An Uncertain Future for Humanitarian Aid
Table of Contents
Author(s)
Sonali Korde
MD Anderson Visiting Fellow
David M. Satterfield
Director, Baker Institute for Public Policy | Janice and Robert McNair Chair in Public Policy“We do need each other. Things happen in the world and we need to be able to call the president of such and such country and ask for help, or we need to walk into a village in Butembo and ask the village elder: ‘Trust us. We need your help to stop this epidemic.’ And that trust doesn't happen overnight.” — Sonali Korde
About the Episode
The Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and aid budget cuts in the U.K., France, and other Western countries present a stark turning point for the international humanitarian aid system.
Sonali Korde, the Baker Institute’s MD Anderson Visiting Fellow and the former assistant to the administrator of the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance at USAID, joined Ambassador David M. Satterfield to explore the far-reaching implications of these shifts, as well as the past role of foreign aid in promoting U.S. interests — and the challenge of justifying such aid domestically.
This conversation was recorded in front of a live studio audience on April 8, 2025. Subscribe and listen to “Baker Briefing” on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Transcript
A full transcript of this episode is available here. This transcript was AI-generated and has not been through editorial review.
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