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Workers transfer yellow lentils in an aid run by the United States Agency for International Development, Catholic Relief Services and the Tigray Relief Society in Micheli, Ethiopia, on June 16, 2021.
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The main agency in charge of distributing foreign aid to the United States – the United States Agency for International Development – is facing the renewal of the Trump administration, which indicated that it may significantly reform the organization or even close the organization.
Here is what to know about the agency.
What is Usaid?
It was created in 1961 by President John Kennedy, the United States Agency for International Development Out of effort To separate military and non -military aid and renew how foreign aid is distributed to the United States.
Kennedy has argued that the United States, as the richest country on Earth, suffers from a moral and financial commitment to provide external aid. He said that it was politically useful for the United States to finance projects in poor countries, in an attempt to prevent the collapse of “current political and social structures that will inevitably call for the progress of inclusiveness.”
In 1971, at the height of the Vietnam War, The Senate rejected the draft external aid lawPartially on the increasing concerns that external aid did not help us abroad. Congress later re -focused on US foreign aid efforts on projects designed to address specific issues, such as agriculture, family planning and education.
However, in decades since then, some lawmakers and public officials Continue questioning the effectiveness of the United States Agency for International Development And accountability as an independent agency.
What do you do?
The American Agency for International Development provides humanitarian assistance during global conflicts and other emergencies. It funds efforts to enhance public health, improve education and protect human rights. It also works to enhance American interests abroad.
The country that obtained the most funding of the US Agency for International Development during the fiscal year 2023 was Ukraine during its ongoing war with Russia, according to Report from Congress Research Service Using the latest full data available. The Agency also sent humanitarian aid to Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas, and allocates money to confront China’s influence in the world.
Among the other recipients to assist at the United States Agency for International Development in that fiscal year Ethiopia, Jordan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Yemen.
and An archiving post on the US International Development Agency websiteand Which has disappeared in recent days, the agency said to an average of 75 humanitarian crises every year, and has recently provided support during the continuous emergency in Haiti as well as the countries in Africa and the Middle East.
Other issues on which the agency works for food security, climate change and global health. Experts noted that one of the main components in the work of the United States Agency for International Development prevents the outbreak of diseases and the environment from reaching the United States
The latest decision to freeze the agency’s activities is already repercussions abroad. NPR stated that the work stopped when 10 police stations damaged from the floods in Pakistan and a project that secretly provides education for girls in Afghanistan, which is controlled by Taliban could be closed.
how much does it cost?
In the fiscal year 2023, the United States Agency for International Development managed the budget of approximately $ 40 billion. (This represents less than 1 % of the total federal budget 6.1 trillion dollars In the same year.) I have provided assistance to about 130 countries that year.
Although other American departments and agencies distribute external aid, the US Agency for International Development has The largest part came out International assistance for more than half a century. It has more than 10,000 employees, about two thirds of them work abroad.
The projects funded by the United States Agency for International Development are usually implemented by foreign and international or non -profit or contractors for profit, universities or foreign governments.
The White House and the Senate proposed a plan during the first period of Trump’s state to reform the agency, including granting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs control of American humanitarian aid.