Much has been written about the benefits of foreign aid. In the developing world, foreign aid from the United States has saved lives (an estimated four million per year), prevented and treated disease, fought crime, supported a free press and free elections, and built stable, resilient economies, among many other benefits.

But even from a purely selfish standpoint, foreign aid has reaped enormous, lasting benefits for the United States. In the nearly 65 years of its existence, it has made our country safer, richer, more popular, and stronger. Let’s review some of the ways foreign aid is a good investment. 

1. Foreign Aid Identifies and Fights Pandemics.

The Ebola virus is one of the deadliest pathogens in the world, with a nearly 90% fatality rate. Ebola outbreaks have occurred in Western and Central Africa on a regular basis over the past 50 years. In every case so far, those outbreaks have been identified and contained thanks to leadership and expertise from USAID programs and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). When Ebola outbreaks were reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda this May, the World Health Organization and dedicated healthcare workers in both those countries had to cope with a disjointed, massively reduced response from their former ally.

Ebola is a recent example, but it’s not the only one. USAID programs have been a key partner in identifying and responding to the Zika virus, cholera, COVID-19, and other diseases, helping to keep them from crossing borders and entering the United States. The vast majority of programs to monitor these and any future unknown outbreaks have been suspended.

2. Foreign Aid Protects U.S. Agriculture and Keeps Grocery Prices Down.

In addition to protecting humans, USAID programs also played a major role in monitoring diseases among poultry and livestock. Now that these programs have been suspended, cases of bird flu, flesh-eating screwworm, and other pathogens and parasites are more likely to raise grocery prices, disrupt the global supply chain, and cause massive economic harm to the beef and poultry industries.

Foreign aid has also brought lasting benefits to farmers across the United States by funding research into drought- and fungal-resistant crops. The grain sorghum is grown both across Africa for human consumption and in the United States as a popular cattle feed. USAID-funded research that led to the development of a genetic strain of the grain sorghum that was resistant to the parasitic weed striga, both reducing famine and preventing what would have been devastating crop losses to sorghum farmers across the U.S. 

And of course, each year, USAID bought $2 billion worth of crops from American farmers through the program Food for Peace. The food was distributed to countries facing famine, war, and natural disasters.

3. Foreign Aid Grows Our Economy.

The health of our economy depends on a healthy supply chain and the mass exportation of U.S.-made goods and services. Foreign aid directly helps with both by building stable markets and economies within the developing world. USAID programs built prosperity and stability by treating the sick and feeding the hungry, but also through direct stimulation of the economy--stimulating investment, educating the population, promoting open and fair markets, and reducing poverty. 

Throughout the 21st century, the fastest-growing market for U.S.-made goods has been the developing world--particularly for countries whose people and economies have benefited from foreign aid. Roughly two-thirds of growth in U.S. goods exports through the 2010s was to major USAID partners. This growth was directly responsible for bringing the U.S. out of the 2008-2010 global recession.  

4. Foreign Aid Keeps Fentanyl and Other Drugs Off Our Streets

USAID funded some of the U.S.’s strongest and most effective campaigns to identify, fight, and disrupt drug trafficking. Programs in Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and other countries worked alone and with local authorities to keep fentanyl from entering the United States, destroy the chemical precursors to fentanyl, prevent cartels from expanding into illegal mining, and build bases of operations for anti-drug units. All of these projects have been suspended since 2025, allowing drug trafficking operations greater freedom to manufacture and distribute illicit drugs and counterfeit prescription drugs.

5. Foreign Aid Keeps Us Safe.

Foreign aid makes Americans safer, both abroad and at home. Sometimes it does so directly. USAID’s Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program provided support and assistance to help allied countries locate and disrupt al-Qaida and other extremist groups, reducing the influence of those groups within their borders, regionally, and globally. 

USAID also funded programs to help young men in impoverished countries have access to stable In addition, career support programs indirectly made the United States safer by providing career options to young men who would otherwise turn to gangs, terrorist groups, or cyberscam operations in countries like Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, and Cambodia. These programs have since been scrapped.

6. Foreign Aid Boosts our Popularity and Soft Power

Politicians from across the spectrum have often listed USAID as the most cost-effective public relations tool for the United States. USAID and foreign aid bring countless, substantial benefits to the developing world. Every box of rice brought to a hungry village, clinic offering medical care and vaccines, or pick-up truck bringing agricultural supplies bearing the USAID logo acts as an advertisement for the generosity and competence of the United States, making those countries friendlier to our interests and more likely to become our allies. Russia and China are already expanding their influence in Africa, Latin America, and much of Asia, with the goals of building alliances and gaining access to critical minerals, oil, and other resources at a low price.