The Trump administration is reshaping U.S. foreign aid to prioritize direct partnerships with foreign governments, slashing reliance on the bloated non-governmental organization (NGO) sector that critics say has siphoned off billions through inefficiency and bloated executive pay.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the overhaul Thursday during the signing of a $2.5 billion Health Cooperation Framework with Kenya. The deal provides up to $1.6 billion in American funding over five years for HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, and maternal health efforts. In turn, Kenya will increase its own health spending by $850 million, laying the groundwork for long-term self-reliance.
Rubio took aim at the traditional model of aid distribution that filtered funds through large NGOs based in Washington or Northern Virginia.
“We would go to a country and say we are going to help you with healthcare needs, then we would drive over to northern Virginia somewhere and find an NGO, one of these organizations, and give them all the money,” Rubio said. “By the time it got down to it, the host country had very little influence — and only a percentage of the overall money ever actually reached the patients.”
The new model focuses on cutting out what Rubio called the “NGO industrial complex” and putting foreign governments in the driver’s seat. “If we’re trying to help countries, help the country. Don’t help the NGO to go in and find a new line of business,” he said.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott added that aid dollars “should not pad the pockets of overpaid executives in the NGO industry.”
The numbers bear that out. In 2024, the president of Research Triangle Institute earned more than $1.4 million, with two vice presidents earning over $850,000 each. Jhpiego, a Johns Hopkins affiliate, paid one executive over $1.08 million. Other NGO salaries included $703,405 at PATH, $598,348 at Management Sciences for Health, and $545,290 at Family Health International.
“Ultimately, the best aid is the aid that ends because it’s worked,” Pigott said. “Our partnership with Kenya is an example of this approach in action.”
According to the State Department, U.S. funding under the Kenya agreement will support efforts on polio eradication, disease surveillance, and outbreak response, in addition to ongoing HIV/AIDS and maternal health programs.
Senior State Department officials say Kenya is the first of many countries that will benefit from this revamped strategy. Rubio said the administration aims to sign similar agreements with at least 50 countries in the coming weeks.
“When developing the dozens of America First Global Health Strategy bilateral agreements, we always start with the principle that American sovereign resources should be used to bolster our allies and should never benefit groups unfriendly to the United States and our national interests,” said Jeremy P. Lewin, senior official for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, and Religious Freedom.
Brad Smith, senior advisor at the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy, confirmed that the U.S. has been in “very productive discussions” with other nations over similar agreements for the past two months.
“These landmark agreements will advance a comprehensive and shared vision directly between the United States and recipient country governments for continued future cooperation on global health issues,” the State Department said.
The goal of the policy is to embed American programs within local systems, encourage co-investment by host nations, and ensure greater efficiency and accountability by focusing resources on frontline services — rather than inflated bureaucracies.
The post Trump Administration Unveils New Foreign Aid Strategy, Cuts Out ‘NGO Industrial Complex’ appeared first on Real News Now.
About Author
