The DOGE-infiltrated United States Agency for International Development (USAID) sent Congress a 281-page spreadsheet that lists all of the projects the agency will stop funding. The list included financial support of Gavi, an organization that has saved millions of lives by helping purchase vaccines for children in developing countries.
It also intends to scale back support for efforts against malaria. Some grants will be kept, however, such as medication for H.I.V. and tuberculosis and food aid for countries that are facing civil wars and natural disasters.
The documents show the massive scale of the Trump Administration’s retreat from the United States’ efforts over the past half-century to present the country as a compassionate ally to developing countries, leading the fight against diseases that take the lives of millions annually.
The remains of USAID are detailed in the cover letter, which has lost most of its funding and only has 869 of its 6,000+ employees on active duty. 898 U.S.A.I.D. awards will be continued, while 5,341 will be ended. The letter says the remaining programs are worth up to $78 billion; however, only 8.3 billion of that money is in unobligated funds. That amount covers awards that run years into the future, suggesting a large reduction in U.S.A.I.D.’s former annual spending of $40 billion.
Tammy Bruce, the spokeswoman for the Department of State, which is now running what remains of U.S.A.I.D, confirmed the list’s accuracy and said “each award terminated was reviewed individually for alignment with agency and administration priorities, and terminations were executed where Secretary Rubio determined the award was inconsistent with the national interest or agency policy priorities.”
Despite the plans for foreign assistance being presented as a unilateral decision in the memo to Congress, spending on individual health programs is congressionally allocated, making it unclear if the administration even has the legal authority to make these changes. The issue is being litigated in several court challenges.
Dr. Austin Demby, the health minister of Sierra Leone, which relies on Gavi to receive vaccines, stated he is “shocked and perturbed” by the decision. “This is not just a bureaucratic decision; there are children’s lives at stake, global health security will be at stake. Supporting Gavi in Sierra Leone is not just a Sierra Leone issue; it’s something the region, the world, benefits from.”
