Latest news with #internationalaid
The Independent
15-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Slashing of UK's international aid more responsible than Trump's overnight cuts, minister claims
The UK's deep cuts to international aid will be carried out in a 'responsible and careful' way – not the 'overnight' slashes conducted most obviously by nations such as the US – the government has claimed. Charities and international aid experts have lined up to decry the UK cuts, first announced in February, which will bring spending from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent of gross national income (GNI). A report also published on Tuesday by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact found UK aid spending overseas could fall to as low as 0.24 per cent once spending at home on asylum accommodation was factored in. But development minister Jenny Chapman has told MPs that 'not all aid cuts are the same and I think the way that we've done it… is slowly and in a considered way'. 'I would contrast that to the way that others have done it, where medications just stop being distributed overnight, where I know of warehouses with vaccines that there's no way of distributing,' Baroness Chapman said. 'That's a real problem and that will have a huge impact.' In the US, Trump cut roughly 80 per cent of foreign aid spending virtually overnight, in a move that could cause 14 million extra deaths by 2030. The speed of the cuts caused chaos as clinics closed, access to lifesaving medicines was disrupted and health staff didn't know if they could turn up to work one day to the next. Baroness Chapman added that the withdrawal of the United States from global health funding was proving a 'huge problem' but that, 'it isn't possible for us to backfill that capacity sadly'. Baroness Chapman also confirmed during the session of parliament's international development committee that a world-leading programme to tackle antimicrobial resistance was being cut and suggested a project giving millions access to contraception was under question. The scale of the UK cuts means they are expected to hit virtually all programmes. Even when it comes to the global vaccine alliance, Gavi, of which the UK has been a major champion and is now the biggest funder, its contribution this year fell by £400 million. Baroness Chapman said antimicrobial resistance and the risk of another pandemic were the two biggest threats facing the UK's health security, but public health and prevention minister Ashley Dalton confirmed during the session that the Fleming programme, which supports countries in Africa and Asia to monitor and prevent antimicrobial resistance, has already been cancelled. Antimicrobial resistance happens when antibiotics are used too much or incorrectly, causing germs to evolve resistance against them and creating dangerous illnesses that can't easily be treated with the available drugs. Resistant bug strains can cross borders and the phenomenon is estimated to kill a million people a year. Asked about a programme to family planning access and information to 2.6 million women and girls across West and Central Africa, Baroness Chapman said she was 'looking at it'. The minister has previously signalled that specialised programmes for women and girls may be hit hard by the cuts.
Washington Post
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Global Citizen takes its fight against poverty to the world's growing cities
DETROIT — Global Citizen is turning to cities as it looks to break through what it sees as widespread political gridlock hindering large-scale action on its goal of ending extreme poverty worldwide. The nonprofit advocacy group has rallied the private sector and foreign dignitaries to solve humanitarian challenges together, driving millions of dollars toward replenishing international aid and eradicating polio since 2008. But Global Citizen co-founder Simon Moss said Thursday it is local officials who are increasingly joining traditional international players in shaping whether communities are equipped to tackle urgent crises.
CBS News
10-07-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Senators seek to protect rural broadcasters amid push to claw back public media funds
Washington — The Senate is expected to vote next week on a request from the White House to claw back funding for international aid and public broadcasting. But the funding for rural radio and television stations — sometimes an area's sole source for emergency warnings and other news — has sparked concern among some Senate Republicans, especially after the recent devastating flash floods in Texas. The White House asked lawmakers to rescind $9.4 billion in spending on June 3, starting the clock on a process that gives Congress 45 days to act. The House approved the rescission package last month, and the Senate now faces a July 18 deadline. But a number of Senate Republicans now say they want to see changes to the package. Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican who sits on the Appropriations Committee, told reporters Wednesday that he's not comfortable with some of the rescission package's provisions, like cuts to public broadcasting, saying, "That's the reason why we're proposing changes." Along with $8.3 billion in cuts to international assistance programs, the package includes a proposed $1.1 billion in cuts for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the private nonprofit that serves as the steward of the funding to NPR and PBS. The White House has targeted the entities, including in a May executive order that instructed the CPB to cease federal funding for PBS and NPR, claiming they have "spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as 'news.'" PBS CEO Paula Kerger and NPR CEO Katherine Maher defended their organizations' records in an appearance on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" in May, outlining how local stations will see the immediate impacts of cuts to public broadcasting funding. "The impact of this could really be devastating, particularly in rural communities," Maher said, noting that there are 246 stations throughout the country, and for some Americans, they provide the sole local source of news. Kerger said for stations in small communities, some of which receive 40 or 50% of their funding from the federal government, "it's existential." Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said Wednesday that there would be an amendment process on the rescissions package, forecasting a vote next week. And Rounds outlined to reporters earlier in the day that Senate Republicans have been considering the best way to handle the opposition to some provisions within the rescissions package, saying they plan to resolve the issue through an amendment or "other means." "There's a specific group of Native American tribes that have a public radio system set up, and really the vast majority of the funding for it comes from one source, and that's within the rescission package," Rounds told reporters earlier this week. "What we're trying to do is to work with [the Office of Management and Budget] to find a path forward where the funding for those radio stations would be left alone." Sen. Mike Rounds walks onto the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol Building on June 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik / Getty Images Rounds noted that the goal is not to eliminate a number of the provisions within the rescissions package, but "specifically to take care of those that were in some of these rural areas," pointing to stations in South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Alaska. "This is their way of getting emergency messages out to people. It's the way in which they communicate in a very rural area," Rounds said. "So for us, it's a matter of, for those specific ones, it's not a lot of funding involved with it, but it's pretty important in those rural areas." Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican, told reporters that cuts to local radio stations and the impact it could have on Native American tribes is "something we'll take a look at." And GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia told CBS News that the impact on rural stations is "one of the considerations" lawmakers are taking into account. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, defended public broadcasting and its role in her state during a hearing on the rescissions package last month. "I hope you feel the urgency that I'm trying to express on behalf of the people in rural Alaska and I think in many parts of rural America where this is their lifeline," Murkowski told OMB Director Russ Vought. "This is where they get the updates on [landslides], this is where they get the updates on the wildfires that are coming their way," she said. GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine told reporters Thursday that while she's supportive of "a lot" of what the CPB does, citing the funding for local stations and maintaining the Emergency Alert System, "the problem is NPR, which has a decidedly partisan bent." Meanwhile, a group of Democrats took to the Senate floor Wednesday to rail against the cuts to public broadcasting within the rescissions package, including Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Peter Welch of Vermont, Maria Cantwell of Washington, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Ed Markey of Massachusetts. Durbin warned that "once these stations are gone, they're gone." "In times of crisis, that could mean in the extreme a difference between life and death," Durbin said, citing as examples the ability of Alaska radio stations to share information about weather conditions, or emergency alerts to go out during tornado scares in Alabama. "These are critical services, but President Trump doesn't agree." Wyden cited the Texas flash floods, saying "we saw the devastating impact of underfunded emergency alert systems with the deadly flash flooding in Texas." "As more details emerge, there's one area that seems to me to be clear: More could and should have been done to bolster the local emergency alert system to help avoid and limit the horrendous tragedies that we have watched nightly for the last few days," Wyden added. "As extreme deadly weather events like this become more and more common, local, state and federal governments need to be investing — not shrinking — systems like public TV and radio." Sen. Martin Heinrich, a New Mexico Democrat, told CBS News that he's "very concerned" about the cuts, adding that "in big rural western states," many communities are "completely dependent on those rural radio stations for emergency services." Flash floods killed at least three people in New Mexico earlier this week, officials said. "There's not a backup, there's not competition, and so that's something we're looking very closely at," Heinrich said. Still, other senators saw things differently. "Contrary to what happens here in D.C., there's not a lot of people in central Texas who listen to NPR," Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, told CBS News. "And there are plenty of other alternatives." contributed to this report.
Forbes
10-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Power Of Unrestricted Giving To UNICEF
At a time of unprecedented cuts to international aid, flexible funding — donations given without restrictions — is needed more than ever to enable UNICEF to carry out its mission. A look at how UNICEF leverages flexible resources to drive impact for children. Children at the Quebrada Nacimiento Carojá Rural Mixed School in Guatemala take part in the 'Clean Hands Festival' — part of a health and hygiene education campaign that UNICEF supports using unrestricted funds. UNICEF relies on unrestricted, flexible funding to deliver results for children Emergencies can be very inspiring. Crises that make headline news often generate a flurry of donations to help UNICEF respond to an unfolding situation and deal with its aftermath. An earthquake. A storm surge. A sudden escalation in conflict. But it's flexible funding — contributions to UNICEF that are not earmarked for any one country or project — that fuels and sustains UNICEF's core programs and enables UNICEF to deliver results for children in need across all 190 countries and territories where UNICEF works. Unrestricted giving is what affords UNICEF the freedom to allocate funds where and when they are needed most, and where they can have the greatest impact. It's the lifeblood of UNICEF's operations. In early 2025, the world faced one of the most severe declines in international aid in recent history, just as global needs were rising to unprecedented levels — making flexible funding more important than ever. Related: Cutting UNICEF Undercuts American Interests How unrestricted funds are allocated Each year, UNICEF allocates unrestricted funds — funding it calls core resources, or regular resources — to offices in low- and middle-income countries using a transparent, data-driven formula guided by equity, urgency and opportunity. The formula looks at three key factors: Every low- and middle-income country where UNICEF works receives a minimum allocation of $850,000, with additional amounts based on this formula. In 2024 alone, unrestricted funds reached 2.1 billion children in 149 countries and territories. Why unrestricted giving makes a difference With unrestricted funds, UNICEF — mandated to advocate for the protection of children's rights, help meet children's basic needs and expand their opportunities to reach their full potential — can address the root causes of issues, rather than just administering quick fixes. By creating, implementing and investing in stronger systems, unrestricted giving helps build lasting solutions that children can depend on for generations to come. Unrestricted funds are also invaluable in times of crisis, providing fuel for UNICEF to achieve immediate, tangible impact as well. The Emergency Program Fund, powered by unrestricted giving, allows UNICEF to respond with lifesaving support in the first 24 to 48 hours. 'You can't put out a fire if you don't have a fire engine," Jono Goldstein, a UNICEF International Council Member, explained during a recent UNICEF-led virtual briefing for supporters. "Somebody had to buy that fire engine in advance. Having UNICEF in all these countries to be prepared for when disasters occur — whether they're natural disasters or human-made disasters — you have to have made that advanced investment." The flexibility of unrestricted funds also helps ensure a more equitable allocation of resources, allowing UNICEF to steer support to areas suffering from chronic displacement, ongoing conflict and recurring climate-related disasters such as drought — the so-called forgotten emergencies that are so often underfunded. UNICEF's key achievements using unrestricted funds UNICEF leverages unrestricted funds to make strides towards achieving 12 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, from ending poverty and improving health to advancing education, promoting gender equality and enhancing climate resilience —with optimal flexibility. Unrestricted giving has helped drive some of the greatest achievements in humanitarian and development work in recent history, including: Here are a few examples of how UNICEF has leveraged flexible funding from donors to drive long-term, sustainable impact for children. For a deeper dive, see UNICEF's Core Resources 2024 Annual Report and Impact Compendium. Fighting poverty in Guatemala Many of the 18 million people who call Guatemala home live in poverty — including 60 percent of children and adolescents. In 2020, when COVID-19 hit, the country's socio-economic crisis deepened, leaving families more vulnerable. Backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in unrestricted giving from government and resource partners, UNICEF was able to step in and change the landscape. In just three months, a UNICEF-supported, fully digital social protection program was rolled out, reaching 2.6 million families, including over 4 million children, with critical cash transfers. Then in 2021, UNICEF partnered with the Guatemalan government to build a household social registry from the ground up. 'Building this registry was like conducting an orchestra,' said Alejandra Contreras, a social protection specialist with UNICEF Guatemala. 'We brought together government, communities, municipalities and technology to create harmony, ensuring no child is left behind.' Building on the success of these programs, UNICEF continues to work with partners in Guatemala to ensure every dollar reaches those who need it the most, delivering nutrition, education, agriculture support, social protection and health services. As of March 2025, the social household registry has identified and registered 200,000 households and more than 800,000 people. Combatting mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo In June 2024, a new, more transmissible and more severe strain of mpox began to devastate communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Sixty percent of new cases were children. UNICEF was able to deploy unrestricted funding through the Emergency Program Fund to support health workers battling the outbreak — expanding the capacity of health centers and strengthening the quality of care provided to patients. Those resources also enabled UNICEF to provide clean water and sanitation, provide psychosocial support services and tackle malnutrition. Brothers Alema, 13, and Jacques, 15, are both being treated for mpox at a UNICEF-supported treatment center at the University Clinics of Bukavu, South-Kivu province, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Reinventing Yemen's health system After nearly a decade of conflict in Yemen, essential services are fractured and strained. Leveraging the flexibility of unrestricted funds, UNICEF has been working to reimagine and restructure Yemen's health system by tapping into the strength and reach of community health workers. With the Government of Yemen and partners, UNICEF supports 3,600 community health workers in 90 districts by providing training and medical supplies. 'Before the project's interventions, children and pregnant and lactating women did not receive medical care,' said Sumaya, a UNICEF-supported health worker in Lahj. 'But thanks to UNICEF, cases are identified and referred at the right time. The community health worker network is a lifesaving network for children and mothers.' Strengthening the health system has helped reduce Yemen's child mortality rate by 23 percent in the last decade. In 2024 alone, community health workers reached almost 2 million women and children in the country. Latifa Saleh, a community mobilizer and vaccinator in Aden, Yemen, administers a vaccine to a newborn, just a week old. UNICEF plays an important role in ensuring the availability of supplies and equipment at this health center and many others across the country, protecting the health and well-being of countless mothers and children. Ensuring safety and sanitation in India Back in 2013, more than half a billion people in India had no access to a toilet, and the subject of sanitation was taboo. But then UNICEF launched a provocative campaign designed to change the conversation: Take Poo to the Loo. This was just the first step. A year later, UNICEF teamed up with the Indian Government to launch the Swachh Bharat Mission, focused on handwashing and building millions of sanitary facilities. 'Women and girls used to go out into the open late at night or very early morning, exposing them to many risks,' said Alka Gupta, a communication specialist with UNICEF India. 'The mission brought about a focus on women, and empowering women ... around women's safety and dignity, which was something absolutely new.' In just five years, UNICEF and partners built 100 million toilets using flexible funding, and India became an open defecation-free country. In that same time, the under-5 mortality rate in India decreased by 30 percent. In 2019, a mother and her 10-month-old play in the shade of their home in India, where a toilet was built just a few years prior with the help of UNICEF and funds from unrestricted giving. Learn more about where UNICEF works to ensure children are healthy, educated, respected and protected. Your unrestricted contribution to UNICEF is more important than ever. Help now. Right now, the lives of the most vulnerable children hang in the balance as conflicts and crises jeopardize the care and protection that they deserve. Dependable, uninterrupted and effective foreign aid is critical to the well-being of millions of children. Please contact your members of Congress and urge them to support ongoing U.S. investments in foreign assistance.
The National
01-07-2025
- Business
- The National
Marco Rubio defends USAID closure as uncertainty surrounds future help to poorer countries
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has defended the closure of the US Agency for International Development, which officially shut its doors on Tuesday after more than six decades of assistance to poorer countries. Five months after Elon Musk called USAID a 'criminal organisation' and said he had fed it into a 'wood chipper', the agency started by president John F Kennedy and credited with saving millions of lives around the globe no longer exists. Its remaining functions have been absorbed into the State Department, which will oversee a new 'America First' approach to international aid. In a statement, Mr Rubio gave parts of the Middle East and North Africa as examples of places that have received US aid but held a negative view of America. Since 1991, 'more than $89 billion invested in the Middle East and North Africa left the US with lower favourability ratings than China in every nation but Morocco", Mr Rubio said. 'The agency's expenditure of $9.3 billion in Gaza and the West Bank since 1991, whose beneficiaries included allies of Hamas, has produced grievances rather than gratitude towards the United States.' Beyond creating a globe-spanning 'NGO industrial complex' at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War, he said. 'Development objectives have rarely been met, instability has often worsened and anti-American sentiment has only grown.' Mr Rubio said Americans should not pay taxes to fund failed governments far from the US. 'Moving forward, our assistance will be targeted and time-limited.' USAID was known globally for providing life-saving help to poorer countries, including medicine to combat HIV and Aids. Its termination comes amid several new reports projecting that cuts to US aid could lead to millions of preventable deaths. The Lancet, which analysed data from 133 low and middle-income countries from 2001 to 2023, estimates that USAID-funded programmes helped to prevent more than 91 million deaths over the past two decades, including 30 million among children. If the cuts continue, researchers project 1.8 million excess deaths in 2025 alone, with a total of 14 million by 2030 – including 4.5 million children under the age of five. 'US aid cuts, along with the probable ripple effects on other international donors, threaten to abruptly halt and reverse one of the most important periods of progress in human development,' the study said. Mr Rubio said USAID had marketed its programmes as a charity, rather than instruments of American foreign policy intended to advance US interests Former presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush, and Irish singer Bono, on Tuesday questioned the Trump administration's closure of USAID, including funding cuts to a popular Aids and HIV programme known as Pepfar (the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief). Mr Obama called the dismantling of USAID 'inexplicable' and 'a colossal mistake.' Washington has been the world's largest humanitarian aid donor, amounting to at least 38 per cent of all contributions recorded by the UN. It disbursed $61 billion in foreign assistance last year, just over half of that through USAID, according to government data. The State Department denied criticism, saying countries want investment opportunities, not handouts. 'We think that the best thing we can do, from a moral perspective, to lead to development and a betterment of life all around the world, is to invest in the peace and prosperity of those countries,' a senior State Department official told reporters. 'Which means trade, investment, sort of growing our bilateral connection that way so that's the administration's view at least.' The official also said reports that Pepfar funding will not continue are inaccurate. 'The Secretary said, many, many times, Pepfar will continue, will become more efficient and we believe, more impactful,' the official said.
