Critical supplies of life-saving medicines have been blocked and children left without food and battling malnutrition as multiple effects were reported across the globe after Elon Musk resolved to shut down<\/a> the US government\u2019s pre-eminent international aid agency.<\/p>\n Chaotic scenes were seen in scores of countries as aid organisations warned of the risk of escalating disease and famine along with disastrous repercussions in areas such as family planning and girls\u2019 education, after President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to freeze funding<\/a> to USAid. In 2023, the agency managed more than $40bn (\u00a332bn).<\/p>\n Countless aid organisations have already been forced to close down or lay off staff.<\/p>\n Analysis confirms that several thousand women and girls are likely to die<\/a> from complications during pregnancy and childbirth as a direct result of Trump\u2019s order to freeze aid to the agency for 90 days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Critical supplies of life-saving medicines have been blocked and children left without food and battling malnutrition as multiple effects were reported across the globe after Elon Musk resolved to shut down<\/a> the US government\u2019s pre-eminent international aid agency.<\/p>\n Chaotic scenes were seen in scores of countries as aid organisations warned of the risk of escalating disease and famine along with disastrous repercussions in areas such as family planning and girls\u2019 education, after President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to freeze funding<\/a> to USAid. In 2023, the agency managed more than $40bn (\u00a332bn).<\/p>\nThe impact of the billionaire\u2019s declaration has been swift and brutal, with food and crucial drugs abandoned in warehouses, vital programmes closed and workers laid off<\/h3>\n