USA USA USA –
April 25, 2025 – U.S. foreign assistance has generally led to substantial improvements in security and political and economic stability, including a reduction in the number of people living in extreme poverty. Japan and South Korea, whose economies were rebuilt with assistance from the United States, are now among its major trading partners.Since U.S. foreign assistance accounts for about 1% of the federal budget, we are skeptical of cost-savings–based arguments for its elimination. Moreover, the retrenchment of U.S. foreign assistance could have adverse and unpredictable political consequences. Measures to abandon U.S. foreign aid could have cascading effects in other high-income countries; the United Kingdom and Germany are implementing substantial reductions in development assistance. This void might be filled by other global players. China’s ascendance in global health and development has been observed across sub-Saharan Africa and is likely to continue. Relationships among acute and chronic diseases, food insecurity, political instability, and armed conflict are complex, and food security has declined in sub-Saharan Africa since 2015.2 The abrupt withdrawal of many USAID-supported programs for preventing and treating malnutrition and reducing child mortality3 may threaten political stability in Africa and elsewhere.
