South Sudan is currently the deadliest place on Earth for young children—about 1 in 10 won’t live to see their fifth birthday, according to United Nations estimates. But just a century ago, that grim reality existed in the United States too. In 1900, 1 in 4 American children died before age 5. Even by 1925, the child mortality rate in the U.S. was still close to what South Sudan faces today.
So, what changed? The answer, largely, is vaccines. In the past 50 years, childhood vaccines have accounted for around 40% of the global drop in infant deaths, saving an estimated 150 million lives. Diseases like smallpox, measles, whooping cough, and tetanus once killed millions of children every year. Now, thanks to global vaccination campaigns, many of those diseases are rare—or eradicated.
But that progress is now at risk.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s secretary of health and human services and a longtime vaccine skeptic, has announced that the U.S. will withdraw from Gavi, the global vaccine alliance supported by governments and private donors including the Gates Foundation. Gavi’s mission is simple: ensure that every child on Earth, no matter where they’re born, has access to life-saving vaccines.
Kennedy claims Gavi doesn’t do enough to address vaccine safety—though he doesn’t appear to consider the alternative, which is children dying preventable deaths from measles, tuberculosis, and other diseases.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration already slashed U.S. funding for Gavi as part of broader cuts to international health programs. But Kennedy’s decision would end U.S. support entirely.
The U.S. has historically been one of Gavi’s top donors, contributing about 13% of its budget. In 2022, the U.S. pledged $2.53 billion through 2030, funding that Gavi estimated would help save 1.2 million lives. Losing that support will leave a massive hole—and if other donors can’t fill it, the result could be devastating.
Global vaccination is not just a moral imperative—it also protects Americans. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world. Tuberculosis is becoming more drug-resistant. When diseases spread unchecked in one country, they don’t stay there.
What makes Kennedy’s move even more alarming is that his appointment wasn’t inevitable. His extreme views on vaccines and disease were widely known before his confirmation. Yet every Republican senator—except Mitch McConnell—voted to confirm him.
Kennedy’s hostility to vaccines isn’t limited to Gavi. He has reportedly questioned whether HIV causes AIDS. He has pushed to replace proven food safety standards with untested “natural” alternatives. And he has used his position to echo the talking points of the American anti-vaccine movement.
If President Trump wanted to, he could override Kennedy and restore U.S. support for Gavi. So far, he hasn’t. If this policy stands, it may become one of the deadliest decisions made by the administration.
This decision is reckless, cruel, and scientifically indefensible. It’s not just a step backward—it’s a dismantling of one of the most successful public health efforts in human history. The consequences won’t be measured in political points or press releases—they’ll be measured in children’s lives.
We’ve come a long way from a time when losing a child to disease was considered normal. But that progress wasn’t automatic—it took effort, investment, and global cooperation. Turning our backs on that now is more than a policy mistake. It’s a betrayal of everything we’ve learned about how to protect human life.
