Foreign Aid Programs

Foreign Aid Programs, financial, military, and technical assistance given by one country to another. The Lend-Lease program provided over $40 billion to U.S. allies after World War II. The Marshall Plan strengthened the weakened economies of Western Europe (1948–51). In 1949 the Point Four Program initiated U.S. aid to underdeveloped countries, particularly in Asia. Credit facilities were set for these nations in 1957 with the creation of the Development Loan Fund. A diversification of U.S. aid programs (in Asia, Africa, and Latin America), and establishment of the Peace Corps and the Alliance for Progress began in the 1960s.