Rubio said that the work USAID did was not serving American interests. “Moving forward, our assistance will be targeted and time limited,” he wrote. “We will favor those nations that have demonstrated both the ability and willingness to help themselves and will target our resources to areas where they can have a multiplier effect and catalyze durable private sector, including American companies, and global investment.”
On USAID’s last day in operation, a study published in The Lancet estimated that between 2000 and 2021, the agency’s work saved close to 92 million lives, about a third of them children under five. Researchers estimated the current funding cuts could lead to an additional 14 million deaths around the world.
While most of the lives were saved by reducing the incidence of diseases like AIDS and malaria, the study also mentioned nutritional deficiencies. During the 2024 fiscal year, USAID spent around $5 billion on food assistance, about $2 billion of which was used to purchase commodity foods from American farmers.
