The dissolution of USAID will cost the USA dearly

RND - Editorial Network Germany The dissolution of USAID will cost the USA dearly Daniela Vates • 8 hours • 3 minutes reading time A shipment from the US development aid organization USAID for Venezuela is stored near the Colombian border town of Cucuta (photo from 2019). The US government under President Donald Trump has stopped development aid and dissolved USAID. The new US government calls it government efficiency and nobody can really object to that. Stringent action, targeted use of money, no unnecessary spending are always a good idea. Unfortunately, however, Trump's government efficiency is a sham: bright colors, a fancy title, loudly advertised - and inside the box lies a great disappointment, in this case strategic shortsightedness, ruthlessness and a lack of sense of responsibility. A few days ago, the new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the temporary halt to almost all development aid. Now Trump's efficiency representative, tech billionaire Elon Musk, has ordered the dissolution of USAID, the country's largest development agency, which managed the distribution of a large part of the funds. The USA is the largest donor country, with a share of 40 percent of the global development aid budget - so the decisions carry weight. Soup kitchens and mine clearance 130 countries are affected, most of which are not among the most stable: Sudan, where military gangs are fighting each other, the equally devastated Yemen, the unstable Congo, Jordan, which has taken in so many refugees from the region, Ethiopia, which is currently trying to pull itself together, Thailand with its refugees from authoritarian Myanmar. Soup kitchens, health care, protection programs against AIDS and cholera, refugee aid are affected, and probably also mine clearance programs in Laos and Cambodia, for example - the deadly traps were once left there by the USA. Anyone who sees development aid as a purely financial item can do so. And it is easy to justify the cuts by saying that domestic taxpayers are not responsible for saving the world. If you quickly label the programs as "woke," you are already missing out on one thing in particular: arguments. They are hard to find, even if "America first" is supposed to apply. Where is the divine mandate? Development aid not only alleviates the personal suffering of millions of people, including many children and women - which should be a particular concern not only, but especially, for a president who sees himself as chosen by God. It is also structural aid that stabilizes countries, prevents vulnerability to extremism, and curbs terrorism. It is therefore not just regional support, but also a contribution to greater security worldwide, including in the USA. And if that is not enough for the CEO in the White House: the economy is also affected. War, flight, terror affect trade routes, hinder access to raw materials - even Trump cannot drill everything out of the ground in the USA. Ignored problems do not disappear And many countries will not wait for Trump to give them support with an extortionate deal. US competitors China and Russia are already ready. Incidentally, all those in Germany who are just waiting to melt down the development aid budget because bike paths in Peru are such a good slogan should also remember this. That's how it is with isolationism in general: global interactions do not disappear by ignoring them. Projects can certainly be reviewed. It would be good to make sure that aid money is not used to line the pockets of potentates. But that is precisely what we cannot expect from Trump and Musk's so-called efficiency offensive. It is a problem for the world that will also cost the USA dearly.