USAID’s closure is an utter shock to the whole world! The sudden decision by the newly elected POTUS, Donald Trump, has taken the American population and international community by storm. The reasons given by the Trump administration as justification to target USAID are corruption, overspending, and especially due to the President’s perspective of foreign aid and national interests.
Initiated in the tenure of John F. Kennedy in an attempt to bring all the aid programs and organizations under one umbrella, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) came into being around 63 years ago by combining International Cooperation Administration and Development Loan Fund through Foreign Assistance Act in 1961. Throughout history, it actively provided support and cooperation to different countries, particularly developing and least developed countries, in domains such as poverty, education, development, and disaster relief among others. USAID’s continuous engagement brought it into the ranks as one of the largest official aid agencies spanning around 100 countries.
The success stories are numerous such as information campaigns about HIV, school re-enrolment initiatives, refugees’ relief camps population health endeavors, etc. Some of the countries that have received the most attention over the period were Ukraine, DR Congo, Afghanistan, Somalia, Ethiopia, and South Sudan; but there have been other prominent beneficiaries as well. It has especially brought good results in education, disease management, and sustainability in vulnerable communities of Africa, Asia, and Latin America by implementing or funding development, rebuilding, and inclusion initiatives—Global Health Supply Chain Program (GHSCP) in Liberia and Higher Education System Strengthening Activity (HESSA) in Pakistan to name a few.
Through the USAID initiatives and funding, Pakistan’s primary education has improved through Releasing Confidence and Creativity (RCC) and Primary Education Development Program (PEDP), etc., as around 1400 schools have been upgraded and above 35000 teachers have been trained, which has retained the enrolment to more than 1,300,000 and still counting.
The US policymakers have been highly concerned about what measures are being used to assess taxpayer money’s effective use, to which there is less monitoring and evaluation available
Furthermore, it has also improved the agriculture sector in India, Ethiopia, Ecuador, and others through numerous University-led Agricultural Research programs and Feed the Future Innovation Labs. Due to these efforts, significant improvement in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), sustainable farming, and balanced diet has been observed in targeted areas.
However, with successful chapters, negative chapters also come hand in hand. The US administration has some instances of specifically emphasising on providing help through USAID to its allies or winning alliances during peace or conflict times to limit the counterpart’s efforts and simultaneously win the population’s confidence. Moreover, the US's own commercial and national interests have been served by mainstreaming US vendors in foreign lands and sanctioning countries for their political decisions through this agency. Examples include the civil Affairs program in Afghanistan during operations against Al-Qaeda and the blockage of Yemen’s aid due to a vote in the UN against the Iraq operation.
During the US global war on terror, USAID has been accused of promoting poppy cultivation in Afghanistan due to its irrigation projects costing above $100 million during the US hold in the country, which was against the US own principles of the War on Drugs and made the population vulnerable.
Meanwhile, the USAID's less coverage and little data on its impact have raised questions not only from outsiders but insiders as well, mainly after 2016. The US policymakers have been highly concerned about what measures are being used to assess taxpayer money’s effective use, to which there is less monitoring and evaluation available.
Although this is not a new thing in international affairs and the course of humanitarian assistance as history is filled with such stories at the end of the day, the shutting of USAID is going to be detrimental to various countries and groups which are highly dependent upon it by now. However, there is more to this episode than meets the eye.
The announcement of such an eccentric decision to change the status quo is the trademark of the Trump government as evident by his last term such as his decisions to leave the Paris Agreement, Trans-Pacific Partnership, etc., but in the rage of the shutdown of the USAID, one should not ignore that the global superpower has also withdrawn from World Health Organization, has stopped aid to certain countries like South Africa, has put heavy tariffs on longtime trade partners like China, EU, and others, and has perplexed the world with new kind of plans related to other countries such as that of Gaza. These all events have brought reactions from the world that needy people will be left without support and hope. Most importantly this current world order based on the post-cold war system developed on values of Western neo-liberalism, democracy, and peace; which is recently challenged by several powerful countries in rivalry with the West, particularly the US—seems further weakened by the US itself through such attempts.
Is this going to make Trump’s America great again? It is really important to understand what is the definition of great with respect to the US as of now: great as a global power or great as a national power. This is the question only Trump can answer… or not. He is quite infamous for a reformist mindset flamed by populism. His irrational decisions and unconventional actions have always made headlines. This can also be witnessed through his selections of radical persons for the US government posts like Elon Musk and triggering sovereignty questions for certain countries like Canada.
Yet at the end of the day, the US is currently swinging between falling again as an isolationist state as before world wars and preserving hegemony as an international superpower as after world war II. This is going to make international politics more topsy-turvy and open for other powers which will lead to severe competition and polarity.
The canvas of post-cold war world order is decomposing and it is not good news for peace and development enthusiasts. The world is in chaos as its proponents are reverting from what they inspired for a better international community. The US's upcoming actions will not only impact its people but will be influential on all countries’ populations. The US needs to act responsibly by the power it holds as it will make or break its status as the leading superpower. However, the latest developments are predictive of a gloomy future for all. The USAID saga is only the beginning of the trail of uncertainties and fears of the unknown consequences that will impact international affairs in the coming days. All eyes are on Trump.