https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-rubio-musk-foreign-aid-millions-dead-1235321188/
"Count the Dead by the Millions"
A new study projects Trump cuts to global health aid would kill millions; abortions would also soar
By Tim Dickinson - April 19, 2025
A new study models the impact of the implosion of U.S.-funded disease treatment and prevention in the developing world — and suggests that Elon Musk and Marco Rubio will go down as among history’s greatest monsters if funding and effective administration are not restored.
In short: Tens of millions will die, millions of them children.
The second Trump administration began by driving a stake through the heart of America’s foreign aid programs. Led by Musk, and enabled by Secretary of State Rubio, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been shuttered, and its life-saving programs in global health either defunded or thrown into disarray.
The new paper is not yet finalized or peer-reviewed; it was published as part of a project called "Preprints with The Lancet". But it offers a first glimpse of the potential impact of the Trump administration’s cut-and-run approach to foreign aid — fueled by lies and red-pill conspiracy theories promoted by Musk about USAID being a “radical left” and “criminal” organization that deserved to be sent through the “wood chipper.”
The study models the collapse of nearly $13 billion in U.S. funding for health programs in developing countries, including for the treatment and prevention of HIV and tuberculosis; family planning; and maternal and child health. It forecasts the increase in global death and suffering through 2040 if this funding — which accounts for nearly a quarter of global donor investment — is zeroed out.
The findings shock the conscience. Cessation of U.S. aid will lead to people in poor countries dying, in genocidal proportions, of preventable and treatable diseases. That includes more than 15 million additional deaths from HIV/AIDS, more than 2 million additional casualties from tuberculosis, and nearly 8 million additional children dead of other maladies.
The impact on family planning is similarly stark — with tens of millions of new unplanned pregnancies (ranging between 40-55 million). Counter to the administration’s stated “pro-life” agenda, the collapse of American aid is projected to lead to as many as 16 million “unsafe abortions.”
According to the study, this mass suffering would be avoided by continuing U.S. funding on a “status quo” level from 2024 commitments. (Current funding for these programs represents about 0.2 percent of America’s $6.75 trillion in annual federal spending.)
The deadliest projected impact comes from the hobbling of PEPFAR, or the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — an enormous humanitarian accomplishment of the George W. Bush presidency that has made anti-retroviral medication widely available in the developing world, particularly in African countries hardest hit by HIV. The program has been credited with saving tens of millions of lives and preventing HIV transmission to nearly 8 million children since 2023.
The GOP-led Congress shares blame here, too. PEPFAR’s authorization expired in March, and the current Congress has provided funding only through September — throwing the entire program’s future into doubt. Regardless of appropriated funds, however, the chaotic governance of Trump, Musk, and Rubio has monkey-wrenched the program on the ground.
PEPFAR was supposed to be exempt from a 90-day funding “pause” the administration imposed on most foreign aid, but USAID administered a majority of PEPFAR aid and the agency now no longer exists, with its chipped remains being swept into the State Department. International partners on the ground in places like South Africa have likened the Trump-Musk era to being “pushed off a cliff.” The George W. Bush Presidential Center has blasted the new administration for having “gravely undermined PEPFAR.”
The future of U.S. funding to prevent and treat tuberculosis, as well child and maternal health programs, is similarly uncertain. ( By one estimate, a Trump freeze on TB funding has already killed 11,000 people. ) This gutting of medical aid comes atop the deadly havoc caused by the suspension of food aid to relieve famine in the world’s poorest countries.
The authors of the preprint paper are stark in their warning about the impact of continued cuts, insisting that a U.S. withdrawal from its 2024 commitments “would reverse decades of progress in global health” and send levels of deaths and disease soaring to levels not seen since the 1990s.
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The "pro-life" party? I'm not buying it. And neither should you. -- Suzi
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-rubio-musk-foreign-aid-millions-dead-1235321188/
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What has happened here is that the author has picked a number from thin air to get attention.
In reality
1. It's impossible to place any potential number of deaths.
2. When one funding gets cut people look for other sources of funding to cover the losses.
Not saying cutting the funding is correct just that there's no way to accurately predict the consequences.
@The-only-Mr-T saidYou are correct. In addition, the politicians of many of these countries who take US aid, routinely pocket a significant portion of it, some estimates put the figure as high as 90%. Also they spend large amounts of their own funds on warfare and killing their neighbours. It is time they learn to manage their own budget responsibly. Some of the people in these countries as well keep having children they cannot afford, or they live lifestyles that are self-destructive.
What has happened here is that the author has picked a number from thin air to get attention.
In reality
1. It's impossible to place any potential number of deaths.
2. When one funding gets cut people look for other sources of funding to cover the losses.
Not saying cutting the funding is correct just that there's no way to accurately predict the consequences.
Here is an article I posted in another thread recently. It is from a Zimbabwe writer and citizen with first hand knowledge of what is going on there :
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By Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/africa/zimbabwe/trump-s-aid-cut-is-a-wake-up-call-for-the-world-to-finally-grow-up-and-take-responsibility-for-its-own-citizens/ar-AA1CnlQv?ocid=msedgntp&pc=LCTS&cvid=5b87f880d0fd460499c89b1f5c60f690&ei=45
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The recent decision by US President Donald Trump to cut off most aid to foreign countries, just months into his second term, has sent shockwaves across the globe. From global health programs to education, food security, and humanitarian support, governments and organizations that had built entire national systems on American generosity are now scrambling to figure out how to fill the void.
While many have reacted with alarm, panic, and outrage, the truth is — this is a long-overdue wake-up call. The world, particularly in the Global South and especially Africa, has become far too dependent on the benevolence of US taxpayers. This has created a disturbing dependency syndrome that has not only stifled self-reliance but has actively encouraged corruption, looting, and elite impunity. It is genuinely perplexing how countries endowed with extraordinary natural wealth have allowed themselves to fall into this trap.
In fact, this aid addiction has done more harm than good — not because the aid itself is inherently bad, but because it has shielded the ruling elites from accountability. Citizens have been disconnected from the real cost of corruption and misgovernance because foreign donors have stepped in to pay for healthcare, education, food assistance, and even infrastructure development.
This has created an illusion of functional governance, even in countries where national wealth is being pillaged on a grand scale. Take Zimbabwe, for example… A country sitting on billions worth of mineral resources — gold, platinum, lithium, diamonds — and vast agricultural potential, yet it has allowed itself to become a welfare case of the US. For over two decades, Zimbabwe’s public health system has been largely sustained by foreign aid, most of it from the United States. Antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) for over one million HIV-positive citizens have been provided through US-funded programs like PEPFAR.
When drought strikes, the World Food Programme and USAID step in to feed millions. Meanwhile, the political elite enrich themselves through illicit gold deals, smuggling syndicates, and opaque mining contracts — most of which are never audited or accounted for. Public hospitals collapse, schools crumble, and civil servants earn measly salaries, but citizens don’t feel the full weight of these failures because the United States cushions the blow. As a result, there is no urgency for governments to utilize their own resources for national development.
There is no incentive to invest in robust public institutions, because someone else — the ever-generous American taxpayer — will pick up the slack. And that has been the story across much of Africa and the Global South. Vast oil reserves in Nigeria, diamonds in Sierra Leone, cobalt in the DRC, gas in Mozambique, and lithium in Zimbabwe — yet these nations remain some of the most aid-dependent in the world. What explains this contradiction? It’s not a lack of resources. It’s a lack of political will, accountability, and honest leadership.
Even more ironically, many of these governments often scream about sovereignty and “foreign interference” whenever Western countries raise concerns about governance, human rights, or elections. Zimbabwe’s ruling elite, in particular, have repeatedly accused the opposition of being “puppets of the West.” Yet, the same government has been a willing puppet of the United States — happily accepting billions in aid while failing to provide for its own people.
If relying on US funding to feed your population and provide ARVs is not being a puppet, then what is? Let’s be honest: foreign aid has served American strategic interests for decades. It has been a tool of “soft power,” aimed at winning hearts and minds, especially during the Cold War. It ensured that developing countries stayed in the US orbit, while their citizens associated American goodwill with survival. So yes, the aid was not always selfless — it was also a vehicle to preserve US global hegemony. But for all their noise about imperialism and sovereignty, many governments were quite happy to play along, as long as the money kept flowing.
Now that the tap has run dry, the true state of these nations will be exposed. People will finally begin to feel the consequences of looted national budgets, underfunded health systems, and broken public institutions. This may be painful, but it is necessary. Only when the safety net of US aid disappears will citizens wake up and begin to demand answers. Where is the diamond money?
Where are the mining royalties? Why are national resources being given away to politically connected elites and foreign cartels while hospitals run out of bandages?
Donald Trump’s decision may have been abrupt and controversial, but it presents a unique opportunity. It is time for the world, and especially Africa, to grow up. We must stop acting like infants suckling on Washington’s breast and start behaving like responsible adults capable of managing our own affairs. There is nothing dignified about begging for handouts while sitting on a treasure chest. It is shameful that in 2025, Zimbabwe still needs US taxpayers to take care of its sick, feed its hungry, and fund its schools — while government officials buy luxury cars, build mansions, and stash money in offshore accounts.
This is the moment to break the umbilical cord. It is time to rebuild our governance systems, restore accountability, and ensure that national wealth benefits national citizens. We must prioritize investment in public services, clean up public finance management, and stop the bleeding of illicit financial flows. The era of blaming colonialism or sanctions for every failure must end. We cannot keep crying about being victims while doing nothing to help ourselves.
Let the United States take care of its own people. Let American taxpayers not be burdened with the failures of foreign governments that have repeatedly failed to put their citizens first. If we truly want respect on the global stage, then we must earn it — not through slogans and speeches, but by delivering results.
Let us be clear: the end of US aid is not the end of the world. It is the beginning of a new one — one where self-determination, dignity, and true sovereignty are not just buzzwords, but a lived reality.
Trump has, perhaps unintentionally, offered us a gift. A chance to finally stand on our own two feet, to shake off the chains of dependency, and to build nations that serve their people, not their elites. The question is: will we seize this moment — or will we continue to cry like helpless babies whose feeding bottle has been taken away?
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@Suzianne saidbabbling fool
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-rubio-musk-foreign-aid-millions-dead-1235321188/
"Count the Dead by the Millions"
A new study projects Trump cuts to global health aid would kill millions; abortions would also soar
By Tim Dickinson - April 19, 2025
A new study models the impact of the implosion of U.S.-funded disease treatment ...[text shortened]... w.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-rubio-musk-foreign-aid-millions-dead-1235321188/
@Rajk999 saidHint: Fascism is NOT "the next new thing".
You are correct. In addition, the politicians of many of these countries who take US aid, routinely pocket a significant portion of it, some estimates put the figure as high as 90%. Also they spend large amounts of their own funds on warfare and killing their neighbours. It is time they learn to manage their own budget responsibly. Some of the people in these countries as ...[text shortened]... babies whose feeding bottle has been taken away?
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And all this Fascist talk is an excuse. Nothing more.
"I'm doing the world a favor." Oh, please.
@Rajk999 saidAbsolutely disgusting.
You are correct. In addition, the politicians of many of these countries who take US aid, routinely pocket a significant portion of it, some estimates put the figure as high as 90%. Also they spend large amounts of their own funds on warfare and killing their neighbours. It is time they learn to manage their own budget responsibly. Some of the people in these countries as ...[text shortened]... babies whose feeding bottle has been taken away?
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All this does is allow the elected Nazis in our government to starve the parts of the world they don't like. To allow them to die of manageable diseases.
We thought Hitler was a monster who killed six million Jews.
This will kill tens of millions.
Apologists like you provide these modern monsters with an excuse for allowing this New Genocide... the New Holocaust against the world's poor.
This is the same reasoning that allows people in Brooks Brothers suits to spit on the homeless as they step over them on their way to their six-figure jobs.
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@Suzianne saidMore of the sky is falling from you.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-rubio-musk-foreign-aid-millions-dead-1235321188/
"Count the Dead by the Millions"
A new study projects Trump cuts to global health aid would kill millions; abortions would also soar
By Tim Dickinson - April 19, 2025
A new study models the impact of the implosion of U.S.-funded disease treatment ...[text shortened]... w.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-rubio-musk-foreign-aid-millions-dead-1235321188/
STUDY
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FABRICATION
You are free to donate your money to any charity that helps impoverished people.
I will go first... I donate to a charity that helps provide food and other things in Haiti.
AND you ?
@boonon saidHaiti is probably a better charity case than many. The case of Zimbabwe is a good example of failed and wasted US aid. Every year Zimbabwe receives around $380,000,000 from the US and another $400,000,000 from other nations and agencies. Thanks to the example of Trump, people are thinking twice about wasting funds on these countries. Here is part of an article by Tendai Ruben Mbofana, a Zimbabwe journalist.
More of the sky is falling from you.
STUDY
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FABRICATION
You are free to donate your money to any charity that helps impoverished people.
I will go first... I donate to a charity that helps provide food and other things in Haiti.
AND you ?
There is no greater hindrance to meaningful development and transformation in Zimbabwe than a leadership that refuses to take responsibility for its own shortcomings. At the center of this denial is President Emmerson Mnangagwa, whose public addresses consistently reflect an adamant refusal to acknowledge the government’s own culpability in the dire political and economic crisis engulfing the nation.
His speech during the Independence Day commemorations in Gokwe-Nembudziya on 18 April was yet another disappointing reminder of this disturbing trend. Instead of using the occasion to reflect on the painful realities Zimbabweans face on a daily basis, President Mnangagwa chose once again to place the blame squarely on the shoulders of others.
He pointed at the usual culprits
- so-called sanctions imposed by the West,
- unnamed “detractors” supposedly sowing seeds of division,
- and climate change.
Yet, he failed, as he always does, to admit that his own government bears the lion’s share of the responsibility for the country’s continued economic meltdown, collapsing public services, and the poverty affecting over 80 percent of the population.
Even for the sake of argument, let us concede that sanctions, detractors, and climate change are real threats to Zimbabwe’s stability. But does the president genuinely believe that his administration is entirely blameless? Can he not see that the rot lies within? Can he truly ignore the devastating role played by grand corruption, poor governance, and outright looting of national resources in pushing Zimbabwe over the economic cliff?
Every year, the country bleeds over $3 billion through illicit financial flows, mineral smuggling, and shady tender processes. Has the president ever seriously addressed how this massive plunder is undermining our economy?
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/africa/zimbabwe/as-long-as-mnangagwa-doesn-t-acknowledge-his-own-failings-zimbabwe-will-not-develop/ar-AA1DiBh7?ocid=msedgntp&pc=LCTS&cvid=bed4a0c44ccf4e1dbd36cbdebf31687a&ei=50
@boonon said"donate your money"
More of the sky is falling from you.
STUDY
MODEL
FABRICATION
You are free to donate your money to any charity that helps impoverished people.
I will go first... I donate to a charity that helps provide food and other things in Haiti.
AND you ?
How much of your time have you donated to this or similar causes?
That is far more valuable.
@The-only-Mr-T saidTrump‘s policies are pushing the third world straight into the open arms of China.
What has happened here is that the author has picked a number from thin air to get attention.
In reality
1. It's impossible to place any potential number of deaths.
2. When one funding gets cut people look for other sources of funding to cover the losses.
Not saying cutting the funding is correct just that there's no way to accurately predict the consequences.
@moonbus saidContrare’. His grand strategy is to create a new economic and political international order. In his world, individual nations would have sovereign autonomy, but must follow rules, such as free and fair international trade if they want good relations with the US.
Trump‘s policies are pushing the third world straight into the open arms of China.
A grand goal, indeed. And as I have mentioned before, these things take time, marauder thought it should be done within a couple of days of his election.
And he does not like how he is doing it!!by god.
He is doing well to force Russia to end the Ukraine war, he is destroying the Iran led axis of resistance in the Middle East, and increasing investment and job creation in the US. I love that one.
However, the goal of establishing free and fair trade rules is off track with his chaos in the trade wars. While we are all throwing darts at the pub, he is thinking real hard about all this. Go, Donald.
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@Suzianne saidIs there a quota that would suit you?
"donate your money"
How much of your time have you donated to this or similar causes?
That is far more valuable.
I just told you that I donate money to Haiti.
I also help out the needy in my local community.
How many hours exactly would you expect I serve or give?
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@Suzianne saidWhat is more valuable to someone in need? Time, or money? That is probably a good debate topic.
"donate your money"
How much of your time have you donated to this or similar causes?
That is far more valuable.
General need or dire need? Bring this up somewhere. I would be interested in that thread.