Aid Cuts Linked to Rising Child Mortality, Former USAID Health Chief Says

October 23, 2026 - 19:35

Speaking at IDWeek 2026, Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, warned that recent cuts to global health funding are costing children's lives, though he pushed back on the idea that the field has lost all its progress. Gawande, who previously led global health efforts at USAID, used his platform at the infectious disease conference to describe how reduced aid has disrupted programs that once delivered steady gains against preventable disease.

He pointed to the ripple effects of pulling funding from clinics, vaccination drives, and maternal and child health services. In many low income regions, those programs depend on sustained support, and sudden shortfalls translate quickly into missed treatments and worse outcomes for the youngest and most vulnerable patients. Gawande framed the losses as measurable and avoidable rather than abstract.

At the same time, he rejected the notion that the global health community is "not back at square one." Tools, knowledge, and delivery networks built over decades remain in place, he said, and past successes show that progress can be rebuilt when resources return. His message to attendees was less about despair and more about urgency: the damage from cuts is real and ongoing, but the capacity to respond has not disappeared. He urged researchers, clinicians, and policymakers to document the fallout, protect the most effective programs, and make the case that sustained investment saves lives at relatively low cost.