Oxfam: What USAID does, its impact and what Trump’s cuts mean (5 May 2025)

Summary

US foreign aid plays a critical role in tackling poverty, hunger, and inequality worldwide, which is why the Trump administration’s recent cuts to foreign development assistance were met with public outrage and pushback from development and humanitarian organisations, including Oxfam.

Despite widespread public support for US-funded foreign aid, Secretary of State Marco Rubio cut more than 80% of US Agency for International Development (USAID) programmes, which provide humanitarian and development assistance worldwide to people in some of the worst global crises. The effect of these cuts on people is dire: At least 23 million children stand to lose access to education, and as many as 95 million people would lose access to basic healthcare, potentially leading to more than 3 million preventable deaths per year.

Oxfam has responded to the attacks on USAID by joining other humanitarian groups in a lawsuit to defend USAID and US foreign assistance, which is ongoing.

So what does the Trump administration's decision to eliminate so much foreign aid mean, what impact could it have around the world, and why is it critical for the government to reverse this decision? Oxfam answers all of these questions and more.