Three Children’s Deaths Linked to USAID Funding Cuts Challenge Official Claims
When the Safety Net Was Removed
Trump s team says no children – Marco Rubio, serving as Secretary of State, made a bold assertion before Congress last May regarding the conclusion of USAID operations. He declared that no children were perishing under his supervision during this transition period. More recently, Elon Musk took to social media platform X on June 28 and 29 to counter claims about African mortality rates. The former head of President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency argued that deaths actually decreased following USAID funding reductions. He challenged critics to provide even one verified name among the millions supposedly affected by these cuts.
Musk had previously overseen what he described as feeding USAID into the wood chipper during his tenure. Yet Abdullahi Ibrahim stands as one such documented name. Alongside two other young lives, his story emerges from NPR’s investigation conducted in partnership with The Everyday Projects, a worldwide network of photojournalists.
A Father’s Grief in Nigeria
Abdullahi Ibrahim first experienced asthma symptoms at age five. His condition progressively worsened over the years. His father, Ibrahim Musa, recalls those frightening episodes through an interpreter. “Sometimes he would wake up suddenly, gasping for air,” Musa shared. “I feel very, very scared. We usually rush him to the hospital.”
The family relied on a motorcycle taxi that Musa operated to transport their son. Esther Agbo, a nurse stationed at Mucciya Primary Health Care in Sabon Gari, northern Nigeria, frequently encountered this family. She confirmed that USAID had been covering medical expenses for Abdullahi’s treatment.
“Because of that support,” Musa explained, “people like us who don’t have much could still get treatment.”
When Abdullahi turned ten last year, he suffered a particularly dangerous asthma episode. “He told me, ‘Daddy, I can’t breathe well,'” Musa recounted. “He was just lying there, helpless. We rushed to the clinic.”
According to Musa, medical staff informed them that medications were no longer complimentary. Agbo, though absent during that particular visit, confirmed the situation. “USAID stopped supplying the treatment [for] free,” she stated. “The cost of the medication was too much for the parents.”
Abdullahi succumbed to that final attack. His father remains certain of what might have been different. “If there was still help coming from USAID,” Musa said, “I’m very sure my child would still be alive today.”
Broader Impact and Additional Cases
The U.S. State Department responded to NPR’s inquiries without directly addressing the specific circumstances surrounding these three children’s deaths. Instead, officials highlighted the Trump administration’s execution of 32 bilateral global health memorandums of understanding, which included agreements with both Kenya and Nigeria.
Brooke Nichols, a health economist and infectious disease modeler at Boston University, developed the Impact Counter to track projected fatalities linked to U.S. foreign aid reductions beginning in March 2025. “Over the course of one year,” she noted, “we estimate more than 700,000 people have died from the abrupt stopping of USAID, including more than half a million children.”
These losses predominantly affected low- and middle-income nations, with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for the overwhelming majority. Among them was sixteen-year-old Purity Wamboi from central Nairobi, Kenya. During a school holiday last August, Purity began experiencing severe coughing, chest pain, and shivering. Her mother, Rachael Wanjiru—who was not working due to developing a goiter—observed her daughter’s declining health. Purity tried to conceal her suffering, understanding her mother’s financial constraints. Her fourteen-year-old brother, James Gitau Mwai, vividly remembers worrying that his sister might not recover.
While determining exact outcomes remains challenging, Nichols emphasized that USAID had been facilitating numerous essential treatments across Africa for years before its sudden withdrawal.
