The precipitous drop in foreign aid continues to reverberate across the globe. We’re continuing to break down the aftershocks in an ongoing series of briefings exclusively for Pro members — three of which took place last week, examining the story from the perspectives of Europe, the United Nations, and philanthropy.
It’s easy to associate the aid crisis with U.S. President Donald Trump. After all, he basically wiped U.S. foreign assistance off the map. But across the Atlantic, Europe has been busy cutting and reshaping its own aid apparatus to benefit not just the recipient, but the donor as well.
“We live in a pivotal moment in the history of international cooperation,” said Enabel CEO Jean Van Wetter at the first Pro briefing moderated by my colleague Jesse Chase-Lubitz. Van Wetter outlined his mantra for the sector’s future: resist and reinvent. “Resist the movement against what we believe and our values,” but also reinvent, “because the geopolitical context has changed.”