Christen Fornadel

U.S. Terminates Funding for Polio, H.I.V., Malaria and Nutrition Programs Around the World Here are some of the 5,800 contracts the Trump administration formally canceled this week in a wave of terse emails.

The Trump administration terminates funding for polio, HIV, malaria and nutrition programs around the world.

“People will die,” said Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi of the African Population and Health Research Center, “but we will never know, because even the programs to count the dead are cut.”

Rubio terminated 5800 USAID contracts – more than 90% of its foreign aid programs – in defiance of the courts.

Here’s a list of just some of the lifesaving awards that were terminated. Nearly all were Congressionally mandated. They’ve saved millions of lives. 🧵

A chart shows the increasing views that a viral, false claim about USAID saw on X, as it was amplified by right-wing influencers. A headline reads: Falsehoods Fuel the Right-Wing Crusade Against USAID. A sentence reads: Nearly 15,000 posts on X over two days mentioned USAID and Politico, with many users falsely claiming that the humanitarian organization paid the news website millions of dollars. Note: Data includes posts on X between Feb. 5 at 9 a.m. Eastern Time and Feb. 6 at 10 p.m. that mention both “Politico” and “USAID.” Source: Tweet Binder by Audiense.

As the Trump administration and Elon Musk work to dismantle USAID, the government’s lead agency for delivering humanitarian aid for generations, right-wing influencers have flooded the internet with falsehoods about its work, promoting unfounded claims and conspiratorial thinking. nyti.ms/4htWHN0

‘What Elon Musk Said Is a Bold-Faced Lie’ A former Republican director of USAID says the agency is critical to U.S. interests and can’t be abolished or folded into the State Department.

www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Opinion | The World’s Richest Men Take On the World’s Poorest Children (Gift Article) I’ve seen U.S.A.I.D. operate around the world, and it’s not woke — it’s lifesaving.

Yes, USAID could use reform, but this is demolition. Trump braids together cruelty, ignorance and shortsightedness, and calls it policy, as the world's richest men go after the worlds poorest children. My column: www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/o...

www.cgdev.org/blog/no-90-p...

Trump’s Foreign Aid Freeze Leaves Millions Without HIV Treatment President Trump’s pause on aid, and the gutting of the primary aid agency, could jeopardize the health of more than 20 million people worldwide, including 500,000 children, experts say.

Two weeks into President Trump’s sweeping freeze on foreign aid, HIV groups abroad have not received any funding, jeopardizing the health of more than 20 million people, including 500,000 children.

Trump Officials to Put Almost All U.S.A.I.D. Workers on Leave A notice posted on the agency’s website, which had gone dark over the weekend, said that nearly all of its global work force would be put on administrative leave by Friday.

Breaking News: Nearly all of the 10,000 workers at U.S.A.I.D., the U.S. global aid agency, will be put on leave by the week’s end, an official memo said.

Inside Elon Musk’s Killing of USAID Saboteurs, tears, and a last-minute push to save lives.

So much that could be said. For now, one word: heartbreaking.

nymag.com/intelligence...

Health Programs Shutter Around the World After Trump Pauses Foreign Aid Lifesaving treatment and prevention programs for tuberculosis, malaria, H.I.V. and other diseases cannot access funds to continue work.

“Two-thirds of the staff of the President’s Malaria Initiative, an organization founded by former President George W. Bush that is the largest donor to anti-malaria programs and research worldwide, have been fired.”

Trump is wreaking havoc at USAID. Is the goal to shut it down? The president’s failure to name a USAID administrator and other steps seem to suggest that, at the very least, he’ll fold USAID into the State Department.

www.politico.com/news/2025/01...

Conflicting signals from Trump could disrupt HIV meds. What's the impact? A series of orders from the Trump administration have the potential to disrupt the delivery of life-saving medications to HIV positive people. Here's what a disruption of this drug regimen would mean.

A series of orders from the Trump administration have the potential to disrupt the delivery of life-saving medications to HIV positive people. Here's what a disruption of this drug regimen would mean.

‘I don’t think anyone can survive for 90 days’: Aid’s grim new reality “It feels like being in a boxing ring with multiple opponents, trying to figure out where the next blow is going to come from,” the leader of one aid organization told Devex.

www.devex.com/news/i-don-t...

How the World Is Reeling From Trump’s Aid Freeze President Trump’s order to halt most foreign aid has intensified humanitarian crises and raised questions about the United States’ reliability as a global leader.

This should be the lead story in every news outlet, every day. An incomprehensible number of lives are at risk and it is totally unnecessary.
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/w... www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/w...

Inside Trump’s purge at the agency that saves millions of lives USAID has become a testing ground for dismantling government agencies, agency employees tell Vox.

As a former institutional contractor who worked on PMI and left during the first Trump admin, this is the best reporting I've seen on what's going on at USAID. I'm truly frightened for my colleagues who remained at AID, including a number who already have been laid off.

www.vox.com/future-perfe...

It’s insane! And there isn’t really anything in the news about it except a few stories here and there. How is there not outrage that it is being ordered that purchased medicines can’t be given out to save lives?