What is filling the USAID funding gap?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 8 April 2025
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On the first day of his second term in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that paused funding for USAID, the US government’s main foreign aid agency, for a 90-day review.
While the long-term effects remain unclear, the order has already frozen vital programs relied on by millions of people globally, forced the closure of USAID’s overseas offices, and jeopardised thousands of jobs.
As one of the world’s largest foreign aid providers, the US plays an essential role with no other country or organisation fully able to fill the gap. But some recipient countries see this move as an opportunity to seek solutions closer to home.
This week on The Inquiry, Charmaine Cozier explores the consequences of this shift in US foreign policy, asking “What is filling the USAID funding gap?”
Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Matt Toulson Researcher: Katie Morgan Editor: Tara McDermott Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
Contributors to this programme:
Fatema Sumar, Executive Director of the Harvard Center for International Development (CID) and an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, US
Michael Jennings, Professor of Global Development at SOAS University London, UK
Francisca Mutapi, Professor of Global Health Infection and Immunity and Deputy Director TIBA Partnership at the University of Edinburgh, UK
George Ingram, Senior fellow in the Center for Sustainable Development at Brookings Institution, US
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're about to listen to a BBC podcast, but this is about something else you might enjoy. |
| 0:05.4 | My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:10.7 | The BBC has an incredible musical heritage and culture and as a music lover, I love being part of that. |
| 0:17.4 | With music on sounds, we offer collections and mixes for everything, from workouts to |
| 0:22.4 | helping you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all |
| 0:28.1 | put together by people who know their stuff. So if you want some expertly curated music in your life, |
| 0:34.9 | check out BBC Sounds. Welcome to The Inquiry. I'm Charmaine Cozier. Each week, |
| 0:40.2 | one question, four expert witnesses and an answer. January 2025, Washington, D.C. On his first |
| 0:51.7 | day as U.S. President, Donald Trump signs 26 executive orders. |
| 0:57.0 | The first batch are issued in a sports arena in front of 20,000 supporters. |
| 1:02.0 | Why don't you say what I'm saying? |
| 1:04.0 | Sure. The first item that President Trump is signing is the rescission of 78 Biden-era executive actions, executive orders, presidential |
| 1:12.9 | memoranda and others. |
| 1:15.3 | Others signed there and later on in the White House include one called re-evaluating and |
| 1:20.4 | realigning United States Foreign Aid. |
| 1:23.3 | It's not named in the order, but America's main aid body is the United States Agency for International Development or USAID. |
| 1:32.1 | The executive order pauses assistance programs for a 90-day review. |
| 1:36.8 | After that, it says they can be continued, changed or cancelled, but the impact is immediate. |
| 1:43.6 | Other countries are cutting overseas aid budgets, |
| 1:46.8 | so this week we're asking what is filling the USAID funding gap? |
| 1:54.3 | Part 1, the Ugly American. |
| 1:59.5 | It's no exaggeration to say that US foreign assistance, the leadership of USAID, has saved millions of lives and has really helped shape a new era of global health security for the planet. |
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