Bearing Witness: Gutted at the Gutting of USAID

My husband worked for USAID for almost 30 years in Honduras, Panama, Pakistan, The Dominican Republic, and Ukraine. His career promoted humanitarian aid and fostered economic assistance to help countries improve themselves. It made me and my daughters proud to represent the United States at our overseas posts.

We are now gutted at the ongoing gutting of USAID. Three items in the September-October 2025 issue of The Foreign Service Journal, in particular, both disturb and sadden me.

Page 12 from the Journal says, “Critics cite a new Lancet study projecting more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030 due to USAID cuts, including millions of children under the age of 5. In describing this new approach, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. is ‘prioritizing trade over aid, opportunity over dependency, and investment over assistance.’”

Is this humane?

Page 13 says, “The Trump administration has ordered the destruction of nearly 500 metric tons of emergency food originally purchased by USAID to feed malnourished children in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The high-energy biscuits, which are valued at $800,000 and capable of feeding 1.5 million children for a week, will be incinerated at a cost of $130,000 to U.S. taxpayers.”

Is this government efficiency?

Page 61 says the current administration has, “pushed 80,000-plus people with AIDS into early graves, caused the deaths of more than 75,000 children due to malnutrition and the cessation of USAID food assistance, and wasted more than $8 billion in a misguided, ill-prepared, illegal and unconstitutional shutdown of our beloved agency.” 

Is this humane? Does it show government efficiency?

This post was written and submitted by Highlands member Carol Mathia.