Bill Gates says cuts to international aid by wealthy nations are causing child mortality to rise for the first time this century, with 200,000 more deaths projected.
PARIS: Philanthropist Bill Gates has warned that cuts to international aid by wealthy nations are causing a “tragic” rise in child deaths worldwide.
The Microsoft co-founder told AFP that child mortality is projected to increase this year for the first time this century due to slashed funding.
He singled out the United States for the deepest cuts, criticising Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Gates said the DOGE was “responsible for a lot of deaths” after it abruptly cut grants from the dismantled US Agency for International Development.
Britain, France and Germany have also “disproportionately” slashed their international aid budgets, he added.
The annual Goalkeepers report from the Gates Foundation projects 4.8 million children will die before their fifth birthday this year.
This represents an increase of 200,000 deaths since 2024, reversing a decades-long decline.
Gates called it a “tragedy” to see child mortality rise after it fell from around 10 million annual deaths at the turn of the millennium.
Aid for developing countries has plummeted by 27% this year, threatening progress against malaria, HIV and polio.
Modelling suggests that if global aid cuts of around 30% become permanent, 16 million more children could die by 2045.
“That’s 16 million mothers who are experiencing something that no one wants to or should have to deal with,” Gates said.
He acknowledged that “rich world budgets are very tight” but regretted that aid was being disproportionately targeted.
Gates said he is speaking to US President Donald Trump to encourage a restoration of aid funding.
He expressed disappointment that the US did not renew its funding for the Gavi vaccine alliance in June.
Gates also criticised US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr for promoting “extremely debunked and misguided views” on vaccines.
Despite the setbacks, Gates expressed hope that new vaccines could lower child mortality rates within five years.
He highlighted new tools like a twice-yearly HIV-prevention injection now being rolled out in South Africa.
Research from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health suggests over 22 million could die from preventable deaths by 2030 due to the aid cuts.
An expert noted that the cuts will likely increase Gates’s already “enormous influence over the world of global health”. – AFP
