At the start of the year, the United States Agency for International Development was by many measures the most powerful and influential agency in the world of international aid. It had a workforce of over 10,000, annual spending of more than $30 billion, and a reputation as the fastest and most important funder of humanitarian aid.
But in the time since U.S. President Donald Trump took office, USAID’s offices have been closed. Its senior leaders have been sent home. Tens of billions of dollars of aid has been frozen. The pictures have been taken off the walls. Its website and its social media accounts are down. At USAID and its partner organizations, thousands of people — perhaps tens of thousands — have already been laid off.
In this exclusive report for Devex Pro readers, we lay out the key events of the last month.