Global health leaders in the United States are urging development advocates to think twice before declaring international HIV and AIDS programs safe from President Donald Trump’s pursuit of sweeping foreign affairs budget cuts.
The budget outline Trump released last week was full of bad news for U.S. global development programs and implementing organizations. The White House singled out foreign assistance for aggressive cuts in its effort to boost military spending without blowing up the budget deficit — even though aid programs make up less than 1 percent of the federal budget.
Trump’s “skinny budget” called for a 28 percent cut to foreign affairs spending — which climbs to 37 percent when all the relevant funding streams are taken into account — and White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney suggested foreign assistance, not diplomacy, would absorb the bulk of it.
About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
