In 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy created a new federal agency, the United States International Agency for Development (USAID). Its purpose was “to extend assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms.” Among the 100-plus countries USAID helped around the world over the next 64 years was my own, the Philippines.
Last week, USAID officially ceased operations. Only the day before, the distinguished British medical journal the Lancet published a study warning about the potential consequences now looming. The elimination of USAID, the study found, could contribute to 14 million additional deaths over the next five years. The researchers described the impact for some countries as being “similar in scale to a global pandemic or a major armed conflict,” based on “a conscious and avoidable policy choice.”
