If the United States Government Won't Do Good Work, Let's Do This Ourselves

by David Bernell and Ambassador Thomas Graham (Retired)

One of the actions taken by the Trump administration soon after taking office has been dismantling the US Agency for International Development (USAID). This is the part of the United States government that was established in 1961 (and then reorganized as an independent agency in 1998), with the aim of providing foreign aid to many places around the world. This aid goes to a variety of organizations, programs and needs that are as varied as fighting diseases (such as tuberculosis, polio, and HIV/AIDS) through vaccinations and medicines, feeding the hungry in impoverished communities, moving refugees out of war zones and ensuring their care and safety, providing relief to people suffering from the impacts of natural disasters, supporting education by building schools and providing books and supplies, promoting economic development by funding small business creation and agricultural productivity, combating violence against women, protecting human rights, and supporting democratic governance. Most USAID programs and projects are carried out by organizations that are funded by USAID to do this work. The agency’s budget was around $15 billion a year from 2010 to 2020, but then increased in response to the pandemic and then the invasion of Ukraine. In 2023 it reached a level almost $40 billion, but fell in in 2024 to roughly $22 billion.

Almost as soon as Trump came into office, Elon Musk’s DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) was let loose on USAID. Its actions were premised on the thinking that the good work the United States does around the world providing foreign aid was a terrible thing that had to be eliminated as quickly as possible. Within only a few weeks, many of the agency’s programs were halted, much of its funding was frozen, staff was fired or placed on leave all over the world, and a part of the American government that was authorized and funded by Congress was gutted. A Congressional report concluded that “the President does not have the authority to abolish [USAID]; congressional authorization would be required to abolish, move, or consolidate USAID.” The Republican controlled Congress, however, will not reverse this action, and the courts are unable to do so. Only a small fraction what USAID has done over the years remains in operation, and what is left will be transferred later in the year to the State Department.

Responses to the Trump administration’s actions have been swift, and they have highlighted the many harms that will come to those who have come to rely on the United States to provide a lifeline. The reach of American foreign aid touches places all over the globe. One program to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa, called PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), is estimated to have saved 26 million lives since President George W. Bush’s administration began the program. Predictions of terrible consequences of the funding cuts point to dire outcomes, with millions of preventable deaths from malnutrition and outbreaks of deadly diseases. Such horrific and sad outcomes have already come to bear, with accounts of children dying soon after humanitarian aid was cut off.

All such protests, studies, testimonials, and even lawsuits aimed at keeping the funding flowing have fallen on deaf ears. Donald Trump and Elon Musk have set their sights on foreign aid. Considering their wealth, Bill Gates pointed out that, “The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one.” (This condemnation recalls the chant hurled at President Johnson over 50 years ago: “Hey, hey LBJ. How many kids did you kill today?”) Gates subsequently announced his plans to provide $200 billion dollars from the Gates Foundation and his personal wealth over the next 20 years to replace much of the support that USAID used to provide worldwide.

The priorities of the Trump administration are clear. It is currently supporting a bill in Congress that will provide big tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that will be paid for by cuts to programs like Medicaid, which serves the poorest Americans. The bill can be expected to result in “the largest upward transfer of wealth in American history.” A comment by the President of South Africa, who visited Trump in the White House recently, encapsulated the misplaced priorities perfectly. Sitting in the Oval Office, only to be ambushed with a hostile reception (just as President Zelensky of Ukraine was in February) and accused of carrying out genocide against white South Africans, President Ramaphosa told Trump “I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you.” The comment was made as a joke to lighten the mood, but it cuts deep, underscoring what the government of the United States has become and how it is seen around the world.

Why Foreign Aid?

The whole concept and practice of providing foreign aid as we know it today emerged out of World War II. The Marshall Plan that the United States established for the rebuilding and economic rehabilitation of Europe was a major development and precedent. The United States and the Soviet Union soon after began to provide a great deal of aid and did so throughout the Cold War in their competition for allies and influence. Britain and France also provided aid to former colonies. And over time dozens of countries – from China to Brazil to Poland to South Korea to the United Arab Emirates – have become providers of development assistance.

At the same time, the creation and support of international organizations such as the World Bank and IMF, as well as parts of the United Nations (such the World Health Organization, World Food Program, and UNICEF), have been funded by the countries that are members of these organizations to provide much needed aid and development assistance.

Countries have given billions in aid over the decades that have diminished harm and suffering, saved lives, improved the well-being of millions of people, and provided opportunities for a better life. The United States has been a leader in this realm. Its aid has supported and saved countless people, and this has also paved the way for subsequent generations to be spared the same suffering, poverty and deprivation.

These are amazing, wonderful outcomes. And still, the payoff is bigger than this. Countries also provide aid to secure their interests, helping them to win friends, goodwill, support, and global cooperation in meeting their goals. By cutting many of its ties around the world, by demonstrating that the country cannot be counted on, by pursuing a policy that reflects the whims of an impulsive, capricious, president who displays little sense of strategic thought (and forget compassion), the United States government is once again harming itself with incompetent leadership that seems intent on carrying out yet another self-inflicted wound. As an article from the Center for Strategic and International Studies put it, “There is no doubt a link between U.S. leadership in these [foreign aid] spaces and U.S. influence around the globe—in public opinion, regional conflicts, and geopolitical competition,” and therefore “these funding cuts will have negative repercussions” for the United States all around the world.

It's Not Just the Government

The $20-40 billion that has been spent by USAID each year is massive. However, while the agency has been the largest single American contributor to programs involving health, hunger, poverty, economic development, education, human rights, democracy support, and environmental protection, it is not the only way the United States and its people, economy, and organizations support development and basic needs around the world.

Outside of government assistance programs, there are over one million philanthropic, religious, and charitable organizations in the United States, operating independently of the US government, and there are many more of these organizations around the world. These non-governmental organizations (NGOs) received $557 billion in gifts from American donors in 2023. A substantial portion of this giving is sent overseas for a variety of programs and needs funded by charitable organizations. In 2020 this figure was just shy of $50 billion. These NGO’s provide life-saving health services in the form of medicine, vaccines, surgeries, and knowledge about how to stay healthy and safe. They provide food in places where people don’t have enough to eat due to extreme poverty, war, and famine. They protect women from violence and discrimination. They protect and serve refugees fleeing war zones. They provide economic opportunities through grants and microloans and business development assistance. They support the education of kids by building schools and providing books and school supplies. The list of services they provide is lengthy.

There is another way that people in the United States support those in other countries. There are a large number of people living and working in the United States who send some of the money they earn to family and friends overseas. In 2021, the amount of remittances sent from the United States to other countries totaled $200 billion, according to a Congressional report. These cash remittances support people all over the world by providing additional income that can be crucial in supporting people’s basic needs. This is an often underappreciated and overlooked way in which the American economy, the largest in the world, contributes to aid and development overseas.

Whether via NGO’s, churches or individuals, there is a significant level of overseas aid and giving that goes from the United States to countries all over the world. The conversation about USAID that has been going on since Donald Trump came to office has not really taken this into account.

We Can Do Something About This

The point of acknowledging and explaining all this is not to suggest that what has happened to USAID is acceptable, because it’s not. It is a massive problem for the United States to abandon one of its important missions that has so much positive impact around the world. The rich, privileged, self-centered men – Donald Trump and Elon Musk – who have championed this disaster and are its most visible proponents deserve all the scorn and criticism they have received for this terrible change in U.S. policy.

Now that they have largely carried out their goal of dismantling USAID, it is time for the rest of us to step up. We have pointed out that there are many organizations and individuals that provide aid all over the world. This is to make clear that those of us who oppose what the U.S. government has done can do something about it. We can take action, and we have a responsibility to do so. And what’s more, none of has to reinvent or reproduce the infrastructure that is required to do this important and necessary work. The organizations are already there. They have been doing this work for many years, some for many decades. All we have to do is give. None of us can replace official government aid, but we can fill some gaps and make a difference.

Poverty, disease, sickness, war, famine, illiteracy, domestic violence, natural disasters, human rights violations. The list is long, and the needs seem insatiable. But that cannot and should not deter us. None of these problems have ever been solved, but they have been diminished in various times and places, and sometimes significantly. So don’t lose hope because you cannot solve the problem. Ours is not to finish the job, but we may not desist from it.

Take a look around and see who does work that you want to support – medical care, food assistance, education, disaster relief, human rights. Anyone can find an organization worth supporting with a quick web search. Or see if your own faith community or religious organization supports a community in need overseas. And if not, maybe you’re just the person to begin such an effort.

Our Own Projects

We have our own suggestions too. Tom has long supported the work of Doctors Without Borders, one of the world’s top organizations that provides medical care to people in need all over the world. The organization was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 for its work in giving lifesaving care in some of the most dangerous, crisis-ridden places on earth, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a nurse working with Doctors Without Borders was recently shot and killed in the midst of the ongoing political violence that has driven over five million people from their homes. You can donate to Doctors Without Borders here. It will be money well spent.

A place that is dear to David is an orphanage in the Dominican Republic. This organization, the Centro de Desarrollo Integral Para la Niñez Enmanuel (CEDEPANE), is a small “mom and pop” organization in the city of San Pedro de Macoris. The orphanage was established by a couple more than 25 years ago to provide a home for children who don’t have one. These two individuals, Prique and Juana, have dedicated their lives to this work, in which they provide a home and care for more than thirty children (another thirty kids are there every day to be taken care of when their parents are at work). CEDEPANE has no USAID funding, no big American charitable organization supporting them. They get some funds from the Dominican government, but it falls far short of what is needed to house and feed and care for so many children.

The biggest source of funding CEDEPANE gets from the United States comes from David’s students at Oregon State University. He takes a group in the summer to volunteer, and this coming June will mark their third visit. These university students are a group of enthusiastic, optimistic, energetic women and men who are also student-athletes. During the academic year they fundraise, and then for a (much too brief) visit in the summer, they work. Their job is construction. They are the labor force that works under the direction of a local contractor to build more bedrooms, one concrete block at a time, to provide a home for another 20-25 kids. The money they have been raising is mostly for construction materials. When they are in the Dominican Republic, they live very simply, in the orphanage with the kids. Everyone lives, works, plays, eats (platanos fritos are a favorite dish), and learns together in a time filled with service, love, joy, and also incredible heartbreak when David and the students have to leave and return home.

If you would like to support the work of CEDEPANE, you can do so by giving here. You can provide a one-time donation, or click “Become a Member” to make a monthly gift. Your money will also be well spent here.

What’s Your Project?

We know that there are numerous organizations that do important, necessary work around the world, so we invite our readers to provide some information about your own favorite organizations in the “Comments” section at the end of the article. Tell us about other places doing good work overseas, and please be sure to provide a link so the rest of us can give.

In this space, the two of us write about things we see in the United States and all over the world. We routinely find ourselves commenting upon some lamentable situation, problem or crisis. Today’s article is not so different in that regard. But it is very different in one very important way, because this time we have a single, important, and highly impactful action to highlight, and it’s something many of us can do. We don’t need a politician or someone else to act. We just need ourselves. We can provide a little something for others, or maybe a lot.

So please, take action and provide a gift to someone in need. We can make a meaningful difference together.