USAID Was Promised Emergency Waivers for Ebola and AIDS. They’re Not Working
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Summary
Elon Musk, owner of Twitter and founder of Tesla, joked about the US government cancelling Ebola prevention at a Trump administration cabinet meeting.
His “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) has been responsible for dismantling the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Over the past month, DOGE has placed the majority of USAID workers on leave and let the remainder go, as well as freezing contractor funds for humanitarian programs.
The State Department has issued emergency waivers to keep programs going, but these have been deemed useless.
Current and former USAID workers, and Ebola experts, believe the issues with Ebola prevention are yet to be corrected, with response teams dismantled and payments to partners delayed.
The USAID’s Outbreak Response Team, which previously contributed 20-40% of funding for infectious disease outbreaks, has also been disbanded.
