Breaking Free from Dependence on US Foreign Aid

After taking office on January 20, 2025, US President Donald Trump reviewed almost all US foreign aid. However, the overhaul of aid has caused global chaos in the field of aid and development, especially for beneficiary countries.

The freeze on US foreign aid was implemented to align with Trump's foreign policy of prioritizing national interests with the spirit of US revival. The review of US foreign aid will last 90 days. (Kompas.id, February 1, 2025)

Elon Musk, in X Space, on Monday (3/2/2025), also announced that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) must be closed. Musk, the richest person in the world according to Forbes magazine, was appointed by Trump to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The agency was closed as part of government budget cuts. Most of its employees were asked to take indefinite leave. Thousands of contractors were laid off, faced financial crises, laid off staff, and faced unpaid bills of millions of dollars.

The move shows that current US policy prioritizes the United States' national interests. The overhaul of US foreign aid also reflects the country's reluctance to engage in the development process in poor and developing countries.

In fact, based on United Nations data, the United States contributes 42 percent of global aid. Quoting the Reuters news agency, in fiscal year 2023, for example, the US through USAID managed foreign aid funds worth 72 billion US dollars or around Rp 1,177 trillion.

The move shows that current US policy prioritizes the national interests of the United States.

The funds are used, among other things, to seek treatment for HIV/AIDS, clear landmines from conflict areas, empower farmers and plantation workers, finance field hospitals in a number of countries, women's health programs in conflict areas, and anti-corruption.

The freeze on US foreign aid has certainly hit NGOs and USAID recipient countries hard. In Southeast Asia, according to The Guardian, US aid has been used to help the most vulnerable in natural disasters and support pro-democracy activists.

In Indonesia itself, USAID will distribute funds of 153 million US dollars or around Rp. 2.5 trillion in 2023. The funding will, among other things, support democratic governance, anti-corruption, handling climate change, education, and health, including the launch of a rapid tuberculosis detection machine.

In other countries, such as Myanmar, health care centers serving tens of thousands displaced by the military coup since 2021 were ordered to close in late January. HIV health programs that rely on U.S. funding have also been cut.

The funding cutoff also affected pro-democracy activists in Myanmar who risked their lives to oppose repressive leaders. Pro-democracy activists have been ordered to stop providing safe houses and hiding places.

If the US foreign aid freeze policy continues, it is feared that it will hamper development and humanitarian efforts, especially in developing countries such as Indonesia. Moreover, so far many program implementations in several countries have depended on US aid.

Therefore, the long-term impact of the freeze on US foreign aid and the closure of USAID must be anticipated. Developing countries are required to be more independent in addressing fundamental problems that have been assisted by USAID, such as sanitation, clean water, and health programs.