The Destruction of USAID: How Profit Over Aid Means Starving Children, Disease & Death

The Destruction of USAID - How the Trump Administration's “Trade Over Aid” Means Starving Children, Disease and Death

Join ProPublica journalists for a conversation about the dismantling of U.S. foreign aid worldwide.

Feb 11 at 1 PM - 2 PM PT (4 PM - 5 PM ET)

Info & RSVP: https://events.propublica.org/USAID

Within months of taking office, Trump officials eradicated USAID, the world’s largest humanitarian agency, slashing thousands of lifesaving programs and putting millions of lives at risk.

While many news organizations covered these developments, no one reported on the decisions made by the agency with the depth and precision of ProPublica’s Anna Maria Barry-Jester and Brett Murphy. The team showed that even as senior Trump officials cut these programs — in one case celebrating with cake afterward — they had been repeatedly warned that people would die.
The reporters then unequivocally connected the deaths of people, including children, who depended on this aid to decisions by U.S. policymakers and political appointees in Washington.

To get the story, Murphy and Barry-Jester knocked on doors, developed deep sourcing and reviewed previously unreported memos, correspondence and other documents. The reporting was difficult, as the State Department laid off thousands of employees, made threats to discourage people from speaking out and targeted those it believed were obstructing the administration’s agenda.

Then, the reporters went to find the people most acutely impacted by the drastic funding cuts in some of the most desperate places on earth. In South Sudan, U.S. aid had been helping to stave off a cholera epidemic; when that assistance was cut, the disease came roaring back, needlessly claiming lives. In Kenya, American funds had helped feed hundreds of thousands of refugees; when it was cut, children starved.

The stories sparked immediate outcry. Experts, attorneys, nonprofits and lawmakers pressured the Trump administration to change course. ProPublica’s reporting was cited in legal filings and congressional inquiries challenging the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and it spurred some readers to offer direct support to people affected by the cuts.

The Trump administration has announced a new era of foreign aid, in which the U.S. will prioritize “trade over aid.” It has also allocated some funding for food aid in Kakuma, Kenya, the third-largest refugee camp in the world, which will allow for limited rations through March.

During this conversation, ProPublica’s investigative team will walk attendees through what we found, why it matters and how we reported it. We’ll also showcase the investigation’s powerful photography.

You can submit your question for our panelists when you RSVP.


SPEAKERS

Sarah Childress, ProPublica senior editor

Anna Maria Barry-Jester, ProPublica reporter

Brett Murphy, ProPublica reporter

Peter DiCampo, ProPublica visuals editor