Humanitarian aid cuts could cause more children to die: UN

UNITED NATIONS

Cuts in international aid could bring an end to decades of progress in fighting child mortality, and even reverse the trend, the United Nations warned March 24.

Although the annual report from UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank does not single out the United States, it comes as President Donald Trump's administration has axed the vast majority of the programs carried out by USAID, America's main overseas aid agency with a former annual budget of $42.8 billion.

"The global health community cannot be worried enough at the situation that we are seeing," Fouzia Shafique, UNICEF's Associate Director of Health, told AFP.

The report warns the consequences of aid money cuts will be the worst in countries where infant mortality rates are already the highest, such as in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia.

"Simply put, if support for life-saving services is not sustained, many countries can expect a resurgence of newborn and child deaths," the report said.

In 2023, mortality of children under the age of 5 continued to drop, with 4.8 million deaths recorded, including 2.3 million newborn babies under a month old, according to the report.

The number of such deaths fell below 5 million for the first time in 2022, and the new record low marks a 52 percent decline since 2000.

But Shafique insisted that "4.8 million is 4.8 million too many."

Since 2015, progress in fighting child mortality has slowed as aid money was redirected towards fighting COVID, and this could be just the start of a dangerous pattern.

"Bringing preventable child deaths to a record low is a remarkable achievement. But without the right policy choices and adequate investment, we risk reversing these hard-earned gains," UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said in a statement.