Bill Gates tells Politico that projected increases in child mortality are closely tied to recent foreign aid cuts by the U.S. and other wealthy countries, following decades of steady progress. While the Trump administration disputes the link, Gates argues the scale and speed of the cuts have had deadly consequences.

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace reports that the abrupt reduction in U.S. humanitarian aid has left major gaps in global emergency response systems and strained the ability of the United Nations and partner organizations to meet rising humanitarian needs. The funding shock presents both a crisis and a potential inflection point for reforming the international humanitarian system.

Kenya’s DREAMS program — which kept 66,000 girls HIV-free over three years — shut down. In South Africa, U.S.-funded drop-in centers for key populations closed, cutting off PrEP, harm-reduction, methadone programs, and HIV commodities.

Source: Physicians for Human Rights, Ritshidze

Health facilities in DRC and Ethiopia ran out of PEP kits, a short-term emergency treatment that must be started within 72 hours of a potential exposure. This leaves survivors of sexual violence without the emergency medication needed to prevent HIV infection.

Source: Physicians for Human Rights

Clinicians in Kenya report the return of new HIV infections in newborns — something virtually eliminated under U.S.-supported maternal prevention. In Uganda, one clinic saw 25% of HIV-positive pregnant women give birth to HIV-infected infants after ARV stockouts and rationing.

Source: Physicians for Human Rights

Facing severe funding shortages following U.S. aid cuts, Uganda has stopped granting asylum to new arrivals from Eritrea, Somalia, and Ethiopia, The Guardian reports. The shift leaves thousands in legal limbo, heightens protection risks, and signals how quickly global displacement systems can unravel when donors pull back.

Foreign Policy details how the termination of U.S.-supported HIV programs in Malawi — including testing, treatment literacy, and community adherence networks — has left clinics overwhelmed and patients without care.

The Guardian reports that U.S. funding cuts have shuttered HIV clinics, disrupted PrEP and ART supply chains, and ended community-led outreach across multiple countries. Health workers warn that prevention gains made over two decades are collapsing, with global agencies now projecting a surge in new infections and treatment interruptions that could undo years of progress toward epidemic control.

Cuts to food assistance and the freeze of key U.S. agricultural programs have exacerbated hunger while driving large-scale food waste, The Conversation reports. With fewer resources for distribution networks and labor shortages across the supply chain, farmers are leaving crops unharvested and food is spoiling in storage.

The halt of U.S.-supported livelihood, governance, and stabilization programs in Cabo Delgado has widened the vacuum exploited by ISIS-aligned militants, CNN reports. As community development projects, youth employment initiatives, and local conflict-mitigation efforts collapse, insurgents are expanding recruitment and territory — a reversal that underscores how aid cuts can destabilize fragile regions and raise long-term security costs.

U.S. cuts to early-warning, stabilization, and police-accountability programs have eroded Nigeria’s ability to prevent violence — unrest now cited to justify harsher security measures, an LA Times contributor writes.

The analysis concludes that the shutdown weakened coordination structures, reduced partner capacity, and led to significant staff losses. Researchers argue that humanitarian systems cannot be paused without lasting damage—and that rebuilding them requires more resources than maintaining them.

New modeling suggests that simultaneous U.S. and European aid drawdowns would erase decades of gains against infectious disease. The findings point to a geopolitical vacuum, with no major donor prepared to offset the scale of withdrawn support.

The research warns that reductions in U.S. TB funding could trigger major spikes in pediatric infections. The projections underscore how cuts undermine global outbreak control and shift long-term treatment costs back onto lower-income countries.

Expired contraceptives show how abruptly pausing U.S. funds can freeze global supply chains midstream. Beyond wasted commodities, the stall drives up procurement costs and disrupts access to family planning programs that depend on predictable U.S. financing, NPR reports.

New domestic spending in Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia signals resilience, but the move also exposes how heavily the region relied on U.S. support, reports The Guardian. Governments are now filling emergency gaps rather than following planned transition timelines, raising questions about sustainability and equity.