Many of us have no understanding of the importance of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which reaches across several continents and provides a major form of diplomatic “soft power,” though it is only 1% of our budget.

This 1%:

1. Supports medical care, water and waste management for refugee hospitals in Thailand
2. Operates soup kitchens that feed hundreds of starving Sudanese
3. Provides maternal and mental health for millions of women in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Gaza and Ukraine
4. Provides vaccines for Ebola in Uganda and the Marburg virus in Tanzania
5. Works on eradicating malaria in Cambodia
6. Attempts to reduce malnutrition in Nepal
7. Provides money for HIV and AIDS drugs in South Africa and Haiti

By chance, in the Ivory Coast, American programs were able to collect intelligence on al-Qaida-related incidences.

Without our vaccines, food and shelter, millions could die.

Vital programs are in limbo, food is left rotting in warehouses, vaccines are lacking refrigeration, and thousands of aid workers do not know whether they still have jobs.

Our country is safer from disease and terrorists because of the goodwill generated by USAID. Marco Rubio, before he became involved with the current administration, was a cheerleader for the agency. It seems that he has now joined those bent on cutting spending everywhere, especially in poor areas of the world. Helping to care for the poor seems to have no place in a government run by an oligarchy.

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