Trump tore apart global aid - here’s how the world will suffer - video Dailymotion

The Independent

What happens when the U.S. slashes humanitarian aid? In this episode of Decomplicated by The Independent, we break down Trump’s USAID cuts and why they matter. From disaster relief to healthcare, these programs keep millions afloat—so what happens when the funding disappears? Expect food shortages, medical crises, and global instability. We unpack who’s hit hardest, why it’s happening, and what the world might do next. No jargon, no fluff—just the need-to-know, served up straight.

Transcript

00:00The golden age of America begins right now. During every single day of the Trump administration,

00:12I will very simply put America first.

00:17Hello, hello.

00:21Since Trump's return to office in November 2024, it's safe to say he wasted no time bringing

00:26back his often chaotic style of rule.

00:29Revoking nearly 80 destructive, radical executive actions of the previous administration, they'll

00:34all be null and void within about, what, five minutes? Is that them over there? Five minutes?

00:40From clashing with Vladimir Zelensky in front of cameras, because who doesn't like our world

00:44politics to be treated like wrestling?

00:46You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.

00:51He's not speaking loudly. He's not speaking loudly. Your country's in big trouble. Wait

00:55a minute. No, no. You've done a lot of talking.

00:57After canceling billions in government contracts, the U.S. president is making changes on a

01:02global scale.

01:03It's about making America great again, making it strong and prosperous again. Thank you

01:07very much.

01:08But perhaps the biggest story being felt around the world is the abolition of the U.S. Agency

01:13of International Development, otherwise known as USAID.

01:20For over 60 years, USAID has provided humanitarian and development assistance to other countries.

01:27But the USAID is really corrupt. I'll tell you, it's corrupt. It's incompetent and it's

01:32really corrupt.

01:33The swift closure by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, quote, likely violated

01:39the constitution in multiple ways.

01:41This will cause people to die without help from critical humanitarian aid that USAID

01:46provide.

01:47The golden age of America has only just begun.

01:52The Trump administration withdrew billions of dollars in foreign aid affecting people

01:55and humanitarian projects in 157 countries worldwide.

02:00But Trump is not the only world leader to backpedal on aid promises.

02:04In the UK, Keir Starmer has also U-turned on his manifesto commitment to boost global

02:09aid.

02:10In fact, the UK is slashing the foreign aid budget nearly in half to just 0.3% of gross

02:15national income in order to boost defence spending in this period of geopolitical insecurity.

02:22Starmer announced the change in order to boost defence spending from 2.3% to 2.5% in

02:28the midst of Russia's war in Ukraine.

02:30Both changes will come in the next two years to 2027.

02:33To really understand this topic, we need to break it down.

02:36Foreign aid has been a cornerstone of modern international relations since the post-war

02:40period, with John F. Kennedy establishing USAID in 1961 using the Foreign Assistance

02:45Act.

02:46We continue working with the people in those countries to try to work with them in developing

02:52the economic thrust of their countries so that they can make a determination that they

02:58can solve their problems without resorting to totalitarian control and becoming part

03:02of the bloc.

03:03That's the issue.

03:05Humanitarian aid has propped up medical systems, delivered education for millions of children

03:10and protected women and girls worldwide.

03:12The latest figures show that the 31 richest countries in the world spent $223bn on global

03:18aid in 2023.

03:21Back then, the United States was by far the leading donor, giving over $64bn according

03:26to the OECD.

03:28Next up were Germany, EU institutions, Japan and the UK.

03:32The United Nations says the richest countries should spend at least 0.7% of their gross

03:36national income on aid.

03:38But the countries with the most money aren't necessarily the most generous.

03:42Before the cuts, the US was already far down on the list, spending just 0.24% of its gross

03:47national income on aid.

03:49Now, the US has slashed around $60bn in foreign assistance and it's unclear what programs,

03:55if any, will remain.

03:57In the UK, foreign aid met the 0.7% target under David Cameron's government up until

04:032020.

04:04But emergency measures during Covid and economic uncertainty meant that aid spending went down

04:09to just 0.5% and has never fully recovered, kind of like my trust in politicians.

04:15In 2023, the UK spent over £15bn on aid, but nearly a third of this was put towards

04:21housing for refugees in the UK.

04:24In the run-up to the 2024 election, one of Labour's promises was to bring aid spending

04:29back up.

04:30As we mentioned earlier, now that he's in power, Keir Starmer is cutting foreign aid

04:34to its lowest level this century.

04:37The aid budget will now be cut to just 0.3% of gross national income, less than half of

04:42the UN-recommended target.

04:44To understand the sheer scale of global aid cuts, we need to look at where the money goes.

04:48The UK's top aid destinations are Ukraine and Ethiopia, which is suffering from heightened

04:53humanitarian crises as a result of intense drought and flooding.

04:57These are just two out of dozens of countries which receive aid from the UK, and more if

05:02we're looking at aid from the US.

05:04In 2023, a third of US foreign aid was spent on economic development, followed by health

05:09programmes, humanitarian assistance and peace and security.

05:13Money is also spent on projects to support education, environmental protection and protect

05:18against gender-based violence.

05:20Many of these projects have now shut down.

05:23One example is in family planning and sexual health.

05:27Millions of women worldwide have lost access to contraception as a result of the US aid

05:31cuts, with around 900,000 women and girls each week relying on US-funded programmes.

05:37This is just the start of how women's health will be impacted.

05:40With limited access to contraception, birth rates will also go up, which will put a strain

05:45on women in countries like Niger, where mothers already have six to seven children on average.

05:51And pregnancy will be even more deadly without US-funded maternal health services, like midwives.

05:57On the highest level, a sudden population boom will impact economies which are already

06:01struggling in areas with the highest poverty rates in the world.

06:05And all of this will have a lasting impact on the world as a whole, which is why foreign

06:09aid is beneficial for countries like the UK and the US.

06:13In Africa, the majority of countries rely heavily on aid from the US and the UK.

06:17In these countries, like Uganda, humanitarian projects provide essential infrastructure

06:22for healthcare and the education system.

06:25Suddenly taking away billions in funding is going to leave a gap.

06:29And the problem is, there's no one who can really fill it.

06:32In Nigeria, US-funded programmes provide an essential backbone of the medical system,

06:37with $600 million for healthcare in 2023 alone.

06:41But now, they have to find the money from other sources.

06:44One option when it comes to plugging the gap left by US aid is to look to China, who are

06:48already the largest investors in Africa.

06:51China provides loans, grants and investment worth hundreds of billions of dollars across

06:55the continent.

06:56In some cases, this money is used to fund hospitals and roads.

07:01As the world's second largest economy by a long way, it's possible that China will

07:05step in and provide more money where the US and UK pull back.

07:09But research shows that most of China's development spending comes in the form of

07:13loans, and countries have already struggled to pay these back.

07:17The US is the wealthiest country in the world, and so can afford to spend more than other

07:21countries on global aid.

07:23As for the future, it might be that loans or conditions become a larger part of foreign

07:27aid.

07:28Just look at Ukraine, where Trump is trying to strike a deal to profit from local mineral

07:33mining.

07:34It'll be great for Ukraine.

07:35It's like a huge economic development project, so it'll be good for both countries.

07:40So what happens next for global aid?

07:42Nobody really knows.

07:44But what we do know is that the loss of US funding is already affecting millions of people

07:49each day.

07:50Charities, governments, and international organizations around the world are fighting

07:54to come up with solutions for the short-term and long-term consequences.

07:58But the fact is, without support from the US, global aid is going to look very different.

08:03As for how, we're going to have to wait and see.

08:05Aid, the concept of foreign assistance, is not a popular program in the United States.

08:10That is a well-known fact, and therefore there will not be farewell parades to you as you

08:17leave or parades for you when you come back.

Trump tore apart global aid - here’s how the world will suffer

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