The worst thing that has happened to the debate around the suspension of USAID aid is that it has descended from the strategic level of ‘how does this affect our ability to effectively fight the war’ to the petty level of ‘are the NGOs receiving grants good or bad’.
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At the strategic level, everything is crystal clear: we have (temporarily?) lost billions of dollars of foreign exchange earnings that were spent in the country and fuelled its economy. This money was used to strengthen the capacity of the public sector to carry out the reforms necessary for victory, to restore the energy sector, to build school bomb shelters, and to fund programmes for veterans, IDPs and people with disabilities. The beneficiaries of the aid were primarily not the NGOs and local businesses that implemented the relevant projects, but Ukrainian citizens and the state, who received an additional source of support. Whether you love or hate civil society, it doesn’t change the fact that freezing USAID aid in a war of attrition is bad news.
Instead of discussing this undeniable damage and how to manage it, for three days now, a handful of people who have stopped thinking in terms of Ukraine winning the war and started thinking in terms of petty infighting within society have turned an important discussion into a squabble about the effectiveness of civil society organisations. Gloating over the problems of the civil sector, which has been bringing billions of dollars into the country, is the same as rejoicing over the problems of agricultural exporters or metallurgists caused by the war. It is not very wise and very counterproductive, because the consequences of these problems will be felt by the majority of Ukrainian citizens.
It seems that some people have started to forget that in this war we will either win together or lose together. The army, the state, business, and civil society are one and the same. And their defeat will have catastrophic consequences for everyone.
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