August 14, 2026
What happens when the world’s humanitarian safety net starts to disappear? On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the state of the collapsing global aid system—a problem that’s easy to ignore, until it isn’t. For decades, international aid has helped fight poverty, contain disease outbreaks, prevent famine, and keep fragile countries from collapsing. But after the United States shut down USAID and other wealthy countries began pulling back their own commitments, that system is under unprecedented strain.
From the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo to soaring food and fuel costs caused by the war in Iran, the shrinking global aid budget is making global crises even harder to contain. In countries like Sudan and Somalia, where hunger and conflict are already driving people from their homes, daily life has become even more difficult. Foreign aid is often dismissed as charity, but Bremmer explains why the consequences of abandoning humanitarian relief extend far beyond the borders of the countries that need it the most.
From the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo to soaring food and fuel costs caused by the war in Iran, the shrinking global aid budget is making global crises even harder to contain. In countries like Sudan and Somalia, where hunger and conflict are already driving people from their homes, daily life has become even more difficult. Foreign aid is often dismissed as charity, but Bremmer explains why the consequences of abandoning humanitarian relief extend far beyond the borders of the countries that need it the most.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
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