Inside USAID’s Dismantling: A Deputy Director’s Account of the Lifesaving Memo That Changed Everything

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In this powerful conversation, Ramona Godbole, former Deputy Director of Policy Planning and Programs at USAID’s Global Health Bureau, takes us inside the chaotic dismantling of America’s global health infrastructure—and the critical memo that became her final act of public service. Ramona led the development of USAID’s first-ever comprehensive global health policy, a document designed to sunset the need for foreign aid by building sustainable, equitable health systems worldwide. Just months after its release in January 2025, she watched as a new administration took a different approach: sunsetting the aid itself , prioritizing rapid withdrawal over long-term impact. What does it mean when…