On Monday, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) sent documents to Congress outlining which programs will continue and which it will cut; one of the terminated programs provides funding for vaccines in developing countries.

The Details: USAID will continue 898 programs and terminate 5,341. Included in the terminated programs is a $2.6 billion contract with Gavi, a global organization that purchases vaccines for developing countries. USAID will, however, continue grants for H.I.V. and tuberculosis medications. 

For Context: The US is the third-largest contributor to Gavi, making up 12% of its budget. U.S. contributions have grown by over $125 million in the past decade. The Department of Government Efficiency has made efforts to downsize USAID since President Donald Trump began his second term. In a response on X, Gavi said that without US support, “we could not have halved child mortality, saved 18 million lives or helped 19 countries transition from our support,” and that it hopes a partnership can continue in the future.

How the Media Covered It: The New York Times (Lean Left bias) said these cuts reveal the “administration’s retreat from a half-century-long effort to present the United States to the developing world as a compassionate ally.” The Hill (Center) highlighted Gavi’s past accomplishments in world health and went on to quote the group Public Citizen, which questioned the legality of the move. The Telegraph (Lean Right) cited the State Department’s statement that it decided to terminate all programs that Secretary Marco Rubio found to be “inconsistent with the national interest or agency policy priorities.”

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