On Feb. 4, the Trump administration issued an announcement stating all directly hired U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees would be put on leave beginning Friday, Feb. 7. The decision was made amidst a whirlwind of efforts by the Trump administration to dismantle USAID. At the moment, USAID and its respective international work have been put on a 90-day stop work order imposed by the U.S. Department of State.
With the current pause on international aid, a number of individuals at Notre Dame have expressed concerns over the effects of this decision on international global health initiatives funded by the agency. Bernard Nahlen, director of the Eck Institute for Global Health, said Notre Dame will indeed feel indirect effects of the cut funds through its partnered programs. However, Nahlen emphasized the much more significant impact will be on the international initiatives themselves.
“People need to understand that the real disruption is in countries and people who are recipients of services being funded by USAID,” Nahlen stated. “From the perspective of the Eck Institute of the University of Notre Dame, as a Catholic university, we really need to focus on the downstream part of what's going on and that the real impact is not on the Eck Institute — it's on the people that we all are working to serve.”
Nahlen emphasized Notre Dame’s Catholic identity and the need to promote advocacy in regard to the current situation with USAID.
“Notre Dame's Catholic mission is a driving force for what we're trying to do,” Nahlen said. “We all need to figure out how not to be silent and to be actively moving forward.”
Nahlen described the specific effects of USAID’s cancellation on marginalized populations served by various organizations. A number of USAID-funded humanitarian programs, such as Catholic Relief Services, are associated with Notre Dame.
“Poor people in remote areas are not going to have beds now, are not going to be able to be diagnosed and treated for malaria, and are not going to be able to have access to treatment for HIV or TB,” Nahlen said. “Mothers delivering babies who may have complications during pregnancy and delivery are not going to have the same services they had before.”
Such pressing issues bring into question how the Notre Dame community will respond to USAID’s cancellation. Junior Karlee Waugh, co-president for the global health club, discussed how many members of the community have yet to openly discuss the delicate topic.
“Even about two weeks ago, I didn't know what was going on,” Waugh said. “It was really only because of [director of the global health minor] Marie Donahue telling me about it that I learned. I think that with the current transition that America is going through, I think that people saw stuff like this happening, but no one expected it to be this drastic.”
Waugh continued, “I think the University just doesn't really know where to even stand, because it's just an unprecedented moment for our government, and so they're kind of waiting for everything to settle.”
Waugh shared her concerns about how many students, even students on the global health club board, were unaware of the current situation with foreign aid. As a pre-med student looking to get involved in public health initiatives, Waugh explained that the cancellation of USAID could potentially impact many students looking to get involved in humanitarian and global health work.
“We’ve been trying to push over the years [to see] how we can get our undergraduate students involved in global health,” Waugh said. “Those internships that are abroad are mostly connected through our partners, so if those internships aren’t available, then we can’t encourage our students to pursue them.”
The Trump administration has yet to officially announce whether the agency will permanently close after the 90-day period. Marco Rubio, secretary of state and current acting administrator for USAID, said that USAID would continue providing foreign aid that is “justified” and aligned with national interest. Nahlen responded by discussing his own experience with the viability of USAID spending.
“I think that it implies that there’s been no effort in the past to make sure that the dollars are being used appropriately, which is frankly not the case,” Nahlen said. “I was the deputy coordinator for the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative ... We kept explicit track of where the money was. The fact that child mortality rates from malaria and Africa decreased by 50% shows the benefit of that sort of investment.”
Nahlen continued, “I can assure you, the oversight has always been there and the fact that this administration has sacked all the inspectors general raises the question of how serious they are about making sure that U.S. government resources are appropriately used.”
Nahlen expressed his hope for the future if the community can openly express their opinions over foreign aid. Nahlen advised any students concerned about USAID to write to their state representatives and to not remain silent.
“I remain an optimist in all this,” Nahlen said. “I think the disruption we’re seeing at the moment, it’s challenging and unexpected. I don’t think we know yet how this is all going to play out. Under the present administration, are they going to restore some of this funding or what’s that’s going to look like? I have little doubt that the American people are as generous as they’ve been and are still committed to being good players in the world.”
Waugh shared how the global health club is working to increase student awareness about the current situation with USAID. Alongside her co-president junior Tim Theisen, the team has plans to hold a global health club advocacy workshop on Thursday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m in Duncan Student Center.
Professor Lacey Ahern of the Eck Institute and professor Ray Offenheiser of the Keough School of Global Affairs are partnering with the club to organize the workshop. The event will educate undergraduate and graduate students on USAID’s funding freeze and its impact on student career opportunities, nonprofit organizations in America and abroad, partnerships with global organizations and U.S. foreign aid support. The workshop will also teach students how to send emails to local, state and national government officials addressing their concerns over USAID.
Waugh offered her perspective as a student looking to involve herself in a global health related career.
“I’m very concerned with social determinants of health and how culture and social factors play a role into the healthcare system and people’s ability to access it and their ability to take preventative measures,” Waugh said. “I've seen how important it is to have partnerships with NGOs that are in these other countries, and those NGOs are funded by programs like USAID. I would love to work with an organization like Doctors Without Borders, that is going over to these countries and partnering with the community or the country’s NGOs. If those aren’t available or those aren't being funded, then that puts me out of a job or to do the work that I want to do to make an actual impact.”
