USAID addresses that suffering, translating American sympathy into tangible action. It is a hand extended in service, not just in charity but in solidarity with those who need it most.
Cutting off health aid to developing countries will not make America great again. However, it may make those countries more aware of the vital support they once received from the United States − support they may now seek elsewhere.
For the past four years, I have traveled to India two or three times a year to train doctors to combat tuberculosis, including its deadly multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) strain. We trained nearly 400 tuberculosis officers, equipping them with the skills to find and treat these cases before they spread.
Our work saved thousands of lives and protected Americans. Tuberculosis doesn’t respect borders − it can just as easily afflict a passenger on an international flight or someone commuting on the Washington Metro.
USAID, the United States Agency for International Development, funded our work. With USAID shut down and its thousands of workers placed on leave, crucial work like this is in jeopardy.
Dismantling USAID is a threat to America’s and the world’s security
The programs USAID funds in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe are not just acts of charity but strategic investments.
USAID’s work is “soft diplomacy” in action − demonstrating to the world that Americans care for the welfare of others, regardless of political systems or governments. Every package of medical supplies, every box of food, and every training manual bears the words: “From the People of the United States of America.” These are not empty slogans. They represent a nation that values human life and believes in global stability.
And yet, even from a purely self-interested perspective, the USAID shutdown is reckless. Preventing the spread of MDR-TB, Ebola, or the Marburg virus (which has a terrifying 90% fatality rate) is far more effective − and significantly cheaper − when we stop outbreaks abroad rather than reacting to them at home, as we learned from the Dallas Ebola outbreak in September 2014.
Dismantling USAID’s health programs is not just shortsighted; it is a devastating blow to our global health security.
Millions of vulnerable people around the world are in peril
History has shown us the power of humanitarian missions. Missionaries once traveled across continents, bringing their faith, medicine, and education. Thanks to these missionaries’ dedication, I learned English as a child at St. Mary’s Catholic School in central India.
USAID serves a similar purpose on a much larger scale, offering aid and building long-term capacity in developing nations. It fosters self-sufficiency, strengthens healthcare systems, and reduces the global disease burden − outcomes that ultimately benefit America.
The abrupt withdrawal of USAID humanitarian work leaves millions of vulnerable people in peril. Imagine being a pregnant mother in rural Uganda, relying on a USAID-funded health worker for prenatal care. Now, just weeks before delivery, your clinic is shuttered, and the workers trained to help you are gone. The human cost is incalculable.
The abrupt shutdown has also left hundreds of U.S. officials overseas stranded, with children pulled out of schools, spouses forced to leave jobs, and livelihoods disrupted overnight. This is not just about dollars and cents; it is about honest, well-meaning, hard-working Americans whose lives have been upended without warning.
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The financial argument doesn’t hold up. USAID’s global health budget − approximately $8 billion − is a fraction of the nearly $1.7 trillion U.S. healthcare budget. The claim that this is a necessary cost-cutting measure is a gross miscalculation. The money we save today will come at a much greater cost tomorrow − in lost geopolitical influence and the increased risk of global epidemics reaching our own shores.
U.S. has opened the door to China to takes it place in the world
Let us make no mistake: the void left by America’s retreat will not remain empty. With its strategic eye on global influence, China will step in, providing aid and gaining political leverage at “fire-sale” prices.
We are not making America great again; we are ceding ground to those who would use humanitarian aid not as a goodwill gesture but as a tool of power.
The world is complex. Alliances shift, regimes change, but human suffering remains a constant. USAID addresses that suffering, translating American sympathy into tangible action. It is a hand extended in service, not just in charity but in solidarity with those who need it most.
As an American citizen for 45 years, I have always been proud of my country’s commitment to humanitarian leadership. USAID was not just about providing food and medical aid − it was about fostering independence, strengthening global health security, and making the world, including our own country, a safer place.
Today, I am deeply saddened. We are making a colossal mistake, and the consequences will echo for generations.
Source: Commercial Appeal