From eliminating DEI programs to changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico, the Trump Administration seems committed to making drastic changes to our country. While there are certainly areas of the government that need reform, many of the administration’s changes are ill-advised, to say the least. But of all the actions taken so far, cuts to U.S. foreign aid will have the most dire consequences for both the U.S. and other countries around the world.
The president’s moves regarding foreign aid weren’t entirely unexpected. During his first term, Trump cut funding for women’s health organizations in other countries due to concerns about abortion. The damage was unacceptable: an estimated 108,000 mothers and children lost their lives. This term, instead of just targeting women’s health, the Trump Administration has disrupted the majority of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s operations, affecting everything from programs fighting child malnutrition to conservation efforts. Cutting aid will not only harm the millions of people who were dependent on the care we funded and provided, but it will have detrimental effects on the U.S.
The decision to freeze the majority of U.S.AID.’s programs was made under the false assertion that foreign aid doesn’t benefit the U.S. and is wasteful. This is entirely false. First of all, helping people in other nations improves their perception of us, which is key to forming relationships with foreign governments. This kind of soft power is also advantageous to American companies and our economy. The largest portion of U.S.AID.’s funding went toward economic development. In addition, many of our other foreign aid programs, such as those fighting disease, strengthen countries’ economies indirectly. Once a country is stable enough that it no longer relies on us for assistance, the relationship we built with them through aid could lead to them becoming a U.S. trading partner, which would benefit both us and them.
Foreign aid is also a matter of national security. Areas that are unstable and struggling are breeding grounds for radicalism. We’ve seen this time and time again with groups like Al Qaeda and Hamas, and we’ve also seen the violence and devastation that can stem from it. Providing aid to people in need around the world is imperative if we wish to keep ourselves and our allies safe.
Despite the many lives foreign aid has saved and the benefits it gives us, some still argue that it is a waste of money. It is understandable why they would believe this, considering that polls show Americans think that the government spends about 25 percent of the federal budget on foreign aid. In reality, only about one percent of the budget goes toward aid.
Now, none of this is to say that all foreign aid funding has been used in productive and beneficial ways. USAID isn’t perfect. But it does serve America’s best interests and has had measurable, positive impacts. Deaths from malaria were halved between 2000 and 2017, the amount of people in extreme poverty has decreased, and the projected global life expectancy this year is eight and a half years longer than it was in 1990. Gutting foreign aid will make life worse for many people, including Americans.
