 The US Agency for International Development (USAID), effectively shuttered by tech billionaire Elon Musk, “has saved millions of lives,” Vox argued. Programs combating HIV and malaria in developing countries likely prevent about 200,000 deaths per year. A Nobel-winning economist found that one USAID unit that invested in nonprofit pilot programs achieved “unheard of” results with low-cost interventions such as chlorinated water dispensers, which reduced child mortality in treated villages by 63%. While some USAID programs were no doubt “less effective, or wasteful,” Vox wrote, the agency is audited. Musk and the Trump administration’s targeting of USAID may be politically strategic given many Americans’ negative views toward foreign aid, but it could cost lives, the outlet argued. |