Bill Gates wants USAID back, says can save millions of lives

Bill Gates has emphasised the potential to reverse cuts to USAID funding, arguing that restoring these funds is crucial for saving millions of lives. In a recent discussion, Gates addressed the impact of funding reductions, particularly those by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE), on the agency's ability to carry out its vital work.
While responding to a question about the impact of cuts to USAID to Walter Isaacson – who has written the biographies of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, Gates expressed hope that a significant portion of the funding could be restored.
He highlighted that the vast majority of USAID's budget supports dedicated employees working in challenging overseas environments.
“Well, I'm hopeful that some significant [sum] of that can be reversed and preserved of all the elimination he's [Musk] done),” Gates said.

He also referred to a statement in which it was claimed that $50 million worth of condoms were sent to Gaza, and Musk acknowledged the possibility of inaccuracies in his statements.
"Some of the things that I say will be incorrect and should be corrected. Nobody's going to bat 1,000. We will make mistakes, but we'll act quickly to correct any mistakes," Musk replied after he was made aware during the briefing at the Oval Office, that the funding was intended for Gaza Province in Mozambique, not the Palestinian territory and was for protecting people from spread of STDs.
“99% of it are these employees of USAID who work overseas in very tough circumstances and they [funds] allow the US in addition to our military power to get out there and help out with famine and HIV medicines, including this program called President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR),” Gates said.
“And so I know a lot of those workers that work, a very very high percentage of it is stuff every taxpayer would be proud of. So there’s a little bit of a discussion that Elon I think said, ‘okay we made a mistake we went overboard’ but now you know what is the equilibrium; how many of those people can be capped so we can continue to save tens of millions of lives,” he said.

Gates explained that these funds enable the US to address critical issues like famine and provide essential HIV medication, including through programs like PEPFAR. When asked about the potential consequences of failing to restore the funding, Gates warned of devastating repercussions.
When asked how many lives could be lost if they [DOGE] don't rectify this, Gates said, “Oh, it's in the millions. PEPFAR has kept over 20 million people alive with HIV drugs started by President Bush and continued on a bipartisan basis literally up till the day that Elon decided it wasn't a good organisation.”
Gates suggested that the decision to cut funding may have been based on incomplete or inaccurate information. He implied that those conducting the analyses may not have fully understood the on-the-ground realities of USAID's work.