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South Sudan's cholera epidemic killed nearly 1,600 after warned-about aid cuts

Reporting and findings

  1. reported

    ProPublica found that Trump officials were warned foreign-aid cuts would worsen South Sudan's cholera outbreak; response programs seeking less than $20 million closed, and the official death toll later approached 1,600. The reporting supports contribution and foreseeability, not sole causation.

  2. documented

    Elon Musk was the Trump-appointed senior adviser who led DOGE work.

  3. documented

    Marco Rubio was the Trump-appointed secretary of state and acting USAID administrator.

Summary and current status

The response needed less than $20 million for three months, but programs closed after leaders were warned the outbreak would worsen.

South Sudan recorded its worst cholera epidemic, with nearly 1,600 official deaths

People and organizations

Relationships in this file

  1. Marco Rubiocut response funding after explicit outbreak warningsU.S. Agency for International Development
  2. Donald J. TrumpTrump-appointed senior adviser who led DOGE workElon Musk
  3. Donald J. TrumpTrump-appointed secretary of state and acting USAID administratorMarco Rubio

Figures

  1. Official South Sudan cholera deathsnearly 1,600 deaths
    Calculation details
    Basis
    Observed
    Population
    South Sudan cholera epidemic
    Period
    2025-01-01 to 2025-12-15
    Method
    Official epidemic count reported by ProPublica.
    Uncertainty
    Rounded official count likely understates unrecorded deaths; not all deaths are attributed solely to U.S. cuts.