While testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that “no one has died” because of funding cuts to the United States Agency for International Development, a claim that the Trump White House has continuously pushed to defend its overhaul of American international aid. The administration has justified these cuts by citing systematic waste within the agency, arguing that they are saving billions of taxpayer dollars. In reality, the federal government’s attack on foreign aid will cost America — including Rhode Island — gravely.
One of the many life-saving products that is delivered abroad is Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food, or RUTF. This cost-effective paste provides essential nutrients to save the lives of children suffering from malnutrition for around $50. Edesia Nutrition, one of the few manufacturers of RUTF in America, is located just half an hour away from Brown’s campus in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. In 2024, Edesia fed 4.9 million children with the help of federal government contracts purchasing their products.
But with USAID dismantling, Edesia could not provide its lifesaving product for months. Edesia’s Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Maria Kasparian ’05, told me in an interview that 185,000 cases of RUTF and other products that Edesia manufactures — already paid for by the U.S. government — sat unused in a Rhode Island warehouse.
Recently, the federal government placed two new orders for Edesia’s aid: one in August for $13 million and another in September for $23 million. Since these contracts have been restored, the manufacturer has begun to ship thousands of boxes to UNICEF and the World Food Programme, which distribute aid to countries, including Nigeria and the Central African Republic. These shipments will be able to save nearly 2 million malnourished children — a worthwhile effort that was only able to happen through a collaboration between Edesia and the federal government.
Kasparian explained that, unlike many other aid groups, the Rhode Island manufacturer was able to gain credibility with the Trump administration since the production not only takes place domestically, but also uses American-grown goods. However, she emphasized that even with the State Department’s recent orders, Edesia received less than half the amount of money from the government than it did in previous years. In addition, the federal government cannot rely only on Edesia and similar American manufacturers to provide aid for the 45 million children under the age of five experiencing severe malnutrition.
Rhode Island residents have a particular interest in the moral failure of our federal government. Roger Williams founded our state to provide refuge for those in danger of religious persecution. Since then, the Ocean State has prided itself on providing care for those in need of assistance within and beyond its borders. Rhode Island residents — committed to the state’s principal values — should be morally opposed to ignoring their fellow human beings.
There is also a concerning financial loss from pulling back on aid, one that any American taxpayer should recognize. According to a State Department document, dismantling USAID will cost America more than $6 billion — with $344 million spent on legal battles, as well as hundreds of millions spent on firing workers and facilitating the agency’s closure. Yet, the Department of Government Efficiency’s website claims that billions in USAID grants were saved this year without providing any details of where these savings came from. While the president can have valid concerns over waste and unnecessary spending, handling these concerns in such a careless way has created more waste and disorder.
Sadly, many places saw much more wasted beyond Edisia’s aid sitting unused for months. In Belgium, the Trump administration tried to burn $9.7 million in unexpired birth control that was already purchased by the United States. As the U.S. was prevented by Belgian law from burning the aid, the birth control still sits in European warehouses waiting to be used. Additionally, 500 tons of high-energy biscuits purchased by the U.S. under the Biden administration were destroyed in July after expiring while sitting, unable to be used in Dubai. How can claims of saving money be taken seriously when millions of dollars of taxpayer-funded aid are being destroyed?
The damage is clear. Reporting found hospitals in Afghanistan being overwhelmed with patients in critical conditions and children in Uganda dying because they can no longer receive the medication needed to treat their malaria. Credible estimates have calculated that aid cuts this year have resulted in 660,000 deaths, more than 400,000 of whom are children. Further, a study published by the Lancet medical journal predicts that more than 14 million people could die by 2030 because of aid cuts. Regardless of what the secretary of state claims, the loss of life is real.
Organizations like Edesia cannot prevent child hunger and treat deadly diseases around the world without the help of capable governments. The current administration has inflicted irreparable harm on those who cannot afford to suffer further, costing America billions in the process. Simply put, Trump’s America First policy has put humanity last.
Ethan Canfield ’28 can be reached at ethan_canfield @brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
