TTT1713 March 27 Humanitarian Assistance
We Americans love to tell ourselves that we are the most generous people in the world. While the facts don’t completely bear that out, it is true that the U.S. government has been the world’s largest donor of food assistance and other forms of humanitarian assistance. In the face of impending famines and the largest refugee crises since World War II, President Trump’s budget (and rhetoric) suggests a radical reduction in these efforts in favor of increased military spending.
Three experts join TTT to discuss the importance of humanitarian aid for both America’s standing in the world and for those who are desperately in need of it: Mohamed Idris, executive director of the Twin Cities–based American Relief Agency for the Horn of Africa, Eric Schwartz, dean of the Hubert Humphrey School of Public Policy at the University of Minnesota, and Ryan Quinn, senior policy advisor at Bread for the World.
Mohamed Idris is executive director of the Twin Cities–based American Relief Agency for the Horn of Africa. www.araha.org
Eric Schwartz is dean of the Hubert Humphrey School of Public Policy at the University of Minnesota. https://www.hhh.umn.edu/directory/eric-schwartz
Ryan Quinn is senior policy advisor at Bread for the World. www.bread.org