As cuts in international aid continue worldwide, a new study projects that 22.6 million people could die by 2030, including 5.4 million children under the age of five.

The research, conducted by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, examines 93 low- and middle-income countries home to 6.3 billion people, or roughly 75 percent of the world’s population. Researchers warn that the decline in official development assistance (ODA) threatens to reverse decades of progress in global health.

Using two decades of data from 2002 to 2021, the team modelled outcomes under different funding scenarios. “We don’t want to accept this as the new normal, we don’t want to accept this situation, this constant reduction,” said Davide Rasella, study coordinator at ISGlobal, in an interview with Euronews Health.

In 2023, total ODA reached a record $250.3 billion (€212.3 billion), with France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States providing around 70 percent of the total. All of these major donors, except Japan, reduced their contributions in 2024 for the first time in three decades, marking the first overall fall in international aid in six years.

The United States dismantled its foreign aid agency, USAID, in 2025, and other countries followed with further cuts. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria saw contributions drop sharply from $15.7 billion in 2022 to $11.34 billion in 2025. Some donors, including the European Union, have not yet confirmed their pledges.

“People are going to die. Unless we restore the level of funding, millions of people are going to die. There’s no doubt of it,” Rasella said. He added that the next challenge is how to allocate the remaining funds most effectively.

The study highlights the critical role ODA has played in global health. Between 2002 and 2021, aid programs helped reduce child mortality by 39 percent, prevent 70 percent of HIV/AIDS deaths, and cut deaths from malaria and nutritional deficiencies by 56 percent.

Researchers modelled two scenarios for 2030. A mild defunding scenario, reflecting a 10.6 percent reduction in aid, could result in 9.4 million preventable deaths, including 2.5 million children under five. A more severe defunding scenario could see more than 22.6 million additional deaths, including 5.4 million children. “At least three out of every four people on the planet live in countries where two decades of development gains could be reversed,” the authors said.

Cuts in aid affect more than health outcomes. They also reduce the number of doctors on the ground and limit the exchange of critical information, including epidemic preparedness and responses to climate-related shocks.

Eric Pelofsky, vice president for global economic recovery at the Rockefeller Foundation, said investing in development not only saves lives but promotes global stability and prosperity. He noted that aid is often framed domestically as a trade-off, but protecting global health and stability ultimately benefits donor countries.

As winter sets in, the number of misplaced items seems to grow. Scarves dangling from coat pockets, gloves left behind at coffee shops, and the ever-elusive keys or phones can make anyone feel forgetful. Experts, however, say that losing things is less about having a bad memory and more about how the brain handles attention and memory.

“Rather than having a bad memory, it might be a breakdown at the interface of memory and attention,” said Daniel L. Schacter, a psychology professor at Harvard University and author of The Seven Sins of Memory. He explained that memory operates in three phases: encoding, storage, and retrieval. Misplacing keys or other items often happens because the brain was focused elsewhere when the memory should have been formed. “You have to do a little bit of cognitive work. At the time of encoding, you have to focus your attention,” he said.

Even seasoned memory researchers are not immune. Mark McDaniel, a professor emeritus at Washington University in St. Louis who has studied memory for nearly 50 years, recently left a hat under a restaurant chair. “I should know how to remember to remember, but at the moment, you don’t think you’re going to forget,” he said.

Experts say strategies can help reduce forgetfulness, especially for items used daily. Schacter recommends creating a consistent place for important objects such as phones, wallets, or keys. For example, he keeps his reading glasses in one spot in the kitchen and always places his phone in the same pocket of his golf bag. “Maybe not always, but a very high percentage of the time,” he said.

For items used less frequently, elaboration can strengthen memory. McDaniel explained that the brain encodes information better when multiple details are attached to an object. Saying out loud where you place an item helps create stronger connections in the brain. “Saying it out loud creates a better encoding because it makes you pay attention, and the verbalisation creates a richer memory,” he said.

Memory champions take this method further with techniques like the “memory palace,” visualizing objects in a structured, familiar environment to aid recall. For everyday items, a simple version works well. For instance, imagining a hat under a chair and connecting it to a reason or consequence—such as avoiding dirt on a table—can help you remember where it was left, even if you forget to pick it up immediately.

Schacter cautioned that a noticeable increase in forgetfulness, especially if it interferes with daily life, may warrant a medical consultation. For most people, though, losing objects is a common and normal result of a distracted mind. By focusing attention and using consistent routines, misplaced items can become far less frequent.

The French Senate on Wednesday rejected a law aimed at regulating assisted dying, sending the bill back to the National Assembly, where it could now be approved without further Senate consent. The proposed legislation would have allowed adults with incurable illnesses to take lethal medication, with assistance from a doctor or nurse only if their physical condition prevented them from doing so themselves.

To qualify, patients must be over 18 and either French citizens or residents of the country. A team of medical professionals would need to confirm that the individual has a grave, incurable illness at an advanced or terminal stage, is experiencing intolerable and untreatable pain, and is seeking lethal medication voluntarily. Patients with severe psychiatric conditions or neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, would not be eligible.

The law would have included a conscience clause for healthcare professionals who object to participating, requiring them to provide patients with names of other practitioners willing to assist.

First proposed in 2024, the bill was approved by the National Assembly in May 2025 before moving to the Senate. However, it was blocked in the upper chamber with 181 votes against and 122 in favour. Critics ranged from right-wing politicians who oppose assisted dying on principle to earlier supporters who considered the final text diluted and insufficient.

On January 21, the Senate rejected Article 4 of the bill, which defined the conditions for medical assistance in dying. The Socialist group in the chamber said the rejection rendered the entire bill “meaningless.” Bruno Retailleau, president of the liberal-conservative Republicans party, argued that instead of new legislation, France should focus on expanding palliative care. “End-of-life care is accompaniment, not abandonment,” Retailleau said on X.

In the same session, the Senate approved a separate law to strengthen access to palliative care across the country. The legislation passed almost unanimously, with 307 votes in favour and 17 against, reflecting broad support for improving end-of-life services.

Yaël Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly, expressed regret at the Senate’s rejection but said the process will continue. “As assisted dying responds to a deep-seated desire among the French people, I regret the Senate’s rejection of this bill today,” she said, noting that a second reading in the Assembly is scheduled for the week of February 16. Braun-Pivet predicted the legislation could be definitively adopted by summer 2026, with the Assembly retaining the final say even if the Senate attempts further amendments.

President Emmanuel Macron pledged in 2022 to introduce an assisted dying law following his reelection. France would join Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Spain, where euthanasia is permitted under medical supervision. Austria, Germany, and Italy allow physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients, while several other European countries, including Ireland, Cyprus, Malta, Portugal, and Slovenia, are exploring similar legislation.