LONDON — The Trump administration’s defunding of USAID, a U.S. government agency set up in the 1960s to administer humanitarian aid programs, has provoked a strong reaction from some Catholic institutions, especially those heavily dependent on its aid. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio disclosed earlier this month that 83% of USAID programs had been terminated following a six-week review. The reasons given included misalignment with American interests, a need to cut government spending, evidence of waste and fraud, and USAID’s promotion of a "woke" agenda. 

Catholic charities that are dependent on federal funding have vehemently opposed the policy and will have to make large expenditure and employment cuts as a result (in the case of Catholic Relief Services, a 50% reduction in its budget). The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is suing the administration for abruptly ending a USAID-funded refugee-settlement program, while the Vatican called it “reckless” and said it could endanger the lives of millions of people.

But could the policy offer an opportunity to look carefully at problems associated with foreign state aid and for developing countries to wean themselves off such dependence, which is often tied to secularist values that have led to ideological colonization? 

This is the possibility raised by Obianuju Ekeocha, founder and president of Culture of Life Africa, an organization defending the dignity and sanctity of life in Africa. 

In this March 19 interview with the Register, Ekeocha, a native of Nigeria, explains how Western foreign aid has long been conditional on accepting values that directly run counter to Church teaching and tradition, saying that this model urgently needs revision. 

She notes that the cuts to USAID were “abrupt and without warning,” but stresses that the agency has long promoted anti-Catholic values, naturally impacting the ethos of Catholic charities receiving its funding. The root of the problem of ideological colonization, she says, is the rejection of the Church and the Gospel, while the solution is a return to the faith and the defense of objective truth “at every opportunity.” 

 

Obianuju Ekechoa, what are the problems associated with Catholic charities, such as Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities, etc., and NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) in general, receiving government funding, especially in great quantities, from organizations such as USAID?

The core problem here is that government funding almost always is given with strings attached, as recipients are bound by very specific conditions and expectations. So, when you then have a government that is very obviously not respectful and, in some administrations, openly hostile to the Catholic Church’s position on moral issues, then it becomes problematic and worrisome seeing Catholic charities lining up to receive government aid through agencies like USAID. 

One cannot help but wonder how American Catholic charity organizations can in good conscience subordinate themselves through the acceptance of funds from an agency like USAID that is known worldwide for vocal LGBTQ support, unambiguous pro-abortion stance, and firm commitment to population control. Surely the incongruity of this is worth pointing out. 

 

How much, to your knowledge, are Catholic charities dependent on state aid, and how do you think it impacts these organizations, both positively and negatively?

From public records alone, one can see that the major Western Catholic charities receive significant government funding. For example, between fiscal years 2013 and 2022, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) received approximately $4.6 billion from USAID.

In fiscal year 2023 alone, CRS’ total revenue amounted to approximately $1.47 billion; of this, $521 million, which is more than a third of its revenue, came from U.S. government grants, including those from USAID. Another example is the 2022 annual report of Catholic Charities D.C.; the organization reported a total revenue of $99.2 million, with about $46.7 million of that coming from government grants.

I find it very alarming and disturbing to see this organizational model where Catholic charitable organizations put themselves forward to receive significant portions of their revenue from governments which in some cases are openly hostile and historically have even been oppressive to devout Catholics living out their faith in a society that is normalizing immorality. 

One does not have to look far to find cases of governments mandating doctors to take part in abortions, pharmacists being forced to dispense contraceptives, nurses and midwives being compelled to assist in sterilizations, teachers in public schools being told to teach children about human sexuality in a way that is objectionable to Catholic teachings, government staff being made to participate in celebrating what they might consider immoral, businesses being punished for not serving at LGBTQ celebrations. The list is endless. Many Western governments have taken oppressive positions on many nonnegotiable issues for Catholics and other Christian denominations. 

Catholic charities, by their core tenets, should be first and foremost aligned with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and completely in step with the teachings of the Church. They should differ from the many secular charity organizations and philanthropic organizations operating around the world because of their distinctive Catholic ethos. 

I don’t know how they can preserve this ethos if their funding stream is largely flowing in from secular and, dare I say, sometimes anti-Catholic sources. 

 

How much will the cuts in USAID, while justifiable in many instances, negatively impact those bona fide charities who are doing much good? What is your overall assessment of the cuts to USAID — do you mostly agree or disagree with the policy?

I have had a lot of reflection on the USAID funding cuts, and I understand that in the larger context of humanitarian aid, the USAID cuts will impact many of the projects going on in some of the poorest parts of the world. 

One of the reasons that the influence of America is so far-reaching is that they are involved in extensive humanitarian programs around the world, from food programs to medical assistance to disaster relief. The American impact is always fast and significant. 

But I am one of the Africans who are also aware of our continent’s never-ending poverty cycle, which is somehow intricately linked to the long-term foreign aid model set up by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development — OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC). I have written extensively on this in my book Target Africa, where I acknowledge the immediate relief and benefits of foreign aid but also question the many underlying issues that stem directly from foreign aid with strings attached. 

Through bilateral funding relations between wealthy Western donor nations and the recipient developing nations, demands are made, and expectations are laid out. Donors make demands on their recipients and in some cases threaten them when these demands are not met. 

It is an open secret that there have been immediate threats to African countries who have dared to defend traditional marriage or who have tried to pass laws considered “homophobic” by donors. Also, donor nations have compelled recipients to accept funding for things that have not been asked for, like the millions of dollars’ worth of condoms and contraceptives sent each year to developing countries. It has become a matter of whoever pays the piper dictates the tune. I have on many occasions described this ideological neocolonialism, and it is firmly rooted in foreign-aid relationships. 

So, whereas I believe that the defunding of USAID is abrupt and without warning, I also believe that it presents an opportunity for developing countries to review and reconsider our position and find actionable and realistic pathways to walk away from the unending cycle of year-to-year aid programs. This might be the best time to wean ourselves once and for all from our high dependency on foreign aid. 

 

What else needs to be done to end ideological colonization beyond these steps?

The first step towards any solution is an understanding of the problem; a thorough and honest root-cause analysis. 

At the root of ideological colonization is the rejection of Christian values, the rejection of the Church and the rejection of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What has boiled over to developing countries as ideological colonization started simmering in Western countries as sexual liberation, destruction of traditional families and removal of faith from the public square. 

For decades, the West has been engaged in this iconoclastic endeavor to destroy what is most beautiful in life — faith and family. And the outcome has been devastating, with record low numbers of practicing Christians, intact families, birth rates, etc. 

The solution, I believe, lies in going back to Christian roots and traditional values. Christians must not shy away from speaking up and defending objective truth at every opportunity. Whether we acknowledge it or not, there is a fierce ideological conflict that is going on in almost every part of society. With as much God-given grace and virtue as we can muster, we must engage in this conflict while holding firmly and devoutly to God.