Cuts & Consequences
The UN Finance for Development Conference, USAID, and State Department
Full disclosure: I lifted that headline from last night’s News Hour.
As mentioned last Friday, I’m just dropping into your inbox to share insights on the UN’s Financing for Development conference—and take a moment to honor the men and women who served at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), along with my friends at the State Department. There are no links today, sorry! But my column follows after the video.
I’ll be back with a regular newsletter on Friday, July 11, the last one for a few weeks. Happy 4th of July!
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Onto the news…..
As world leaders and NGO heads gathered in Seville, Spain this week for the UN’s Finance for Development conference, I spoke to Minh-Thu Pham, CEO & Founder of Project Starling. A long time UN hand, she lays out what the conference did, why the US was absent, and what to expect in the future. Sign up for their newsletter. It’s rich with information about what’s happening in the multilateral space.
Of course there’s a column!
Per my discussion with Minh-Thu this week, about 70 world leaders and thousands of civil society and NGO representatives gathered for the UN’s 4th Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville, Spain. The agenda focused on financing sustainable development, as outlined in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development goals in 2015.
At a time of growing inflation, widening debt, and budgets shifting from aid to defense, how does one finance poverty reduction, clean water, gender equality, sustainable cities, and clean energy? With bold initiatives, changes to current structures, and the willingness to stand up to the status quo. That’s what FfD4 proposed—and it’s why the US pulled out of the process in mid-June.
The US objected to changes the FfD4 proposed to global tax rules, which included international tax cooperation to combat tax evasion and taxing alcohol; the governance of international financial institutions to include more representatives from the Global South and redistributing voting power, and increasing the lending capacity of multilateral banks. Imagine having a more democratic system of decision making!
With Trump eager for Republicans to push through his “big beautiful bill,” which extends tax cuts while scaling back on funds to Medicaid—12 million people will lose healthcare coverage by 2034—and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or food stamps, the US snub in Seville is not surprising. It’s in line with Trump’s global approach—turning away from free trade, alliances, and humanitarian aid. Yes, that’s a segue to USAID….
This week, the US Agency for International Development formally closed down, ending 65 years of contributions to global health, conflict resolution, education, equality, and poverty reduction.
The science journal The Lancet noted this week that USAID programs saved 90 million lives over the past two decades. That’s just what can be measured. Every vaccine drive, drought-relief shipment, anti-corruption campaign, and teacher training bought something harder to quantify: goodwill towards and admiration of the United States.
A decade ago, I traveled across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, to do research for my book. At nearly each stop, people thanked me, as an American, for our generosity and compassion. No doubt, that contributed to protecting lives far beyond 90 million, including those in America itself. And at a cost of what James Macinko says is 18 cents per day. Foreign aid comprised less than one percent of the entire US budget. Low investment, high returns—isn’t that what Wall Street would say?
Another body where there is low investment and high returns is the State Department. The Trump administration plans to eliminate 15 percent of the workforce or about 2000 posts and shutting down offices, including the Office of Global Women’s Issues and a number of offices in the Democracy and Human Rights bureau. That’s disappointing and counterproductive.
The men and women who work on democracy and human rights are the first to identify a potential crisis or atrocity—and, thereby, prevent conflict or worse. According to the Institute for Economics & Peace, every dollar invested in prevention averts about $16 that needs to be spent on defense.
Varina Winder served in the Office of Global Women’s Issues and writes that eliminating the office “is a signal that the US is regressing wholesale on women’s rights.” This office not only pushed for women to be present at the negotiating table at peace deals, which are 64 percent less likely to fail with women present, but protecting them from domestic violence, unfair labor practices, child marriage, and genital mutilation.
As Varina points out, we can do something about it. Call your elected official, Senator or Representative, and tell them to stop these cuts. It’s the least we can do for the men and women at the State Department, who are among the best of the best—and many I’m proud to call good and some the best of friends. They are people who are curious, caring, smart, and, above all else, believe in the promise that America is not merely a country, but an ever evolving project towards progress. This 4th of July, I thank and honor them. —Elmira
Editorial Team
Elmira Bayrasli - Editor-in-Chief
Great conversation with Minh-Thu, and very glad to know commitments to development (instead of just destruction) are actually being made!