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Wednesday

Biden Nominates Samantha Power To Run U.S. Agency For International Development

Samantha Power, who served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Obama administration, has been nominated by President-elect Joe Biden to run USAID. Power is seen here in 2014. Andrew Burton/Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Biden Transition Updates

Biden Nominates Samantha Power To Run U.S. Agency For International Development

Power is "a world-renowned voice of conscience and moral clarity," President-elect Joe Biden said of the former U.N. ambassador. The post will be elevated to become a National Security Council member.

Tuesday

Why Diversity Training Has Been Suspended At USAID

The U.S. Agency for International Development is one of the largest official foreign aid organizations in the world. An executive order from the Trump administration said there would be consequences if its diversity training programs were to continue. Photo Illustration by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption

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Photo Illustration by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

Why Diversity Training Has Been Suspended At USAID

The suspension followed an executive order from the Trump administration that called such workplace programs "divisive," "anti-American," racist against white people and sexist against men.

Thursday

Trump And Biden On Global Issues: From Reproductive Rights To Refugees

Foreign aid takes many forms — and Trump and Biden have differing perspectives. Above: Members of the Honduran Armed Forces carry a box of COVID-19 diagnostic testing kits donated by the United States Agency for International Development and the International Organization for Migration. Orlando Sierra/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Orlando Sierra/AFP via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

Trump And Biden On Global Issues: From Reproductive Rights To Refugees

Here are the positions of the two candidates on issues ranging from the Mexico City policy (involving abortion services) to refugees to membership in the World Health Organization.

Wednesday

U.S. Mulls Controversial Foreign Aid Shake-up

A government employee in the Honduras unpacks some of the 8,000 COVID-19 diagnostic testing kits donated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the International Organization for Migration. Orlando Sierra/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Orlando Sierra/AFP via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

U.S. Mulls Controversial Foreign Aid Shake-up

The administration wants to channel more funds through the State Department in an effort to target emerging diseases. Critics say that could have dire impacts on the children of the world.

Wednesday

The U.S. Is Giving Vast Sums Of Money To Fight COVID-19 Abroad. But There's A Catch

An N95 respirator — a critical piece of personal protective equipment. The U.S. is now restricting the ability of aid groups abroad to use American funds to buy PPE. Xinzheng/Getty Images hide caption

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Xinzheng/Getty Images

Goats and Soda

The U.S. Is Giving Vast Sums Of Money To Fight COVID-19 Abroad. But There's A Catch

Aid groups are frustrated by a new restriction on using U.S. funds to buy personal protective equipment like masks and gloves. The U.S. says it's a way to ensure there's enough PPE for domestic use.

Wednesday

Exiting USAID Chief On The Pandemic, Foreign Aid, Trump's Policies

Mark Green has stepped down as administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) after nearly three years on the job. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

Exiting USAID Chief On The Pandemic, Foreign Aid, Trump's Policies

Mark Green talks to NPR about what it's like leaving during a global health crisis — and what the future may hold for the agency.

Exiting USAID Chief On The Pandemic, Foreign Aid, Trump's Policies

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Monday

In Guatemala, A Bad Year For Corn — And For U.S. Aid

Corn from a fall harvest in Guatemala. John Seaton Callahan/Getty Images hide caption

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John Seaton Callahan/Getty Images

Goats and Soda

In Guatemala, A Bad Year For Corn — And For U.S. Aid

Last spring, Trump froze almost $500 million in funding to three Central American countries to pressure them to stop the flow of migrants. The impact on farmers could end up increasing migration.

In Guatemala, A Bad Year For Corn — And For U.S. Aid

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Wednesday

U.S. Aid Agency Is Preparing To Lay Off Most Local Staff For Palestinian Projects

A Palestinian man walks near a USAID billboard in the West Bank village of Badhan, north of Nablus, last August. Since January, U.S. financing for humanitarian programs serving Palestinians has been suspended Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images

World

U.S. Aid Agency Is Preparing To Lay Off Most Local Staff For Palestinian Projects

Under Trump administration orders, the U.S. Agency for International Development is readying to lay off most staff on Palestinian projects, according to U.S. government communications reviewed by NPR.

U.S. Aid Agency Is Preparing To Lay Off Most Local Staff For Palestinian Projects

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Sunday

Thursday

Opinion: Here's Why U.S. Aid To Palestinians Needs To Continue

A construction worker saws steel rods at the site of a school that was funded by the United States Agency for International Development in the Palestinian village of al-Jabaa, in the West Bank, on Jan. 22. Hazem Bader/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Hazem Bader/AFP/Getty Images

Opinion

Opinion: Here's Why U.S. Aid To Palestinians Needs To Continue

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel B. Shapiro and Washington Institute for Near East Policy senior fellow Dana Stroul warn of the consequences of cutting U.S. assistance.

Thursday

Palestinian School And Sewage Projects Unfinished As U.S. Cuts Final Bit Of Aid

A father and his daughter cross a street under renovations as part of a U.S. aid grant in the village of al-Badhan, north of Nablus in Israeli occupied West Bank in August 2018. Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images

World

Palestinian School And Sewage Projects Unfinished As U.S. Cuts Final Bit Of Aid

The White House has blocked efforts to finish U.S.-funded infrastructure projects in the West Bank and Gaza before a Feb. 1 aid cutoff date.

Palestinian School And Sewage Projects Unfinished As U.S. Cuts Final Bit Of Aid

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Wednesday

Food, Peace Building, Legal Aid: What Trump Would Cut From Central America

Migrants heading toward the U.S. carry Honduran and Guatemalan national flags in Guatemala on Monday. President Trump has threatened to cut off aid to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador for failing to stop the caravan's journey. Orlando Estrada/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Orlando Estrada/AFP/Getty Images

The Americas

Food, Peace Building, Legal Aid: What Trump Would Cut From Central America

As thousands of migrants move toward the U.S., these are the programs President Trump is threatening to cut in retaliation.

Friday

Which Foreign Aid Programs Work? The U.S. Runs A Test — But Won't Talk About It

A man checks his phone to confirm that the charity GiveDirectly has transferred a cash grant to his account. Nichole Sobecki for NPR hide caption

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Nichole Sobecki for NPR

Goats and Soda

Which Foreign Aid Programs Work? The U.S. Runs A Test — But Won't Talk About It

USAID has launched a series of experiments to see how traditional aid compares to giving people cash. The first results are in. And they're proving controversial.

Which Foreign Aid Programs Work? The U.S. Runs A Test — But Won't Talk About It

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Thursday

Former Tyson Foods CEO Brings Chicken Farming To Rwanda — But Can It Last?

The Feed the Future Tworore Inkoko, Twunguke project hosts a meeting in the Gataraga sector of Rwanda to recruit farmers to grow chickens. If the farmers commit to four days of training and pass a competency test, they are given a backyard coop worth about $625, as well as the means to obtain 100 day-old chicks, vaccines, feed and technical advice. Emily Urban/NPR hide caption

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Emily Urban/NPR

The Salt

Former Tyson Foods CEO Brings Chicken Farming To Rwanda — But Can It Last?

The Smith family foundation aims to build a chicken business in Africa, but the extensive project is costly and difficult, and Rwanda cannot yet support a modern poultry industry without aid money.

Monday

Logos On Aid Supplies: Helpful, Demeaning ... Or Dangerous?

A Palestinian woman and her children receive supplies from the International Committee of the Red Cross at a refugee camp in Gaza; a latrine project in Haiti financed by Oxfam; a UNICEF tent at a refugee camp in Iraq. Abid Katib/Getty Images; Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images; Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images hide caption

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Abid Katib/Getty Images; Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images; Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

Logos On Aid Supplies: Helpful, Demeaning ... Or Dangerous?

Everyone has an opinion about the big logos slapped on humanitarian handouts, from bags of food to temporary toilets. Are they helpful? Or do they make recipients feel like "supplicants."