How US foreign aid could save more lives

In 2021, USAID — the agency of the US government tasked with international development — disbursed $28.3 billion in foreign aid to an assortment of humanitarian causes ranging from hunger programs to medical treatment to education.

But how much good is this money doing? And is that money accomplishing as much as it could be?

The answer, it turns out, is much more difficult to find than you would think — and that’s a problem. USAID is one of the most consequential institutions in the world when it comes to aid for...