U.S. President Donald Trump dismantled USAID in the blink of an eye. His administration is now going at that same frenetic pace with its “America First” global health strategy, inking a slew of deals with several African nations in rapid-fire succession. And it plans to sign dozens more in the coming weeks.
These agreements are critical not only because they dictate the terms of bilateral health relationships between the U.S. and other countries, but also because in many ways, they’re the primary shred of evidence we have of what Trump’s vision for foreign assistance actually looks like — beyond the diminished scope of aid overall.
That vision is coming into focus: direct, one-on-one partnerships with governments; no more funneling money through NGOs or big implementing partners; engaging the private sector and faith-based groups; positioning countries as customers instead of aid recipients while promoting American products; leaving technical assistance to individual governments; and forcing them to pony up for their own development if they want to access U.S. funds.