The Crisis of U.S. Foreign Aid: A Story of Impact and Resilience

The Freeze on U.S. Foreign Aid: A Devastating Blow

In early 2024, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department ordered contractors to pause all work, sparking widespread concern about the implications for global health, humanitarian efforts, and international development. Sadie Healy, founder of Molloy Consultants, a small global health consulting firm, recognized the potential catastrophe of this decision. Unlike USAID, which was undergoing significant restructuring under the Trump administration—including the firing of senior staff, the shutdown of its headquarters, and plans to terminate employees—Healy decided to take action. She couldn’t sit idly by as the freeze on foreign aid unfolded without documentation. “I am an action person,” Healy explained in an interview with The Associated Press. “The depression and the sadness that we knew this was going to cause was something I couldn’t deal with. So we called a Zoom meeting.”

This meeting marked the beginning of a collective effort to track the impact of the freeze on U.S. foreign aid. Healy joined a growing number of individuals and organizations within the international development ecosystem who stepped forward to document the consequences of this decision. Many of these groups were nonprofits already working with grassroots organizations worldwide, while others were professionals volunteering their time, skills, and networks.

The Scale of the Crisis: A Global Humanitarian Leader in Jeopardy

The United States is the largest single global humanitarian funder, contributing $13.9 billion in 2024, and the largest supporter of U.N. agencies. Any disruption to its foreign assistance programs has far-reaching consequences across geographies and sectors. The initial pause in funding has now escalated into the dismantling of USAID and its programs. On social media, former President Donald Trump called for the agency to be shut down entirely, referring to it as a “viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America.” While a judge temporarily halted plans to place thousands of USAID employees on paid leave, the uncertainty surrounding the agency’s future has caused irreparable harm.

The question of whether these cuts are permanent remains unresolved. While Secretary of State Marco Rubio has assured that funding will not be permanently cut, those on the ground warn that every day the freeze continues, the damage grows. The State Department has not responded to requests for comment, leaving many in the dark about the future of U.S. foreign aid.

Grassroots Efforts to Track the Damage

Sadie Healy and her business partner, Meg McClure, decided to focus on one critical aspect of the crisis: the number of American jobs lost due to the freeze. With the help of a staffer from a Senate committee, they launched a website, USAID Stop-Work, and a survey to document the impact on employment. By mid-February, the survey had already reported 10,758 U.S. jobs cut since the stop-work orders were issued on January 24. This number includes some positions at USAID but does not account for all 8,000 employees directly employed by the agency or the thousands more working in the field.

Healy hopes this data will serve as evidence for lawyers and members of Congress advocating against the freeze. “We can document the destruction that this executive order has caused,” she said. “And we hope that lawyers and members of Congress can use that for their case.”

Other organizations and individuals have also stepped up to track the impact of the funding cuts. Accountability Lab, an international nonprofit, launched a survey and later merged efforts with others to create the website Global Aid Freeze. This platform visualizes the responses from 568 organizations affected by the aid freeze, offering a glimpse into the scale of the crisis. Half of these organizations reported having less than three months of operating reserves, meaning they could be forced to shut down by May if funding remains frozen.

The Ripple Effects: A Humanitarian System in Crisis

The international development community is grappling with the far-reaching consequences of the aid freeze. Accountability Lab’s founder and co-CEO, Blair Glencorse, emphasized that the changes to U.S. foreign funding are “fundamentally changed” and that the aid system may never return to its previous state. “Things are fundamentally changed and I don’t think the aid system is going to be the same again,” he said.

For many organizations, the freeze has created a dire situation. GlobalGiving, a nonprofit that supports small international organizations, has launched a fund to help these groups survive the pause in U.S. funding. However, even with such efforts, many organizations are unlikely to survive a prolonged shutdown.

Resilience and Solidarity in the Face of Crisis

Despite the overwhelming challenges, the international development community has shown remarkable resilience. Professionals like Joanne Sonenshine, an economist with over a decade of experience working alongside USAID, have taken matters into their own hands. Sonenshine noticed a wave of layoffs and responded by creating a spreadsheet where people could share their qualifications and contact information, while others could post job openings. Nearly 800 people contributed to the spreadsheet, and another list included over 550 entries for open positions.

Sonenshine’s initiative reflects the broader ethos of solidarity within the development community. “This just goes to show how much we need support for these people,” she said. “And this is not just D.C. people, by the way. These are U.S. contractors or U.S. staff all over the world whose livelihoods and their family’s life depended on the U.S. government.”

A Community United: The Power of Collective Action

The efforts to document the impact of the aid freeze and support those affected are largely self-funded and self-directed. Healy and McClure, for example, personally fund the website tracking U.S. job losses. Accountability Lab launched its survey without dedicated funding, though it has since received some support. Professionals across the development sector have volunteered their time and expertise to help people find new jobs or secure alternative funding.

This willingness to act, even in the face of uncertainty, reflects the resilience and determination of the international development community. As Healy put it, “We love planning, it’s our favorite thing. We are like, ‘This is the moment we were made for. Let’s go.’”

The story of the U.S. foreign aid freeze is one of crisis, but it is also a testament to the power of collective action and the unwavering commitment of those who dedicate their lives to improving the world. As the situation continues to unfold, one thing is clear: the international development community will not go quietly into the night. Instead, it will fight to preserve the progress made and ensure that those most vulnerable are not left behind.