When I received the phone call that I would no longer be able to work at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), I was stunned. The government agency that addresses global disease, poverty and instability was relatively unknown for most of its decades-long history, until a stop work order was issued on all programs resulting in a flurry of attention, news and disinformation campaigns.
In the weeks since then, about 95% of the agency’s workforce has been laid off, furloughed or put on leave with almost no warning. Nearly 52,000 American jobs are already estimated to be lost. This will have devastating effects on the millions around the world the agency serves, and it will not leave Americans — including Utahns — untouched.
USAID contracts with American farmers to provide life-saving food assistance. The U.S. government purchased $2.1 billion in food aid from American farmers in 2020, including at least two large-scale Utah farms. But, with the stop work order, delivery of all food aid has been paused. At this moment, 507,000 metric tons of this American-grown food aid, estimated at $340 million, is sitting in U.S. ports, unable to move until restrictions have been lifted and the proper staff are reinstated to oversee the process. The rotting food is filling up storage spaces that are continually incurring fees. This is the start of a chain reaction of events that will disrupt the livelihoods of farmers and U.S. markets that benefit from these sales.
And farmers aren’t the only domestic partners suffering from the lapse of USAID contracts — small businesses, nonprofits and universities also partner with USAID and will be affected. The University of Utah has received USAID funding in the past, including to host a design contest for innovative solutions for post-harvest loss and to work with other organizations on improving infectious disease prevention and surveillance. LDS Charities is another Utah organization who has partnered to address global health issues and will see a reduction in funding from the agency.
Utahns should also be concerned about the negative impacts to our national security. USAID is an important tool in advancing our foreign policy and plays a large role in how we are viewed worldwide. When disaster strikes abroad, trucks and response workers bearing the USAID logo are often the first to show up, which has contributed to the U.S. reputation of goodwill and collaboration. With the absence of American foreign aid, a vacuum has been created and U.S. adversaries are stepping in to fill it. In a matter of weeks, China has already funneled millions into projects that were previously USAID funded, inserting their influence in areas that are critical to U.S. interest. USAID has traditionally been one of our most cost-effective means of counterbalancing our adversaries and it will not be easily replaced.
And, though it doesn’t have a direct impact on the state, Utahns should be gravely concerned about the millions who will suffer from USAID’s programs. Using less than 1.5% of our federal budget, the agency is the largest donor of humanitarian aid in the world. Without USAID, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network which prevents acute food security in 30 different countries, has gone dark. International ability to respond to the bird flu has been inhibited due to the closure of USAID’s outbreak monitoring around the globe. People persecuted for their religious beliefs have stopped receiving USAID-funded support from global faith-based organizations. Thousands of other life-saving programs in 60 different countries will impact millions of people with their closure.
USAID is not perfect — no government entity is — but shuttering it first and asking questions later is not the right way to conduct reforms. USAID is non-partisan and deeply well-intentioned, a rare occurrence in Washington. Disinformation about what the agency is and activities they support have run rampant, but you can find transparent data about all projects on usaspending.gov. USAID is also routinely audited by non-partisan agencies and provides regular and thorough reports to Congress, as required by law.
I worked at USAID as a contractor for over a year, and the crippling of USAID is deeply personal to me. I joined the aid sector for many reasons, but partly to fulfill my Christian duty to clothe the naked, feed the hungry and comfort the sick. I was joined by some of the most driven and compassionate people I’ve met, people who could have been earning three times more in the private sector, but instead chose to live in conflict zones and spend their days grappling with complex societal problems. These are people genuinely committed to making a difference in the world, ready to serve their country, who not only lost their jobs, but their entire employment sector.
You can help reinstate USAID by contacting your representatives and telling them you support ending the foreign aid freeze and want to ensure USAID continues to do its good work aligned with U.S. foreign policy. USAID has long received bipartisan support and has a chance of resuming its life-saving activities if Congress steps in and advocates for it.
(McKenna Swindle) McKenna Swindle is a Utah native and was a USAID contractor for 1.5 years.
McKenna Swindle is a Utah native and was a USAID contractor for 1.5 years. She has a master’s degree in conflict resolution and research from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a bachelor’s degree in sociology and international development at Brigham Young University.
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