A recent investigation revealed systemic issues of fraud and abuse within USAID, prompting calls for significant restructuring of the humanitarian aid system. Faith-based organizations are uniquely positioned to bridge gaps and provide...



For over 60 years, an organization called the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been involved in humanitarian efforts in over 100 countries. A recent investigation under the Trump Administration found that over the course of those decades, there were issues with waste, fraud, and abuse. USAID has been closed for over a year now, according to Congress.gov.

Suggested Restructuring of USAID and UN Systems
On an even more global scale, a report from the Lancet Medical Journal, picked up by Fox News, found that the international humanitarian aid system has reached a critical place.

“The humanitarian system is no longer fit for purpose, given the types of emergencies that we have and their magnitude,” Dr. Paul Spiegel, co-author of the report, told Fox News.

Spiegel is also a professor at Johns Hopkins University and co-chair of the school’s Center for Humanitarian Health and has worked in refugee camps and war zones overseas.

“I’ve been doing this for well over 30 years. We’re in a very dark time,” he said.

Spiegel also noted that, “USAID needed to be restructured. The UN needs to be restructured in a very significant way. But it’s how you do that.”

He emphasized the importance of making certain that “vulnerable populations across the globe are not going to be hurt, and that it wasn’t [originally] done like that.”

Ways the Church Can Be More Involved in Humanitarian Outreach
Catholic Relief Services; volunteers; volunteering; serving

This is where the involvement of both the local and global church could step in to make more of a difference.

Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities (JLIFLC) proposes that Christian organizations with an international reach are typically well-connected via community ties, multiple funding streams, and a deep history. Not only can international Christian ministries provide resources and funding, but they often have access to various types of missionaries, such as medical missionaries, ESL teachers, construction missionaries, and more. Reaching out to vulnerable populations is very much in line with the mission of the Gospel.

In addition, churches involved with humanitarian efforts are also looking beyond race, nationality, and religion. The very act of humanitarian efforts for the church is about reaching the lost and hurting, helping them obtain and grow in a relationship with Jesus.

“One of the things implicit in a faith community is trust,” Robert Hokanson, senior manager of Global Priorities at the church, told Church News. “Individuals will donate to their church for a good cause because of that trust. When that faith-based organization demonstrates trust through collaboration with another faith-based organization, it illustrates that we can overcome differences and work together with others on shared values.”

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