THERE is an understandable outcry here about the potential termination of much-needed medical and humanitarian support to Third World countries as the Trump administration moves to shut down the US Agency for International Development (USAid). 

For all intents and purposes, USAid appears to be — and to some extent is — a dispenser of essential aid to countries in need. Its termination is an ominous move in a likely trend. 

Over the weekend, President Donald Trump’s unelected henchman, Elon Musk, threatened to throw USAid “into a wood chipper.” At a hastily called rally at the US Capitol on Wednesday, Democratic Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts asked: “What else is going into that wood chipper? Healthcare, democracy, fighting for the rights of those who are most desperate around the world.”