Paying the price | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Paying the price focuses on the consequences of drastic USAID funding cuts, arguing that short-term savings create long-term harm for health care in Arkansas. The editorial says the cuts occurred early in President Donald Trump’s second term, despite being about 0.5% of the federal budget. It claims the immediate effect was the termination of 83% of USAID programs and thousands of jobs. It also cites estimated humanitarian impacts, including The Lancet projections of 4 to 8 million new HIV infections and about 2.9 million HIV deaths by 2030. It references estimates for malaria and a UCLA Fielding School of Public Health study projecting up to 14 million deaths by 2030, including 4.5 million children under 5. The piece further argues that reduced USAID capacity weakens U.S. diplomatic and crisis-response influence.