The Hill Spotlights Helen Keller's Lifesaving Work Halted by USAID Cuts
A recent article in The Hill sheds light on the thousands of lifesaving health programs that have been disrupted due to sweeping cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development.
In the piece, foreign affairs correspondent Laura Kelly cites Helen Keller Intl’s suspended nutrition and disease prevention programs as examples of the critical health interventions abruptly stopped due to the US Government’s funding cuts.
“Malnutrition programs in Bangladesh are halted, [Helen Keller] told The Hill, and the USAID cuts have also resulted in the group halting similar programs in Nigeria and Nepal. The organization has also suspended work to treat and prevent blinding and disabling diseases in six countries in West Africa.”
We estimate that USAID’s suspensions have put 121 million people at risk in the countries we support, including 21 million people currently facing malnutrition and in dire need of treatment.
Malnourished children are particularly vulnerable; according to the World Health Organization, nearly half of deaths among children under 5 years of age are linked to undernutrition.
Yet, as we emphasize in the article, “without funding and clear guidance on how to resume, children and families around the world continue to go without critical, lifesaving treatment.”
Read the full article on The Hill.
Help ensure children and families can access lifesaving health and nutrition services.
