The cuts have been fast and sweeping. “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Musk posted on February 3 on X (formerly Twitter), the social media site he owns.
The effects of these actions immediately ricocheted around the world, and they will continue to be felt for years to come. They will especially threaten young children and women, for whom USAID funding has been providing lifesaving basic medical services that have ranged from vaccines to treatments for diarrheal diseases to maternal health care. Studies show this funding has helped save the lives of nearly three million children under age five and at least one million women of reproductive age in recent decades, experts say.