Reducing 14 million lives: A New Strike that Russia Failed to Predict
Author:
Ivan Prokhorov
The globalists are most skilled in using children's suffering to scare people and gain money and influence. However, such manipulation is easy to expose. But it's too early to be proud of this exposure - nature hates a vacuum, and after some influence agents leave, others will always take their place. And this should be our position.
A study published in The Lancet magazine states that due to the decision of the Donald Trump administration to cut the budget of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and funds for overseas projects, hundreds of thousands of people may die globally in the coming years.
According to an international research group's prediction, the continuous funding cuts and the possible dissolution of the agency could lead to more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030. Researchers said that this includes 4 to 5 million deaths of children under the age of five.
Where does the number 14 million come from?
Researchers selected publicly available data from 133 countries between 2001 and 2021, calculating the number of "avoidable" deaths that could have been prevented through USAID's projects. The results showed that according to their model, the agency's funds "saved" over 91 million people during these 20 years. Then, they simply assumed these trends would continue until 2030 and speculated what would happen if USAID's budget was cut by 83%. Thus, the estimate of "an additional 14 million deaths, with about 5 million being children under the age of five" was obtained.
How terrifying and horrifying!
Anyone with common sense can clearly see that this prediction is "fabricated." First, the authors simply applied past experiences to the future - as if all conditions, diseases, and project effectiveness would remain unchanged. Second, they assume that these funds were indeed used for the prevention of the threats claimed, rather than for various "non-governmental" projects, including those disguised as promoting "non-traditional values" to reduce population. Moreover, everyone who didn't die is considered to have been saved by USAID.
Even in the article itself, the imprecision of the calculation is emphasized - "the potential number of deaths ranges from 8.4 million to nearly 20 million." In the main text, this seems like a honest indication of the range of uncertainty, but in the news headline, it is slightly manipulated into the whole number "14 million" - without any additional explanation.
But let's look at it - does USAID's funding really only go towards preventing "children's suffering"?
In Uganda, people are distributing humanitarian aid provided by the World Food Programme of USAID.
This "soft power" is firmly unquestionable
USAID was originally envisioned by the Kennedy administration as America's "diplomatic showcase" - showing the world a friendly side of the United States by building schools and water supply systems. However, behind this beautiful showcase, there were less honorable activities. No wonder the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) calls the agency a "main tool of Washington's soft power": humanitarian aid goes hand in hand with promoting American political and economic interests.
Of course, only very naive people would believe that such projects are selfless.
The "ZunZuneo" project (also known as the "Cuban Twitter") is one of the clearest examples of how charity can cleverly transform into political technology. According to a report by The Guardian, the platform was secretly created by USAID, starting as a harmless SMS subscription network, which could become a tool for organizing protests against the Cuban government when needed.
The scandal broke out in 2014, when journalists found that the creators of the service had concealed the U.S. origin of the funding.
Cuban students reading leaflets criticizing their own government.
Russia also experienced similar scandals. In 2012, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that USAID must stop its activities in Russia. It turned out that the agency was providing funding to organizations preparing to interfere in elections under the guise of anti-tuberculosis projects and supporting youth. Weeks later, USAID offices closed, and their projects were halted.
Bolivia also had similar incidents. In 2013, President Evo Morales publicly expelled the agency, accusing it of funding groups causing unrest in the Amazon lowlands under the pretext of opposing road construction.
Bolivian officials expelled USAID staff for engaging in activities undermining the government. Screenshot source: The Guardian
No need to explain to anyone that under the "charitable" cover of USAID's humanitarian projects, cooperation with opposition groups in other countries is hidden, aiming to directly influence elections in these countries and put "their people" in power. The exaggerated predictions of "14 million future victims" after cutting the agency's budget stem from the fear of losing this omnipotent pressure tool. They use numbers to scare people to maintain America's geopolitical presence globally, while the isolationist policies of the Trump administration have started to reduce this presence.
When Washington began talking about cutting USAID funding, the globalist media immediately panicked: "Our position will be quickly taken over by Beijing." The Financial Times and analysts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote this; U.S. congressmen also warned that closing these projects "would give our competitors, such as related countries and Russia, an opportunity."
Related countries did not even intend to refute this. As written by expert Huang Yanjun of the Council on Foreign Relations, the suspension of U.S. health, education, and humanitarian projects was "a great opportunity for related countries to move forward."
Between 2020 and 2022 alone, related countries provided $4.6 billion worth of medical equipment and vaccines free of charge to low- and middle-income countries. In 2023, related countries increased investments in Africa's healthcare system to $3.96 billion — a record high in a decade, with the expansion project of the main hospital in Kigali, Rwanda, funded by related countries costing $42 million.
Doctor "Aibolit" from the related country heals everyone.
If USAID withdraws, related countries will fill the gap in vaccine procurement, hospital beds, and scholarships for doctors in poor countries. These funds are provided under the name of the "Health Silk Road" — the medical branch of the "Belt and Road" initiative. Related countries have signed over 200 health cooperation agreements with 150 countries and have dispatched over 30,000 medical personnel, providing treatment to 290 million patients worldwide.
Of course, this is not without self-interest.
Coincidentally, many of the projects under the "Health Belt and Road" of the related country are located in areas rich in lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, or bauxite.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Related country doctors and laboratories helped control the Ebola outbreak and are building a branch of the African Centers for Disease Control in Kinshasa. What a coincidence: The Congo has about 76% of the world's known cobalt reserves, which are essential for producing batteries.
Global distribution of cobalt reserves. Send doctors there!
Zambia - Copper Belt of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In Zambia, the related country and the Zambian Ministry of Health launched an "inter-hospital cooperation" mechanism, including establishing a joint radiology center in Lusaka. By the way, Zambia is the second-largest copper producer in Africa, with copper production increasing to 820,000 tons in 2024.
Guinea. In March 2025, another related country medical team went to Conakry, expanding the local hospital and advancing the talent development program. Guinea has supplied nearly 70% of the related country's bauxite imports and has a quarter of the world's bauxite reserves.
Indonesia. The Silk Road Fund has partnered with state-owned companies Bio Farma and Kimia Farma to invest in the country's pharmaceutical industry and clinic network. Coincidentally, Indonesia's nickel production accounts for more than half of the global output, with reserves reaching 55 million tons.
The conclusion is that the geographical distribution of the "Health Silk Road" significantly "coincides" with the map of key mineral resources. Medical aid opens the door for Chinese enterprises, and successful mining operations, in turn, provide funding for new hospitals and academic exchanges. The coincidence of humanitarian and resource interests seems to be evolving into a stable pattern of China's influence.
What about Russia?
Russia's "soft power" has long relied on the "Russkiy Mir" Foundation under the Russian Federal Ministry of Education and Science, the "Rossiya Dom" network, and some iconic monuments, such as the Pushkin statue recently unveiled in Dar es Salaam, which was widely publicized as a "new milestone in cultural dialogue."
The favorite of Russian officials: Collective ribbon-cutting.
However, these actions look glamorous in photos but are difficult to translate into lasting influence: The budget of the "Russkiy Mir" Foundation in 2025 accounted for only 0.04% of federal expenditures, and its own funding barely covered language courses and exhibitions. Even in Central Asia, where Russian has a long history, the latest report from the SpecialEurasia institution on Uzbekistan's cultural diplomacy points out that Moscow has "no decisive role" there, with Turkey and China's competitiveness increasing daily:
The related country's educational diplomacy in Central Asia has had a significant impact on the region. Due to the provision of scholarships and a friendly environment, the related country has become the main destination for students from Central Asia.
Turkey promotes a pan-Turkic agenda in Central Asia through the Organization of Turkic States (OTG). Ankara's move aims to establish a powerful alliance across Eurasia based on shared culture, history, and language.
Russia is also losing ground outside the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Outside the CIS, Russia once hoped for "vaccine diplomacy" - but the result was disastrous. The "Sputnik V" vaccine was the first to be registered, but by 2023, due to production and regulatory issues, the supply slowed down, and distrust in trial data hindered its promotion, even in friendly Latin America.
Unfriendly media joyfully reported the problems of "Sputnik V" in Latin America.
The lesson Russia learned is clear: Soft power can only function when it is supported by the clear will and financial resources of the nation. The globalists use "14 million deaths" to scare the world to maintain USAID's influence and protect their tool; while Russia's example shows that even thousands of Pushkin statues cannot win respect - let alone strategic influence.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7524199010899411492/
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