UNICEF USA Considers What Comes Next : Shared by Niloufar Pourzand

 

Foreign Aid at a Crossroads: What Comes Next for Children

Author: Michael J. Nyenhuis (President & CEO of UNICEF USA) in conversation with Patrick W. Quirk, Ph.D. (Vice President for Global Policy and Public Affairs, UNICEF USA)

Publication: LinkedIn

Date: December 30, 2025

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Summary:

UNICEF USA's President and CEO Michael Nyenhuis and Vice President for Global Policy and Public Affairs Patrick Quirk discuss the profound disruption to U.S. foreign assistance in 2025 and priorities for 2026.

Quirk identifies three major areas of change: infrastructure (USAID folded into State Department at rapid pace driven by DOGE), priorities (surprisingly strong White House commitment to lifesaving humanitarian assistance despite America First positioning), and spending levels (the January 2025 decision to halt nearly all programming, taking close to half a year to resume issuing funds).

Despite these disruptions, UNICEF USA will continue advocating for U.S. government funding, which has historically made the U.S. UNICEF's largest donor. The organization reports that support from the U.S. public through individual and institutional donations has not waned. UNICEF USA's 2026 priorities focus on improving childhood nutrition, ensuring equitable access to digital education, highlighting "hidden" emergencies affecting millions of children that never make U.S. headlines, and bringing youth voices to agencies and governments designing future policies and programs.

Early indications suggest alignment between UNICEF USA priorities and the Trump administration's emerging foreign assistance framework, particularly on nutrition and digital education. The State Department recently awarded a $93 million grant to UNICEF to provide Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) to nearly 1 million malnourished children across 13 countries. First Lady Melania Trump launched the "Fostering the Future Together" initiative to provide access to innovative education technology including artificial intelligence, robotics, and blockchain for children globally. However, the White House needs to increase lifesaving assistance in "silent" crises from Sudan to Syria where children are suffering.

The leaders emphasize that constituent letters to congressional representatives requesting funding for UNICEF's work remain a powerful advocacy tool. They call on the Trump administration to articulate and implement its vision for using foreign aid as a foreign policy tool alongside diplomacy, and to accelerate assistance to those most in need, backing up stated commitments to lifesaving humanitarian aid with concrete action on behalf of the world's children.

Quotes:

"2025 was a year of profound disruption for U.S. foreign assistance." (Patrick W. Quirk)

"What surprised me was the pace with which the administration made the change of folding USAID into the State Department—driven largely by DOGE and a handful of staffers—and the haphazard, some might say irresponsible, way it did so." (Patrick W. Quirk)

"I have been pleasantly surprised by the White House's commitment to lifesaving humanitarian assistance. One might have expected the administration, given its America First positioning, to deprioritize that assistance, yet it seems to be one of the only consistent throughlines in how the administration talks about foreign aid." (Patrick W. Quirk)

"The U.S. decision in January 2025 to halt nearly all programming was the biggest surprise for the sector. Most anticipated a drop, even significant, in spending. Few, if any, expected Trump's team to cancel nearly all assistance awards and take close to half a year to start issuing programming monies again." (Patrick W. Quirk)

"The U.S. has always been UNICEF's largest donor. We will continue to advocate for that support." (Michael J. Nyenhuis)

"Support from the U.S. public—measured by funding we received from individuals and private institutions in our country—hasn't waned." (Michael J. Nyenhuis)

"There are few more powerful tools in advocacy than a constituent writing to their representative and asking them to fund UNICEF's work." (Patrick W. Quirk)

"Talk is cheap. We need the United States and this administration to back up these words with action on behalf of the world's children." (Patrick W. Quirk)