Dr. Hossein Talks USAID with The Walrus Magazine
On January 20th, 2025, the world’s largest provider of foreign aid, the US Agency for International Development, was abruptly suspended by President Trump. What began as a 90 day pause may lead to the end of USAID.
“I’m bracing myself for the pain, suffering, and deaths coming along,” she says. “It is inevitable that people will die.” - Dr. Caroline Shenaz Hossein
Before her work at the University of Toronto, Dr. Hossein was a global nonprofit, and USAID consultant. She predicts that the consequences to this disruption will be catastrophic, especially due to the lack of advance notice to aid workers and partners, allowing them no time to adjust to the loss of resources. She also anticipates that Trump's right-wing "America First" stance will lead to a more transactional foreign policy, with a lack of global responsibility. This attitude towards development may spread among Western governments, particularly in countries experiencing right-wing nationalism. She believes that now is an opportune time for "homegrown alternatives" to USAID, such as the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee and Grameen Bank, to counter the narrative that constructs countries in the Global South as hopeless and awaiting white saviours.