What the Foreign Aid Freeze Means for the UN

Plus: How the UN's responding to crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

In our new episode of To Save Us From Hell, Anjali Dayal and I take a deep dive into the ways in which the Trump administration’s foreign aid freeze may impact the United Nations. We are already seeing signs of certain agencies bracing for impact. The UN Refugee Agency (of which the U.S. is historically a top funder) is under a hiring freeze, has stopped ordering new supplies, and has reportedly halted international air travel for staff. As Anjali and I explain, the actions taken by the Trump administration to dismantle USAID and stop most foreign aid will reverberate throughout the UN — and the entire multilateral system.

We kick off the episode, however, by discussing recent events in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Rwandan-backed rebels have taken the city of Goma, a major hub of two million people in the eastern part of the country. We discuss the role the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUSCO, is playing in this conflict and what actions, if any, may be taken at the Security Council to address this ongoing crisis.

The full episode is available below the fold for our paying subscribers and can also be accessed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen to podcasts—you’ll just need a paying subscription. But not to worry—here’s a link that will get you full access to To Save Us From Hell and all of Global Dispatches at 40% off.