Dismantling USAID left millions of children at risk of malnutrition : Shared by Madeline Eisner

A $45 Treatment Can Save a Starving Child. US Aid Cuts Have Frozen the Supply

By Apoorva Mandavilli | The New York Times

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Summary

The dismantling of USAID and subsequent US aid cuts have severely disrupted global malnutrition treatment programs, leaving millions of children at risk.

Ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) — a peanut-based paste costing less than $45 per full course — has long been central to treating severe acute malnutrition. Until this year, USAID funded about half the world’s supply, much of it through UNICEF. Since January, however, hundreds of clinics across Nigeria, Chad, Niger, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Nepal, and other countries have shut down or nearly exhausted supplies.

A partial $93 million State Department grant to UNICEF has been authorized, but it is less than half of 2024 levels and too slow to prevent widespread gaps in treatment. Aid groups report soaring mortality rates, with tens of thousands of children at imminent risk. Organizations are scrambling to fill the void with philanthropy and local manufacturing, but supply chains remain broken. Experts estimate that up to 160,000 children could die each year if funding is not restored.

Quotes

“We have seen the mortality rates in the hospitals increasing by the day. This is the ugly situation that we are facing because of this funding cut.” — Aliyu Mohammed Jabo, Helen Keller International Nigeria

“No one’s counting these children. With pretty strong certainty, we know children are dying. But we don’t know how many.” — Jeanette Bailey, International Rescue Committee

“Instalments from member states are saving jobs. We have already minimised the impact.” — Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General (referencing broader UN cuts)

“It really comes down to the children who do not have time to waste.” — Navyn Salem, Edesia Nutrition