Did USAID Spend $48M On A Study Of The Effects Of Modern Society On Tunisian Youth?
No, USAID did not spend $48 million on a study about the effects of modern society on Tunisian youth. This claim appears to be a mischaracterization or an outright fabrication regarding how U.S. foreign aid is distributed in North Africa.
While the U.S. government does heavily fund development and community resilience projects in Tunisia, actual expenditures focus on structural, economic, and civic initiatives rather than abstract cultural research:
Real "Youth" Spending in Tunisia: Major USAID investments in Tunisia target youth unemployment and economic stabilization, not academic studies. For example, USAID partnered with a $25 million community-strengthening initiative called NASSEEJ to offer training and youth sports programs to counter radicalization, and previously funded the Ma3an project to mobilize youth in civic life and public health campaigns.
The Origin of the "$48 Million" Figure: While U.S. aid to Tunisia fluctuates, the specific $48 million figure does not correlate with a single Tunisian youth study. Large-scale regional aid packages typically involve direct food and family safety nets—such as a $60 million grant to UNICEF to assist vulnerable families with food price shocks.
How did this come about? In his 2020 Festivus Report on government waste, Senator Paul highlighted a $48 million USAID project intended to "help disconnected Tunisian youth not feel like a problem" by funding civic and economic youth inclusion programs in Tunisia, which is not grossly misleading on the part of Paul.
Why is this relevant now, more than 6 years later, and a couple of years after USAID budget was obliterated? Well, that's because MAGAs don't understand the concept of relevance and they prove it.
While the U.S. government does heavily fund development and community resilience projects in Tunisia, actual expenditures focus on structural, economic, and civic initiatives rather than abstract cultural research:
Real "Youth" Spending in Tunisia: Major USAID investments in Tunisia target youth unemployment and economic stabilization, not academic studies. For example, USAID partnered with a $25 million community-strengthening initiative called NASSEEJ to offer training and youth sports programs to counter radicalization, and previously funded the Ma3an project to mobilize youth in civic life and public health campaigns.
The Origin of the "$48 Million" Figure: While U.S. aid to Tunisia fluctuates, the specific $48 million figure does not correlate with a single Tunisian youth study. Large-scale regional aid packages typically involve direct food and family safety nets—such as a $60 million grant to UNICEF to assist vulnerable families with food price shocks.
How did this come about? In his 2020 Festivus Report on government waste, Senator Paul highlighted a $48 million USAID project intended to "help disconnected Tunisian youth not feel like a problem" by funding civic and economic youth inclusion programs in Tunisia, which is not grossly misleading on the part of Paul.
Why is this relevant now, more than 6 years later, and a couple of years after USAID budget was obliterated? Well, that's because MAGAs don't understand the concept of relevance and they prove it.
