The Trump Administration has lost no time in deconstructing important government institutions, including the U.S. development agency, USAID. On Thursday, Rocky Hill Democrats hosted a speaker who shared an account of how swiftly shuttering USAID has hurt people abroad and the United States’ interests. With representatives from Rocky Hill, Durham, and Wethersfield present, we spent the evening sharing ways to take action to preserve our institutions.
Closing USAID hurts millions of people counting on American support
USAID is an institution with global impact. To illustrate the support provided by the United States, Kristina Talbert-Slagle, the Chair of the Durham DTC, shared her experiences as the lead of a $15 million USAID award to help rebuild Liberia’s health system. Liberia, a small African country on the Atlantic coast, was one of the three countries most disastrously impacted by the Ebola crisis from 2014 to 2015. About 1 of every 12 healthcare workers in Liberia was killed by Ebola. The program headed by Talbert-Slagle, and the broader array of US-Funded support, enabled the building of a major hospital in Liberia’s capital city, the training and strengthening of the country’s health care workforce, and delivering critical, life-saving treatments.
Despite its outsized impact, Talbert-Slagle pointed out that funding for USAID makes up less than 0.7% of the U.S. gross national income. While claiming to save money for the American people, President Trump and Elon Musk have targeted less than a penny for every dollar spent. In exchange for their efforts, they strike at the health, safety, and prosperity of many people at home and abroad.
Talbert-Slagle described how the sudden, unplanned attempt to close USAID has impacted Liberians.
“We’ve had to issue layoff notices to 48 people in Liberia, many of whom are leading practitioners in the University of Liberia College of Health Sciences. That has been extremely painful. I can’t even begin to say how painful it has been…Food is rotting that’s supposed to be distributed to people. Medicines are expiring.”
The reality is that people will die as a result of the decision. During the Ebola crisis, thousands of people died of a disease that is relatively hard to spread. When a health-care system that still relies so heavily on aid from the U.S. and others loses support, it results in people losing the care that might have protected them from getting dangerously ill or treating them when they are sick.
Failing to act internationally hurts Americans
As Talbert-Slagle illustrated, slashing USAID hurts the U.S. as well as our international partners, in several ways:
- Disrupting federal investment in health puts Americans at risk. If we don’t have partners to detect the spread of diseases and treat them overseas, they are more likely to come here to the United States. “We can’t protect ourselves simply by locking down the border,” says Talbert-Slagle, pointing out how pathogens don’t respect borders. “You know, an airborne pathogen can get here before we even know it.” You can read more about airborne transmission of many different pathogens here.
- America’s departure hurts our soft power and leaves a vacuum to be filled by others. America gains influence on world affairs through our support for other countries. Withdrawing that support not only damages world confidence that the U.S. is a reliable partner, it leaves space for other countries to have greater influence. For example, Talbert-Slagle recounted that China’s Belt and Road Initiative provides critical infrastructure to Liberia and other countries. While the U.S. withdraws, China stays, and continues to build relationships across Africa.
- American organizations are hurt by the cutting of foreign aid. USAID benefits American prosperity by engaging private sector, colleges and universities, faith-based organizations, non-profits, and research institutions. Cutting off that support impacts thousands of organizations across the majority of states in the country.
You can have an impact by organizing at the local level
Right now, people are looking for a way they can stop the harm done by the Trump administration to USAID and other critical institutions. Last night, Democrats from Rocky Hill, Durham, and Wethersfield all agreed that the first step is to come together to take action. As a community who can write letters, join protests, mobilize mutual aid groups, and vote, we can grow a power base to protect ourselves and take back power at the federal level. Here are things you can do, today, to start making a difference.
- Join your local Democratic Town Committee, whether it be in Rocky Hill, Durham, Wethersfield, or your own town. These groups will be organizing hubs for taking action, and a community of like-minded people who can support you.
- Sign up for our mailing list. We will keep you informed of important events and actions at the local level.
- Visit our events and actions page, which list protests, actions, and other activities for building community and making a difference here at home. (Please contact us if you want to list an event).
If we work together at a local level, we can grow a powerful group that can take power at the local, state, and national level. And we can build community, which will be critical to keeping our loved ones prosperous and safe.
The Rocky Hill Dems want to offer a huge “thank you” to Kristina Talbert-Slagle for speaking with us, and we look forward to collaborating with Democrats from Durham, Wethersfield, and all over to make our country better.