Trump administration replaces USAID with new agency

The Trump administration is embarking on a major restructuring of the foreign aid system after the final liquidation of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This is reported by Bloomberg.

According to anonymous sources in the agency, the State Department is preparing to announce the consolidation of all humanitarian functions within the newly created Bureau of Disaster and Humanitarian Response.

The new structure will have just over 200 employees, which is only about 5% of the previous staff of the former agency.

For comparison, in the last year of the Biden administration, more than 10 thousand people worked on USAID projects, including local staff and contractors.

Along with the personnel changes, there was a significant reduction in funding for international humanitarian programs. The budget for the current year has been reduced to $ 5.4 billion, which is only a fraction of the $ 43 billion that USAID managed in fiscal year 2023.

Representatives of the current administration argue that such steps are necessary to maximize efficiency.

The White House is cutting programs focused on climate and social issues, redirecting resources exclusively to measures that directly save lives.

Experts and human rights groups express serious concern about the massive reduction in resources.

Jeremy Konyndyk, President of Refugees International, notes that under such conditions, American aid will not be able to maintain the previous level of impact on global health.

In addition, a study published in the journal The Lancet warns that the elimination of USAID could lead to 14 million additional deaths in the world by 2030.

The State Department rejects these conclusions, considering them based on false assumptions, and emphasizes that aid is becoming better quality and more targeted.

Tags: USAID