Discussion on NGO Funding and Health in Africa

You don't buy the idea that anybody,

and to put it really crudely and simply, any kid in

Africa died because of the suddenness with which...

I just don't think that's right. I just don't think...

I mean, I've had people reporting in Africa who...

How many NGOs are there that could step in?

Because bear in mind, it happened quickly,

and there are literally tens of thousands of NGOs.

Not everyone functions as fast as you do.

If funding is cut off for antiretrovirals overnight,

and it just stops, then people will die when they don't have access to them.

No, only if they cannot get funding for that.

But the Gates Foundation has 50 billion.

What about that?

What about any one of a number of organizations? What about McKenzie Bezos?

McKenzie, whatever her last name is, used to be Bezos,

gave 50 billion.

What about that? Let's be practical.

In many of these countries, USAID was the biggest funder,

but I don't want to have an argument...

USAID was a political organization.

It may also have been that, but it was the biggest funder of healthcare systems.

So I am very sure...

The biggest funder of regime change.

And there may well

be benefits from having changed the system.

Also, USAID funding was not stopped.

It was moved to the State Department. It was stopped.

There were huge numbers of things shut down in Africa that were health related.

No, there were claims of this. These claims are false.

They're nonsense. Absolute nonsense.

But when funding is stopped for fraudulent organizations or for something,

do you think they're going to say,

well, please keep funding the fraud?

Or do you think they're going to come up with a sad story that sounds

sympathetic in order to get the funding restored?

Obviously, it will be the latter.

And that's exactly what they did.

But zero died because of Doge.

0 0.

I actually have a lot of sympathy for the change of the aid regime that the U S.

under the Trump administration has precipitated.

However, I think the pace and the suddenness with which it happened will

almost certainly have caused unnecessary suffering and deaths.

And I think both of those can be true.

No, I think that's totally false.

And obviously false because there

are the amount of funding we're talking about

is far less than what can be done,

than what can be supported via private foundations like the Gates Foundation or

McKenzie Bezos Foundation.

She's given away tens of billions of dollars.

The Gates Foundation has tens of billions of dollars.

They are capable of acting very quickly.

And if they didn't, I would say they're equally responsible.

I see. OK. All right.

Zero people died because of Doge. Zero.