The Trump Administration’s Dismantling of USAID

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which was previously the largest bilateral donor across the world, was created in 1961 to use the U.S.’s soft power to influence and assist other countries. It has since grown into a department with more than 13,000 employees, the majority of which have worked overseas to provide emergency and humanitarian response, food assistance, economic growth activities, and more. Elissa Miolene, reporter at Devex, sits down to talk with us about the impact of the past few week’s chaotic attacks to USAID.

Within hours of President Trump returning to office, there was a foreign aid freeze, followed by a stop-work order. Disorder took over, with a Congressional communication that USAID would be downsized, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing he would take over USAID, and waves of furloughs and layoffs at the agency and with partners that USAID works with. The deterioration of USAID has, of course, resulted in people in countries around the world being unable to access dependable care and resources. 

Links from this episode

Elissa Miolene on Devex
The dismantling continues: Hundreds of USAID awards terminated
USAID’s inspector general fired with ‘no reason given’ 
USAID’s largest partners report furloughs for thousands of staff
Family Planning Impact of the Trump Foreign Assistance Freeze

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