USAID Shutdown Leading to Human Calamity

Give Water a Voice

Your support helps inform the world’s most important decisions about water and all that it touches.

One-time Monthly Annually

One-time

$9

$35

$250

Other Donation amount

$

Monthly

$7

$15

$30

Other Donation amount per month

$

Annually

$100

$500

$1,000

Other Donation amount per year

$

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate Now

Until it was shut down earlier this year by Elon Musk and President Trump, the U.S. Agency for International Development spent a bit over $63 billion annually to support disaster relief, health, anti-poverty, water supply, and waste management projects on three continents. American investments in human well-being, which amounted to less than half of one percent of the federal budget, helped tens of millions of the world’s poorest people lead safer, more productive, healthier lives. 

Circle of Blue pays close attention to water-related projects that benefit global health and well-being. Four years ago we published an acclaimed series on USAID’s contribution to the powerful improvement over the last several decades in international projects to supply water and provide safe sanitation to disadvantaged regions on Earth. 

The end of USAID is leading to human catastrophe in the places the agency assisted. The shutdown, for instance, occurred while hundreds of thousands of people in eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo fled to Goma to evade violence. They were met by overwhelmed hospital, dirty drinking water, and inadequate sanitation, services that USAID was expert at responding to. 

Similarly, after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar in March, USAID was not able to respond to emergency needs for medical supplies, clean water, sanitation, housing, and transportation. 

Disaster-response was one of USAID’s specialties and a powerful influence in how residents viewed the generosity and skills of Americans. Now disaster victims are one their own, encountering hunger, violence, and unacceptably high risks of cholera and other water-borne diseases in refugee camps and informal settlements.

What USAID does, and the impact of Trump’s cuts on foreign aid

The Trump Administration Said These Aid Programs Saved Lives. It Canceled Them Anyway.

USAID cuts are already hitting countries around the world. Here are 20 projects that have closed.

In freezing foreign aid, the US leaves people to die – and allows China to come to the rescue 

“It’s Unacceptable”: BU Mathematician Tracks How Many Deaths May Result from USAID, Medicaid Cuts