The Slow-Motion Collapse: The Real Impact of US Foreign Aid Cuts

24 September 2025 content editor Africa, Global, Home, Home affairs, News, North America, Politics, South Asia, Western Europe, World Comments Off on The Slow-Motion Collapse: The Real Impact of US Foreign Aid Cuts

The world is witnessing a slow-motion collapse of decades of progress, not onthe battlefield, but in clinics, schools, and villages across the globe. The US government, under the leadership of the current President, has spearheaded an unprecedented and swift reduction in foreign aid. The rationale, often championed by voices like Elon Musk, has been that foreign aid is wasteful and ineffective, a sentiment that aligns with a populist agenda. However, these cuts, which began with a 90-day freeze on all foreign assistance on January 24, 2025, were not a gradual tapering, but an abrupt and brutal severing of lifelines. Akin to removing the blood transfusion until the patient was well or an alternative source of donors could be found.

This has had immediate and devastating consequences for recipient nations. Departments such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), once the world’s largest foreign aid body, have been largely dismantled. By August 2025, an estimated 86% of USAID’s awards globally had been terminated. Crucial programmes like the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) saw a 65% termination rate, putting millions of lives at risk. Other programmes related to maternal and child health, food assistance, and education have also been severely impacted. For example contraceptives being burned rather than sold off to charities has a more pernicious agenda now forcing many young women at the bottom of an already low barrel, these are some of the most vulnerable people on earth now having the reality of backstreet abortions which is even more life threatening to unborn children and mothers.

The sudden and absolute nature of these cuts has meant that recipient states have had no time to recover or find alternative sources of funding. Countries like South Africa, Uganda, and Haiti have been disproportionately affected, with their healthcare systems and humanitarian programmes in peril. For example, a single PEPFAR award termination in South Africa alone could affect over 2.3 million people on HIV treatment. The void left by the US is so significant that other nations, including those in the EU, have found themselves unable to fill it. Countries like France and the UK have also cut their own foreign aid budgets, with the EU as a whole planning to cut its development spending by €2 billion to focus on domestic priorities and security. This collective retreat from global responsibility is having real-world consequences, with global poverty and inequality set to rise.

The Perils of Dependency and The Price of Austerity

Cutting foreign aid is not, on its face, an inherently wrong action. A long-term over-reliance on external funding can breed dependency and, in some cases, corruption. Organisations like the UN and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) need to work together with governments and create a credible plan to help nations transition from aid to self-sufficiency. National governments in recipient countries must also step up, fix their own systemic problems, and ensure aid is not being embezzled. However, the current approach is not a solution to these issues; it’s a brutal overcorrection that will likely lead to even greater instability.

The populist argument for these cuts suggests that they will benefit citizens in donor nations, but in reality, the gains are negligible, while the long-term risks are profound. A 2024 Oxfam report found that US foreign aid accounted for less than 1% of the overall federal budget. The savings for the average US taxpayer would be minimal, yet the costs of a destabilised world could be immense. There is a documented correlation between a lack of humanitarian assistance and negative consequences like destabilisation and future crises, which can lead to military and humanitarian spending that is equal to or greater than the cost of the original aid. For example, cuts in contraception programmes in countries like Bangladesh could lead to a rise in backstreet abortions, while cuts to food aid will increase malnutrition and deaths among infants and families. A 2025 Lancet study warned that funding cuts could result in over 14 million additional deaths by 2030.

This is a slow-motion tragedy where the collateral damage is the lives of the most vulnerable. We cannot be so callous as to assume that because a problem is out of sight, it is not our problem. The ripple effect of these cuts—from a rise in disease and hunger to increased migration and regional instability—will inevitably find its way back to our own shores. More aid cannot be the only solution, but instant and drastic cuts are not a viable alternative. Without a tangible plan, the problem is not solved; it is simply pushed downwind, and it will eventually blow back in everyone’s face.

[Facts]
  • USAID Disruption: The current US administration ordered a freeze on foreign aid on January 24, 2025. By August 2025, an estimated 86% of USAID’s awards had been terminated.
  • PEPFAR Cuts: The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a programme that provides HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, saw a 65% termination rate for its awards.
  • Affected Countries: Countries most affected by these cuts include South Africa, Uganda, Haiti, Afghanistan, and Yemen.
  • EU and UK Aid: The EU plans to cut €2 billion from its development spending, while countries like France and the UK have also reduced their foreign aid budgets.
  • Embezzlement: While exact figures are difficult to obtain, countries like Kenya, Cameroon, and Zimbabwe have faced accusations of government officials embezzling foreign aid.
  • Oxfam Report: A 2024 Oxfam report noted that US foreign aid made up less than 1% of the federal budget.
  • Lancet Study: A 2025 Lancet study warned that US foreign aid cuts could lead to over 14 million additional deaths by 2030.

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