The world is likely to see millions more malaria infections and 200,000 cases of paralytic polio each year, according to an agency whistle-blower.
The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw foreign aid and dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development is likely to cause enormous human suffering, according to estimates by the agency itself. Among them:
-
up to 18 million additional cases of malaria per year, and as many as 166,000 additional deaths;
-
200,000 children paralyzed with polio annually, and hundreds of millions of infections;
-
one million children not treated for severe acute malnutrition, which is often fatal, each year;
-
more than 28,000 new cases of such infectious diseases as Ebola and Marburg every year.
Those stark projections were laid out in a series of memos by Nicholas Enrich, acting assistant administrator for global health at U.S.A.I.D., which were obtained by The New York Times. Mr. Enrich was placed on administrative leave on Sunday.
In one memo, he placed the blame for these potential health crises on “political leadership at U.S.A.I.D., the Department of State, and D.O.G.E., who have created and continue to create intentional and/or unintentional obstacles that have wholly prevented implementation” of aid programs.
Those leaders have blocked payment systems, created new and ineffective processes for payments, and constantly shifted guidance regarding which activities qualify as “lifesaving,” Mr. Enrich wrote.
Another memo describes the slashing of the agency’s global health work force from 783 on Jan. 20 to fewer than 70 on Sunday.
In an interview, Mr. Enrich said he released the memos on Sunday afternoon, after an email arrived placing him on leave, to set the record straight on the gutting of U.S.A.I.D. staff and the termination of thousands of lifesaving grants.
By detailing the series of events behind the scenes, he hoped “it’ll be clear that we were never actually given the opportunity to implement lifesaving humanitarian assistance.”