Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has ignited fresh controversy after claiming that deaths across Africa declined following sharp cuts to United States foreign aid, insisting that the reductions curbed instability rather than worsened humanitarian conditions across the continent.
Musk made the remarks on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, while defending the cost-cutting measures of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which backed deep reductions in funding for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). According to Refugees International, US humanitarian assistance dropped from $14 billion in 2024 to $3.7 billion in 2025, while the Center for Global Development estimated that USAID spending fell by about 58 per cent over the same period. Despite widespread warnings from humanitarian groups and health experts that the funding reductions could trigger severe humanitarian consequences, Musk argued that available mortality data did not support predictions of rising deaths.
In a post on his X handle, Musk wrote: "Deaths in Africa DECREASED after USAID funding was cut, because they're no longer able to push for violent revolution to install leftist regimes!" He shared an analysis based on South African all-cause mortality data, which included a graph tracking weekly deaths in South Africa between January 2023 and May 2026, covering the period following reductions to USAID and the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). According to the analysis, observed excess deaths remained close to zero and fell below projected levels recorded before the funding reductions. The accompanying report also referenced previous academic research, including a 2019 study that found only limited statistical evidence linking higher levels of foreign aid to improvements in life expectancy or reductions in mortality in developing countries.
However, health experts and humanitarian organisations have continued to sound the alarm over the funding cuts. A study published in The Lancet in July 2025 estimated that reduced aid could contribute to more than 14 million deaths globally by 2030, including over 4.5 million children. Similarly, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, citing projections from the Center for Global Development, wrote last year that more than 1.6 million people could die within a year without US support for HIV prevention and treatment. The Centre for Global Development also reported that USAID spending fell by about 58 per cent in 2025 compared with 2024.
Musk has consistently defended the aid reductions, maintaining that they were necessary to curb waste, corruption and the misuse of taxpayer funds for political objectives rather than humanitarian purposes. He further argued that some previous USAID programmes in parts of Africa encouraged violent revolutions intended to install leftist governments and that ending such funding removed a source of conflict. The tech billionaire has repeatedly disputed claims that the USAID cuts caused deaths, arguing in March 2025 that "no one has died as a result of a brief pause" to funding. However, his latest comments have drawn sharp criticism from humanitarian organisations, who have described the dismantling of USAID as the "most prominent manifestation" of a wider decline in global humanitarian assistance.
The controversy comes as the Trump administration's decision to sharply reduce foreign aid continues to face intense scrutiny, with critics arguing that the cuts have already begun to take a toll on vulnerable populations across Africa and other developing regions. Musk's defence of the cuts, while citing South African mortality data, is likely to fuel further debate over the role of US foreign aid in promoting stability and development on the continent.
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