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Opinion We never stopped foreign aid, but now we are doing more with less Opinions - Energy and Environment | 7 minutes ago

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We never stopped foreign aid, but now we are doing more with less

Congress, in a rare bipartisan effort, has reaffirmed America’s commitment as a generous donor abroad. The recently passed National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2026 allocates roughly $50 billion in base funding. That’s less than prior levels but far exceeds the deepest cuts proposed by the White House. The result underscores that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle seek to safeguard America’s influence in fostering a safer, more prosperous world through targeted international engagement.

The job now is to make sure that the money is well spent, so American generosity achieves the most it can in the world.

Last year’s sharp reductions were driven in part by legitimate concerns about inefficient and low-impact expenditures — including $2 million for Moroccan pottery classes, $1.5 million to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia, and $2.5 million to roll out trendy electric vehicles in Vietnam.

The House has now endorsed $50 billion in total foreign affairs funding. This includes a robust $9.4 billion for global health programs (well above the administration’s request), $6.8 billion for economic and development assistance (almost $4 billion more than sought), and targeted boosts for malaria, tuberculosis, vaccines via Gavi, nutrition, agricultural innovation, and food security initiatives.

America has always been a generous country, both through private philanthropy and public aid to developing countries. More Americans support foreign aid than oppose it, though most believe the country gives too much. Poll after poll shows most people overestimate its scale, often assuming it consumes a quarter of the federal budget. In reality, it accounts for about 1 percent. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stressed the need to preserve programs that “make us safer, stronger, and more prosperous.” Nothing advances strength and safety more than wise investments that yield outsized benefits. My think-tank, the Copenhagen Consensus, has worked with Nobel laureate economists to identify just such spending, delivering amazing returns at modest costs.

Global health offers one of the most compelling cases. Expanding essential childhood vaccines through partners like Gavi can save hundreds of thousands of additional young lives annually from diseases like measles and rotavirus. U.S. leadership in eradicating smallpox illustrates the dividends: In the decade before global elimination, America invested about $21 million worldwide in smallpox vaccines. Setting aside gains for other countries, this outlay has paid for itself every 26 days since in avoided domestic costs. By committing $21 million, the US has spared itself $300 million every year.

Tuberculosis control provides another high-yield return: approximately $46 in benefits per dollar invested, bolstering families and economies in at-risk regions. In nutrition, low-cost measures like micronutrient supplements for pregnant women prevent stunting and cognitive impairment in children, generating lifetime economic returns forty times the initial expense.

Similarly, America has an excellent opportunity to do great good at low cost in malaria prevention and treatment. Malaria once afflicted nearly the entire inhabited world, including the US where it was endemic in 36 states as late as the 1940s. Advances in medicine, insecticides, and urbanization have eradicated it in many areas, but it persists in sub-Saharan Africa.

An annual investment of just $1.1 billion annually can prevent 200,000 deaths each year, while enhancing productivity and stability in poor countries. Conservative estimates indicate that every dollar invested returns $48 of benefits–a clear projection of American prosperity and strength.

Education lags in many developing countries, with learning poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa at a dire 89 percent — meaning most 10-year-olds cannot read and comprehend a simple text. Yet cost-effective remedies exist. Grouping children by ability and providing tailored instruction for as little as an hour daily on tablets with adaptive software makes schools three times more effective.

Equipping teachers with structured lesson plans has been shown to deliver two years of learning gains in a single year. Copenhagen Consensus research estimates that these approaches cost about $19 per student annually but produce $1,200 in long-term economic benefits. Focusing on such proven, inexpensive strategies — rather than less effective alternatives — is key to empowering the world’s poorest children.

Agricultural research and innovation, extending America’s green revolution legacy, also stand out. Increased funding for high-yield crops and resilient farming methods can lower food prices, alleviate hunger for millions, and promote global stability — all at costs dwarfed by the rewards.

Most Americans want to help the world, but they also reasonably expect that their tax dollars are being spent well. With this increased funding comes an opportunity to lead the world in focusing on proven, high-return priorities rather than scattering dollars across everything including lower-impact or virtue-signaling efforts.

By doing more of what works best, America can achieve greater humanitarian impact, strengthen national security, and rebuild faith in foreign assistance.

Bjorn Lomborg is president of the Copenhagen Consensus, visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, and author of “Best Things First.”

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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