The End of an Era as USAID Shuts Down
The United States has officially shut down USAID, once the world’s largest foreign aid agency, following years of budget cuts under President Donald Trump. Over 80% of USAID programs were cancelled by March, and the rest were absorbed into the State Department this week. Trump justified the move as eliminating “inefficiency” and aligning aid with his “America First” policy. Still, critics—including former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush—warn it could lead to over 14 million preventable deaths by 2030, many of them children. Humanitarian programs like Ebola containment and prosthetics for injured Ukrainian soldiers were among the casualties. Founded in 1961 and employing approximately 10,000 people globally, USAID’s closure has drawn global condemnation, with countries such as the UK and France reducing their aid in response. The United Nations (UN) has called it the worst funding crisis the humanitarian sector has ever faced.