Budget cuts to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) implemented during the Trump administration significantly reshaped American foreign aid strategies. Reductions in federal funding altered global humanitarian assistance, foreign economic development, and international public health programs. Analysis shows these funding reductions created long-term challenges for regional stability, disease prevention networks, and international diplomatic relations, while supporters emphasized the policy’s alignment with domestic spending priorities and national fiscal restraint.
- The policy proposed reducing overall international affairs and foreign assistance budgets by nearly 30 percent.
- Reductions directly impacted funding for global health initiatives, infectious disease prevention, and humanitarian crisis responses.
- Aid reductions altered long-term development projects in developing nations relying on financial support for infrastructure and food security.
- Foreign policy analysts noted that reduced international assistance limited diplomatic outreach and created geopolitical openings for competing global powers.
- Proponents maintained that foreign aid reductions were essential to controlling federal expenditures and prioritizing domestic economic interests.
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Official website: https://www.bloomberg.com/
Original video here.
This summary has been generated by AI.
tad bit too late for this video duncha think?
Trumps administration has argued that cutting programs like this would make life inarguably better for the citizens of the United States. Where are the examples of American lives that have gotten better?
USAID was never for Africans rather it was a funding that enrich our corrupt politicians
My immediate thought looking at the headline was the patient that the USA denied entry to the USA. An American who had contracted Ebola while being a helper. We treated him in Germany instead. Just some kilometers away basically from a US military hospital well equipped to do the same. They dont even help their own any longer.
1:55 Why should it be the US taxpayers responsibility?
I understand that different people are making different arguments. Still, it's remarkable that the U.S. is criticized for sending aid because it's supposedly "imperialism," and criticized for stopping aid because it's supposedly "inhumane." That suggests America's actions are often judged through a lens where there's no acceptable outcome.
All these Reporters talk about it but they don’t do anything.
Why do they think their words mean more than actions.
All the showcased abandoned programmes in Kenya are a responsibility of the county and national govt. Infact MPs have a kitty called Constituency Development fund purely for the USAID type of interventions. There's so much wastage in govt perhaps USAID should have focused on working with govts to eradicate wastage and corruption instead of doing the govts work.
I’m African and this looks like propaganda because nothing has changed on our side
I suspect that if USAID was actually that important for saving lives, the EU and/or China would have stepped in big-time to replace these programs and become the hero of the story. But they didn't…
Here in kenya out politicians have spent nearly 4billion ksh on campaigns and buying other politicians yet we can't afford a 200 million ksh water projects across the country Africans we are ruled by selfish politicians
Why AID？ go aid by your own money instead of my tax!
What Bloomberg isn't telling you: this is one sided journalism. Nice try. Here are the facts: USAID's actual yearly budget was closer to $40B. Meanwhile, HUD's own count found 745K homeless people in the US, with unsheltered homelessness up 27% since 2013, and federal homeless assistance grants run only $3-4B a year. Also worth asking where the aid money actually goes: Kenya, a major recipient, scores 30/100 on Transparency International's corruption index, and its own anti-corruption commission says the country loses $6B a year to corruption. I'm not saying aid caused homelessness, they're different budgets, but the math is worth sitting with. So my question is: why does this reporting only ever cover one side? nice try
legacy media lies again
I agree that foreign aid should further the interest of US, but we also win the hearts and minds with soft power cutting it allows our adversaries to swoop in.
It is true that there is lots of corruption and waste, particularly government aid programs, but a lot of people's lives and livelihood depend on it.
The solution is not to just stop it all from one day to the next. The solution is to work with local governments and NGOs to minimise corruption and waste.
USA AID is imperialism soft power , neo colonialism, and corrupting our politicians to stay in power to be friends with USA 🦅🇺🇸 RAAHHHH
The West is the wallet for the world, I say no more!
The same mfs defending the rapid increase in the defense budget to $1.5T are the same mfs disparaging USAID
The African Century: Why We Must Build with Asia, Partner with Europe, and Reject the West’s Cultural Defeatism
For too long, the African narrative has been written in foreign boardrooms. We have been told that our poverty is a "tragedy" and our growth a "threat." We have been handed prescriptions that keep us weak—population control, environmental guilt, and social chaos—all disguised as "progress."
It is time for a sovereign reality check. Africa’s future lies in adopting the Asian development model, leveraging European capital, and decisively rejecting the neo-colonial pessimism that masquerades as Western altruism.
1. The Asian Blueprint: Discipline, Infrastructure, and Merit
The "Asian Miracle" (from Singapore to Rwanda’s own recent trajectory) was not built on handouts. It was built on three pillars: authoritative long-term planning, ruthless infrastructure investment, and merit-based education.
· State-Developmentalism: Unlike the West’s chaotic laissez-faire, Asian states directed capital into strategic industries. Africa must do the same—prioritizing energy, rail, and digital grids over foreign consultants’ reports.
· Population as an Asset: Asia did not shrink its youth; it educated them. We reject the Malthusian panic that our children are a "burden." Our demographic boom is our greatest asset—provided we train engineers, not dependents.
· Cultural Integrity: Asia modernized without abandoning its ancestral values. Africa can industrialize while preserving our communal ethos. We do not need to become "Western" to be prosperous.
2. Europe: A Pragmatic Partnership, Not a Parent
European capital and technology are indispensable—but they are tools, not masters.
· Welcome Investment, Reject Conditionality: We invite European pension funds and industrial giants to build factories, ports, and agri-processing plants. However, these deals must be B2B and government-to-government—transparent, with local content quotas and technology transfer.
· No Moral Tariffs: Europe cannot demand we adopt their social experiments in exchange for loans. Trade is trade. We will buy your machinery; you will buy our minerals. Leave your identity politics at customs.
3. The Neo-Colonial Mindset: The "Pessimism Industry"
The greatest obstacle to Africa’s rise is not poverty—it is the Western-funded NGO complex that profits from our despair.
· Population Control = Economic Suicide: The push for "family planning" in Africa, while Europe subsidizes its own declining birthrates, is demographic warfare. We need workers, not sterility. We reject the zero-sum notion that our growth harms the planet.
· Western Environmentalism: The "Net Zero" agenda, pushed by wealthy nations that industrialized on coal, is a neo-colonial trap. Africa has the right to develop using our natural gas, oil, and hydro resources. We will be green—but on our timeline, after we have built our base.
· LGBTQ & Abortion Agendas: These are cultural constructs born of Western existential crises. They are not universal human rights; they are lifestyle choices. Africa has no history of persecuting minorities, but we also have no history of redefining marriage or celebrating abortion. We reject these as preconditions for aid. Our sovereignty over family and faith is non-negotiable.
4. The Path Forward: "Afro-Realism"
We must adopt a philosophy of Afro-Realism:
· Economic: East Asian state capitalism + African raw materials + European high-tech = Global South powerhouse.
· Social: Pro-family, pro-life, pro-faith. Stable societies build stable economies.
· Diplomatic: Non-aligned. We trade with China, invest with Europe, and learn from America—but we bow to none.
Conclusion
The 21st century will not be won by the pious or the pessimistic. It will be won by the builders. Africa must look East for the how, partner with Europe for the what, and look inward for the why.
We are not victims waiting for salvation. We are a civilization of 1.5 billion people, with the youngest workforce on Earth. Let us industrialize, innovate, and multiply. Let us trade our resources for technology, not for ideology.
The only colonialism left is the one we allow in our minds. Let us evict it today.
Africa doesn't need AID. AID is holding Africa back and hurting Africa economically,socially, politically and from developing. Africa needs more countries like the AES
So how do cia park the slush fund now
The Kenyan government could have easily covered the 2 million dollar gap for the WASH project….they simply didn't care, so why should we??
USAID funded Trans surgery in Hyderabad, India. As an Indian, I am glad it is shut down.
When you are 40trillion in debt you might need to look for ways to reduce spending. What a concept for the government
I do not recall during any of my trips getting a sense of appreciation for USAID NGOs
If you keep feeding a donkey then it will never learn to get it's own food
C’mon now Bloomberg is saying the Kenyan government cannot cover $2M, thats a shame
love this bs completely ignoring the fact of USAID keeps funding toppling over other elected legit governments by inciting riots.
propaganda I tell you
America is not a piggy bank for the rest of the world.
It seems like Kenya was the biggest hotspot for USAID corruption.
They couldn't even show 1 dead person because USAID was cancelled
Also most of these issues being mentioned should be catered for by our corrupt local government, surely, why is USAID paying school fees for an individual yet we have provisions for bursaries?
If anything this propaganda is justification enough for why USAID needed to be cancelled.
At its peak it was a LGBTQ promotion machine, but after being cancelled, suddenly we need foreign aid to stop diarrhoea in Kenya.
Our president and his cronies are extremely rich, we have bigger problems like corruption.
Usaid was a money laundering operation for the Democrats
The only way to get decent truthful information is from the comments section
The way I look at it… EU, US, Japan, etc. have all been aiding Africa since the day African states were born – so we're talking 15-60+ years of aid! With very little to show for. So…
1. NO MORE day-to-day aid to Africa – period.
2. But in the aftermath of an epic disaster – we can (and should) lend a helping hand.
3. Continue with private investments and zero-to-very-low tariffs for genuine African exports.
WHY ARE WE HELPING RICH COUNTRIES.
THE BEST WAY TO HELP PEOPLE IS NOT TOO.
Everything Trump touches……
Kenya government can finish the project!!
USA needed that money to invade Venezuela then go bomb the heck out of Iran
What a disgrace!
Meanwhile politicians move around in helicopters and SUVs.
The people crying about funding cuts to USAID need to fund these projects with their own money.
It's sad to see the selective journalism done by this Media House. No one is talking about the PoK protest whereas you will run 10's of headlines showing Pakistan being a mediator in the Iran-US conflict.
Who will talk about the protestor being killed by the Military in Pakistan. I am from Kashmir, living in Deutschland and I cannot even talk with my family now because of the internet blackout in POK for a month. and I have no way of knowing what's happening because no one is covering that news.