Hundreds of thousands more child deaths, outbreaks of new epidemics and dozens of NGOs closing down: The reduction in development aid in the United States and Europe will have dramatic human consequences worldwide, warn the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and other international organizations. Symbolizing the major inward-looking attitude at work, the United Kingdom announced at the end of February that it would cut its official development assistance (ODA) budget from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% by 2027, its lowest level since 1999, in order to increase its military spending.

The decision prompted the resignation of the UK's development minister, Anneliese Dodds. These cuts "will remove food and health care from desperate people – deeply harming the UK's reputation," explained Dodds. She regretted that this decision came at a time when "China is seeking to rewrite global rules, and when the climate crisis is the biggest security threat of them all."

A few weeks later, the US made good on its threat, announcing on March 10 that it would stop funding 83% of the programs of USAID, the world's largest humanitarian donor, with a budget of $42.8 billion (around €40 billion) in 2024. "USAID is a criminal organization. It's time for it to die," warned Elon Musk on his X account on February 2.

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