The Most Bizarre USAID Spending Recently Uncovered

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is supposed to provide aid to struggling nations, but recent revelations about its spending have raised serious questions. 

Some of the projects funded by American taxpayers seem more like extravagant pet projects than essential foreign aid. Here are some of the most shocking expenditures uncovered:

Cultural and Entertainment Spending

• $2 million for Moroccan pottery classes
• $20 million for a Sesame Street show in Iraq
• $47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia
• $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru
• $70,000 for a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) musical in Ireland
• $3.25 million to fund British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) media

Tourism and Fashion Funding

• $2 million promoting tourism in Lebanon
• $6 million for tourism in Egypt
• $56 million to boost tourism in Egypt and Tunisia
• Sending Ukrainians to Paris Fashion Week, funded by USAID

Controversial Social and Political Programs

• $1.5 million for DEI initiatives in Serbian workplaces
• $45 million for DEI scholarships in Burma
• $2 million for sex changes and LGBT activism in Guatemala
• $1 million to help disabled people in Tajikistan become climate leaders

Questionable Foreign Infrastructure Investments

• $300 million to build diesel-fueled power plants in Afghanistan that couldn’t be used because diesel was too expensive
• $200 million to Afghanistan for a dam that was never used due to safety concerns
• $250 million to Afghanistan for a road that was never used

Funding to Regions with Alleged Terrorist Links

• $900 million for humanitarian aid to Syrians, but the funds reportedly ended up with Al-Qaeda
• Hundreds of millions of dollars for irrigation canals, farming equipment, and fertilizer that allegedly benefited Taliban-led heroin production
• $3.7 billion in funding that reportedly ended up with the Taliban
• $2 billion for Palestinians
• $3.4 billion for Yemen, part of a larger $8 billion package for the Iranian regime
• $3.3 billion for Somalia
• $27 million to the George Soros prosecutor fund
• Hundreds of thousands of dollars for non-profits allegedly linked to terrorist organizations, even after an inspector general launched an investigation

Miscellaneous and Unbelievable Expenses

• $11 million to tell Vietnam to stop burning trash
• $27 million for reintegration gift bags for deported Central Americans
• $2.5 million for electric vehicles in Vietnam
• $100 billion in COVID payments stolen by professional foreign fraud rings
• Funding for personalized contraceptive birth control devices in developing countries
• $1 million for bat research in Wuhan, China

The Bigger Picture

With $520 million allocated for ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) consultants in Africa and billions funneled into controversial projects, it raises serious concerns about whether these programs truly serve their intended purpose. 

Many of these expenses appear to prioritize ideological and social agendas over tangible humanitarian aid.

As taxpayers struggle with economic challenges at home, the question remains: Is this really where America’s foreign aid money should be going?