A worrying new report from the Gates Foundation shows something that hasn’t happened in over two decades: more young children are going to die this year than last year. The foundation expects around 4.8 million kids under age 5 will die in 2025. That’s 200,000 more deaths than in 2024, and these deaths could have been prevented.
This is a big deal because child deaths have been going down every single year since 2000. Now that progress is reversing.
Mark Suzman runs the Gates Foundation, and he’s clear about what’s happening. “It is 100% avoidable. There is no reason why those children should be dying,” he said. He’s pushing governments and donors to focus money on things that actually work, like basic healthcare and vaccines.
At least 24 wealthy countries cut their foreign aid for health this year. The cuts add up to almost 27% less money than what was given in 2024. That’s a massive drop in funding.
“There are many causes, but clearly one of the key causes has been significant cuts in international development assistance from several high-income countries,” Suzman explained. He pointed out that the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and several other rich nations have all reduced their support.
The Trump administration’s cuts hit especially hard because the US used to be the biggest donor to global health programs.
As per a report by CNN, they have reached out to the State Department but haven’t gotten a response yet.
So what happens when funding gets cut
Poor and middle-class people in third-class countries are left struggling. As their healthcare systems were already weak, and now they’re dealing with rising debt while trying to fight diseases that kill children. We’re talking about pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, and other infections that are totally treatable.
The Gates Foundation worked with researchers at the University of Washington to figure out what these cuts actually mean.
As per the report, if countries continue to cut health funding by 20%, we’re looking at 12 million more children dying by 2045. If the cuts go higher to 30%, that number jumps to 16 million additional deaths.
“It’s a call to action and a moment of deep reflection, I think, for the world, because we know how to save these children’s lives,” Suzman said.
If you are putting money into basic healthcare, then it provides you the biggest bang for your buck. For less than $100 per person each year, you could prevent up to 90% of child deaths just by making primary healthcare stronger.
Vaccines are still the smartest investment you can make in public health. Every single dollar spent on vaccines brings back $54 in benefits to society and the economy.
Dr. Naveen Thacker, who runs Deep Children Hospital in India, explained it: “Vaccines don’t just save lives — they prevent outbreaks that strain hospitals, disrupt education, and pull resources from other priorities.”
He pointed out that every dollar on immunization saves way more money down the line because you don’t have to treat sick kids, and people can stay productive.
Thacker, who also works with the International Pediatric Association, added that making vaccines affordable is absolutely key if we want healthier children.
Scientists are working on some pretty cool stuff. There’s a shot called lenacapavir that could help wipe out deaths from HIV/AIDS. Right now, you need it twice a year, but researchers are trying to make it just once a year. A cheaper generic version should be available in a few years.
There are also new developments for RSV, which causes pneumonia. Pneumonia kills more children than any other infection. And scientists say newer malaria vaccines could help get rid of the disease completely.
The foundation wants policymakers to put more money into vaccines and support these new developments. They’re also asking governments not to cut funding for programs that already work really well, like GAVI and the Global Fund.
GAVI is an international vaccine group that has vaccinated 1.2 million children since 2000. They say they’ve prevented more than 20 million deaths. The US used to be one of their biggest supporters, but stopped funding them this year.
The Trump administration also wants to shut down the CDC’s global health unit in the 2026 budget. That would kill off a huge program that vaccinates kids against polio, measles, and other diseases around the world.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who’s now Health and Human Services Secretary, paused funding to GAVI in June. In a video, he said GAVI needed to “re-earn the public trust and to justify the $8 billion that America has provided in funding since 2001.” That’s what Reuters reported at the time.
It’s not just the US, though. France, Norway, and the UK also cut their GAVI funding this year, according to research from the Center for Global Development.
The Trump administration did give a big chunk of money to the Global Fund, which fights AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. They covered about a third of the total fund. But there’s still a problem because France, Japan, Sweden, and the European Commission didn’t announce their pledges at the last big conference in late November. The Lancet reported that the Global Fund might not hit its funding targets because of this.
Bill Gates, who started Microsoft and chairs the foundation, says this is a critical moment. The decisions made right now about where to put money will determine whether we can wipe out some diseases or not. He says choosing smart innovations that make every dollar count can help cut down preventable deaths even more.
“We can’t stop at almost,” Gates wrote. “If we do more with less now — and get back to a world where there are more resources to devote to children’s health — then in 20 years we’ll be able to tell a different kind of story: how we helped more kids survive childbirth — and childhood.”
He also warned about what could go wrong: “We could be the generation who had access to the most advanced science and innovation in human history — but couldn’t get the funding together to ensure it saved lives.”
Earlier this year, Gates said he plans to give away basically all his wealth through the foundation over the next 20 years. He’s got around $200 billion to work with.
The bottom line is straightforward. We know how to save these kids. We have the tools and the knowledge. What’s missing right now is the money and the political will to make it happen. Countries that used to lead the way in global health are pulling back just when that support matters most.
