The United States of America (US) is not stepping away from the foreign aid business but will implement a new approach to how funds are donated to countries in need.
This was stated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he addressed the matter in Jamaica during his Caribbean visit earlier this week.
“The United States is not getting out of the aid business. We are going to continue providing foreign aid. The difference is that we want to provide foreign aid in a way that is strategically aligned with our foreign policy priorities and the priorities of our host country and the nation-states with whom we are partners,” the senior US official said.
He explained that, in the past, USAID agents would visit a host country and tell them what they thought the country needed, or provide aid funds to non-governmental organisations after convincing the agents of what the country supposedly required.
While it was noted that the aid may have been used for its intended purposes, Rubio pointed out that in some cases, this has not been the case.
As such, the Secretary of State said that US Embassies will now work with the governments of host nations to determine the areas where aid is most needed. Since the host government is in the best position to have a clear vision for the country’s direction, the aid provided will be in line with the government’s priorities and in support of the mandates for which they were elected.
