The US government’s recent policy shifts on foreign aid place millions of lives at risk around the world. In just one week, the world has seen US President Donald Trump issue an executive order mandating a ninety-day suspension of all US foreign aid, and the new Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has indicated some waivers for essential services.
However, much remains unclear, and in the meantime, organisations are shutting down, and people are too afraid to speak out due to fear. Currently, social media feeds are full of posts by American colleagues working in international development, sharing devastating news: their projects have been shut down overnight; they can no longer go to work or they have lost their jobs; patients can’t access their lifesaving drugs; they must stop building a NICU in an African country that so desperately needs it. The list goes on and on.
The US State Department claims that they are reviewing all foreign aid to ensure it aligns with their “America First” agenda. In truth, what they are doing will actually place America last. This article is a brief reflection on why US foreign aid is “America First” and how ending, suspending, and reducing aid will be hugely dangerous to America’s safety, health, and interests.
Aid benefits the American economy because a significant portion of the funding actually goes to US-based organisations that conduct research, coordination, and technical assistance. Thousands of Americans working in development – living in the USA – have lost their jobs in the past couple of days. What will that do to our economy?! Reducing the cost of living: Aid helps control global prices of food and medicine, which reduces costs for Americans. The cost of living will increase due to disrupted supply chains and higher tariffs.
President Putin has drawn up a blueprint for the destruction of Ukraine. An article on the blog of the American think tank Atlantic Council recalls that Putin has often cited the rejection of the proposal in an attempt to prove that Russia wanted to achieve peace through diplomatic means. However, the article defines the treaty as a “blueprint for the destruction of Ukraine”: a divided and disarmed Ukraine. Peter Dickinson, editor of Ukraine Alert, is the author of the piece. He claims that the conditions proposed by the Kremlin in recent days would have left Ukraine “partitioned, disarmed, internationally isolated, and utterly unable to defend itself against further Russian aggression.” This is because the treaty leaving Ukraine’s exit from the nuclear umbrella imposed very rigid restrictions, mainly on Ukraine’s military capabilities and the presence of foreign forces in the country, and even called for the cession of separatist territories.
Other Restrictions On Leaving the Nuclear Umbrella
Improves American health: Without US development funds and global leadership, global health crises like Ebola could reach the US faster and be deadlier than COVID-19. Another example of how it impacts your health is that by leaving the WHO, the US will not be able to access the latest global data on influenza surveillance, and US pharmaceuticals will not be able to create the seasonal flu vaccine.
US interests are maintained through diplomacy and aid. Disengagement means others will step in to fill the void, e.g., China and Russia. Foreign aid enhances America’s global reputation, making travel safer and improving international relations. By abruptly ending development programmes, people will literally die because they depend on the services the kind American people have contractually already agreed to deliver. Americans will be responsible for millions of deaths around the world if they don’t take action now. Like the majority of Americans, many critics in the US supported Trump in the 2024 elections. However, many do not understand the benefits of foreign aid to Americans.
Despite China’s initial support by the US during World War II, US support for China was a tactical US policy in the global chessboard. Despite initial US support for China after Pearl Harbor and the US declaration of war against Japan, the Sino-Russian entente sought a chance to shape the magnitude of US hegemonic attitudes toward the world, which was not liked by the only superpower in the world.
Putin’s Hidden Agenda for Ukraine
Not long ago, documents were leaked revealing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal for a peace plan with Ukraine at the start of the Ukraine war. But the plans were, in fact, anything but peaceful in nature, demonstrating that Putin had a sinister secret agenda for Ukraine. The treaty was leaked by Systema, a US government-funded organisation that broadcasts news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East, according to HuffPost. In recent days, an agreement was presented by Russian authorities to their Ukrainian counterparts. This marked the next round of negotiations between representatives of Moscow and Kyiv, just a few days after Russia launched its invasion of Ukrainian territory.
Russia Has Indicated Softening of Its Position
Radio Free Europe reported recently that an agreement was presented by Russian authorities to their Ukrainian counterparts in the town of Belavezha, Belarus. It marked the next round of negotiations between representatives, while Russia launched its invasion of Ukrainian territory. For example, Ukraine could not allow the entry or deployment “in any form on its territory, including temporarily, of foreign armed forces and formations, including military personnel, and must not allow the creation or maintenance in Ukraine of military bases, warehouses, strongholds, and other military facilities.”
Can China Replace the US as World Leader?
As Donald Trump is taking the US out of international forums, China is expected to move into the gap. But is Beijing capable of replacing the US? And does it even want to? US Vice President JD Vance’s participation at this year’s Munich Security Conference drew a lot of attention and international focus, particularly from European leaders. US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has made the leaders of EU countries quite nervous, and the feeling of uncertainty was quite palpable at the conference. Therefore, all eyes were focused on Vance and how he would allay those concerns.
An Opportunity for China
While the US under Trump increasingly looks inwards, withdrawing from international forums and treaties, and threatening to quit NATO, China is appearing to be getting more involved in global affairs. Does this mean that Beijing could replace Washington as the global arbiter? “There is no question that, as a rising power, China wants to be all it can be,” Graham Allison, professor of government at Harvard University and China expert, told DW on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. “If the US withdraws from trade agreements, countries that want trade agreements in order to grow economically, for instance, China, would fill this vacuum,” he added. Allison underlined that if Trump keeps leaving international institutions, “China will be a champion. Chinese President Xi Jinping has noticed that there is a lot of opportunity out there, and if the US plays its hand badly, it makes it easier for Beijing to be successful.” China has been investing heavily in many parts of the world, including Asia and Africa, which has increased its clout in these regions over the past decades.
Can The West and China Come Closer Together?
Yao Yang, director of the China Center for Economic Research at Peking University, told DW that Europe needs to adopt an independent policy towards China if it wants to forge closer ties. “If the US [under Trump] wants to give more priority to its domestic issues, then Europe should do the same,” Yao said. “It should do so for its defence, for its security, and for its foreign policy. There is a huge space for China and Europe to collaborate.”
