Charles Kenny

What Are They Thinking: Is There a Rationale for the Proposed MCC Program Terminations? The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has announced a proposal to terminate more than half of its programs. There may be reasons behind the recommended terminations. But a reasonable analysis sug...

Nancy Lee on proposed cuts to MCC programs. Confusing that MCC, seemingly aligned with focus on supporting friends & economic partners, & countering Chinese investment offer, is under attack from an admin that says it wants more focus on that.

www.cgdev.org/blog/what-ar...

Some broadly hopeful news on FY26 US international development budget from @ecollinson.bsky.social and Justin Hurley. House >> administration proposal.

www.cgdev.org/blog/house-a...

“People are already dying.” @charlesjkenny.bsky.social at @cgdev.org spotlights some of the lifesaving #GlobalHealth programs and clinical trials—including a PATH-led malaria vaccine study—halted by US aid cuts, and the human costs of aid withdrawal. ⬇️

Blog on the rescissions package.

Good news: Global health largely protected, language on preserving HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, nutrition, & maternal * child health spending. If translated into ongoing programs, would considerably reduce risk of deaths from cuts.

If Congress wants to minimize lives lost and sustain the programs it protected from rescissions, it also needs to urgently intervene to ensure the US government delivers the programs it has financed.

www.cgdev.org/blog/foreign...

Worse news: there is ~0 capacity in the State Department to spend remaining funding of ~$21 billion, ~0 new big awards since January, 500 out of the remaining 836 USAID awards transferred to State expire by September 30th.

Bad news: ongoing disruption is causing deaths (inc AIDS deaths), lifesaving support for vaccines, nutrition, maternal & child health has already been cancelled, also work in areas from NTDs through reproductive health & humanitarian assistance including in Yemen, Afghanistan.

Blog on the rescissions package.

Good news: Global health largely protected, language on preserving HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, nutrition, & maternal * child health spending. If translated into ongoing programs, would considerably reduce risk of deaths from cuts.

"Each uncounted life is a missed opportunity to better understand the world, to track progress, spot emerging problems, answer empirical questions, and direct resources efficiently. To build a world where fewer people suffer or die unseen, we must invest resources in seeing more clearly."

UK foreign secretary strengthens his push for aid reform David Lammy, the U.K. foreign secretary, has renewed calls for reform of the international aid system, saying that African leaders are fed up with "ping-pong" funding that they cannot rely on.

I am sure David Lammy is right that "African leaders are fed up with 'ping-pong' funding that begins under one government and is canceled under the next," so look forward to hearing him confirm the UK government will avoid canceling any funding.

www.devex.com/news/uk-fore...

Project Resource Optimization (PRO) Given the scale of recent cuts to USAID, it can be difficult for private donors to know how to fill the most urgent gaps. Hosted by CGD, PRO is an independent initiative using rigorous analysis, deep ...

Thanks much to the people of Project Resource Optimization (PRO) for data and feedback.

www.cgdev.org/project/proj...

"Matt Teagarden, who is the head of the Kansas Livestock Association, told the outlet that "essential isn't a strong enough word" to describe how much ranchers rely on immigrants to do the labor necessary to care for large numbers of farm animals."

www.msn.com/en-ca/news/p...

The Ongoing Crisis in US Foreign Assistance Delivery The process of procuring goods and services to deliver US development assistance remains shut down. June 17th marked 259 days into the 2025 fiscal year. At an equal daily rate, you’d expect cumulative...

"US foreign assistance draws from a pool of finance refreshed by a stream of obligations. The stream has been dry for nearly six months, and the worsening drought will kill many thousands."

@charlesjkenny.bsky.social on the ongoing crisis in US foreign aid:
www.cgdev.org/blog/ongoing...

To take one example: if you cancel a multi-country contract ensuring mothers had access to drugs to prevent postpartum hemorrhage, and newborns could be saved with resuscitation equipment to sustain breathing, you cause deaths.

These USAID Awards Were Saving Lives. Reverse the Cuts or Reissue Them. There is bipartisan concern—shared across the administration and Congress—in ensuring the US continues supporting highly effective lifesaving programs worldwide. The available evidence suggests that t...

www.cgdev.org/blog/these-u...

And there is little doubt the activities listed were saving lives or will save lives if reinstated: the programs prevent deaths from post-partum hemorrhage, diarrheal dehydration, severe acute malnutrition, and HIV/AIDS.

This is not a complete list --I'd welcome suggestions for additions.

The total obligated value of these awards is $2.5 billion, with a total estimated cost of $4.2 billion. They span maternal and child health; humanitarian assistance; vaccines, other prophylactics, and treatments; pandemic surveillance; and global health research.

New blog: There is a bipartisan consensus to preserve lifesaving US foreign assistance. I list twelve large, lifesaving USAID awards that have been cancelled. If we want to avoid a mounting death toll, these awards need to be reinstated.

New York and Other American Cities Need Immigrants The idea that the largest US city has suddenly been overrun by foreign-born residents is ridiculous. They have been here all along.

From today:

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

ICE raids on US farms leaves crops rotting Worker detentions and fears of federal agents have cut workforces on farms across the country.

"Immigration enforcement operations on farms have left crops rotting and farm operations disrupted in major agricultural states including California, Texas, and Pennsylvania."

www.newsweek.com/ice-immigrat...

ICE Raids Shake South Texas: Construction Sites Face Labor Crisis - Fox Rio Grande Valley ICE Raids: Federal arrests lead to economic turmoil and stalled projects as labor shortages hit Brownsville hard.

"ICE Raids Shake South Texas: Construction Sites Face Labor Crisis"

foxrgv.tv/ice-raids-sh...

It's harvest season. Cherry farms are short of workers amidst an immigration crackdown The federal immigration crackdown has raised concerns among agricultural workers. In Washington, growers say it's leading to a labor shortage during cherry season.

"The federal immigration crackdown has raised concerns among agricultural workers. In Washington, growers say it's leading to a labor shortage during cherry season."

www.npr.org/2025/07/06/n...

In Praise of Scepticism: Trust But Verify, by Pippa Norris (Oxford University Press, New York, 2022), pp. 305 Click on the article title to read more.

...and the World Values Survey data Norris presents suggests no strong global trend in surveyed trust in people or institutions over time.

Admit I wasn't fully sold on the analysis of links between trust and performance, but an interesting read.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

I wrote a review of Pippa Norris' book "In Praise of Scepticism: Trust But Verify" for the Economic Record.

ia: data Norris presents suggests trust in family and trust in others reasonably strongly correlated, but more weakly with measures of state and global governance

Second provided HIV/AIDS related services towards achieving epidemic control, particularly focused on orphans and vulnerable children.

First provided direct lifesaving assistance for conflict-affected displaced populations in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo -- emergency core life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance...

Congo Braces for HIV Surge After U.S. Funding Stops U.S. funded treatments in the country have helped reduce deaths from HIV/AIDS to around 14,000 a year, from as high as 200,000.

If Secretary Rubio would like to reverse this surely mistaken cancellation of life-saving assistance in DRC, he could start with reinstating awards 720BHA24IO00248 and 72066024FA00002...

www.wsj.com/world/africa...

The Ongoing Crisis in US Foreign Assistance Delivery The process of procuring goods and services to deliver US development assistance remains shut down. June 17th marked 259 days into the 2025 fiscal year. At an equal daily rate, you’d expect cumulative...

www.cgdev.org/blog/ongoing...

The picture is even worse for lifesaving assistance. More than 2/3s of the way through the FY, USAID’s humanitarian assistance bureau down 92% on new obligations compared to full-year FY24. USAID’s global health bureau was down 93%. State hasn't picked up any of the slack.

Blog: The Ongoing Crisis in US Foreign Assistance Delivery.

Both USAID and State have seen crashing new obligations, suggesting FY25 spending shortfalls far beyond announced cuts unless contracting ramps up fast.