U.S. Mulls Controversial Foreign Aid Shake-up

Efforts are underway in Washington to revamp U.S. foreign aid in the wake of the coronavirus.

Proposals from both the White House and the Senate would shift billions of dollars in foreign assistance, consolidate control over U.S. humanitarian aid in the State Department and — according to one former top aid official — undermine the lifesaving work of USAID.

The U.S. is by far the largest donor to global health and development programs around the world. Leaders in Washington want to leverage the billions of dollars in aid various U.S. government agencies spend each year in low- and middle-income countries to make it more likely that the next emerging disease is discovered and contained before it poses a threat to Americans. The idea is that along with building up health systems in developing countries, the U.S. would push for disease surveillance networks in these places.

, who led USAID from 2001 to 2006 under George W. Bush, strongly objects to some of the ideas being floated in the latest initiatives.