Leaders of USAID’s Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance are exploring a merger of the agency’s food-aid and disaster-assistance programs, says Devex, which follows global development issues. The combination would be part of the agency’s contribution to the Trump administration call to reorganize the government to boost efficiency and reduce its size.
“Merging the two offices, which often operate in the same crisis contexts, is an idea that has been floating around USAID for at least a year,” said Devex. The Obama administration hired the consulting firm McKinsey to study the idea. Devex quoted former USDA official Jeremy Konyndyk as saying, “Having two distinct entities running humanitarian assistance, whose missions often bumped into each other, didn’t seem optimal.”
At present, the two offices control close to $4 million a year in disaster and food aid. That would be a larger operation than all but one of USAID’s bureaus. Konyndyk told Devex that he was skeptical that a merger would result in major cost savings or reduce staffing needs.