased mother and child mortality in 48 countries and a 30% increase in drug-resistant tuberculosis, according to Enrich's memo.
Confusing overseas tuberculosis programs will result in more patients arriving in the United States, Enrich's memo warned. Treating one patient with multidrug-resistant TB costs more than $154,000 in the US.
(The Trump administration is said to be planning to turn back immigrants because they may bring tuberculosis to the country.)
The memo also notes the confusion in efforts to contain Ebola in Uganda.
One Ebola patient in New York in 2014 cost the Health Department $4.3 million in response measures. The outbreak in Uganda appeared to be declining, but the 4-year-old died early in the week, indicating that the virus is still circulating.
The results will affect U.S. businesses, including agriculture, by expanding beyond human health, increasing health costs, disrupting international trade and burdening domestic resources.
Programs for maternal and child health and nutrition can stabilize the economic and political situation of other countries, the memo notes.
“Article 1 of the Constitution gives Congress the authority to establish or remove agents and approve spending, not president,” Dr. Kabana said.
By dismantling USAID and ending its program, the Trump administration “not only risks the deaths of millions of the world's most marginalized, but also creates a constitutional crisis in the service of cruelty,” adds Dr. Kabana.
