The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been a cornerstone of American foreign aid, providing critical support to countries in need. However, the Trump administration’s decision to freeze nearly all foreign aid spending has raised concerns about the short-term and long-term consequences of this move.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been a cornerstone of American foreign aid, providing critical support to countries in need. However, the Trump administration‘s decision to freeze nearly all foreign aid spending has raised concerns about the short-term and long-term consequences of this move.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is a US government agency that provides economic and humanitarian assistance to countries around the world.
Established in 1961, USAID's primary goal is to promote global development and reduce poverty.
With programs in over 100 countries, USAID focuses on areas such as health, education, food security, and disaster relief.
The agency works closely with local governments, NGOs, and private sector partners to achieve its objectives.
Short-Term Consequences: The Immediate Impact on Haiti
Few countries are more reliant on USAID than Haiti, which receives approximately $400 million annually from the agency. This funding is distributed across various sectors, including health, agriculture, and governance. However, a significant portion of this money is funneled to multilateral organizations like the ‘United Nations‘.
According to Jake Johnston, a Haitian aid expert, the reliance on USAID has had far-reaching consequences for Haiti’s development. ‘The way that money is divided up is generally in sectors,’ he explains. ‘A significant portion goes to health, some to agriculture, quite a bit to governance, and then quite a bit also is distributed to multilateral organizations like the U.N.’.
The Creole Pig Eradication Program: A Case Study in USAID’s Failures
One notable example of USAID’s failures is the ‘Creole pig eradication program’ in the 1980s. Ostensibly aimed at improving health, the program replaced local indigenous pigs with imported ones from America. However, these new pigs were not adapted to Haiti’s land and ultimately failed, leaving rural families without a vital source of income.
The Creole pig eradication program is a conservation initiative aimed at removing invasive feral pigs from the Galapagos Islands.
The program, launched in 2017, seeks to protect the unique endemic species found on the islands.
Feral pigs can cause significant damage to the ecosystem, leading to loss of biodiversity and habitat destruction.
Since its inception, the program has made considerable progress, with over 2,000 feral pigs removed from the islands.
The effort involves a combination of trapping, monitoring, and community engagement.
This was a USAID-financed program,’ Johnston notes. ‘And it was a big subsidy to U.S. agricultural producers. We take surplus agricultural goods from the U.S., and we give them to poor countries like Haiti. And this solves a big need. Now, the problem is, over the long run, what that has done to Haitian agriculture is totally undermine it.’.
The Long-Term Consequences: The Impact on Health and Agriculture
Johnston warns that the current aid pause will have a deadly impact on Haiti’s health sector, which relies heavily on foreign financing. ‘This is likely to have the greatest impact in the health sector,’ he explains. ‘The health sector is extremely reliant on foreign financing. And so this is a real challenge, right? How do you unwind that dependence without having such an impact on the ground?’
Furthermore, Johnston argues that USAID’s focus on agricultural development has led to the displacement of Haitian farmers and the undermining of local agriculture.
Reforming USAID: A Path Forward
Johnston believes that some parts of USAID should be shut down or reformed. ‘I think there are parts of USAID that should justifiably be shut down, scrapped, greatly reformed,’ he says. ‘And there are also really critical things that USAID does today that is supporting lives.’.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) underwent significant reforms in recent years to improve its effectiveness and efficiency.
The reforms aimed to strengthen the agency's ability to address global development challenges, such as poverty reduction, infectious disease control, and humanitarian crises.
Key reforms included streamlining operations, increasing transparency and accountability, and enhancing collaboration with partner countries and other stakeholders.
According to a 2020 report, USAID's reform efforts have led to improved program outcomes, increased efficiency, and enhanced partnerships.
However, Johnston criticizes the Trump administration‘s characterization of USAID as funding ‘pet projects’ for bureaucrats. ‘I think it goes in a very different direction than how it’s been portrayed,’ he notes. ‘Rather than funding pet projects around DEI or climate, they’re funding pet projects of largely the farm belt and agricultural producers.’.
Ultimately, Johnston argues that meaningful reform to USAID is needed to deliver effective assistance. ‘The rhetoric might have some elements of truth to it,’ he says. ‘But are the changes that are being made actually going to change that dynamic? And I think it’s really unlikely given what we’ve seen so far.
