Accra, Ghana – Following recent funding cuts by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Professor Patrick Asuming, an economist and lecturer at the University of Ghana, has called on Ghana to reassess its reliance on foreign aid.
This comes after President Mahama directed Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson to address the $156 million funding gap created by the USAID suspension.
The President’s statement emphasized his concern about the potential impact on vital health and social intervention programs, particularly a $78.2 million shortfall affecting malaria prevention, maternal and child healthcare, family planning, reproductive health, and nutrition, as well as the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Prof. Asuming emphasized the broader implications of such aid reductions and advocated for a long-term strategy to decrease dependence on external assistance. “I think the bigger conversation or the bigger picture is how we should interpret actions like this in the longer term because when people are giving us aid, yes we are receiving, but aid always is strategic. It is in the strategic interest of the receiver. That is why they give the aid. So if you build a country where you are extremely dependent on aid, we should know that, like has happened, somebody can suddenly wake up one day and say the aid is not coming. Exactly what has happened,” Prof. Asuming explained.
He acknowledged the immediate impact of the cuts, especially in areas where USAID provides essential commodities and medications. “I am sure the impact is already being felt, especially in the places where USAID is responsible for providing specific commodities and medications and other things,” he noted.
Prof. Asuming also highlighted the missed opportunity during the COVID-19 pandemic to learn this lesson, citing the vaccine distribution challenges as an example of the risks of relying on external support.
“You recall that during the COVID, at the time that the vaccines started flowing, the countries that had the vaccines decided to halt them and decided that until they are done satisfying themselves, they are not going to release the vaccines even including some developing countries. That should have told us that there are some things that we cannot depend on others to finance,” he explained.
He stressed the need to identify critical commodities funded by donors and develop strategies to reduce dependence on foreign aid. “There are critical commodities that are funded by donors, and I think that going forward, we need to begin to think about what we have to do and what we have to depend on foreign aid for,” he concluded.
