USAID funding cuts: Good for America. Good for the world.
In early 2025, the Trump administration implemented a near-total freeze on U.S. foreign aid, followed by the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). By July 1, 2025, 83% of USAID programs were canceled, and 94% of its staff were laid off, with remaining programs absorbed into the U.S. State Department Wikipedia+1. The cuts affected over 130 countries, including Ukraine, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, and Myanmar oxfamamerica.org+1. USAID had previously disbursed roughly $40 billion annually, funding lifesaving programs in health, nutrition, education, and disaster relief Forbes.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the House Foreign Affairs Committee in May that “no one has died because of USAID cuts … No children are dying on my watch.”
“Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense,” said Rubio in a statement for the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, “USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War. Development objectives have rarely been met, instability has often worsened, and anti-American sentiment has only grown.”
Many people applauded the cuts to U.S. foreign aid and the dismantling of USAID saying that its programs were not in the interest of the U.S. or developing countries.
Arikana Chihombori-Quao, former African Union ambassador to the U.S., told Al Jazeera in an interview that USAID had significant negative effects on political stability and economic growth within Africa.
“When you look at it on paper,” Chihombori-Quao said, “it all looks really good, but they’re actually wolves in sheep’s clothing. They’re using that open access … to constantly destabilize governments.”
“I can tell you right now that the majority of African leaders and not just African leaders, but leaders in the developing world, are celebrating the exit of USAID.”
“The American taxpayer needs to know that [of the] billions of dollars that have been given to USAID, a fraction is making it to the people,” she continued.
Chihombori-Quao said that the solution for African prosperity was for Africa to take control of its natural resources and prevent developed countries from exploiting them. She also said that the average African government can afford to provide health care and education for their populations and should not rely on foreign handouts.
What’s happened in the year since USAID was dismantled? – Deseret News