USAID official warns of preventable deaths amid Trump's foreign aid freeze, then is placed on leave

Nicholas Enrich, the acting assistant administrator for global health at the United States Agency for International Development, sounded the alarm in a memo to staff about the devastating effects of President Donald Trump's foreign aid freeze, predicting that it would result in unnecessary deaths worldwide (via Reuters).

He highlighted how the dismantling of USAID had disrupted crucial programs fighting diseases like Ebola, malaria, and tuberculosis, causing widespread destabilisation. Despite the clear threat to global health, less than half an hour after sending the urgent warning, Enrich was notified that he had been placed on administrative leave, effective immediately.

His removal follows a broader effort to scale down the agency's operations, spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency led by billionaire Elon Musk. The impact of these cuts could be catastrophic, with Enrich estimating that halting USAID programs could result in tens of thousands of preventable deaths. For now, it remains to be seen how these measures will affect the future of global health assistance.