Tragic’ Child Deaths Rise as Aid Cuts Hit Developing Countries, Gates Warns

Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder and global health philanthropist, warned on Thursday that cuts to international aid by wealthy countries are causing a “tragic” rise in child deaths worldwide for the first time this century.

Speaking in a video interview with AFP from Seattle, Gates highlighted the United States as the country making the deepest cuts, citing the actions of Elon Musk’s so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as “responsible for a lot of deaths.” European nations, including Britain, France, and Germany, have also reduced aid “disproportionately,” he added.

The Gates Foundation’s annual Goalkeepers report projects that 4.8 million children will die before their fifth birthday this year, an increase of 200,000 from 2024. Gates emphasized the human toll of this reversal, describing it as a tragedy after decades of steadily declining child mortality, which had fallen from roughly 10 million deaths per year at the turn of the millennium.

Global aid for developing countries has dropped by 27 percent this year, threatening progress against malaria, HIV, polio, and other preventable diseases. Modeling by the Gates-funded Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation suggests that if these cuts remain permanent, 16 million additional children could die by 2045. Gates highlighted the suffering of families affected, saying, “That’s 16 million mothers who are experiencing something that no one wants to or should have to deal with.”

Gates criticized the “chaotic” impact of Musk’s DOGE, which abruptly ended grants from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), dismantled since Trump returned to office in January. He also expressed disappointment that the US did not renew its funding for the Gavi vaccine alliance in June and noted conflicting views with US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. regarding childhood vaccines.

While acknowledging “tight” budgets in wealthy nations, Gates urged European leaders to consider the consequences of aid reductions. He described discussions with French political leaders on the topic and expressed hope that new tools — including vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), pneumonia, and the twice-yearly HIV-prevention injection lenacapavir — could help reduce child mortality over the next five years.

Since its launch in 2000, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has become a major force in global health. Gates’ announcement in May that he plans to give away his $200 billion fortune by 2045, combined with the current aid cuts, is likely to increase his influence over global health decisions. Experts warn that private philanthropy alone may not fill the funding gaps, and research suggests that over 22 million preventable deaths could occur by 2030 if current aid reductions continue.