Gates Blames Musk, Trump for Global Aid Crisis

Bill Gates has publicly accused Elon Musk of contributing to the deaths of the world's poorest children by orchestrating severe budget cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) while leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump administration. Gates claims that the abrupt termination of USAID funding has led to the expiration of vital food and medicines and halted life-saving medical programs, including HIV prevention efforts in Mozambique. He warns that these cuts could reverse decades of progress in reducing childhood mortality, potentially leading to millions of additional deaths from preventable diseases such as polio, measles, and HIV. In response, Gates announced plans to donate nearly all his estimated $200 billion fortune through the Gates Foundation by 2045, aiming to fight global poverty and disease before closing the foundation. The feud between Gates and Musk, previously centered on philanthropy and technology, has escalated with these events. Gates stresses that government support is essential for global health, arguing that private philanthropy alone cannot compensate for drastic reductions in public aid.