US President Kennedy created the US Agency for International Development, USAID, in 1961 to be an umbrella organization for all US nonmilitary foreign aid. At the time, aid to contain communism was the Cold War guiding principle, but not the only one.
Kennedy also invoked a moral responsibilty, pointing to America’s economic obligations as the wealthiest people in a world of largely poor people. Six decades later USAID provides tens of billions of dollars of humanitarian aid to countries around the world.
But that is about to change. In a move to slash wasteful spending, spearheaded by Elon Musk in the Department of Government Efficiency, the Trump White House this week began slashing most of USAID’s workforce. It’s feared that the decision to defund USAID by Donald Trump and Elon Musk, two of the world’s richest people could hurt millions of the world’s poorest people.
Chapters:
0:00 The history of USAID
4:27 Rorry Daniels, Asia Society Policy Institute
10:33 Hardin Lang, Refugees International
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