6 hours agoOfficially shut down “U n AID”, over 14 million people may die from lack of aid
Periskopi(a year ago)
(a year ago)American International Development Agency USADI will officially stop implementing foreign assistance. That fact has been made known by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, adding that American assistance in the future will be clearly and too limited. In a statement marking USAID's transfer to [...]
American International Development Agency USADI will officially stop implementing foreign assistance. That fact has been made known by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, adding that American assistance in the future will be clearly and too limited.
In a statement marking USAID's transfer to the State Department as part of President Donald Trump's unprecedented push to shrink the federal government, Rubio said the US were abandoning what he called a charity-based model and would focus on empowering countries to grow steadily.
“We will favour those nations that have demonstrated both the ability and willingness to help themselves and direct our resources in areas where they can have a multi-proliferation effect and catalyze the stable private sector, including American companies, and global investments”, wrote the top American diplomat, writes A2 CNN.
This new model, he wrote, would give priority to trade on assistance and assistance investments, adding that he would put Washington in a stronger position to counter Beijing.
The Trump administration has frozen and then reduced billions of dollars of foreign aid since taking office, saying it wants to ensure that American taxpayers' money goes only to programs that are in line with Trump's “American and Pre” policies. The cuts have effectively closed USAID, leading to the firing of thousands of its employees and contractors. This endangered the distribution of food and medical aid that saves lives and has put global humanitarian aid operations into chaos.
According to a study published in The Lancet, deep funding cuts for USAID and its dismantlement could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030. Experts and human rights lawyers have warned against cuts. Funding USAID has had a crucial role in improving global health, mainly directed towards low- and medium-income countries, especially African countries, according to the study.
U n AID was founded in 1961 by Democratic President John F. Kennedy at the height of the Cold War with the aim of better co-ordination of foreign assistance, now a key platform of US foreign policy in opposing Soviet influence./Periscopi/
