One Year Later: The Impacts of the Dissolution of USAID
USAID wheat sack outside of a shelter in Mekele, Ethiopia in 2025.
Photo by Ximena Berrazas/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images.
Around one year ago, the Trump Administration initiated the largest overhaul of US foreign assistance in this country's history. Public servants were unexpectedly fired, the government’s website for USAID was taken down, and diplomatic relationships were destroyed. It is important to evaluate the global effects of this catastrophic dismantling in the past year.
In 1961, President Kennedy responded to global need by establishing USAID, the federal government's institution for global humanitarian affairs. His efforts were not guided by political gain or economic interests, but rather “...because it is right.” Since Kennedy, numerous presidents have edited and added to the program Kennedy engendered. USAID contributed to global efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and more. Although the US is the largest donor of international aid funds, the donated funds only make up 0.24% of GNI, a smaller proportion than any other country, and a number far below the target of 0.7% set by the UN in 1970. Although difficult to quantify, it has been estimated that this less-than-a-quarter percent has saved up to 3 million lives annually, according to research by Our World in Data. This number does not include the lives saved from clean-water initiatives, family planning, and better nutrition, all formerly funded by USAID. A different study reports that in the 21 years between 2001-2021, USAID saved around 92 million lives. That amount is more than the total population of the 17th largest country in the world (Iran at ~93 million). President Kennedy recognized the privilege the United States wielded in 1961, and with it he pledged to lead a country dedicated to its duty as a global citizen. For years after his decision, our foreign aid initiatives have served as a hallmark of our values. For some, the only interaction with the US they will ever have comes from a sack of grain bearing the flag of our nation and the letters ‘USAID’ printed on the front. If not grain, the reputation of the United States came bottled in life saving vaccinations. All a mother might know about American citizens is that our tax dollars saved her children from dying of tuberculosis. Although these outcomes are crucial for millions, they are no longer considered valuable by a select few.
In February of 2025, the Trump administration terminated around 10,000 foreign aid programs in an executive order. In one move, this regime ended disease treatment and prevention efforts, nutrition efforts for children, basic research that is necessary for logical policy decisions, and more. In January of this year, Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, released a press statement informing the American public of our withdrawal from “Wasteful, Ineffective, or Harmful International Organizations”, where he names USAID as a culprit. He states that the American organization that has saved millions of lives is “irrelevant to or in conflict with our interests.” In addition to the international humanitarian fall out, thousands of Foreign Service Officers lost their jobs without warning. A workforce of around 5,000 people was reduced almost overnight to around 300. The manner of this termination was far from remorseful, or at the very least, respectful of the years they had dedicated to serving our country from home and abroad. Career diplomat William J. Burns recalls that one of his colleagues, a career diplomat, was given just six hours to clear out his office. “When I was expelled from Russia,” he said, “at least Putin gave me six days to leave.” Similarly, it’s impossible to ignore the diplomatic ties destroyed by the flippant withdrawal of funds from key locations. USAID funds were a leading soft power in diplomatic settings. Now that we have torched our long-standing relationships, countries like China and Russia can step in to fill those spots, eager to influence and support. In all honesty, we should hope countries like China and Russia come to aid, because the diseases we helped to suppress for decades do not respect borders and have no concern for what passport you hold.
The Center for Global Development estimates that our ‘budget cuts’ led to 500,000 to 1,000,000 lives lost in 2025. If future trends continue, we could see 670,000 and 1,600,000 lives lost annually. These are people we could have saved—in any other year, we would have. During these times, I am reminded of the words of former diplomat Benjamin Ousley-Naseman, who remarked, “The world is better when we are in it, and when we’re in it representing our values; and when the world is better, it means the world we live in is better also.” To separate the United States from its values is to remove the DNA from our cells. Our values guide us and shape our actions. Although we have retained our strong values for centuries, they are capable of warping. If we do not keep close watch our personal and communal convictions, the DNA of our country will corrupt. In the blink of an eye, the “economic growth” we so desperately crave will become cancerous. USAID and the people who worked closely with it exemplified what is so special about our nation. Our influence, our dedication, our humanity; without it, we will lose track of who our early leaders wanted us to be. And one day, when the fortunes are flipped, we can only hope their values lived on in someone else, as they seemed to have died in us.