All foreign aid halted

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I fully agree with ending foreign aid. It is not helping and very wasteful. Good step in the right direction.

If that’s done, then we should have no homeless person in America. And we know that won’t happen. Americans don’t relieve in helping others. But we our a Christian nation. Laughable. And truly sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe we need to rethink how we go about foreign aid.

U.S. foreign assistance is primarily in the form of grants focusing on public health, economic development, and democratic governance in a multitude of countries.

And so much of US aid is stolen. Here is one article from AP "Millions of Ethiopians go hungry again as international aid is paused after massive theft". The US has given Ethiopia 1.8 billion dollars since 2022


China is more selective which countries in Africa and provides loans and aid for infrastructure and mining. Then these projects are required to use Chinese construction firms and companies to build. China has financed a major railroad line from Ethiopia to Djibouti so Ethiopia can export products easier to China

Why is this Americans issue if Ethiopians are going hungry? Their own corrupt Govt is responsible for it.

So it’s their fault for being born in an impoverished country with a corrupt government and must suffer their fate as a consequence?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Biden ordered a similar review of U.S. aid upon taking office

https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/whats-next-foreign-aid-under-biden

I have worked in global health since the first Bush administration. Nothing that any president has done to date, including the reviews, comes close to the absolute chaos of the past week. Literally no one knows what these orders mean, including senior State Department and USAID staff. Half of the Missions are telling our organization to do a full stop, including salaries, and the other half are saying to just stop programs and await instruction. Some are telling us to report on DEIA elements, and others are not. What is a DEIA element of a global health program? Is it work with disabled children promote inclusion and accessibility of schools? Is it working with ethnic minorities in a certain region who are over-represented in tuberculosis cases? We have no idea, and the Missions have no idea.

This is not just unprecedented, it's wildly under-considered. International development serves the interests of US foreign policy and national security by preventing disease outbreaks, curbing migration, preventing resource wars, and introducing anti-corruption mechanisms that allow more stable alliances. All of that is being torn down in the course of a week.

[Anonymous]

Foreign aid keeps Washington DC afloat. There are so many people who work in foreign aid in DC - practically the entire middle class. All the beltway bandits, half the contractors. All the people flying around the world on American-flagged airlines. All the foreigners sent to DC for conferences. All the IT support for tracking foreign aid and building dashboards for monitoring it. It's going have a tsunami affect on the DC metro area and send us all into a recession.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Foreign aid keeps Washington DC afloat. There are so many people who work in foreign aid in DC - practically the entire middle class. All the beltway bandits, half the contractors. All the people flying around the world on American-flagged airlines. All the foreigners sent to DC for conferences. All the IT support for tracking foreign aid and building dashboards for monitoring it. It's going have a tsunami affect on the DC metro area and send us all into a recession.

**effect

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Power abhors a vacuum.

China will quietly swoop in to every country where we cut aid and our influence and power in the world will shrink and weaken.

Shove the Cold War boogeyman BS …

LOL. You should google China belt and road.

Or perhaps BRICS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Foreign aid keeps Washington DC afloat. There are so many people who work in foreign aid in DC - practically the entire middle class. All the beltway bandits, half the contractors. All the people flying around the world on American-flagged airlines. All the foreigners sent to DC for conferences. All the IT support for tracking foreign aid and building dashboards for monitoring it. It's going have a tsunami affect on the DC metro area and send us all into a recession.

This. Not just DC. This will have ripple effects globally. I fully agree that a different approach is necessary but why a complete stop work order!? There are literally going to be open trenches for children to drown in. Guess I'm coming to terms with this admin not valuing life so much and it's jarring but definitely a cultural shift (also maybe not that surprising per the trend in school shootings and lack of empathy there).

It would be nice to have perhaps shared out a massage to instilled trust in our world first re: sucking aid out to at least temper the tone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe we need to rethink how we go about foreign aid.

U.S. foreign assistance is primarily in the form of grants focusing on public health, economic development, and democratic governance in a multitude of countries.

And so much of US aid is stolen. Here is one article from AP "Millions of Ethiopians go hungry again as international aid is paused after massive theft". The US has given Ethiopia 1.8 billion dollars since 2022


China is more selective which countries in Africa and provides loans and aid for infrastructure and mining. Then these projects are required to use Chinese construction firms and companies to build. China has financed a major railroad line from Ethiopia to Djibouti so Ethiopia can export products easier to China

China has the right idea here IMO. We can help others in a way that helps America. And definitely in ways that have a lot more accountability and less prone to theft.

The US relies heavily on NGOs and foreign partnerships, and that's where all the money goes. China does more direct work. They directly build and staff the hospitals, for example. This is extremely effective, that is the tactic that Hamas and Hezbollah have used as well. Directly build and support schools and hospitals and the people will be far more aligned with you than some random NGO or local org.

The US doesn't want to look like we are directly involved in foreign governments. We prefer NGOs or providing aid funding that is quickly comsumed by the graft and corruption of the local government. Of course, you can't see the CIA attempting to topple the local government until they fail, like all of our heavy handed attempts it also ruins our reputation with the populace.

This.

China uses NGOs and foreign aid is given to help themselves. This key concept is because of its communist government in that China believes in helping China.

The prob with the US and I say this as not a Trump fan, is that the US doesn't operate as a whole - it's not all about the US and that's a prob. So while we have a whole NGO industry supplying compassion and helping the down and outs in foreign countries, we've got the US gov via CIA and other govt entities working for the US govt. China works as a communist would - as a collective. But in this context, it's effective and the right approach philosophically. Everyone's together.

What Trump is doing in effect is ridding the separation of orgs doing one thing and the govt doing another. Is that right to do in the context of the American way? Prob not. It uproots a lot if history and it stops a lot if good being done prob by OP and NGOs as a while. However, long term and as a model of effectiveness, what Trump would succeed in doing is taking a collective approach. Not agreeing with his approach necessarily but it doesn't separate and make things more complex for the US from a foreign policy perspective. I get it. I get why he's doing it. There are things that other countries do that are better than what we do. China does foreign policy better even if you don't want to admit it.

This is interesting, thank you PP. Not a Trump voter, but what China is doing sounds promising.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe we need to rethink how we go about foreign aid.

U.S. foreign assistance is primarily in the form of grants focusing on public health, economic development, and democratic governance in a multitude of countries.

And so much of US aid is stolen. Here is one article from AP "Millions of Ethiopians go hungry again as international aid is paused after massive theft". The US has given Ethiopia 1.8 billion dollars since 2022


China is more selective which countries in Africa and provides loans and aid for infrastructure and mining. Then these projects are required to use Chinese construction firms and companies to build. China has financed a major railroad line from Ethiopia to Djibouti so Ethiopia can export products easier to China

Why is this Americans issue if Ethiopians are going hungry? Their own corrupt Govt is responsible for it.

So it’s their fault for being born in an impoverished country with a corrupt government and must suffer their fate as a consequence?

Unfortunately, yes. This is the world we live in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe we need to rethink how we go about foreign aid.

U.S. foreign assistance is primarily in the form of grants focusing on public health, economic development, and democratic governance in a multitude of countries.

And so much of US aid is stolen. Here is one article from AP "Millions of Ethiopians go hungry again as international aid is paused after massive theft". The US has given Ethiopia 1.8 billion dollars since 2022


China is more selective which countries in Africa and provides loans and aid for infrastructure and mining. Then these projects are required to use Chinese construction firms and companies to build. China has financed a major railroad line from Ethiopia to Djibouti so Ethiopia can export products easier to China

China has the right idea here IMO. We can help others in a way that helps America. And definitely in ways that have a lot more accountability and less prone to theft.

The US relies heavily on NGOs and foreign partnerships, and that's where all the money goes. China does more direct work. They directly build and staff the hospitals, for example. This is extremely effective, that is the tactic that Hamas and Hezbollah have used as well. Directly build and support schools and hospitals and the people will be far more aligned with you than some random NGO or local org.

The US doesn't want to look like we are directly involved in foreign governments. We prefer NGOs or providing aid funding that is quickly comsumed by the graft and corruption of the local government. Of course, you can't see the CIA attempting to topple the local government until they fail, like all of our heavy handed attempts it also ruins our reputation with the populace.

This.

China uses NGOs and foreign aid is given to help themselves. This key concept is because of its communist government in that China believes in helping China.

The prob with the US and I say this as not a Trump fan, is that the US doesn't operate as a whole - it's not all about the US and that's a prob. So while we have a whole NGO industry supplying compassion and helping the down and outs in foreign countries, we've got the US gov via CIA and other govt entities working for the US govt. China works as a communist would - as a collective. But in this context, it's effective and the right approach philosophically. Everyone's together.

What Trump is doing in effect is ridding the separation of orgs doing one thing and the govt doing another. Is that right to do in the context of the American way? Prob not. It uproots a lot if history and it stops a lot if good being done prob by OP and NGOs as a while. However, long term and as a model of effectiveness, what Trump would succeed in doing is taking a collective approach. Not agreeing with his approach necessarily but it doesn't separate and make things more complex for the US from a foreign policy perspective. I get it. I get why he's doing it. There are things that other countries do that are better than what we do. China does foreign policy better even if you don't want to admit it.

The way China does “aid” is very different as you point out. My NGO doesn’t think of American power as our objective. Our objective is health care for the poorest people on earth. The US used to think the poorest people having health care (so they don’t spread contagious disease to us, or migrate) as in the US interest and so worth the investment. China doesn’t do that sort of aid. Their aid is “do you need a road or port to get your good to us and our goods to you? We’ll build you one.” It is transactional and keeps the power clearly with China.

Rubio was crystal clear that the kind of aid I do - partnerships with other, local NGOs, sharing power, building skills so health systems don’t need our support, working with communities to advocate for their local governments to fund their clinics and hospitals, etc. is unwanted.

Since the NGOs that currently implement most of USAID’s work don’t have the mission to do the transactional work that a foreign aid approach like China’s uses our NGO sector will shrivel. Which is the point. But I hope anyone who cares about Americans and about public health can spare a moment to have some compassion for the thousands of people now losing their jobs.

Funny we want to provide healthcare overseas but not to our own people.

I’m the PP and we actually want to do both. We do some very similar work in the US, too. If Trump had said “we are going to take all of that foreign aid and put it into our own health and social welfare system” I would have said okay, that’s pretty provincial and isolationist, but okay. But what is happened here isn’t that the US is going to get more healthcare because Africa gets less. Africa gets less health care, and the US gets less health care. Yay?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Power abhors a vacuum.

China will quietly swoop in to every country where we cut aid and our influence and power in the world will shrink and weaken.

You are on the late train. China has already strategically maneuvered into countries with abundant natural resources in Africa. Chinese aid is linked with China’s investment, trade, and foreign policy objectives.

The Chinese enterprises have tactically funded and constructed, expanded, or refurbished a minimum of 24 presidential or prime ministerial residences or offices; at least 26 parliamentary buildings or offices; no fewer than 32 military or police facilities; at least 19 foreign affairs ministry offices; and a minimum of 14 critical intra-governmental telecommunications networks.

China’s has a monopoly over mining in Africa’s copper belt (the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia), and its substantive recent investments into lithium production in Zimbabwe, which holds Africa’s largest reserves of lithium. These investments allow China to dictate the global supply chain for renewable batteries and electric vehicles (EVs).

No they have not done it quietly. While most Americans were too busy trying to keep up with the Kardashians (remember that decade?) and being distracted by TikTok for the last, China has already done much around the world. US was playing catch up. they sent in Dr. Biden to make deals. You know Dr. Jill Biden who was President for the last four years, our country's second woman President (after HRC was co-President in '92).

Correction. Nancy Reagan was the first woman president.

Nope. I think it was Eleanor Roosevelt who was the first female president.

Nope. Edith Wilson.

Abigail Adams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Biden ordered a similar review of U.S. aid upon taking office

https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/whats-next-foreign-aid-under-biden

I have worked in global health since the first Bush administration. Nothing that any president has done to date, including the reviews, comes close to the absolute chaos of the past week. Literally no one knows what these orders mean, including senior State Department and USAID staff. Half of the Missions are telling our organization to do a full stop, including salaries, and the other half are saying to just stop programs and await instruction. Some are telling us to report on DEIA elements, and others are not. What is a DEIA element of a global health program? Is it work with disabled children promote inclusion and accessibility of schools? Is it working with ethnic minorities in a certain region who are over-represented in tuberculosis cases? We have no idea, and the Missions have no idea.

This is not just unprecedented, it's wildly under-considered. International development serves the interests of US foreign policy and national security by preventing disease outbreaks, curbing migration, preventing resource wars, and introducing anti-corruption mechanisms that allow more stable alliances. All of that is being torn down in the course of a week.

This is the story development professionals tell themselves, but is it really true? Has corruption really decreased in Africa? Most African heads of state aligned themselves with Russia in the Ukraine debacle. They are also playing Russia, China and the U.S. off of themselves to line their own pockets. There have been a spate of coups in the Sahel region over the past few years. Perhaps it's not working?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Power abhors a vacuum.

China will quietly swoop in to every country where we cut aid and our influence and power in the world will shrink and weaken.

You are on the late train. China has already strategically maneuvered into countries with abundant natural resources in Africa. Chinese aid is linked with China’s investment, trade, and foreign policy objectives.

The Chinese enterprises have tactically funded and constructed, expanded, or refurbished a minimum of 24 presidential or prime ministerial residences or offices; at least 26 parliamentary buildings or offices; no fewer than 32 military or police facilities; at least 19 foreign affairs ministry offices; and a minimum of 14 critical intra-governmental telecommunications networks.

China’s has a monopoly over mining in Africa’s copper belt (the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia), and its substantive recent investments into lithium production in Zimbabwe, which holds Africa’s largest reserves of lithium. These investments allow China to dictate the global supply chain for renewable batteries and electric vehicles (EVs).

No they have not done it quietly. While most Americans were too busy trying to keep up with the Kardashians (remember that decade?) and being distracted by TikTok for the last, China has already done much around the world. US was playing catch up. they sent in Dr. Biden to make deals. You know Dr. Jill Biden who was President for the last four years, our country's second woman President (after HRC was co-President in '92).

Correction. Nancy Reagan was the first woman president.

Nope. I think it was Eleanor Roosevelt who was the first female president.

Nope. Edith Wilson.

Abigail Adams.

Close advisor, not gatekeeper and defacto President.

[Anonymous]

Any word on the Peace Corps? Friend’s son is supposed to head out to start a 3-year tour - will that be canceled?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any word on the Peace Corps? Friend’s son is supposed to head out to start a 3-year tour - will that be canceled?

Does it use funds that could be diverted to Trump and his cronies? If so then I would count on them trying to take it sooner rather than later.