The reports are pouring in, DOGE and Elon Musk’s action are leading to vulnerable children starving to death.
- One of twin babies died from malnutrition two weeks after Mercy Corps ended a USAID-financed program in Borno state, Nigeria.
- The death followed cuts exceeding 90% to USAID foreign aid contracts by the Trump administration, which cut $60 billion in global assistance this year.
- USAID had funded 50% of therapeutic foods for treating malnourished children worldwide, while local aid groups like Intersos reduced staff due to shrinking resources.
- Trond Jensen, head of the UN humanitarian office in Maiduguri, called the cuts "very traumatic" and warned they could cause 163,500 additional child deaths annually without replacement funding.
- The funding reductions threaten health services for displaced communities in conflict-affected Nigeria and similarly affect sectors in Mozambique, where alternatives are urgently sought.
Standing by and letting children starve to death when we could have easily prevented it, is the greatest of all evils.
We had both Bob Geldof’s “Do they know it’s Christmas”, “We are the World” and Live Aid to prevent this from happening. U2 and Queen stunned the world with their performances trying to get people to give a shit about starving children. The US government picked up the cause through USAID and has been using soft diplomatic power to save millions of lives for decades since then.
The Trump Administration’s effort to try to shut down USAID and pause all foreign aid directly harms US national security, including by interrupting critical investments into resilience, adaptation, conflict prevention, and peacebuilding. In 2021, 79 senior national security leaders, including 8 retired 4-star generals and admirals, a former Director of National Intelligence, and a former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, signed the Challenge Accepted report, which argued that USAID investments in resilience and adaptation were critical to preventing instability and conflict and maintaining the US competitive edge with China.
In the Indo-Pacific, USAID investments in disaster response and resilience pay dividends in strengthening relationships with allies and partners critical to that competition with China. Take Papua New Guinea as an example, where the US signed a new security pact in 2022, gaining exclusive access to develop and operate out of PNG bases. As Admiral Sam Locklear, former head of US INDOPACOM, and Erin Sikorsky, Director of CCS, wrote, “To sustain and maintain this presence, the United States will need access to reliable energy sources, clean, fresh water, and an economically vibrant, healthy local population.” Those functions are all supported by USAID efforts, such as the $3.5 million in disaster response funds the agency allocated to PNG in 2024.
Meanwhile, in the Sahel region of Africa, USAID investments in climate adaptation and resilience help prevent extremist and terrorist group recruitment in communities affected by climate hazards. For example, the Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced (RISE) program funded by USAID aims to break cycles of crisis in the region that enable groups like Boko Haram and ISIS-W to thrive. AS US AFRICOM Commander Michael Langley noted in testimony to Congress, international aid and development programs “attack the roots of terrorism and tyranny more than bullets and air strikes ever will.”
Further, as we outlined in this article last week, USAID programs focused on agriculture resilience have helped curb irregular migration from Honduras to the United States by helping local farmers weather risk and stay in the country. Upstream investments before crises hit cost significantly less than waiting until such challenges become full-blown crises.
And now that evil can be laid at the feet of the American people. Authoritarian nations that wouldn’t lift a finger to save a single gnat can now lay that on our doorstep and “Hur hur” away into the night.
Congratulations Drumphf, you’ve made America into a Great Inhumane Horror — again.
Good job.
