5 things to know about the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Trump's all-of-government DOGE review started with the literal dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, potentially ending, or at least interrupting critical aid, including food already paid for by taxpayers, but now sitting undelivered.

Griffin Media's Alex Cameron shares five important things to know about USAID:

USAID was created in 1961

Then-President John F. Kennedy recognized the need to bring together what had been several foreign assistance organizations and programs. With the help of Congress passing the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, Kennedy united U.S. foreign assistance into a single agency “responsible for administering aid to foreign countries to promote social and economic development,” according to an archived version of the USAID website.

 "There is no escaping our obligations: our moral obligations as a wise leader and good neighbor in the interdependent community of free nations – our economic obligations as the wealthiest people in a world of largely poor people, as a nation no longer dependent upon the loans from abroad that once helped us develop our own economy – and our political obligations as the single largest counter to the adversaries of freedom." – John F. Kennedy

The Purpose(s) of USAID

According to the Congressional Research Service, “USAID makes up the development pillar of the United States’ “3 D’s” approach to international engagement: diplomacy, development, and defense. The agency’s range of activities is broad and it aims to provide assistance to strategically important countries and countries in conflict, lead U.S. efforts to alleviate poverty, disease, and humanitarian needs, and assist U.S. commercial interests by supporting developing countries’ economic growth.”

Shifting Goals

The agency’s primary goals have shifted slightly over the years but, as the nation’s largest provider of non-military aid, USAID has played a significant role in US foreign relations. Initially, at the height of the Cold War, its primary role was to help counter Soviet influence around the world and to open more markets to American goods. In the 1970s, USAID began to shift its focus more toward the delivery of “basic needs,” such as food assistance, improved health, and universal education. In the 1980s, USAID also began working to stabilize the currencies and financial systems of allied countries. It has subsequently added the mission of promoting democracy and sustainability. USAID has also been a geopolitical tool, helping rebuild countries devastated by war, particularly Iraq and Afghanistan.

How much Aid does USAID give away? 

The United States is by the world’s largest donor of international aid. In FY 2023 (the most recent year for which complete data is available), the U.S. provided $72 billion in foreign aid; 61 percent of that, about $44 billion, was disbursed by USAID. As a percentage of GDP, however, several nations – Germany, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom – give more aid than the U.S.

Did USAID actually provide $50 million “to fund condoms in Gaza?” 

Multiple fact-checks have shown this statement, made first by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and then repeated a day later by President Trump, misleading, if not completely false. According to the Associated Press, Leavitt and Trump “appeared to be referring to a grant or grants that USAID awarded to a group called the International Medical Corps worth $102.2 million to provide medical and trauma services in Gaza. The State Department…described this as an example of “egregious funding” not aligned with American interests or the president’s policies.

The Trump administration claimed the grants included funding for “family planning programming including emergency contraception; sexual healthcare including prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs); and adolescent sexual and reproductive health.”

According to the IMC, “No US government funding was used to procure or distribute condoms, nor provide family-planning services.” In a press release, the IMC said it has received $68,078,508 from USAID to support its operations in Gaza since October 7, 2023. They said the resources were used to operate two large field hospitals currently located in central Gaza—one in Deir Al Balah and one in Al Zawaida — offering a combined total capacity of more than 250 beds, including 20 in the emergency room and 170 in the surgical department. These facilities have provided around-the-clock medical care to about 33,000 civilians per month.