The Trump administration intends to terminate the United States’ financial support for Gavi, the organization that has helped purchase critical vaccines for children in developing countries, saving millions of lives over the past quarter century. Secretary Rubio determined the award — pledged by president Biden and worth $2.6 billion through 2030 — was inconsistent with the national interest or agency policy priorities.

New vaccines with the promise to save millions of lives in low-income countries, such as one to protect children from severe malaria and another to protect teenage girls against the virus that causes cervical cancer, have recently become available, and Gavi was expanding the portfolio of support it could give those countries.

The loss of U.S. funds will set back the organization’s ability to continue to provide its basic range of services — such as immunization for measles and polio — to a growing population of children in the poorest countries, let alone expand to include new vaccines.

By Gavi’s own estimate, the loss of U.S. support may mean 75 million children do not receive routine vaccinations in the next five years, with more than 1.2 million children dying as a result.

Funding will be terminated for a wide range of other programs including those which conduct surveillance for diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans, including bird flu, in 49 countries. Some major programs to track and fight malaria, one of the top killers of children, will also be eliminated.

Well, King Donald has to find offsets for the tax breaks somewhere. What better place than poor Black and brown children?

nytimes.com - Usaid cuts gavi bird flu