WHEN I started writing my book, The Shady Economics of International Aid, in 2023, I never anticipated that some of the issues I explored would surface so powerfully even before its release in 2025.

On his first day in office in January 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order freezing all USAID and State Depart­ment programmes for 90 days. Subsequently, several statements came directly from President Trump and senior officials citing numerous USAID-funded projects across countries that were labelled as ‘waste’, ‘abuse’, and ‘fraud’. In reference to Pakistan, Congressman Scott Perry alleged that USAID spent $840 million on education-related programmes in the last 20 years, including $136m to build 120 schools. He stated that there is zero evidence any single school was actually built. These revelations are startling and need to be substantiated.

Prima facie, the Trump administration’s allegations and its frustration with USAID seem plausible. The ‘insane’ priorities in some countries, including the multimillion-dollar funding for LGBT advocacy, sex changes, and media organisations, do not align with the professed objectives of international aid; ie, poverty alleviation or bro­ad­­er economic development. The decision, however, impacted activities worldwide totalling about $42 billion in 157 countries for over 6,100 activities covering all sectors. Those directly affected, particularly more than 10,000 USAID staff working all over the world, strongly criticised the decision. Six weeks........

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