Trump's New Plan for Deep Foreign Aid Cuts 'Will Plunge Millions' Into Hunger, Disease

A newly reported Trump administration plan to cut U.S. State Department funding in half next fiscal year and axe foreign assistance by nearly 75% drew dire warnings from humanitarian organizations that have seen firsthand the chaos sown by the administration's dismantling of life-saving aid operations.

"The administration's cuts, along with the proposed withdrawal of funding from key institutions like the United Nations, will plunge millions into hunger, disease, and increase other threats, making the world more dangerous and unstable for us all," Abby Maxman, the president and CEO of Oxfam America, said in a statement issued after multiple news outlets reported the details of the Trump administration's plan.

According to Reuters, the Trump administration is aiming to slash foreign assistance distributed by the State Department and USAID from $38.3 billion to $16.9 billion at a time of intensifying hunger, health, and climate crises worldwide.

The administration is also considering a proposal to shutter more than two dozen embassies and consulates—including some in Africa and Europe—and eliminate "almost all" funding for the United Nations.

An internal memo obtained by The New York Times proposes "cutting funding for humanitarian assistance and global health programs by more than 50% despite Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s pledges that lifesaving assistance would be preserved."

"There should be global moral outrage that the decisions made by powerful people in other countries have led to child deaths in just a matter of weeks."

Maxman said Monday that the administration's push for aggressive funding cuts—which, by law, must be approved by the Republican-controlled Congress—would "cause further suffering and have life-or-death consequences for millions around the world who are already living through dire humanitarian crises."

"It outlines sweeping cuts that could include programs like urgent food, water, and healthcare, education, and other support for women, children, and communities," said Maxman. "The Trump administration cannot legally enact these changes on its own—Congress must take a stand against these dangerous cuts to foreign aid and reject this proposal."

Trump's sweeping and lawless attacks on foreign aid have already had deadly consequences. The Times, citing the humanitarian group Save the Children, reported last week that "at least five children and three adults with cholera died as they went in search of treatment in South Sudan after aid cuts by the Trump administration shuttered local health clinics during the country's worst cholera outbreak in decades."

"There should be global moral outrage that the decisions made by powerful people in other countries have led to child deaths in just a matter of weeks," Chris Nyamandi, Save the Children country director in South Sudan, said in a statement.