USAID Cuts Puts a Company That Helps Disabled Kids at Risk– time.com

USAID Cuts Puts a Company That Helps Disabled Kids at Risk– time.com
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As the U.S. government endeavors to trim its spending, no agency has been as pared back as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). On Feb. 26, after 30 days of what was purported to be a 90-day review, the Trump Administration announced that 90% of the international aid projects the agency was funding were going to be canceled, ending an era of outsize dominance and generosity by the U.S. in foreign aid.

These cuts include funding for medical, nutrition, educational and democratic initiatives that were sustaining and protecting millions of people. While foreign aid represented about half a percentage of the U.S. budget, it also represented more than 40% of the world’s foreign aid. The size and speed of the cancellations have reverberated around the world, with many experts suggesting that America’s reputation as a reliable and trustworthy partner has taken a hit simply because of the abruptness of the process.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that all foreign-aid projects must make Americans safer, stronger, and more prosperous. Valerie Karr, who has been working in disability rights for two decades, understands that impulse but is aghast at the cost to the people her small business served: disabled children in impoverished countries. For the last six years, Inclusive Development Partners (IDP) has helped implement plans to get children with disabilities around the world into schools and keep them there.