President Biden’s decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine this week provoked a mixture of media outrage and support from multiple sectors of the U.S. foreign policy establishment. Cluster bombs were banned by several countries over ten years ago due to the danger posed to civilians by undetonated bombs. Regardless of how much it will help the Ukrainian counter offensive, sending this type of lethal aid is a risk. This is just the latest example showcasing how dangerous and wasteful U.S. aid to foreign countries can be.
Consider U.S. food aid to conflict zones like Ethiopia and Afghanistan. Earlier this year, the U.S. had to pause all food aid to civil war-torn Ethiopia due to widespread theft. At almost $331 million dollars, the food aid given to Ethiopia through USAID (the U.S. Agency for International Development) was supposed to be distributed by local governments, but local government officials are estimated to have stolen 15 million pounds of wheat.
This is a nightmare for the U.S. — a waste of millions in taxpayers’ dollars and an untold hit to its international reputation, as millions of people around the world blame the U.S. for cutting off aid. But it’s not as if we had a choice. It doesn’t make sense to send vouchers and handouts to the starving when warlords and militias can just steal them and use the profits to buy weapons.
Obviously, the U.S. needs to be more careful in how it distributes aid. Pausing distribution makes sense for now, but starving Ethiopians don’t have all year. The U.S. needs to enact reforms — and quickly.
While the damage incurred by the U.S. on account of this theft is broad sweeping, the problem — and the solution — is actually quite simple: Most U.S. food aid is sent in the form of cash or vouchers. In conflict zones, anyone can use these American dollars to purchase bread, but they can also use that same cash handout or voucher to obtain weapons. Instead of vouchers or cash, what if the U.S. just sent food instead?
This wouldn’t be new. Food aid from the U.S. used to be purchased by the federal government directly from American farmers for distribution overseas through USAID’s Food for Peace Program. Over time, USAID has shifted towards using its budget to authorize purchases of commodities from other countries and delivering cash and vouchers to countries in need of food aid. Use of cash handouts and vouchers by USAID increased massively under the Obama Administration, from $76 million in 2010 to up to $432 million in 2015. These cash deliveries and vouchers only sometimes find their way to the people they are meant to help feed. During America’s operations in Afghanistan, vouchers and cash for food aid ended up in the Taliban’s coffers.
Transferring massive amounts of cash to the world’s most vulnerable people does not solve their food security situation, it just makes them targets for abuse by corrupt bureaucrats and warlords. In addition, it disadvantages American farmers, who finance it all.
Restoring transparency to USAID could start by setting aside a portion of food aid to be purchased from U.S. farms and using U.S. firms. Sending American commodities to those who need it will benefit American farms, while keeping cash out of bad actors’ hands. Buying commodities from foreign firms and shipping them to countries in need also sends the wrong message. USAID’s branding proudly touts “From the American People” on all its aid packages. Let’s make that a reality.
Roy Mathews is a graduate of Bates College and 2023 Publius Fellow at The Claremont Institute. He has been published in the Wall Street Journal, National Review, and Boston Herald.
