On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio took to X to announce that he and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had completed its review of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs and decided to cancel 83%, stating that the contracts “did not serve the core national interests of the United States.”
To unpack how the loss of U.S. development assistance is disrupting care across the world, Emergency Project founder Darren Cuthbert recounts a recent traffic accident in resource-constrained Zimbabwe that killed 25 and injured dozens more, constituting a national emergency. Cuthbert notes that USAID cuts made the week before the disaster drastically reduced the number of staff available to assist with emergency medical response. The episode should remind readers that the United States is “retreating from lifelines that stand between a fighting chance and a waiting grave for tens of millions.”
Following the Arab Summit on March 4, Shira Efron and Jess Manville from the Israel Policy Forum weigh the latest plans for Gaza’s postwar reconstruction. Efron and Manville emphasize that until the Arab League, Israel, and the United States reach consensus on how to disarm Hamas and remove the terrorist organization from power, humanitarian aid and recovery efforts will remain obstructed.
New consumer price data shows that in February, the cost of a dozen eggs experienced its largest single-month jump since 1980. Managing Editor Nsikan Akpan provides an update on how H5N1 avian flu drove record culling in U.S. poultry. Some relief could be on the way.
Contributors from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health then give an overview of what strategies could protect people and agriculture from H5N1, urging policymakers to ramp up surveillance, invest in research and development, and address policies related to vaccine deployment for poultry and farm workers.
To wrap up the issue, researcher Siddhesh Zadey and physician Ayla Gerk Rangel outline why Group of 20 (G20) nations should integrate surgery into their national health plans to help advance sustainable development goals related to climate change and universal health coverage.
Until next week!—Nsikan Akpan, Managing Editor, and Caroline Kantis, Associate Editor
