By Samantha M
Concerns over the remnants of USAID have resurfaced due to 500 tons of food aid that are expected to expire soon. The 500 tons of food aid consist of high-energy biscuits that can aid hunger and malnutrition in emergencies, but with the closure of USAID, the plans to distribute the aid are no longer available. Marco Rubio, the head of the State Department, has made no definite statement on what will happen to the food. USAID officially closed as of July 1st, 2025. The agency was shut down under the Trump administration and DOGE earlier this year.
USAID was the largest foreign aid agency in the world since its creation in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy. President Kennedy’s intention was to help any person in any country facing humanitarian disasters. Since its creation, USAID has been instrumental in helping the most vulnerable around the world. It has helped fund many United Nations programs, including the World Food Program (WFP), which has provided food that has saved millions of lives in times of emergencies.
One important USAID program is called the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which administers medicine to prevent the transmission of HIV from mothers to their expected babies during pregnancy. Fifty countries relied on this program, and it has significantly helped decrease the spread of HIV. Additionally, there was a program from USAID that helped independent media publications in Eastern European countries. This helped protect citizens from the spread of harmful communist propaganda and agendas. Domestically, USAID bought $2 billion worth of food aid from American farmers in 2020. Since the closure of USAID, all of these programs and initiatives have ended.
A recent study has shown that by 2030, there could be an additional 14 million deaths that would otherwise be prevented if USAID were not closed. Marco Rubio has claimed that aid will now be directly controlled by the State Department, but only to countries where the U.S. feels there is a reciprocal relationship or an agenda that aligns with U.S. interests. USAID was never intended to only benefit countries the U.S. has interests in; it has always had the primary goal of alleviating poverty and saving lives.