‍

Over one year since the USAID stop-work order took effect, the impacts on foreign aid efforts continue to be felt by communities and organizations around the world. From 2024 to 2025, U.S. foreign aid in total dropped by 57%, and total global aid fell by nearly a quarter (Devex). This is further marked by significant, simultaneous first-time funding cuts from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Japan. And this doesn't account for the proposed additional future cuts in the U.S. budget, nor the fact that the cuts are (seemingly) permanently ratched down by the elimination of the primary agency charged with distributing and monitoring that aid.

For GAIA, this reinforces the urgency of sustaining long-term, community-rooted health systems in the face of shrinking global support. And for millions worldwide, it marks a dangerous turning point where the loss of trusted aid infrastructure threatens not just progress, but lives.

Two Devex op-eds written by GAIA board member and retired USAID senior foreign officer Brian Frantz analyze the erosion of the “soul” of U.S. development work and reflect on three of the biggest takeaways from the dissolution of USAID; the erosion of institutional knowledge, the weakening of global partnerships, and the decline in U.S. credibility as a development leader.

Frantz emphasizes that development systems are built over generations, and the professional networks, local knowledge, and long-term partnerships cultivated by USAID were essential to delivering effective aid. Their loss has created gaps that cannot easily be filled by new mechanisms or short-term funding models.

For those with a Devex Account, you may access Brian’s articles at the links below: 

3 things we have lost with the dissolution of USAID

Stop pretending USAID’s takedown was about doing development better 

‍

Additional Resources: 

Devex: ODA plummets by almost a quarter, driven by billions in US cuts

‍Health Policy Watch: Record ODA Cuts: Top Donors Slash Aid as Global Health Risks Grow